Ryder
Jacksonville, FL
Sunday
Sunday morning dawned without the normal relief of a new day. Jolie had cried herself to sleep, so I’d held her close, not wanting her to be alone. I could have let her go once she’d fallen asleep, but I didn’t. I just held on.
It was there in the middle of the night that I realized my feelings for her had grown bigger than I could contain anymore. It wasn’t just a physical attraction, as I’d once thought. Sure, when I’d caught a glimpse of her last night standing there in only her bottoms and those sexy stockings, the attraction simmered between us so thick and heavy, I’d almost acted on it. But it was more than just lust or desire.
I respected her. I genuinely liked her. There was a toughness to her, a determination that I marveled at. And her spunk. She gave as good as she took. She was sexy as hell in her confidence.
And for the first time in my life, I allowed myself to imagine what it would be like to have a woman like Jolie by my side. She wouldn’t run away at the first sign of a challenge. She wouldn’t cower under pressure. No, Jolie would face it head-on, with fists raised and chin held high. She’d fight for me. She’d fight for us.
I hadn’t been able to sleep after Jolie had dozed off, so I picked up my computer and dimmed the screen so the light wouldn’t wake her. I’d been searching my regular sites for an hour when something jumped off the screen. I nearly woke Jolie in my excitement, but I immediately got to work.
After a few secure emails to Levi, who’d no doubt get them before most people were up in the morning, I sifted through the maps of Jacksonville, jotted down notes, and was narrowing down the most logical places for us to search for Chrissy, when Jolie stirred next to me.
Her eyes were heavy-lidded and swollen from all her crying, and she blinked rapidly as if trying to focus. Her nose scrunched up as she took in my laptop.
“What in the world are you doing?”
“Working. Go back to sleep. It’s only six a.m.”
Jolie sat up in the bed and stretched her arms above her head.
“Did you sleep at all?”
“No.”
“Ryder, you need rest.”
I ignored her pestering and sat up straighter. “Look, I found something a couple of hours ago. I emailed Levi and just heard back from him. He’s thinking the same thing I am.”
“Which is what? What did you find?”
“I stumbled on some chatter. I can’t tell who it’s between and don’t know the aliases, but the message mentioned a shipment leaving for Atlanta tonight from Jacksonville. The wording, though, was off. That’s what caught my attention. There was a mention of dresses.”
“Dresses?”
“Yes. I think it’s code for women.”
“What makes you think that?”
“The sender said the dresses were going to be destroyed unless the shipment could leave out tonight.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m not sure we know exactly what they’re talking about, but I think it means that there’s a shipment of women leaving out of Jacksonville tonight, and that if they aren’t shipped out right away, they don’t have the means to keep them alive much longer or they won’t keep them alive much longer.”
“Oh. So, how do we find where they’re being held?”
“I mapped out the most logical places. But my gut tells me it’s the docks. Let’s do some reconnaissance work today. Drive around and take a look at these sites, see if there are any indications that they’re being protected. Then we’ll go in tonight.”
“Let me get dressed.”
I knew she’d be up for it. Another reason I admired Jolie. She didn’t complain or fuss or drag her feet. She was ready for whatever life threw at her.
Ten minutes later, Jolie was dressed in jean shorts and a Nirvana T-shirt with tennis shoes on her feet and her hair pushed back in some sort of flowery headband. She looked fifteen, not twenty-four. I’d already dressed, so we were out the door and in the Charger heading to the first destination spot.
My gut said they were at the docks in Jacksonville, but there was one other spot that was closer by that I thought was a close second. So, we stopped at the deserted industrial park first.
“This is the place?” Jolie squinted into the sun, looking out at the dilapidated and empty metal buildings.
“Yep.”
“It looks like a ghost town.”
“It is. We’ll do a drive-by and see if we find any cars lurking nearby, then we’ll search the place on foot.”
Jolie nodded, and I drove around the buildings. There were no cars in the lot, but that didn’t mean anything, so we stuck to the road instead of driving into the park. Satisfied that there didn’t appear to be an obvious threat, I parked on the street, and we exited the car.
“You’re armed?”
Jolie rolled her eyes. “Of course.” She pulled out her Glock from the waistband of her shorts. I grinned, and she winked back at me.
“All right, Rambo—let’s go.”
We quietly walked through the park, listening for any sounds of life. It was silent except for the chirping of birds in the trees nearby and the sounds of traffic in the distance. I’d chosen this spot because the name of the organization that owned it had Russian ties. It seemed too coincidental.
The first building was locked up tight, but I had come prepared with my trusty lock-picking kit. You didn’t get to be a CIA spy without knowing how to pick a lock—any lock.
After a few seconds the lock clicked and opened. I stepped inside first, keeping Jolie behind me.
The building was empty and smelled musty. We walked the perimeter of the large building, but there were no signs of life, no indication that anything or anyone had ever occupied the space.
“Nothing.” Jolie dropped her arms, gun in hand.
“There’s still three other buildings. Come on.”
The next two buildings held the same thing—absolutely nothing. No signs of use in the last several months. Only the faint smell of motor oil gave any indication they’d been used in the last few years.
The fourth building was smaller and located at the back of the park. I made quick work of the lock and pushed inside. Jolie came up behind me and gasped.
The room was lined with cages. Empty cages. But the worst part was the smell.
The odor of urine and feces was overwhelming. Each cage had a bucket, some of them overflowing with excrement. Flies buzzed around the area, and the aroma of death hovered in the air.
I put a finger to my mouth to indicate quiet, and Jolie nodded, her eyes watering at the terrible stench. We walked the perimeter, eyeing each cage. They looked like cages in a zoo, maybe six by six. Some held stains on the floor that could only be blood.
Jolie’s gaze found mine, her eyes filled with emotion. “Animals weren’t the occupants of these cages, were they?”
I shook my head. “I’m afraid not.”
That assumption was confirmed when we reached the last cage and found a body. The woman had long brown hair that was covering her face. She was lying in a pool of blood, and I knelt down beside her to check for a pulse, even though I knew from the fetid reek pouring off the body that she was dead. As I moved her hair aside, I saw the cause of death. Her neck was slashed from one ear to the other.
A flashback of Nina’s face flipped through my mind, and I jerked my hand back in response. Backing out of the cage, I pushed at Jolie. “Go. Get out of here.”
She gave me a puzzled look before responding to my plea. We raced towards the fresh air of the outdoors, and as soon as I burst through the door, I vomited. Jolie’s hand on my back settled my anxiety. Just her touch was a balm to the horror in my mind. When I was under control, I took her hand in mine, and we jogged back to the Charger.
She spoke first on the drive to the docks.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded. I wasn’t, not really. I’d flashed back to finding Nina’s body that night. Even though the dead woman had looked nothing like Nina, it was Nina’s eyes I’d seen staring lifelessly back at me.
“Should we call the police?”
“No. Call Levi. Tell him what we found and the address. He’ll send someone we can trust. No doubt this is all connected.”
She took her phone out and dialed Levi, filling him in on what had happened. I tried uselessly to keep my mind off the dead woman, the smells of that warehouse, and the feeling of overall futility. This world was so screwed-up. And the evil that permeated just seemed to get worse each year. Or maybe it was just that I was more aware of the evil that was present. Either way, it was exhausting some days.
“He’s sending a crew over to clean it up, identify the body, and process the crime scene. He said they’d notify the family as well.”
I hadn’t even realized she’d hung up the phone. “Good. No one should die like that.”
Her hand reached out and covered mine on the gear shift. “Are you really okay?”
“Nina died like that. I just wasn’t expecting it.”
Jolie squeezed my hand as we pulled up into the parking lot for the marina. Massive cargo ships sat in the harbor with large shipping containers piled high like Lego bricks on their decks. The docks were lined with cargo carriers and metal buildings. I parked the car and sat watching for a few minutes.
“What are we waiting for?” Jolie leaned closer, and I could smell her signature scent. Light, fruity, fun. It fit her personality to a tee. Although, I was realizing there was so much more to her than her bubbly personality let show.
“This place isn’t vacant. If we’re seen, and they recognize us, it could be a fight we’re not prepared for. Let’s just watch.”
She sat back in her seat, and I took out binoculars from my glove box.
“You came prepared.”
“I’m always prepared.” I shot her a grin, and she smiled back. Lifting the binocs to my eyes, I peered through.
It was only a couple of minutes before I saw what I needed. Several guards stood around a particular shipping container. It sat alone near where the semi-trucks were coming and going, dropping off and picking up containers. I handed the binocs to Jolie.
“There.” I pointed to where I wanted her to look.
“What am I looking at?”
“What stands out?” She put them up to her eyes again and chewed on her bottom lip.
“Guards. Four of them standing around a single container. But why?”
“Perhaps that’s our shipment.”
“How do we get to them? The place is crawling with people.”
She handed the binoculars back to me, and I took them and looked again. The guards were smoking, laughing. They weren’t expecting company.
“We’ll wait till it’s dark.”
I turned the car on and backed out of the lot, driving us back to the hotel.
“Then what?”
“Then we rescue them.”
***
It was a good plan in theory. Go in under the cover of dark, take out the four guards, and find out what was in that container. The problem with that plan was that we weren’t a hundred percent sure there were women in that container. We also didn’t know that there would only be four guards that night. But if someone was coming for that container to take it to Atlanta, we had to intercept it that night or possibly lose Chrissy for good.
My gut, which I’d come to depend on, told me we would find her in that container. If she wasn’t there, then she was probably dead.
Of course I didn’t share any of this with Jolie. Although I had a feeling she was smart enough to put the pieces together.
The rest of the day had been spent in preparation. Jolie and I mapped out a plan and went over all the possible outcomes. We’d conferenced with Levi, and he was trying to get a helicopter to fly Oscar and Cruz to us for backup. We wouldn’t have much time to work with them, so Jolie and I continued to work out a plan.
Because we weren’t sure of the numbers, we’d need a distraction. And since I wasn’t a woman, Jolie would be that distraction. I hated that she would be so exposed, but we didn’t have any other options. She would go in as the distraction, and the three of us would take out the guards, then set the girls free. Levi would have a van with DEA agents waiting for us just outside the perimeter to take the women from there. If there were any women. And if they were alive.
If not, well, we’d cross that bridge when we came to it.
Oscar and Cruz arrived at four in the afternoon, and fortunately they’d brought firepower with them.
“Hey, man.” I clapped Oscar on the back and did the whole man-hug thing with him and then with Cruz.
Oscar’s eyes fell on Jolie, and he scooped her up into a big bear hug and squeezed her tight. “Hello, there, gorgeous!”
She laughed and slapped him on the arm. “Put me down, Oscar.”
He did and grew serious when he took in her arm. “I heard you took a bullet for this guy.” He threw a thumb at me over his shoulder.
“Not for him. Just with him.”
“He let you get shot?”
I growled, but Oscar just grinned that psychotic smile that made me shiver. Sometimes I wondered if Oscar was a little unhinged. You’d have to be to love explosives the way he did.
“Just kidding. Touchy. Is he always such a baby?”
Jolie laughed, and I rolled my eyes at his antics. “Pretty much.” But she winked when she said it, so I knew she was teasing me.
“Stop hogging her, Oscar.” Cruz hip-checked Oscar as he hugged Jolie. “You okay?”
She nodded, and it hit me. We’d all come to love this woman in the last few months. She was one of us. Family. I’d tried for so long to keep her separate, as if she didn’t fit in with the team. But she was the heart of it. We all loved her.
I loved her.
What a fabulous time to realize that. I needed fresh air.
“I’ll be back.” I didn’t wait to answer questions but rushed outside to breathe in the swampy smells of Jacksonville. Wasn’t quite beachy, although you could still pick out the brine and saltwater in the air.
I heard the hotel door open and close. I knew it was her before she spoke.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“Want to talk about it?”
No. Yes. Dammit. I didn’t know what I wanted. Except that I wanted her. I loved her.
I whirled around, pressing her back against the hotel, caging her in with my arms. She didn’t look afraid. Surprised? Yes. But not afraid. Her chest was heaving, and desire sparked her bright-blue eyes, deepening them to a rich indigo. I couldn’t catch my breath. I wasn’t even sure what I was doing.
“Kiss me.” Her words were a command—one I wanted to obey. I shook my head.
Her hands reached up to cup my jaw, pinching slightly between her fingers.
“Kiss. Me.” And I couldn’t resist. My lips crushed down on hers with such hunger, such fervency, I scared myself. It was as if she was the air and I had no choice but to breathe her in.
With a growl, Jolie spun me around, my back now to the wall. She pressed herself tight against me, her lips moving down my neck to my collarbone. I jerked her lips back up to mine, holding her there. It was always like this with her. A fight for dominance. A refusal to give in. A struggle for control.
Another day, I’d let her win. But not today. My need for her was too great, the revelation of my feelings pounding in my ears.
I loved her. I loved her. I loved her.
I whispered her name. “Jolie.”
“I’m right here.”
Lifting her up, I hooked my arms under her legs as she wrapped them tight around me. Then I flipped her around so her back was against the wall again. I was in control. Of this, I would be master.
She moaned as my lips traveled down the sweet column of her throat, breathing in her heady scent, licking, nipping, kissing. Her hands snaked under my shirt, trailing her fingernails down my bare chest.
A car door slammed, and reality came crashing down on me.
We were outside. In a public place. And I was ravishing her as if we were alone in the hotel room. Oscar and Cruz were just on the other side of the wall. What was I thinking?
I wasn’t. I was feeling.
Jolie’s head met mine, and she kissed me lightly on the nose. Then she tapped my shoulder. Confused, I pulled back, until I realized I was still holding her.
“Sorry.” I mumbled the word, too embarrassed at having my wicked way with her in a public place.
She smiled and laid her hand on my cheek.
“Don’t be. I enjoyed it. It’s about time.”
Of course, Jolie would enjoy the public display. She never failed to surprise me.
“Look, Jolie—”
She held a hand up to stop me. “Please spare me the apologies and the regret, Ryder. I’m afraid my ego is a bit more frail than I let on. I get it. You lost control. You can’t do this.”
Jolie started to walk off, and I caught her arm.
“I’m not good for you.”
“Who says? You? Me?” She shook her head. “Don’t you think I get a say in what I think is good for me?”
“You don’t know what I’m capable of. You don’t understand where I come from.”
“So, tell me.”
I blew out a serrated breath and paced the sidewalk.
“My mother died in childbirth, and my father never recovered from her loss. Instead of grieving her properly, he bounced from one woman to the next. I had three stepmothers before I was eighteen. None ever stuck around. He drove them away with his needy antics and heavy drinking. He’d spew vile insults at them one day and beg for forgiveness the next. He was never violent. Not physically. But in his mind, none of them would ever compare to my mother.”
“I’m sorry.”
“After my first stepmother left, I thought it was me that was the problem. Maybe I was too hard to care for. Maybe if I was good enough, they’d stay.”
“Ryder…” I heard the intake of breath, saw her move closer, knew her sympathy and the comfort I so longed for was coming, but if I was going to get this out, I needed to just do it. I lifted my hand to stop her. She took a step back and nodded.
“But they never stayed. I know now that it wasn’t about me. I wasn’t the problem. He was. And then when Nina died, under my watch, my care, I knew it was a curse. Blake men weren’t meant for commitment. The people around them died or got hurt—even my mother succumbed to the Blake curse—whether physically or emotionally. We’re a bad bet.”
I shook my head, trying to tamp down the emotions that always threatened when I talked about my father or my childhood.
“My fourth stepmother lives with him in Vegas now. They’ve been married just over a year. He’s stopped drinking, so maybe it will stick. But I can’t help expecting a call any day now with the divorce announcement.”
“I’m sorry, Ryder. That’s more than any child should ever have to live with. But I still don’t understand why you think you’re bad for me?”
“Because everything I touch turns to ashes. I acted out in high school, hacking and fighting. Got my partner killed in the CIA. My friend killed just last week. I’m dangerous.”
Jolie laughed, and I eyed her dubiously. I wasn’t finding anything funny about the situation.
“I’m not trying to diminish what you feel. But that’s just BS, and you know it. You don’t want to take a chance on us because you’re scared, not because you’re bad for me. The things that happened with your father, those are his problems. Not yours. Nina’s death was tragic, but that was due to a mole in the CIA, not you. And Derrick’s death had to do with bad people who do bad things. None of these things is your fault.”
She stepped closer, leaning in as she did so. “Take a chance on us, Ryder. I promise you won’t regret it.”
She kissed me softly on the lips and turned to go back inside the hotel room.
I stood there for long moments, wondering, wishing, hoping.
Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time to take a chance.