91. Thea
Chapter 91
Thea
D elta Team is split into seven squads. Squads one and two are assigned to the west coast. Squad three and four cover the east coast, and the rest are stationed in Europe, Asia and Canada. Andrew, the team leader for squad two, is standing in the doorway of the warehouse they’re using as a temporary base of operations.
“Really?” He says as Finn and Holden are carried inside. Now that we’re here, I’m realizing this might have been a bit of an extreme reaction on my part, but they’re loyal league members with a lifelong relationship with Malcolm. I can’t risk news of my extra-curricular activities getting back to him.
They deposit the guys in the waiting area while I go off to find the person in charge of both west coast teams. Terrance is in the office he’s using as a communications room. “Glad you’re here.” He says, “That saves me from having to send someone to get you.”
“What do you mean, send someone? This town is crawling with Phoenix agents. All I need to do is flash a nipple and they’ll come running to cover me up.”
“Do not test that theory. The agents watching out for you are good people. They deserve to keep their jobs.”
“Alexz won’t fire them for that.”
“No, but your boyfriends might pluck out their eyes, which would make them physically unqualified for field work.” He signs off on the document in front of him, then says, “Now would you care to explain why I have Canyon Falls’ favorite sons in my holding area?”
“Me? I was hoping you could explain what they were doing in Connecticut.”
People will want an explanation about my being here too, since there’s an airline ticket and hotel reservation that says I’m on the beaches of Puerto Rico with Sasha. According to the pictures Sasha is posting on my social media account, the fake me is having the time of her life.
Did I screw up somehow? No. The only people who knew about this trip are Delta Team and Wolfe. I side eye Andrew through the door. Maybe his squad was running their mouths and Finn and Holden overheard? I shake my head. No. It’s possible, but highly unlikely. Nobody would be talking out in public and risk having to face Alexz over a security breach. I sigh as the most obvious answer comes to me.
“We’re talking about Finley Jefferson Rhodes, the Third, and Holden Sullivan. One guy stalks me, the other loves violence. They probably followed me and justified in their twisted little minds that we were on some kind of date.”
Terrance asks, “Did you at least get what we needed before you pulled the plug?”
“I think so. We were finishing up when he came through the door. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to leave him passed out on the floor.”
“You did the right thing. I’ll call Kendall and see how he wants to handle this.”
Backing away towards the door, I say, “Okay, I’ll leave you to it.”
“Oh no, snowflake.” He crooks his finger, motioning for me to come back over to the desk. “Being part of this organization isn’t all about fun, theft, and fighting. This is your mess. You’re gonna sit in on this phone call and listen to what he wants us to do to clean it up.”
The theft and fighting are the best parts. I’m not built for admin work. That’s why Sasha is such a good partner. She loves spreadsheets and charts. Dropping down into a chair, I grouse, “Don’t call me snowflake.”
Finn
I’m dreaming. It’s the hottest dream ever, of a sexy woman decked out in black with blue eyes, knocking me to the ground, then climbing on top of me to do wicked, filthy things to my body with my blade held to my throat. There’s a whirring sound and a hiss that sounds like steam, cutting into my dream, and the sound of my name goes from a throaty warm feminine tone to gruff gravel. I go to roll over to get more comfortable, but I don’t have use of my arms. My eyes pop open. I’m not in a fluffy bed of silk. I’m on my side, face smashed to the floor.
“Good, you’re finally awake.” Pax says from somewhere behind me.
I wiggle my wrists, feeling that they’re bound together behind me. I work my hands along the rope, searching for the knot. It takes a while and my wrists are rubbed raw, but I finally slip my hand free and gingerly push myself to a sitting position, massaging the tender flesh of my wrists, trying to restart the circulation in my hands, as I look around the space. Pax is now in front of me, his hands zip tied behind his back. Holden is slumped over on my left. Whatever they gave me, they must’ve doubled the dose for him.
Looking over at Pax, I say, “His insomnia’s been bad this week. I hate to wake him.”
He answers, “He’ll hate being this vulnerable in a strange place even more.”
Pax calls Holden’s name. Keeping a healthy distance from him, I use my feet to jostle his leg. He finally wakes, wincing as he realizes his hands are tied. I walk over to free his ropes, then coil it around my hand. Both of the ropes swung together will make a decent weapon in a pinch. Upon closer inspection, I see Pax’s zip ties are more like polycarbon handcuffs. Those are gonna be a little harder to help him break out of.
“Any ideas where we are?” Holden asks.
Looking through the window of the room we’re in, I respond, “A warehouse.” I can make out two people in the middle of the warehouse floor. One of them looks up and jerks his chin. The second guy turns to look at me as well before they both head our way. “And we’re about to have company.”
When they enter the room, neither of them comment on the fact that Holden and I have our hands free. “Let’s go.”
This is the second time I’ve been drugged and transported somewhere. I’m really getting sick of this shit. Sizing them up, I determine we can take them, even with Pax’s hands cuffed behind his back. They both chuckle and the one who spoke says, “I wouldn’t try that if I were you. Things will go from friendly to antagonistic and I’m not so sure you want that to be the nature of our relationship going forward.”
Is he mocking us? Out there might be more things we can use as weapons. There’s definitely a door. I like our chances better with more space to move around. I look over at my friends and we silently agree to go with them.
Once we’re on the first floor, I search for the exits. Over by the huge roll-up door is a group of men dressed like the ones leading us through the warehouse. In the middle of that group is a head of red streaked hair. Its owner turns at the sound of our footsteps. Violet eyes clash into mine. I thought I imagined Thea at the hospital after I was hit from behind. But she’s here. Okay, first things first. We need to get her away from them.
“Thea.” Pax steps towards her, clearly thinking the same thing I am. She turns to the guy standing next to her. “Really?” She throws her hands up, in a what the fuck gesture. “You grabbed him ?”
The guy says, “Better safe than sorry.”
“If you wanted to feel safe, Finn and Holden should be zip tied too.” My head glitches. Why is she chastising them like they’re naughty first graders that started a food fight?
“Safe for you, Thea.” The guy explains. “The other two seem to have slipped their ropes, which the skinny one has hidden in his pockets, and given who the big one’s father is, we used cuffs, because we’re not giving him a chance to get his hands on you. If he tries, he’ll be taking a nice, long nap.”
He smiles. Is that what I look like when I’m about to cut someone? The guy goes on to say, “I’ve been dying to see the new subcutaneous implant in action. I finally got the go ahead with this one.”
Thea rolls her eyes at him, a clear warning in her voice when she says, “ Do not push that button.”
His smile grows wider. “Who says I have the button?”
I’ve had enough of their friendly banter, and Pax has, too. “Who the fuck are you people?” He growls, taking a step toward them. The group shifts with military precision, forming a barrier between Thea and us, guns raised.
I hear myself saying, “Get away from her.” I realize she’s not in any danger, but my mind is having trouble understanding why she’s over there with them and not standing next to me. “Thea, come over here.”
The guy who seems to be in charge says, “She’ll stay right where she is.”
He thinks I care that they’re armed? They’re waving guns around with my girl standing right there. That makes them the threat. I take a step toward them. The one with the smile is still smiling.
“Yes, please do. Fiiinnn-ley.” He lowers his gun and hands it to the guy standing next to him. “I’ll even make it a fair fight.” He says, pulling out two knives and offering one to me.
“Put that away,” Thea orders, pressing through the bodies. “There’s no need to break out the hand-to-hand combat skills.” She glances over at us. “Right now.”
Smiley is unperturbed by her rebuke. “But I think it’ll be the perfect ice breaker, don’t you?”
Faster than I can blink, she has her knife to his junk. “You’ll need some ice on this if you don’t stop swinging it around. Still want me to break it?”
He barks out a laugh. “No ma’am. I like it just the way it is.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m told the girls are quite fond of it.”
“That they are. But you shouldn’t listen to rumors. It’s alway better to find out things for yourself.”
Is this fucker flirting with my girl? I’m moving closer, and even though she’s not looking at me, Thea says. “Stop moving, you two. These men won’t hesitate to put a bullet in you.”
On my left, I see Pax has moved closer to the group as well. Holden is in the same spot. I know it’s not because he doesn’t care that these guys are so close to our girl, or that one is acting like some lovesick twat over her. He hasn’t moved because he’s not letting his emotions get the best of him. Which means he’s seen something I’m not seeing.
I take a moment to reassess the situation in front of me. Thea has moved to the front of the group, but the men are still in a formation around her. The two guys on her left and right can shift center, boxing her in again, and the one in the back has a straightforward path to the door. Their guns are still out and still trained on us, and Thea looks. Tense.
I step back towards Holden and her gaze swings to Pax. Shit. The guy said he was tied up with cuffs because of who his dad is. He’s the one they think is the biggest threat to Thea, and judging by her body language, right now she agrees.
“Pax.” I call, trying to get his attention. “Pax. Move back.”
“I’m good where I’m at.”
“This is not about you winning a pissing contest. Move the fuck. Back.”
He stiffens. Then shifts his head to look at me. I nod subtly towards Thea. His posture relaxes and then he moves back to our starting point. Thea’s body relaxes a little more with each step. Her guard is still up, but she’s better able to hide it now.
I try to smooth things over and say, “I think we got off on the wrong foot with the introductions.”
The guy who came to get us out of the room snorts, “I warned you.”
“You did. I didn’t care. Now, I do. So how about you tell us why we’re here?”
Someone steps from behind a pile of crates and says, “You’re here because we caught you breaking into Rock Mountain Rehab.”
Smiley adds, “And because we couldn’t all agree on whether or not to kill you. I voted no, for the record, but little ma’am here was leaning towards… yes ?”
“Shut up.” Thea hisses, elbowing him in the stomach.
“Who are you guys?” Holden asks, bringing us back on topic.
“We’re her, bodyguards.” The first guy answers, taking a step towards Thea like he thinks his answer might cause one of us to attack.
“Why does she-” I bite back the rest of the very stupid question I was about to ask, and take another look at the group, who still haven’t lowered their weapons. “We’re not a threat to Thea.”
The guy over by the crates grunts, “Only an idiot would believe that.”
Thea shrugs at me. “And they’re not idiots, Finn. I haven’t been safe around any of you since the moment I stepped foot on campus.”
“I can’t argue with that, but I really want to.” I give her a dazzling smile. “We’re not a threat today, so would you mind telling your band of GI Joes to lower their guns?”
She sounds incredulous when she asks, “You just want me to do it because you smile nicely?”
“The smile not working? Fine. What’ll it cost me?”
Her response is swift and matter of fact. “Answers.”
“I’m an open book to you, Pet. You know that.”
“Really? Then tell me, what the hell you were doing in Connecticut.”
I smile again. She’s gonna love me so much. “We were looking for your mother.”
The heart eyes I expected to see don’t materialize. Instead, the hands holding the guns flick the safety off as she asks, “For the league?”
My smile slips. “No, Pet. Never. We were looking for information on her to give to you.”
Pax, asks, “Why would you think the league would send them to Connecticut?”
Her lips twist into a sarcastic smirk. “You should probably ask your daddy about that. He’s the one who likes locking women up in league psychiatric facilities.”
Pax turns to me for answers, and I explain, “We were at Rock Mountain Rehabilitation and Treatment Facility in Connecticut. We think it’s a league run facility like Rockridge.”