Chapter Sixteen
I t took almost three hours to reach San Diego. The moment Corey’s boots hit the tarmac, he let out a relieved sigh. Lex assured them his old warbird was in perfect condition, but the damn thing was older than the hills.
He glanced over at the logo painted on the plane’s side— Wildlife Conservation & Rescue.
Of course, it was just a front. A deterrent that kept nosy people from asking too many questions, especially when they landed in rural areas in the middle of nowhere. It was also a kickass nod to The Expendables , one of the Motley Crew’s favorite movies.
During the flight, they’d gone over several potential plans of attack, and settled on a stealth op once it got dark.
Finding proof that Joel Largemont was in league with the Lazaro Cartel would bring his ass down fast and hard.
The murder of his business partner would make sure the key to his cell disappeared forever. Then Sera would be safe.
They had a couple of hours to kill before sunset, so they decided to grab some grub at a little restaurant just off Main Street on Coronado Island.
Charlie’s Place was a newer joint and hopping, but they managed to combine two tables to accommodate them all.
A pretty woman with wavy blonde hair and a nametag that read Savannah took their orders then bustled away.
Of course, Lex was the first to comment. “Do you think she likes older men?”
Everyone answered at once with a resounding, “No!”
“Don’t harass the help, Battle,” Brand said and dropped his straw into his glass. “She looks busy and, in case you’ve forgotten, so are you. We have an op to focus on.”
“I always have time to focus on beautiful women,” Lex said smoothly. “And we’ve gone over the plan a thousand times.”
“Hardly,” Brand grumbled.
They fell into their usual banter, and despite the place being slammed, their burgers arrived in a timely fashion and hit the spot.
No one teased Corey about Sera, so he was able to eat in peace.
Instead, they bombarded Jayson with more questions about his new neighbor, Sabrina, but he claimed he didn’t know anything. Corey didn’t quite believe him.
“I wish this place would’ve been around when we were here,” Wes said, wiping his mouth with his napkin.
“Yeah, definitely,” Corey agreed.
When the bill arrived, Brand pulled out the credit card provided by Mitch and studied the tableside reader a minute too long. Of course, Lex pounced.
“Tap it, Grandpaw.”
Brand frowned then touched the card to the reader. “I know. Maybe I was wondering if we should install these at O.G.”
“Yeah, right,” Chaz said with a laugh. “Don’t act like you knew what to do because Lottie had to show me when we went out to dinner a few weeks ago.”
“You guys are relentless,” Brand grumbled. “Technology changes every damn day. It’s impossible to keep up.”
Once he got a receipt, they returned to the SUV parked on the street. The sun had set and Corey paused to look out past the beach.
A part of him missed the ocean. Cielo Springs had mountains and wilderness, but something about the vast expanse of water centered him. There was a certain woman waiting back in Montana who seemed to have that same effect on him.
A hand clamped over his shoulder, and he turned to see Wes.
“You okay?” Wes asked.
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
He scrubbed a hand over his beard. “Thinking about shaving this thing off.”
“Really? Any particular reason why you’d get rid of the Mane Attraction?”
Wes could read him well, so there was no point in bullshitting his best friend. “I like her,” Corey murmured, voice low and thoughtful, watching the dark waves hit the shoreline. “A lot.”
“I’m happy for you, buddy.” He squeezed Corey’s shoulder then dropped his hand. “When you find the right woman, it changes your world.”
“I barely know her, but…” He sighed. “Seeing what you and Ellie have…Brand and Julia…hell, now even Chaz… You guys fucking glow, Murph. I never thought I deserved to find someone, especially after failing Cassidy.”
“Cassidy wasn’t a relationship, Cor,” Wes said in a quiet voice.
“No, but I made a promise I didn’t keep.”
“It was a bad situation, but you can’t keep punishing yourself over it. You deserve to be happy.”
“I know, but it’s so goddamn hard. She’d still be alive if—”
“Corey,” Wes interrupted, voice stern, “I know better than anyone how fragile life is, and losing people reminds us it’s also fleeting.
A life can be taken in an instant, and that’s fucking terrifying.
But that’s also what makes it so precious.
Each breath is a gift, man. You can’t let loss steal the beauty of living away from you. ”
Although he’d heard these words before, this time they hit differently. And they filled him with something he thought he’d lost a long time ago—beautiful, simple, quiet hope.
“You’re a wise, old man, Murph, you know that?”
Wes shook his head and grinned. “Get in the car, loverboy.”
They bumped knuckles, and as Corey opened the back door, Wes added, “You’re not that far behind me, Emerson.”
“Yeah, maybe, but you’ll always be older than me.”
Wes groaned at the reminder, and Corey chuckled.
It felt good to joke around and release some of the guilt that had been trying to suffocate him for the longest time.
He had one very lovely woman to thank for that.
And he planned to show his gratitude with multiple orgasms the moment he got back home.
◆◆◆
At exactly midnight, the Motley Crew went into action.
Wes stayed in the SUV, monitoring the situation from his laptop and staying alert for a quick exfil.
Once he scrambled the security cams, Corey released his drone which Wes would run to keep an extra eye in the sky for tangos.
Inserting comms into their ears, they split up.
Corey, Lex and Xander headed down to the water, while Brand, Jayson and Chaz infiltrated the warehouse.
They were there for proof, and Corey wasn’t leaving until they found it. After terrorizing Sera, murdering his associate and possibly working with the Lazaro Cartel, Joel Largemont was going down. Corey would make sure of it.
Creeping down to the waterfront, but staying out of sight, Corey, Lex and Xander hunkered down behind a boulder a good distance away from the action.
Through their night vision goggles, they watched the workers loading and unloading cartons and pallets.
There was more hustle and bustle than he would’ve expected at this late hour, making getting closer more of a challenge.
“Well, shit,” Lex finally grumbled. “Any idea how we’re supposed to get over there without being seen?”
Xander looked at Corey. “Frogman?”
Looks like he was about to get wet. “I’ve got my fins,” Corey said. “It was sort of a last resort. I don’t suppose you two want to join me?”
“Hell no,” Xander said, eyeing the black ocean. “Sharks are in there.”
“You are correct. Sharks do live in the ocean, Hawke.” Corey chuckled, not at all concerned about running, or swimming, into one. He pulled off his NVGs and unclipped the fins from his gear bag.
“I might’ve been in the Navy,” Lex said, “but I avoided the water. My job is to fly, yours is to swim. Go get ‘em, Cor. We’ll hold down the fort here.”
Corey rolled his eyes, but he was prepared to be the only one possibly going for a swim tonight.
Of course, Wes could, too, and he usually jumped at any opportunity to don his prosthetic fin which helped him navigate through the water.
But since he was currently monitoring the tech, the honor of swimming in the deep, cold, pitch-black Pacific Ocean belonged to Corey.
Pushing up from his crouched position, knees creaking in protest, Corey reached back and pulled his shirt off. He was already wearing his swimming trunks, and he shucked his boots and cargo pants.
“Ouch,” Lex commented. “Might need some Glucosamine for those old joints.”
“Is there a button on you somewhere?” Xander asked. “To turn off the commentary?”
Lex sent him a big, pearly-white smile. “No, but I’m glad to hear you appreciate my natural wit and charm.”
Xander stifled a groan, and Corey grabbed his small, waterproof backpack, pulling it on. Reaching for his fins, he quickly calculated the best way over to the docks.
“Behave, boys,” Corey said, checking his large watch. “If I’m not back in thirty minutes, a shark probably ate me.”
“Fuck, don’t say that.” Xander visibly shivered, and Corey laughed softly before jogging away into the darkness.
He wasn’t afraid of encountering an apex predator unless you counted the men roaming back and forth on the docks.
“Going radio silent,” Corey said into his comms unit. Although it was waterproof and he’d keep it in his ear, he wasn’t planning on communicating unless there was an emergency. “Get a warm towel ready for me, Murph. I’m about to get a really up close look at the docks.”
Wes chuckled in his ear. “Enjoy your swim, CD.”
The old nickname made him pause on the shoreline. No one had called him that in a very long time, but strangely enough, he found it bolstering, not triggering.
Stepping into the surf, he pulled his face mask down then wrapped his mouth around the snorkel’s mouthpiece, breathing in and out a few times. Once he’d verified the valve was clear, he waded out a little deeper before diving into a wave and disappearing beneath the surface.
The water was cold, but he’d learned fast as a SEAL there wasn’t time to get used to it. Best to just jump in and forget about it. It was strange not to have a swim buddy, but it wasn’t a luxury they could afford at the moment. And he had a job to do.
He swam further out then turned and began to swim parallel to the shoreline.
Although focused on the op, his mind returned to what Wes had said, particularly how you can’t let loss steal the beauty of living away from you.
And Corey wanted to fucking live. When he thought about Sera back in Cielo Springs, waiting for him to return, a surge of adrenaline filled him. He couldn’t wait to get back to her.
Powering through the waves, Corey headed straight for the shadow of a large boat.
He’d use it as cover as he snuck around, trying to garner intel.
Treading water, he laid a hand against its barnacled side, spit his mouthpiece out, lifted his face mask onto his forehead and smiled to himself.
He’d handled that swim like he was still a twenty-something frog fresh out of SQT.
He mock-polished his chest where a shiny Trident pin would have been. Fuck yeah.
Moving along the boat’s stern, he paused at the corner and got eyes on the dock. It seemed slightly quieter than earlier, which worked in his favor. Once the coast was clear, he swam over to the next vessel.
Corey unclipped the tiny, waterproof camera from his belt and began snapping pictures.
He made sure to get the names of the boats and any identification or registration numbers painted on their hulls, as well as their flags or ports of registry.
He also took some covert shots of crew members.
Maybe something would pan out and help the CIA.
Then he struck gold.
A submarine surfaced at the end of the dock, water spilling down its sides. Holy shit. Mitch had mentioned narco subs. Guess he knew what he was talking about. Staying out of sight, Corey waited. After a minute, the hatch opened and four men crawled out.
At the sub’s arrival, several dock workers hustled over to secure it.
The men on board walked away, speaking rapidly in Spanish.
Straining to hear, Corey dared to swim closer and snapped more pictures.
His Spanish was rusty, but a few key words jumped out at him—weapons, Lazaro Cartel and the Villarreals.
After checking his watch, he decided he’d better swim back to Lex and Xander before his thirty minutes was up. He’d gotten what they’d come for, and more. Pulling his face mask back down and clearing his valve, he dove below the surface and swam away from the docks.
As he sluiced through the cold water, he realized this mission to help Sera was reinvigorating him. Giving him new life and reason. Purpose flowed through his body, and he couldn’t wait to get back to the woman who’d helped him come alive again in more ways than one.
Once he reached the shore, he gleefully shook the water off himself like a happy Golden Retriever fresh from a much-loved swim. Jogging back over to where he left Lex and Xander, he grinned like a fool at absolutely nothing as he dropped his gear onto the sand.
“I’m guessing it went well,” Xander commented.
“Sure did.”
Lex stood up and tossed Corey’s clothes at him. “What’s with the shit-eating grin, Emerson? You just fuck a mermaid or something?”
Or something, Corey thought, on a high from the mission and knowing he’d be back with Sera soon. “I got some good pictures to send Mitch. And it felt good getting back in the water. Any word from the others?”
As if in answer, Brand’s voice filled his earpiece. “We got what we were looking for, and more,” he said. “Head back to the SUV.”
“Roger that,” Lex said.
As they hiked back to the waiting car, Corey told them about the narco sub surfacing.
Because what the hell else could it be? Xander tensed, looking back over his shoulder, and for a moment, Corey thought he was going to turn around.
But he kept walking, and it didn’t take long to reach the SUV.
Wes tossed Corey a towel. He thanked him and rubbed it over his head, face and arms.
“How was your swim?” Wes asked.
“Enlightening,” Corey answered, and Wes clapped him on the back.
Once they were all seated inside the vehicle, Jayson started it up and turned them toward the airport.
“We used the P.O. numbers Sera provided and found the ‘missing’ cartons,” Brand said. “They’re filled with weapons, waiting to be shipped out.”
“And the sub just docked,” Corey added, glad Sera had snapped a picture of the purchase order numbers.
“We’ll forward all intel to Mitch. Good job, guys.”
“Then the CIA can nail their asses,” Chaz said.
Mission accomplished. Corey and his team had gotten the proof they needed, and now he was on his way back to Sera. He couldn’t have been happier.
So why was there a little nagging voice in his head telling him it wasn’t quite over yet?