Chapter Eight
RAYNE GRIPPED GRANT’S hand. Social media pages, threats, bragging. No way. “That’s ridiculous. Grant would never do something that stupid. He’d be leading the police right to his doorstep, not to mention the terrorists he’s run up against over his careers in the military and with Fortress.”
“We know,” Riley agreed. “Doesn’t mean the cops will believe he’s smart enough to stay off social media’s radar.”
Elias shook his head. “This will get ugly fast.”
“We need to get ahead of this,” Iona said.
Riley’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “I’m afraid it’s already too late for that.”
“Why?” Teagan asked.
“The Ardmore police have been contacted as a courtesy. Conner and Sanders will drive to Dante and Selena’s home this evening, search warrant in hand. With the way things have been going, I’m betting the search will reveal something else incriminating.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Grant muttered.
“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. I just report the findings.”
Andre shot Grant a warning look.
Huh. Rayne’s eyebrows rose. That was interesting.
Maybe something was developing between Andre and Riley.
Couldn’t happen to two nicer people. Riley needed someone in her life who understood that she got lost in her head when she was deep in a computer project and sometimes forgot to take care of herself as well as she should.
Elias settled deeper into his chair. “So, what now, Seth? We’re burning training hours.”
Echo’s team leader smiled.
Goosebumps surged across Rayne’s body. That was not the smile of a man thinking good thoughts. “Should have kept your mouth shut, Elias,” she muttered. “Now we’re really in for it.”
Teagan rolled her eyes. “We were in for it whether or not we said anything.”
“How do you know?”
“Did you forget I’m married to one of our training masterminds? I got a peek at the schedule last night.”
“And you didn’t tell the rest of us what to expect?” Riley teased. “My, how your loyalties have changed in the past few weeks.”
“What can I say? I’m madly in love with my husband. The rest of Artemis is running a close second, though.”
The conference room door opened, and Maddox strode inside, followed by Zane Murphy, the Fortress tech and communications guru, in his wheelchair. “Take a seat,” Maddox said. “We have a lot to cover.”
Rayne and the rest of the operatives in the conference room straightened and exchanged glances. Had something happened besides the early morning encounter with the police?
Zane zoomed across the room to the computer station and booted up the computer.
“What happened, sir?” Iona asked.
The corners of his lips curved upward. “You’re so sure something is wrong?”
“Is the sky blue? Spill it, sir.”
“Zane?”
“Ready.”
Maddox motioned for Zane to project information onto the oversize wall screen. Two pictures of a family of four popped onto the screen.
Rayne’s heart turned over in her chest as she studied the two children in the first photo.
A young boy and girl smiled for the camera, their expressions filled with happiness.
Behind them, their parents mugged for the photographer, their hands resting on the shoulders of their children.
A photo of a moment when everything was normal and their family was happy.
The second photo showed the same four people. This time, however, their expressions were bleak, bruises and injuries showing on all four of them. Their clothes were torn and stained, and their hair matted. What gutted Rayne the most was the hopelessness in the eyes of the kids.
Silence filled the room. A glance at the other operatives, though, revealed growing fury.
“The timeline for your mission moved up as of ten minutes ago.” Maddox dropped into a chair at the head of the conference table. “Los Lobos is threatening to kill Sean and Tara White and sell the children.”
“Deadline?” Seth asked, narrowed eyes glittering.
“Forty-eight hours.”
Iona scowled. “That’s not a lot of time to plan a mission of this size.”
“It’s what you have. Deal with it.”
“We’re down two members,” Teagan reminded him. “We’ll need a medic at least since ours is on her honeymoon along with medical leave.”
“Jake Davenport volunteered to go to Nicaragua with you.”
Rayne breathed easier. Jake was a great medic and operative. He would definitely be an asset in the field, just as Violet was. Jake wasn’t as skilled in knife work as Vi, but he more than made up for that slight difference with his other qualities and skills.
“When do we leave?” Seth asked.
“The jet will be ready to go wheels up in two hours.”
Rayne glanced at Grant.
His expression was bleak. He sighed. “I don’t believe the Hartman detectives will allow us to leave the country, sir.”
“I took care of that. Conner and Sanders should have received a phone call from the police chief by now informing them of your deployment.”
“How did you persuade the police to cooperate?”
A slight smile curved Maddox’s lips. “I called in a favor.”
“Must have been some favor.”
“The president owes me. After all, he’s the one who specifically requested your teams for this assignment.”
President? Rayne stared at their boss. He’d requested William Martin, President of the United States, drop everything and call the police chief of Hartman?
Seth chuckled. “Well played, sir.”
Maddox shrugged. “I won’t let the Whites die when I have a way to push this mission back on track despite the cartel’s games.”
“What about a ransom payment?” Elias asked. “Is it possible to tell Los Lobos that money is on its way to them as a show of good faith?”
“Why? It’s a well-known fact the US doesn’t negotiate with terrorists,” Andre said.
“Besides, the cartel doesn’t want money.
They want their leader released from federal custody.
Martin would be a fool to agree to that term.
Aguado is the worst human trafficker in the Southern Hemisphere.
Those kids are exactly the age he likes to test them out for himself, then sell them. ”
Rayne’s stomach twisted, nausea bubbling fast and furious.
She shoved back from the table, leaped to her feet, and ran to the women’s restroom.
Inside, Rayne barely made it into a stall before throwing up everything in her stomach.
When the worst was over, she staggered from the stall, rinsed her mouth, then leaned against the closest wall, and slid to the floor of the pristine bathroom.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping onto her clenched hands. What was wrong with her? She’d been deployed on missions with Artemis that were like this one. Why was this situation more devastating than the other horrible operations?
After the storm of tears passed long minutes later, Rayne’s emotions had settled enough for her to think clearly again.
Her confrontation with the Hartman detectives must have brought memories and emotions back to the surface where they would linger until she had time to shore up the barrier in her mind where she locked away images and feelings of betrayal and devastation from that long ago night when her life forever changed.
Rayne climbed to her feet, splashed cold water on her face, and peered into the mirror over the sink.
She sighed. Hopeless. No way to hide that she’d been crying.
It wouldn’t be the first time her teammates had seen her break down.
She squared her shoulders and prepared herself to face Maddox’s wrath. Her boss wouldn’t be happy with her.
Opening the door, she stepped into the hallway and came to an abrupt stop.
Grant straightened from the wall, looked at her face for a moment, then opened his arms without a word.
Rayne rushed into his embrace, feeling the last of the sadness and tension leave when his arms closed around her and tucked her against his chest. This is what she’d needed to finish getting her head on straight.
She inched closer, letting him take most of her body weight and absorbing his comfort and heat. That was one thing she could always count on from Grant Bowen. Heat. For a woman who was perpetually cold, Grant was the best gift ever.
After a while, Grant released Rayne to cup her face between his palms. “You okay?” he asked, voice soft.
“I am now. How long were you standing out here in the hall?”
“I followed you out. Although you needed time to yourself, I wanted to be close in case you needed me.”
Rayne’s eyes filled with tears again. At this rate, Grant might rethink getting involved with her. Some men couldn’t handle a woman’s tears. Grant, though, looked like he could deal with emotional storms. “This is what I need.” The tears spilled down her cheeks.
Grant wiped them away with his thumbs. “Can’t let you cry for long, babe. I’ll have my teammates and other single operatives all over the compound wondering what I did to make you cry, then lining up to make me pay.”
She laughed.
“Got a feeling we’ll be banged up when we return from Nicaragua. I’d rather not start this mission with injuries, if you don’t mind.”
“Right. I’ll get right on that.”
His gaze dropped from her eyes to her mouth.
Grant drew in a deep breath. “You don’t know how badly I want to kiss you right now, but we need to get back to the conference room.
Maddox has been sending me bad-tempered texts for the past 15 minutes, telling me to report to the conference room for the rest of the briefing. ”
Oh, boy. “What did you say?”
“Nothing. I’ve been ignoring his summons. I wanted you to have the time you needed.”
Not good. Maddox would not be happy. “We'd better go.” She stepped out of his hold and walked down the hall with him. “Rain check on the kiss?”
“Deal.” Grant wrapped his hand around hers and squeezed gently.
When they reached the conference room, he stepped inside first, giving Rayne a few more seconds to shore up her defenses before facing Maddox and the others in the room. She appreciated his kindness.