Chapter Thirty-Two #2
Caleb fired. Then surged forward, yanking Gia to him as Juan crumpled on the stairs.
“You’re oka y, baby, you’re okay,” he murmured as she sobbed against his chest.
His body shook. His heart hammered. “I love you.”
He held her too tight, but he couldn’t let go. Not yet. Not ever.
Four men in tactical gear stormed into the hangar, long guns raised
“FBI! Weapons down!” The lead agent—burly, with close cropped black hair and a military bearing—barked the command.
Caleb instantly shielded Gia.
“Weapons down, lads,” Lachlan said quietly to the Dìleas team, making sure the order didn’t carry to the Feds.
Caleb released Gia, moving to comply, then froze.
Movement at the plane’s doorway.
Ramón .
He glanced at his son’s body, then at Caleb.
No rage. No grief. Just cold calculation.
The boarding stairs began to retract, Juan’s body tumbling onto the concrete.
Caleb held Ramón’s stare until the closing door hid him from view.
The plane’s engines revved. It rolled forward. Agents scattered from its path.
Hell no .
Ramón Lopez was not getting away.
Caleb grabbed Gia’s hand and strode to the team leader.
The man pulled out a wallet from his tactical vest and flipped it open to show his ID. “FBI Special Agent Terrell Walton—Assistant Director Caldwell sent me.”
Lachlan leaned toward Caleb and murmured, “Former Special Forces. Served under Lucas’s command back in the day.”
“Ramón Lopez is on that plane— El Víbora’s brother,” Caleb said. “He ordered his nephew’s murder.”
Walton’s eyes flickered in surprise. “How many on board?”
“Ramón.” Caleb recalled the shadowed movement at the cabin door. “At least one other.” He looked to Gia, who trembled, skin cool, eyes unfocused.
“Gia, baby.” He brushed a knuckle down her cheek. “Did you see anyone else?”
“Pink Hat,” she murmured, then straightened. “Emilio. The younger one who tried to take me from Lucero’s.” Her voice steadied. “Two pilots. No one else.”
Walton relayed the information to his team and snapped out orders. “Keep that plane from the runway!” He surveyed the carnage inside the hangar. “Jesus.”
Police vehicles flooded the tarmac, strobes flashing red and blue. An armored SWAT vehicle rolled in behind them.
“One of the dead men is Vincente Lopez Garcia,” Caleb added, tucking Gia closer. “He kidnapped a Navajo Nation tribal member to trade for Doctor Barone. When that failed, he took Doctor Barone at gunpoint, intending to fly her to Mexico.”
He didn’t mention the two cartel soldiers left behind at Old Joe’s place. No need to answer questions they didn’t want asked.
“So the guy Lucas Caldwell had an arrest warrant for is in there.” Walton exhaled sharply, hands braced on hips. “Jesus,” he muttered again, shaking his head.
Lachlan extended a hand to Gia. “Doctor Barone, Lachlan Mackay. 'Tis a pleasure to meet you. Pity it’s under these circumstances.”
“Nice to meet you.” Gia offered a tired smile. “You’re Scottish.” Pink bloomed on her cheeks. She rubbed her forehead with a sigh. “I guess you know that.”
“Aye.” Lachlan grinned. He and Caleb exchanged a look.
Nathan appeared out of the dark, his rifle and backpack conspicuously absent. He joined Ryder and Danny as SWAT surrounded the plane.
“We’ve got them boxed in,” Walton said.
He turned to Gia, his tone softening. “Doctor Barone, I know you’ve been through hell. My vehicle’s right here if you need a breather.” He gestured to the dark blue, government issued SUV beside the hangar.
“Thank you, but I’ll stay with Caleb.” Gia glanced toward the hanger. Shuddered. “I’m not going back in there.”
The agent cast a pointed stare at Lachlan and Caleb, his voice sharpening. “You gentlemen can take a seat somewhere out of the way. You’ve had enough excitement for one night.”
Gia, Caleb, and the Dìleas team watched as the standoff dragged on.
Finally, the plane’s door opened. Ramón emerged first, head high. Even from a distance, Caleb could see the arrogance in his posture.
Unapologetic. Untouchable.
He wouldn’t stay that way. Not when Diego Lopez learned who orchestrated his son’s death.
Emilio followed, then the pilots.
Walton returned after Ramón and the others were cuffed and led away. Disgust pulled his features tight. “The bastard’s son is dead, and all he said was to call his lawyer. Cold son of a bitch.”
Caleb checked his watch. Nine p.m. “Gia needs rest. We’ll get a hotel and give our statements in the morning.”
Walton shook his head. “Doctor Barone’s coming with me to Phoenix. Tonight. Assistant Director Caldwell and DEA agents from Miami want to question her first thing in the morning about the missing agent. She’s a material witness.”
“Am I under arrest?” Gia asked, her voice monotone.
Caleb tightened his grip on her hand.
“No,” Walton said. His voice softened. “But you may want a lawyer.”
“I’m going with her.”
Caleb had just gotten her back. He wasn’t letting her go.
Walton glanced at the hangar, now bustling with crime scene techs. “You all are coming with me.”
He turned to glare at the men from Dìleas. “There’s five body bags being loaded into the medical investigator’s van. You have some explaining to do.”
Lachlan sighed. “I’d better call Sophia in case we need a lawyer, too.”
“Shit,” Nathan muttered. “Emily’s going to kill me if I end up in jail and screw up this wedding.”
“Never mind Emily,” Ryder added. “Admiral Dane is the one you need to worry about.”
Caleb tuned them out. He feathered his lips over Gia’s ear. “Are you ready?”
If only there was somewhere quiet he could take her.
Just to hold her. Feel her heartbeat against his bare skin.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Gia stepped back, smoothed her jeans, and squared her shoulders. “If I’m going to have a life again, I have to stop running. No more secrets. Mine or Vincente’s.”
“You’ll get your life back sweetheart, I promise.”
One way or another, it was a promise Caleb intended to keep.