Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NIALL
It’s taking everything in me not to stop this.
They haven’t gotten her out of the building yet. If we move in now, we’ll take the two men down easily. I can have Jade in my arms in less than five minutes.
She’ll be back at Blade and Arrow before she wakes up from the sedatives. She’ll be safe. Not tied up, draped over her abductor’s shoulder, not being touched by two black-clothed strangers.
Fuck .
It was already terrible watching Jade before they got to her apartment.
Seeing her pale face, the lines of worry etched across her forehead, her hands shaking as she rearranged those books in an attempt to stay calm. Knowing how damn scared she was and not being able to comfort her the way I wanted to.
I wanted so badly to go to her. To hold her until she stopped trembling. To bring her home and cuddle up on the couch together and maybe later, we could talk more about getting naked.
When she got into bed, I was so close . My hand was actually on the door handle and I was seconds from leaping from the SUV and running up to Jade’s apartment. Arguments were bouncing around in my head—all the reasons I would tell Jade why she shouldn’t go through with this.
It’s too dangerous. No plan is one-hundred percent certain. I can’t watch you use yourself as bait. I can’t stand back as the woman I’m falling in love with allows herself to be taken.
But then I remembered what Jade said to me back at B and A. She trusts me.
Not just to keep her safe, but to respect her wishes. Even though it’s killing me.
Jade alone in her apartment was bad enough, but then?—
I’ve seen a lot of awful things in my life. But watching on Matt’s laptop as Jade was grabbed, pinned down, threatened… Hearing her pulse rocket to double speed on the heart rate monitor, and as the sedatives took hold and she went limp…
It was torture. Every muscle was screaming at me to move. To sprint up there. To get Jade away from them.
My Jade. Helpless. Unconscious. At the mercy of two men who could hurt her.
We’re close by—parked just two rows from the entrance of the apartment building—but it’s still not close enough. Not to get to her immediately. If either of the men tries anything…
Shit.
Why did I agree to this?
Fuck.
This was a terrible idea.
Matt hacked into all the surveillance cameras in the building; he swears he can see everything, but what if there’s a blind spot he didn’t notice?
The fear expands inside me until it’s hard to breathe. My heart is pounding in punishing blows. Air whistles through a constricting throat.
Fuck.
This fear is different from anything I’ve felt before.
All the things I’ve done as a Ranger and a Green Beret, all the treacherous missions, times when I wasn’t sure I would make it—but this, this is worse.
“I don’t like this.” As Dante turns in the front seat to look at me, I bite out, “They’re taking too long. I don’t like it. Maybe we should abort the mission.”
In the dim of the SUV, Dante’s eyes flash with sympathy. “Is that what you want?”
“Yes.” But this is what Jade wants. Didn’t I tell her it would be safe? If we can end this for her tonight… My jaw clenches. “Fuck. No. Just?—”
“They’re coming out.” Matthew’s voice is calm, but with an undercurrent of urgency.
In the seconds I took my eyes from the screen, the men made a quick exit and are now hurrying toward their car. It’s a nondescript sedan, just like a dozen others in the parking lot. It’s the kind of car your gaze moves right past as you’re driving on the highway. The perfect car to transport an unwilling and unconscious victim.
My muscles are so tight, I’m nearly vibrating with tension.
From our vantage point, we have a clear view of the two men—both dressed all in black, hoodies pulled tightly around their heads, gaiters covering their faces.
And Jade.
My Jade. Being carried by a man that isn’t me. Isn’t one of my trusted teammates.
She’s a magnet drawing me to her. Every cell in my body wants to take action.
“We’ve got this,” Xavier says quietly. “I got the tracker on their car. Jade’s tracker is working perfectly.”
“And her band is reporting normal pulse and blood oxygen levels,” adds Rhiannon. “She’s okay.”
“She’s not okay,” I snap. “She’s unconscious. Some fucker is about to put her in the—” My voice catches as I watch the man who isn’t carrying Jade pop the truck of their car.
Fuck . Jade in the trunk. Alone. What if she wakes up? She’ll be so scared. What if she gets sick?
“You don’t need to watch this.” Matt pats my arm. “We all have eyes on Jade. If it’s?—”
“No.” It’s almost a growl. “I promised Jade I’d be with her the entire time. And that means watching everything. Even if I hate it.”
“It’s going to be okay.” Erik turns around in the passenger seat to look at me. His tone is quietly confident. “We planned this out. None of us would have agreed to let Jade do this if we didn’t believe it would work.”
My heart twists violently. “It has to work. It’s Jade. I can’t… I promised her.”
“We’ve got this.” Dante’s calm voice draws my gaze. From the front seat, his features are deep in shadow, the faint light from the laptop barely reaching his face. “Remember. It’s a mission. Focus on that. Everything else will follow.”
There’s a second when I want to argue. To ask if he has any idea how I’m feeling.
But then.
Shit. He’s right. Jade doesn’t need a worried and protective boyfriend right now. She needs the trained soldier who can bring her home safely. The skilled team that can help put an end to this.
“Okay.” I swallow back my fear and focus on the years of training and experience. The years of tamping down emotions so I could do my job. Years of reliance on logic and facts and meticulous planning for every possible contingency. Lifting my chin, I nod sharply. “Let’s do this.”
“They’re moving out,” Erik says.
“As soon as they get out of the parking lot, we’ll move,” Dante replies.
The SUV falls into silence as we wait; a collective breath drawing in.
Then he presses the ignition and the engine comes to life with a low purr.
Dante shifts into gear. “It’s time.”
Time is a flexible thing.
Each mile we drive feels like it takes hours.
While we scan the road for the next turn, knowing it’s critical we don’t miss it, time flickers by in an instant.
The time Jade’s been away from me feels like an eternity.
Anticipation makes me wish time would go faster. More than anticipation—a desperate need to get Jade back as quickly as possible.
From San Marcos east to Blackjack, then continuing into parts of Texas I’ve never been.
I need to explore this place more. Driving into unfamiliar territory isn’t a good thing.
When all this is over, Jade and I can take road trips all over the state. When this is over, and I have her back with me, I’m going to tell Jade how I feel about her.
But first. The mission.
I have to think of it that way, or I’ll lose it.
The mission. I can’t think about my beautiful Jade still in the trunk. In the dark. Alone.
She’s still unconscious, her vitals still holding steady, so that’s one good thing. If I can get Jade out of the trunk before she wakes up; she won’t have to take on that additional trauma.
“They’re slowing,” Matt announces. “Could be turning down one of these roads coming up.”
We’re being careful not to be seen, hanging back about a quarter mile or so, but Matt is watching Jade’s tracker carefully. As am I—Matt’s sitting beside me in the middle row, so I can keep a close eye on the little dot on the screen.
“There are several businesses nearby,” reports Rhiannon, her head down as she stares at her phone. She’s zoomed in on the map of the nearby area, searching for possible locations of the facility. “A self-storage place. A welding company. And a bottle and packaging distributor.”
“Any of those could fit,” Erik replies. “None of those would draw attention.”
“Up ahead.” Matt’s tone sharpens. “They just made a right on Red Hills Road.”
“Got it.” Several seconds later, Dante makes the turn. “Are they still slowing?”
“Going about forty,” Matt answers. “It’s promising.”
My heart jumps, beating in a rapid, staccato rhythm, but I sternly command it to settle.
“The bottle and packaging company is a few miles ahead.” Rhiannon’s voice pitches up hopefully. “This could be it.”
And a few minutes later, we have our answer.
Jade’s dot turns down a long driveway.
“Red Rock Packaging,” Rhiannon says. She leans over the back of my seat to show me her phone. “It has a long driveway with a loop around the building. The main entrance looks to be on the west side. Another entrance—a loading dock—at the rear.”
I study the screen. “Decent tree cover around back. If that’s the way they go in, we can use the trees to our advantage.”
“They’re just coming to the south side of the building now.” Matt peers at the laptop. “Still moving, but slowly.”
Dante turns the headlights off as we turn into the driveway. Pitch-black surrounds us.
We all grab our night-vision goggles and slip them on, illuminating the night again.
Then we start moving again, the new engine quiet in the stillness.
Dante says, “I’m parking along the east side of the building. We’ll make our approach from there.”
Matt is the only one without goggles on as he watches the laptop screen. “They’re just coming around the back of the building.”
“We can’t let them get her inside,” I reply tightly. “It increases the risk by ten-fold.”
As we approach the building, Matt starts typing quickly. “They have a basic security system. Just a few cameras on the exterior. Easy to bypass.”
Dante stops the car just along a windowless stretch of wall. “Okay. Niall, Xavier, you get Jade. The rest of us will take out the two men. Erik, you and I will keep them restrained. Rhiannon, Matt—you secure the exits. Hopefully no one will know we’re here, but just in case, we don’t want anyone escaping.”
He pauses. “Does that sound good to everyone?”
A chorus of low yeses follows.
“Alright.” Dante raises his fist. “Ready. Let’s do this.”
Then his hand comes down, and we move.
We slip from the SUV in one silent exodus. Doors close with almost inaudible snicks. Our footsteps are silent on the packed gravel. Even our breaths are slow and controlled.
Everything winnows down to this moment.
I promised Jade, and I will not fail.
Xavier and I dart along the wall of the building while the rest of the team slips into the woods. Pressed close to the brick exterior, hidden in shadows, we head north to the rear of the building. Communication isn’t necessary at this point—after nearly a decade working together, Xavier follows my lead intuitively.
As we approach the loading dock, two voices carry toward us. Not my teammates, but the two men who took Jade. They’re not making any attempt to be quiet, but why would they all the way out here? Miles out of town, no other buildings around, there’s no reason for them to worry about being heard.
One of them grumbles, “It’s bullshit we’re not allowed to touch them. It’s not like anyone would know.”
The other snaps, “They have cameras everywhere. I’m not getting caught. Anyway, we keep making these runs, soon you’ll have enough to get one of your own.”
White-hot rage explodes inside me.
Then I channel it into cold determination.
They won’t get the chance to touch another woman. There won’t be any more runs. The only place they’re going is prison.
And they’ll never put their hands on Jade again.
Seconds later, we reach the back corner of the building and I put my hand up in a gesture to hold. Peering around the corner, I spot the two men standing near the trunk, looking completely at ease, and my fury resurges.
Those fuckers.
The primal part of me wants to hurt them. Punish them for what they did to Jade. For their part in this monstrous organization.
But the cooler-headed part knows my role.
So I wait. Xavier only a foot behind me; as always, having my six.
Once again, time slows.
Moments turn to hours.
And then.
It starts.
Four dark figures emerge from the trees.
They’re a blur of movement across the parking lot.
I race toward the car, Xavier’s soft footsteps echoing mine.
My teammates converge on the unsuspecting men, yanking them away from the car and taking them down in a flurry of nearly-silent moves.
Quick snapshots of action register—Dante pinning one man to the ground, Erik flipping the other one over and slamming him down—but my focus is on Jade.
On the trunk.
Please let her be okay.
I almost crash into the car in my hurry to get to her.
In the second that it takes for Xavier to pop the trunk, I hold my breath.
She has to be okay. We planned everything. Her vitals were fine. Nothing happened that wasn’t supposed to.
Still.
I need to see her. Need to be sure.
The trunk releases, and I fling it open with trembling hands.
Jade .
Unconscious, her lashes a dark sweep against her pale cheeks.
She’s curled on her side, so achingly vulnerable in her pajamas, and when I spot the zip-ties around her wrists, a low growl rumbles in my chest.
My lungs seize as I reach toward her.
Then I feel the reassuring thrum of her pulse and I can breathe again.
I gather Jade in my arms, hugging her limp body to my chest. Her head lolls on my shoulder, and I can’t resist taking a moment to kiss her forehead.
“Get her out of here,” Xavier murmurs from behind me. “I’ve got your back.”
Yes. Get Jade away from this terrible place.
While my teammates keep the building secured until the police show up, my job is keeping Jade safe.
Once I get back to our SUV, I slide into the backseat, still holding Jade. Xavier stands guard, his Sig at the ready in case anyone approaches us. Not that I think they will, not with Rhiannon and Matt guarding the exits, but we’re not leaving anything to chance.
My heart squeezes as I cuddle Jade to me; so damn thankful to have her back in my arms.
I stroke her soft cheek, telling her over and over, “You’re safe. I’ve got you. You did it, sweetheart. I’m so proud of you.”
She’s still unconscious, still under the effects of the sedative, but her warm skin and steady breaths reassure me she’s going to be okay.
And then, when the police cars finally arrive—silently, as to not alert the people inside—Jade’s eyes flutter open.
Still groggy, she blinks at me. Voice slurring, she asks, “Is it over?”
My heart squeezes. “Yes, sweetheart. It’s over. You did such a good job.”
“Good.” Her eyes droop shut, and she curls into my chest. “Can we go home now?”
“Yes, hun.” I press my lips to the top of her head. “We’ll be home before you know it.”
As she snuggles into my neck, her next words come on a soft breath. “I thought of you. The whole time. I knew you’d protect me.”
Oh. This feeling.
“Ah, Jade. Always.”