Chapter Twenty-Three
RAVEN
I was happy to see Vonne again, even under these circumstances. When he walked in, he appeared to be anxious, looking around, probably for John who’d opted to stay in the conference room while Miguel and I went out to greet him in the reception area. After hugging me and slapping Miguel on the back, he frowned.
“What’s he doin’ here, Trigg? You didn’t tell me anythin’ on the phone except that I was supposed to come here, and that Sutter had somehow turned himself in to the ATF.”
“Well, that’s not exactly how I meant it,” Miguel replied. “He didn’t turn himself in. I asked him to come in because a lot of people were worried about the people he’s been associating with over the last several years. He wanted you to hear him out the same way we did, so that you could make up your own mind about it.”
He nodded, looking cautious. “And you’ve heard him out?”
Miguel shrugged. “We all have.”
He glanced around the offices before turning back to him. “And why are the Feds involved if he hasn’t turned himself in?”
“Because the people who work here are honorable men and women and most all of them are retired or former Special Forces,” I said, pointing down the hall toward the conference room. “And you’re about to meet the former Associate Director of Military Affairs for the CIA. He’s helping us.”
Vonne looked aghast. “You’re shittin’ me.”
“No,” Miguel said. “We’ve been friends with them for a while and I want you to meet them.”
I cleared my throat. “I’ve known most of them longer than Miguel,” I said, glancing at him before looking back at Vonne. “You know Cassidy Ryan and Mike Williams.”
“Of course. Known ‘em almost twenty years since… ah , since Trigg’s parents died.”
“Good, then I hope you’ll give Sutter the benefit of the doubt and listen to him simply because Cass and Mike have known and worked with these guys during many national security crises. If they trust them then you should too.”
Vonne grinned at me and then looked over at Miguel, hooking a thumb in my direction. “I really like your new spokesman. He’s doin’ great spin.”
Miguel smiled and slung his arm around the shorter man’s shoulders. “It’s not spin when it’s all true and Raven speaks for himself, not for me. Come on. Let’s go talk to John.”
I followed them down the hall and waited outside, watching through the glass while Miguel led Vonne into the conference room. He made introductions all around and then stopped when he got to Sutter. As soon as he was introduced, I watched as John’s face crumpled. He slowly sank into his chair, hung his head in his hands, and began to sob. Miguel walked over to Vonne, putting a hand to the small of his back as the others silently filed out of the conference room to join me on the other side of the glass.
A few seconds later, I watched Vonne turn his face up to Miguel and say something before Miguel glanced over at me. There had been tears in his eyes. Vonne sank down into the chair across from Sutter. As he lowered his head and began talking to him, Miguel joined us in the hall. After a minute or so, Vonne got out of the chair and inched closer to John before dropping to his knees in front of him and pulling him into his arms. I turned away, feeling like I was watching something I shouldn’t be.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned to see Mark standing behind us. His other hand was on Miguel’s shoulder. “We should start planning on how to scoop up the bad guys. Come on.” He dropped his hands and canted his head toward a large office at the end of the room. “Sarah’s got a nice big office where we can talk.” With that, he turned on his heel and started down the hall.
I glanced over at Miguel as we followed. “Did you ask Sutter why he gave Daniel Vonne’s address and not yours?”
Miguel shook his head. “No, but it makes sense in a way. As you can see, the two of them had a lot of unfinished business.”
“Do you think they’re going to work it out?”
“Sure, they will. I did, didn’t I?”
“You really never said how you felt about it, Miguel. You kept a lot of it to yourself and when we’re alone, we’re going to talk about that. Your days of being the big, scary, stoic Recon Marine who is too tough to tell the man you love how you feel about things—even if they’re scary, confusing, or painful—are over.”
He pursed his lips for a second, pausing at the door to the SAC’s office for a minute. When he smiled, I hadn’t really been prepared for it so when it came, warmth flooded through me. “You’re pretty smart, you know that?”
“Yeah.”
He leaned close and whispered in my ear, “If it’s all right, I still want to top sometimes.” It took a second before I registered what he said, and by then, he was striding away from me, into the office.
I shook my head, chuckling as I followed him in. We clustered around a large conference table. It wasn’t quite as large as the one in the other office, and someone had pulled all the chairs away to make room for the big group. Mark, Thayne, Jarrett, Damon, Mac, Miguel, me, and SAC Sarah Connor—who’d insisted I call her Sarah—were all looking over floorplans laid out on the table.
“Sutter told me where Mendez, Rosina, and Bishop are staying,” Damon said. “They’re holed up in the Plaza La Reina in Westwood.”
“Near UCLA,” I said.
“Yes. They’ve got side by side grand suites on the Mezzanine level. It’s only up one floor and the walls are easy enough to scale from below or rappel down to from the roof when we’re ready to enter through balcony doors.” He pointed to a wall which opened onto an area marked “courtyard.”
“Cassanova and Bishop are in one and the other is where Mendez stays. There’s a living area, a kitchenette with a wet bar, bathroom, and bedroom with a balcony which overlooks the outdoor courtyard which is a common area for all guests.”
He pointed to the areas as he talked. “We’ll make sure the courtyard is free of other guests before entering so we can surprise them. French doors open to the courtyard but there’s only a small patio.” He pointed to a small square. “This is the patio. One team will access the patio and make entry through the double doors and the other will access the room from a passkey which we’ll get from the manager.”
Jarrett pointed to an L.A. city map. “There’s a lot of sniper perches here, Sarah.” He glanced at his father. “I know we’re gonna attempt to take them alive but if one of ‘em gets a drop on our entry teams, I ain’t gonna be responsible for anyone dyin’.”
Mark nodded, putting a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t expect you to, Jarrett. It will be good to have you cover one of the rooms from a rooftop not far away.”
“I’ll cover the other room,” Sarah said. “I’m looking forward to having a sniper rifle in my hands again. It’s been a while.”
Mark smiled. “Very good.” He turned back to Damon. “We should do this tonight. They won’t be expecting it, and we have a window at least until tomorrow at 0800 when Sutter has to check in with Mendez again.”
“I agree,” Mac said. “We should take the rooms simultaneously and I’m volunteering to lead one assault team.”
“I’ll lead the other,” Miguel said.
“Good,” Mark said. He said something else, but I didn’t hear it because I was swamped by a sudden, overwhelming panic coursing through me.
“Damon, you’ll go in through the patio of Cassanova and Bishop’s room with Miguel,” Mark said. “I’ll take the front door. Thayne, you’ll take the patio of Mendez’ room with Mac, and Raven can take the front door.”
That sounded good to me, but I felt Miguel stiffen beside me.
“Raven’s not law enforcement and he’s never been military.”
I flushed with embarrassment, feeling way out of my depth. He was right. As much as I wanted to help out, I had only really learned to use a gun in the last few months. Miguel must have felt it because he turned and shrugged.
“I’m sorry, Raven, but it’s true. You don’t have the same training we do.” He didn’t wait for me to reply but looked at Mark. “Sutter and Vonne took down doors with me for years, sir, and after everything, I think they deserve to be a part of taking these bastards down.”
“Miguel’s right, Mark,” Mac said. “Call it therapy.” The big redhead grinned.
Mark nodded, letting a trace of a smile cross his features. “If they’re willing, it’s decided then.” He looked over at me. “Will you cover the front of the building?”
“Not alone,” Miguel said. “I doubt they’ll get past us but—”
“I will,” I said before turning to Miguel. “Let me check in with Dolly. If everything is going smoothly over there, Cassidy and Mike can come back to watch the front with me.”
Miguel nodded once. “Good thinking, Raven.”
Sarah looked at her watch. “That’s settled then. It’s 2050 hours now. Let’s go visit the armory, get suited up, and plan on being in place by 2300 hours.”
We all filed out of her office, and I called Cassidy while Miguel went into the conference room to talk to Vonne and Sutter. They stood and listened as he explained the situation. As I waited for Cassidy to pick up, I noticed that both men were sporting red-rimmed eyes. Vonne let out a whoop of glee just as Cassidy answered.
“Ryan.”
“Cassidy, it’s Raven. Everything’s okay here. How’s it going over there?” Even though I knew he would have called one of us, had anything gone wrong, I still wanted to hear him say it.
“Everything’s fine, Raven, but you two are in the doghouse with me. Why didn’t you tell us what was happening sooner?”
“It kind of happened quickly. It was only a couple of nights ago that I learned what happened with Sutter getting lost in a sandstorm. Then Miguel got threatened at the Getty, and Sutter showed up just hours ago. I’m really sorry. I hope you can forgive me because I have a really big ask.”
“Of course, I will, and you know Mike and I will help you with anything.”
I explained what we were going to do and how I needed him and Mike to come and act as back up. “I really hope you understand.”
“I do. Give me a few minutes to let Dolly know we’re leaving, and we’ll head over to meet all of you at the ATF. And don’t worry about your grandmother and Dolly. Sarah’s other agents will stay here with them until this is all over. Where’d you say this is going down?”
“The Plaza La Reina hotel in Westwood. Do you know it?”
“Yeah, really well. That’s our jurisdiction. It’s a really good thing you called us, Raven. We had a run-in with the manager of that hotel last month. I nearly arrested him.”
“For what?”
“One of his long-term guest rooms was being used as a card room for a high stake’s poker game. It’s a really nice hotel and I don’t have to tell you that gambling is illegal in most parts of L.A.”
“Right.” I did know that. There were certain card rooms and poker parlors like the Bicycle Club where gambling was allowed but in most of the city, it wasn’t.
“Anyway, he might just try to make trouble for you guys if someone doesn’t set him straight.”
“Thanks, so much, Cass.” I looked at my watch. “Anyway, you should come now.”
“On the way, Raven. See you in twenty minutes.”
By ten-forty-five, all of us had set up, wearing earbuds as we’d done three months ago when our friends had helped us take down a dangerous fugitive at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. The vest I wore was heavy and itchy over my clothes, but it felt good to know that if one of the three dangerous operatives inside the hotel somehow got away, Cassidy, Mike, Mark, and I would be there to intercept them. Though Cass hated being told he shouldn’t shoot one of them, he understood. The man was a former Navy SEAL who more than likely knew what information the disgraced CIA operatives could pass on if they got the chance.
“Team one in place at patio,” came Mac’s whispered voice through the coms. He was with Thayne, ready to make entry at the patio door of Mendez’ room. Sutter was poised to take the door. Seconds later, his voice came through the com. “Team one, ready at the door.”
It had been surprisingly easy to get the hotel manager to turn over the keycards for the rooms and a passkey to the roof where the team had decided to rappel from. Once he’d recognized Cassidy and Mike as we’d walked into the lobby, he’d been very cooperative. After an initial protest that he didn’t want anyone disturbing his guests, Cassidy had shut him down.
“Team two in place at the patio,” came Miguel’s whispered voice in my ear. My heart did a flip-flop as I recognized it. Pride filled my chest as I realized what a hero he was…what heroes they all were. I was glad he was with Damon, having realized how capable the man was after speaking with him. As a former CIA agent, he’d probably been in lots of these situations or worse.
“Team two, ready at the door.” That had been Vonne’s voice.
“They’ve just turned out the lights, Team one,” Sarah said. “Have a great view from height.”
“Ditto,” Jarrett drawled, “but can I put in a request to watch Team one’s room next time? Watchin’ them two fuck wasn’t on my to-do list.”
“Evans!” Sarah hissed in the coms.
I laughed and then covered my mouth to muffle the sound as I heard muffled chuckles from the others. I looked over at Cassidy and Mike who were grinning and shaking their heads.
“On my count,” Miguel whispered. “Three…two…entry!”
I heard crashing sounds and then a muffled scream followed by the spit of automatic gunfire. I stared at Cassidy who kept his finger over his lips as he stared back, willing me to be silent to not distract the others from what was happening. The sound of fabric tearing and several thuds sounded in my ears before two more spits from a silenced weapon came through the coms. I held my breath, feeling my entire body begin to shake in the ten seconds before Mac called out.
“Team one secure. Mendez is in custody and unharmed!” I heard him grunt several times and could picture the huge Green Beret stepping on the killer’s back.
Another scream followed by a slew of Italian made me want to yank the earwig out as I heard more grunts, followed by another spit from a silenced weapon. When Miguel’s voice finally came through the com, I felt relief rush over me.
“Bastard almost got me,” he said. He sounded out of breath as the Italian flung another string of obscenities in his direction. “Cassanova and Bishop in custody. Bishop is gonna need a medic.”
“Right here,” Vonne said. I heard footsteps and more shuffling.
“Ryan, Williams, please call a bus,” Sarah said. “Awesome job, boys.”
“Roger,” Cassidy said into the com. He looked at me and clapped me on the back as Mike walked away, pulling out his phone to call 911. “He’s fine, Raven.”
I wrapped both arms around my middle as I stared at Cass, nodding. Relief flooded through me as I heard more grunting, another slew of curses, and then a girly voice suddenly silenced. I really hoped Miguel had gagged the woman. I was practically bouncing on my toes as Cassidy glanced at me.
“You wanna go to him, right?”
“More than anything.”
“They’ll bring them down. It sounds like Bishop got shot but Vonne’s up there, so hopefully he can keep him alive until an ambulance arrives.”
It wasn’t what I wanted to hear but I knew he was right, however, I was probably going to ugly cry if Miguel didn’t make it downstairs quick. When he finally came out of the building ten minutes later, I ran toward him. He looked big and beautiful in his fatigues and vest but the best thing about him was the broad smile on his face. He barely had time to open his arms before I was running into them. He picked me up and spun me around in a huge circle before putting me down. When his lips crashed down on mine, I nearly lost my mind, feeling tears welling up in my eyes. I kissed him back, hugging him to me until I felt him loosen his arms and break the kiss.
“I was so scared,” I said, swiping at my cheeks. I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying. “What happened?”
He smiled, cupping my cheek. “We’re fine. Cassanova and Mendez are fine. They’ll be down in a second, but Mac and Thorne are gonna wait up there with Vonne and Bishop until the ambulance arrives.”
“How badly is Bishop hurt?” Mark asked, walking over to us with Sarah and Jarrett.
“Not too badly,” Miguel said. “Thorne, Vonne, and Mac are up there with him. I’m pretty sure he’s gonna make it. He took one in the shoulder when Damon shot him but he got the drop on us with a gun he had hidden under his pillow. Damon saved my life. We spotted a weapon on the end table beside him, not realizing he had another one stowed away.”
“Good for him,” Jarrett said. He glanced back at his father. “I’m goin’ upstairs, Daddy.”
“Okay.” Mark smiled at him.
Jarrett jogged off, and Mark turned to the rest of us. “I’d like to thank the whole team for their restraint, but I’m meeting some people of my own.” We all turned to see a black sedan pulled up to the curb in front of the hotel and park. Two casually dressed men got out and started walking over. Mark excused himself to meet them and they all shook hands. Then Mark pointed at the building before leading the men up the stairs to the hotel’s entrance.
“CIA?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Miguel said, looking back at me. He smiled again, slipping his arm around my shoulder. “I’m really sorry you got worried. There just wasn’t a way for me to tell you what went on until I got down here.” The sound of sirens tore our attention to the street where I spotted an ambulance driving up the block. It stopped in front of the hotel, and Cassidy and Mike separated from us to go over and talk to them. They’d most likely explain the situation and then go upstairs with the paramedics. I know it probably made me a bad person, but I really hoped Bishop was hurting after all the bad things he’d done to others over the years.
Sutter came out of the building with Vonne, Mac, Thayne, and Damon a few minutes later. I was happy to see that Sutter looked more relieved now that the three were in custody, but when he walked over to Miguel and gave him a hug, muttering something into his shoulder, I didn’t feel anything other than grateful that the two brothers had been reunited. I knew Miguel would always be mine and after everything that had happened, hoped the two of them would be able to put all the pain and guilt that had plagued them in the past where it belonged.
When they finally separated, John looked over at me, holding out a hand. I smiled at him and shook his. “Thank you for making him happy, Raven. I know the smile on his face and the peace in his heart is because of you.”
I felt my lip tremble for a moment and a second later, I stepped forward and threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Welcome home, John. This time, for good.”