Chapter Eight
T he weight of Addison’s head on his shoulder had a sense of peace he’d never known sinking into his skin and settling deep in his chest. Every so often he leaned in to kiss the top of her head and coat his lungs with the sweet, earthy scent of her shampoo. No one commented, but Wyatt’s disdain was palpable as he glared at him from the other side of the aircraft. He wasn’t sure what the man’s deal was, but he didn’t like the way he talked to Addy. Or looked at her.
Branch, who was seated on his right, gave him a nudge. “After all that business about being old and dying alone, you found yourself a gem. Happy for you.”
“Hard to explain what I’m feeling,” he said quietly.
“Trust me, I get it. We all do.”
After Branch had nearly died coming under enemy fire while fast-roping out of a helo, he’d gotten his head out of his ass and claimed Hannah and her teenage son, Collin, as his own. Before that, Joker had fallen for Sam, a singer and—to his surprise—Jacob’s music therapist. It had all started with Brynn, though. When Ransom discovered he had a brother, Jacob, he’d been dead set on being in his life. Jacob had brought them all closer with his deep belly laugh and a smile that was the closest thing to sunlight. His medical complexities required around-the-clock nursing care, and Ransom had fallen hard for his nurse, Brynn. Jacob attended the same school and was in the same intensive special education classroom as Hannah’s son, Collin. They were more than a group of friends. They were a family.
“Joker took her coming with us hard.” The look of fear that had been on his teammate’s face tightened his chest.
“You did the right thing going to bat for her. She’s capable and smart, and Joker will forgive you eventually.” Branch tugged at his safety belt, readjusting in his seat.
“If he doesn’t gut me first.” Though he said it in jest, he wasn’t certain it was outside the realm of possibilities.
“Would it be worth it?” Branch dipped his chin toward Addy.
“It would.” He didn’t even have to pause to think about his answer.
“Better wake her.” The aircraft had lowered, and they were closing in on the drop-off location. Their goal was to stay on the waterways under the cover of dark for as long as possible. The type of boat the victims had been first spotted on was a slow mover, and large. They’d either catch up or spot it along shore.
“Addy, sweetheart. It’s time.” She snuggled more deeply into his side, and he couldn’t stop the automatic smile that spread over his face.
Ransom chuckled. A sound that was a rarity before Brynn and Jacob had entered his life.
“I’ll take the other shoulder on our way home.” Sully grinned.
It took him a few more moments to rouse Addy. “Are we there?” Her voice was thick with sleep.
“Almost. Have to get to the ground first.” He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and resisted the urge to kiss her the rest of the way awake.
He stood from his seat, alert and ready to go. Parachuting with Addy strapped to him was going to be an experience. One he was sure her adventurous heart was going to enjoy.
“Why are you standing if we’re about to land?” Wyatt rolled his shoulders, then stretched his neck from side to side.
“I call Joker’s sister,” Sully yelled over the headset.
“No fucking chance,” Silver growled into his own communication device. “But you’re welcome to the other.”
“What are you talking about?” Wyatt sat up straighter.
“The pilot is going to drop the boat, then us,” Sully responded.
Wyatt’s brows rose. “Were you aware of this?” His gaze bored into Addy, and Silver bristled, stepping closer. Fear made people say and do stupid things.
“No, but they’re professionals. You have nothing to be afraid of,” Addy said, following his thoughts. Pleasure expanded in his chest. Her trust meant everything to him.
“I’m not afraid.” Wyatt removed his seat belt, shrugging it off. “I just expected to be treated as a business partner, not one of them.”
Sully rolled his eyes and the others snickered. “No worries. Don’t think anyone is going to mistake you for one of us. Come on, let’s get you strapped up.”
They moved to the back of the aircraft, making quick work of the harness. “All right, sweetheart. Stand in front of me.” He connected Addy’s harness at the shoulders and legs to the four spots on his parachute harness. “Feel okay?”
She glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “Having you pressed over my back? Literally strapped against my body? I really can’t think of a position I’d rather be in.” Her sultry whisper shot straight to his dick.
“Jesus, Addy.” Unable to stop himself he nipped the back of her neck and soothed the spot with his tongue. She sucked in a breath and arched her back, pushing her sweet ass up against his erection.
“Never going to be able to strap into a harness again without embarrassing myself.”
The hatch at the back of the plane opened, and he stood solid as a rush of warm, moist air tugged them forward. “That boat—it’s called a Rigid Hull Inflatable—we’ll drop it first, and jump right behind it. When the RHIB is clear, I’ll deploy our chute and get us right onto the boat.”
“You can do that?” She shifted, trying to meet his gaze and an ache barreled through him as her body stroked against his.
He struggled to slow his breathing, gripping her hips so she couldn’t rock into him. Her giggle did nothing to help his situation. “On a standard mission we’d swim to the boat, but we all have enough experience to hit our target.”
Wyatt was yelling as Sully approached the drop and disappeared into the dark sky. “I don’t think he’s getting the same pleasure out of this jump as I am,” Addy said, the smile audible in her voice.
Archer laughed, but his focus was sharpening. He might be vibrating with need, but he’d ignore his body and get them to the safety of the watercraft. They moved to the cusp of the opening and jumped over the edge. Addy spread her arms like a swan’s wings as they descended toward the water.
His girl was fearless and smart. Sweet, yet he was certain she’d explicitly describe what she wanted when they came together physically. His feet touched the hard rubber surface of the craft, and he detached his parachute. He steadied her as their weight shifted in the boat.
“That was incredible,” she whispered. He loved the wonder in her tone. It was something he’d never tire of hearing.
Once their entire team was on board, and the aircraft had disappeared over the outline of the canopy, Ransom steered the boat silently into the water. Silver scanned the banks, looking for heat signatures with his specialized goggles that would indicate there were people or animals present. While he didn’t want to run into any of the wildlife that might be lurking in or along the river, it was preferable to humans.
They traveled along the waterways for over an hour without incident, well, of course, that was if you didn’t count Wyatt threatening everything under the sun if they didn’t make a stop so he could relieve himself. Branch was telling him to piss off the side of the boat when they rounded a bend in the river and caught sight of a flashlight ahead. The RHIB cut through the water silently, and with their night-vision goggles they maintained the element of surprise without the need for lights.
They stopped around one hundred feet from the catamaran on the water in front of them. Sully motioned to Wyatt to be quiet. So far, he’d been a nuisance on this expedition. They observed the boat, trying to pick up any sign that this was the vessel they were searching for. With their equipment, it didn’t take long to realize this was most likely their target. His goggles detected a mass of heat signatures near the hull of the craft, and there were at least four guards keeping watch. Static from a radio filled the air, making them all still. Words he couldn’t identify were barked over the radios.
Archer gestured toward the bottom of the boat, and Addy lowered herself to the floor immediately. It took a bit longer for Sully and Branch to get Wyatt to the bottom of the boat. On the catamaran, people started standing. The men were barking orders and corralling their hostages. Addy tugged his hand. “It’s dark, so I can’t be sure, but we’re an hour out from where we landed, still headed northwest. If we continue this way, we’ll be just outside the Javari Valley Indigenous Reservation.”
“Which we hope to avoid,” he whispered.
“Yes. Over six thousand people, including nineteen tribes who have had no contact with the outside world, live there. We’re also on an extremely volatile drug route from Colombia and Peru.”
Beyond their craft a splash sounded in the water. Hell broke loose on the other boat. Shouts rang out into the night, boots stomped along the deck, and shots were fired into the water.
Addy tapped the side of his leg. “They’re speaking Quechua. A language of Peru.”
“Can you make out what they’re saying?” Branch said as he crawled over to them.
“Along the lines of ‘He’s dead,’ and ‘The girl jumped.’ They’re going after her.”
“I’ll find her first,” Sully promised and slipped off the side of boat and noiselessly disappeared beneath the surface.
The other vessel’s engine sputtered to life as Ransom steered silently toward a thick overhang of vegetation along the shore.
“I hope Sully is okay.” The adrenaline was finally catching up to Addy, and she trembled against him. “The wildlife here is dangerous. Piranhas, black caiman, anacondas.”
He ran his palm down the length of her arm, simultaneously keeping his gaze trained on the area surrounding the other boat. “If he doesn’t resurface, we’ll go in after him.” Addy stiffened as more shots rang out over the surface of the river. There was no movement, except for the boat of traffickers. Beams of light continued to scan over the stagnant waters as the men spoke back and forth.
“They think she’s dead,” Addy whispered.
There was a small splash at the side of their boat. Off in the distance a flare shot through the sky, sending the traffickers into a frenzy.
“What was that?” Wyatt popped up from his crouch at the back of the vessel.
“Ransom providing Sully with some cover. If he hadn’t, they’d hear them moving through the water,” Archer said and moved to help Sully.
“Take her,” Sully rasped and lifted her from the water. The woman gasped and choked as they pulled her into the boat.
“Help him. Please.” A cough racked her thin body. They tugged Sully from the water. “Are you hit?”
“Leg. It’s fine. Give me some space, yeah?” Sully faced the woman. “You’re safe, breathe with me.” He held the woman’s face, maintaining eye contact as her breathing slowed. “There you go. That’s it,” Sully whispered.
There was a tenderness to his voice.
“Here.” Addy shoved something into his hands. He thrust the fabric toward Sully, who murmured reassurances to the woman as he helped move the shirt over her naked form. Pride swelled in his chest. Addy hadn’t hesitated to give the woman the shirt off her back.
“I counted eleven other hostages in the boat,” she choked out. “Most are children.”
“Could you tell if any were injured?” he asked.
“I—I’m not sure.” Her teeth chattered. “They were restrained, lying on the bottom of the boat.”
“How did you free yourself?” Ransom’s tone was low.
“I didn’t,” she gasped. “They were…the others need help.”
“That’s where we’re headed, love.” Sully sat near the woman, who was clenching his hand tightly. “We’re here to get you and the other missing women and children to safety.”
“Your jump into the river was a good distraction.” Branch and Ransom were securing their gear. They’d slip into the water and dispatch the smugglers. Then he’d steer the RHIB along the side and they’d secure the hostages. If all went well, they’d be at the rendezvous point for extraction in under three hours.
“For the ambassador’s granddaughter, right?” The woman’s teeth chattered as they wrapped a thermal blanket around her shoulders.
“What do you know about her?” Ransom asked.
“Only that she’s on the boat. Says her grandfather is willing to pay anything to get her back. Sh-she’s not going to b-bat for the others being held against their will, though.” The woman was shaking violently despite the thick, oppressive air that hung over the river.
“What do you mean?” Silver asked as Branch passed him another blanket. When he reached toward the woman she flinched. He redirected the blanket to Sully. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her more fear. Sully wrapped her securely in the second blanket, taking the time to cover her completely and tuck the material around her feet and back.
“She said to take the rest of us, but spare her, because she was worth millions and we were nothing,” the woman said.
“Sounds like a peach,” Sully said. “Then we have Calamity Jane here diving into uncharted Amazon waters.”
“How did you know?” The woman’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Know what?” Sully asked.
“That my name is Jane. I’m nobody.” She scooted closer to Sully.
“I didn’t. You remind of this spunky character from a film my grandmother used to love. And for the record, you’re not nobody.”
Once Ransom and Branch were suited in their gear, they slid into the water. While his focus had been on his teammates, Addy had crawled up to sit beside Jane. He couldn’t make out what she was saying in low, soothing tones, but the other woman had leaned into the comfort she was offering. Addy had more than proven herself over the course of this mission, no matter how brief it had been so far. She added important information when it was needed, and explicitly followed the directions of his team. Addy didn’t care that the woman, a stranger, was so close to her or wearing her shirt, leaving Addy with a thin tank top. Nor did it seem to matter that Jane was covered in grime, and probably worse from the river. Still, she huddled close and offered comfort and quiet strength. His respect and admiration for her grew, even though it was high to start with.
Meanwhile, Wyatt was sitting in the corner, looking out of place and distressed. He certainly shouldn’t have been on this mission. Addy was the type of asset they were looking for, not someone who would look down their nose and make a fuss over small discomforts. Addy readjusted the thermal blanket over Jane’s shoulders. His stomach turned when he thought of what the woman might’ve gone through during her captivity that made her choose to escape into the murky river. There was no doubt she’d been hurt, but she still had the strength to get away from her captors.
“She’s brave,” Addy whispered to Sully, who hadn’t left Jane’s side. Even when Silver pulled out the medical kit and began wrapping Sully’s wounded leg, he insisted on staying near the woman he’d rescued from the river. Even though Addy hadn’t been in immediate danger, he understood the other man’s protectiveness. The deep-seated desire to keep her close was what had him following her into the woods the night of the meteor shower, and what had his nerve endings snapping with heightened intensity during this mission. The mere thought of something happening to Addy had anxiety tightening his chest.
They remained on the boat, tucked into an inlet by the shore using the dense vegetation as a cover. He wasn’t sure if it was the trajectory of his thoughts that had the hairs on the back of his neck rising or whether it was gut instinct. When he heard a twig snap in the distance he knew it was the latter. They were no longer alone.