17. Thad
Thad
A war was raging inside of me.
A battle between my heart and brain. I knew I needed to keep my distance, but seeing Emerson so shaken, hearing her talk about her sister, I wanted to gather her in my arms and shield her from anymore hurt.
But I couldn’t, she didn’t want my comfort and I couldn’t afford to offer it.
She’d be the death of me. Hell, she already had been.
The day she’d left me was the day I’d changed. And every day after that, I sank further, until I turned into the heartless man I was today.
Declan pulled up the drone footage Tex had sent over and I was shocked at what I was watching.
“Holy shit, how’d you get this?” I asked.
“You sound surprised,” Tex shot back.
“I have to admit I am.”
“I can’t believe you doubted me. Narrowband Multispectral Remote Vegetation Monitoring.”
“Come again?”
“It means we got lucky. There’s an agricultural program in Guyana that monitors the river.
They’ve had back-to-back petrol spills in the Kaituma.
When the river floods it affects the sugar cane and other vegetation, so the program monitors the area after every rainfall.
I hacked into their database. That footage is a week old, but it’s the best we’re gonna get.
As you can see, there are no structures in the wooded areas around the camp.
Sorry I can’t provide real-time intel but we have no assets in the area. ”
I continued to watch the grainy black-and-white video. It wasn’t the best footage I’d ever seen but it did give us more information than we had.
“Thanks, Tex. As always, you impress the fuck out of me,” Declan told him.
“Anytime. I’ll be on standby. Out.”
Tex disconnected and Kyle moved the map of Garcia’s camp to the center of the table.
“I think a water ingress will provide the best cover. We can go in easy,” Kyle stated.
“I agree. We go in soft, neutralize the dogs first, then hit the house,” Brooks added.
“Will you kill the animals?” Emerson gasped.
She said ‘animals’ like we were talking about cute, fluffy bunnies and not vicious dogs trained to kill.
“No. We’ll tranq them if we can,” I told her.
“Is there anything you can tell us about Garcia’s camp or the house?” Brooks asked.
Emerson hesitated a moment before she glanced at the map.
“I think this is the road we took in.” She pointed to what looked like a private access road.
“I remember going through the village there.” Her finger moved to the small cluster of buildings.
“The house is actually small. One story. Four bedrooms, one bathroom. It’s an open floor plan.
So when you walk in you can see the living room, kitchen, and small dining area.
All of the bedrooms are on the right side of the house.
Well, I guess that would be the east side, since the sun rose on that end. Oh, and it’s loud.”
“What do you mean, loud?” I asked.
“The dogs. They are always barking. Day and night, they never stop. That’s good, right? The guards won’t hear you coming over the barking.”
“It’ll be good until we put the dogs to sleep,” I noted.
Over the next hour, we ran through different scenarios. And as much as I’d tried to keep my headspace clear and concentrate on the op, all I could think about was Emerson’s declaration. She wasn’t stopping her crusade until she found Autumn and she didn’t care if she died in the process.
I couldn’t wrap my head around how much she’d changed. How different this hardened Emerson was from the sweet girl I’d known.
“Three teams,” Declan announced, running the plan one more time. “Alpha team will advance the house. Bravo will proceed directly to the dog kennels. Charlie team will wait in the boat until they have the all-clear. Any questions?”
“I have one. Why am I going? I thought you said I wouldn’t get near the camp,” Emerson inquired.
“Because we have new intel that says there’s a possibility there will be women there. We’ll need you and Tatiana to help calm them down,” Declan told her.
“What? Jefferson doesn’t keep women at this location. He trains his dogs here,” she argued.
“There’s more to the camp than what you saw.”
Emerson’s eyes widened and her forehead wrinkled. “What? He had girls there?”
The news that she’d been there and hadn’t known Garcia was keeping a stable of women less than a few hundred yards from where she was staying wasn’t welcomed.
However, I was relieved she hadn’t known.
I had no doubt had she known there were women on the property being held against their will, she would’ve done something stupid, like try to free them on her own.
“Everyone gear-up, we’re leaving in ten,” Declan declared.
“You didn’t answer me,” Emerson protested.
“You’re right, I didn’t. And we’re not discussing it further.
I need you to keep your shit straight while we’re out there.
You listen to Brooks, and by listen, I mean, follow every order he gives you to the letter.
No Rambo shit. No bolting and trying to be a hero.
You and Tatiana go in only when it’s safe.
If you give him any problems, he’ll tie your ass up and leave you in the boat. ”
“You know, I’m getting tired of being threatened,” she huffed.
“I bet you are. So be a good girl and do as you’re told.”
“You’re a dick,” Emerson fumed.
“I’ve been called worse and if you think I’m a dick now, watch what happens if you fuck this up and get one of my men hurt. I have no time for bullshit, Emerson. One wrong step and people die.”
Declan didn’t wait to see if Emerson continued to argue, he turned his back on her and went toward the stairs.
It sucked because I wanted to soften Declan’s blow but I couldn’t. He was right—if she went off reservation and did something stupid, someone could die. And the one thing Declan had had enough of over the years was seeing his friends die in battle.
“Two minutes,” Brooks announced as he slowed the boat.
We’d easily found an unattended fishing boat a few miles downriver and commandeered it. Hopefully it would still be in one piece when we were done with it and we’d return it to safety. If it wasn’t, well, that meant we were fucked and stealing a boat was the least of our worries.
I’d done a good job keeping my eyes off of Emerson, but as we approached the dock, my gaze settled on her and all of the protective instincts I’d done so well tamping down, roared to life.
I didn’t want her on the boat. I didn’t want her going into the den of evil and seeing more women who’d been brutalized.
I didn’t want her wearing body armor and being put in harm’s way.
I wanted her home safe. In my home, where she’d always belonged.
There was no use denying that despite everything she’d done, I still loved her as deeply as I did the last time I’d held her in my arms.
Fuck.
Brooks pulled up to the dock and Declan jumped out of the boat, holding it for the rest of us. Max and Kyle followed but I was rooted in place. I caught Declan’s impatient stare, but instead of getting out I turned to Emerson.
“I want you to listen to me carefully, Emerson. Listen to Brooks, he’ll keep you safe. Don’t leave his side.”
“Thad—”
“Please, agápi mou. Promise me. I need to know you’ll be safe.”
Her green eyes hardened before she gentled her face. “I promise, Thaddeus. I’ll be safe.”
Knowing I’d say something stupid like, please promise me you’ll never leave me again, I kept quiet and nodded my gratitude.
As soon as my feet hit the wood planks, Brooks motored off, taking the girls down river away from the ensuing firefight.
Max and Kyle broke off and made their way to the training facility where they’d neutralize the dogs and eliminate any guards around the kennels.
Declan and I trudged through the muck and mud, staying in the shadows of the jungle as we headed straight to the main house.
“Hate to ask, but I have to.” Declan’s voice cut through the serenading birds and the buzzing of the largest flying insects known to man. “I need to know where you’re at with Emerson. And no macho shit about how she did you dirty, so fuck her.”
“What. The. Fuck?”
“I wouldn’t be asking if it didn’t impact the mission.”
I thought about what he said, then thought back to Brooks and Tatiana. And how their situation had played out during an op and had almost ended in tragedy.
He spoke the truth—my shit with Emerson could affect the team.
“I don’t know where I’m at,” I answered honestly. “I wanna hate her for what she did.”
“But…” he prompted.
“But now that I know why she left, even if I don’t agree, I can understand. As much as I want her to be, she’s not my Emmy—not anymore. And I mean that in a variety of ways.”
“You’re not the same person, either,” Dec reminded me.
“I’m not,” I readily agreed. “And I’m not sure she and I should look back. But, I have to admit, I still fuckin’ love her. She’s the one. After she left me, I knew there’d never be anyone else I’d want to spend my life with.”
The main house came into view and we stopped and waited for Max and Kyle to radio in they were ready.
“Then make it right.”
I might’ve flinched at Declan’s statement. He was always the first one to give Zane and Brooks shit about being tied to a woman. Hell, I’d heard him razz Lincoln, Colin, Leo, and Jaxon about getting married. And Jaxon was married to Declan’s twin sister Violet.
“What?”
“I’d give my left nut to be in your position—the woman you love coming back after a decade.
All the bullshit I spout out is just that— bullshit .
I talk shit to all of the guys, but the truth is, I’d give anything to have that life.
Come home to my woman, in our house, waiting for me so I can help take care of our kids.
That’s gone for me. If you have your shot, take it. ”
Holy fuck. Never had Declan ever talked about wanting a woman or kids.
“You can—”
“I can’t,” he cut me off. “I had it once. Had everything I ever wanted, but it’s gone in a way it’s never coming back. Not like Emerson. She’s here. Alive and breathin’. You want that life, take it now while you have a shot at it.”
Alive and breathing?
I was still trying to wrap my mind around what Dec had said when Kyle’s voice crackled through my earpiece. “Bravo team in place.”
Declan looked over at me and all traces of our conversation were wiped clear. Back was the cold, calculated warrior.
“Go,” he replied to Kyle and stepped out of the cover of the trees.
We had one shot at making entry to use the element of surprise. Once the initial shock of our presence wore off, we’d most likely be out-numbered, therefore at a disadvantage.
Luckily for us, we were good at what we did.
Declan kicked open the front door, revealing two men sitting on a couch. I swung the barrel of my rifle in their direction and in less than a second, both men were slumped to the side. A .223 round to the head was never pretty, but at close range it was downright disgusting.
As we advanced into the house, Declan took out a man coming out from behind a closed door.
Just as Emerson had said, the floor plan was open.
From our place near the front door we could see the entire house, including the only other exit, and five doors.
She’d said four were bedrooms and one was a bathroom.
Dec gestured to the left, indicating he was going for the rooms. It had taken us all of two minutes to clear the house. Jesus, that easy. Only three men guarding the house. Something wasn’t right.
“We’re clear,” Max announced.
“Headed your way now,” Dec returned.
“Any issues?”
“Uneventful,” Dec told Kyle and we made our way to the back door.
“Should be smooth sailing. We’ve got eyes on the backyard,” Max said.
“That was too easy,” I said to Declan.
“Agreed.”
Smooth sailing? Right. Nothing was ever smooth.