Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
I t was still dark when Rhys woke Haven.
He stroked her hair. She’d finally fallen asleep in the early hours after being restless for most of the night, worrying about this morning’s mission.
Yesterday, he, Vander, and the rest of the Norcross team had spent the entire afternoon, planning. They’d left nothing to chance, and Vander always had more than one contingency plan.
Rhys had finally brought Haven home for dinner. She’d been nervous and twitchy, playing with her food. He’d ended up going down on her on the couch, before carrying her to bed and exhausting her in other ways.
But she’d still been restless.
Now, in the murky light of early morning, he kissed the back of her neck. She shifted, still naked, and pressed against him.
His cock went hard, and desire licked through his veins. He kissed her shoulder and she made a sexy purr.
Need swelling, Rhys pushed her onto her belly and straddled her. He palmed her ass, kneading the soft flesh. Then he shifted, rolled on a condom, and thrust inside her.
She moaned his name.
“Take me, baby.” He started a rhythm of steady thrusts, her body shaking with each one.
Her hands twisted in the covers. “Rhys.”
He pulled her hips up, and leaned over her. He covered her, protected her. She was his to cherish. His to keep safe.
He bit her earlobe. “Falling hard for you, Haven.”
She made a sound and whispered his name. She thrust her ass back against him.
He slid a hand under her. “Feel how you take me? How you’re stretched around my cock?” He found her clit and strummed. She let out a harsh cry and her pussy rippled on his cock. “Come for me, baby.”
Her back arched, and her head flew back against his shoulder. As she came, he kept powering into her, and then with a groan, he came hard inside his Haven.
Rhys dropped to his side on the bed, and pulled her close. She clung to him. Once his breathing evened out, he pressed a kiss to her temple.
“I have to go, angel.” He needed to shower, get ready, then meet Vander and the others. They wanted to be prepped and ready well before six am.
“Okay, Rhys,” she whispered.
He kissed her again, then climbed out of the bed. Maybe when this was over, he’d take her away. Maybe to the beach, or a cabin in the mountains. They could stay in bed all day long.
Rhys quickly showered and dressed.
When he exited the bathroom, he found Haven in the kitchen. Her hair was still a tangled mess, and she wore one of his T-shirts. It looked way too sexy on her.
“Coffee.” She pushed a travel mug across the bench. “Bagel is in the toaster.”
“Thanks, babe.” He sipped the coffee.
She circled the island and moved in close. “You be careful.” Her hands moved down his chest. “Come back to me in one piece, Rhys Norcross.”
He took her mouth with his. She kissed him eagerly, and he felt the touch of desperation under it. All he could do to reassure her was to get this over with as soon as he could.
Rhys was winning against the walls Becker and life had forced her to build. She hadn’t freaked when he told her that he was falling for her.
It wouldn’t be long, and Haven McKinney would be all his.
“You stay here,” he said. “Doors locked, alarm set. Don’t leave for any reason. Ace is running comms for us from the Norcross office. You get spooked, you call him. If he doesn’t answer, he’s busy with the mission, so leave a message.”
“Okay.”
He tucked her hair back behind her ear, then toyed with the diamond that she hadn’t taken off since he’d given it to her. “It’s almost over.”
She pressed her face to his chest and hugged him tight.
After one more kiss, Rhys grabbed his bagel and coffee, and headed out. In the hall, he waited for her to lock the door before he made his way to the parking garage.
With a few bites, he finished the bagel, and slugged back his coffee. He left the cup near his GTS, then started his bike. He set his boot on the foothold, pulled on his helmet, then roared out of the parking garage.
He met Vander, Saxon, Rome, and Easton a few blocks from Volkov’s mansion.
Vander stood by his bike, while Saxon and Easton were in one SUV. Rome was in a second SUV.
Vander handed Rhys an earpiece.
Rhys hooked it in. “Check.”
“Got you.” Ace’s voice came through the earpiece.
Vander lifted an arm, checking his chunky Breitling Aerospace watch. “Okay, time to move.”
Rhys threw a leg over his bike, checked the Glock 22 tucked securely into the holster under his arm, then pulled his helmet on. “Let’s end this.”
Vander revved his bike. “Hell, yeah.”
They flipped their visors down. Rhys and Vander led the way, the two SUVs moving in behind them. Rhys took a corner, hugging the curve, the early morning light intensifying.
They pulled over, just down from Volkov’s house.
“Six o’clock,” Vander murmured.
Like clockwork, a black delivery truck pulled out of Volkov’s driveway. It moved slowly down the street, turned.
“Follow,” Vander ordered. “We’ll stay back, then pick the right spot to approach.”
Rhys really wished they knew the route, but hopefully there was a good location to pull the truck over and breach. He zipped through the light traffic, and turned to follow the truck.
They followed the truck out of Sea Cliff, and soon it was headed into the Presidio.
Where the hell were they going? Why drive through the large park? Were they headed for the Golden Gate Bridge?
The truck turned off onto a wooded side road. There were no buildings or cars in sight.
“Go,” Vander ordered.
The X6s veered off, speeding ahead and overtaking the truck.
Rhys accelerated. Vander, hunched over his bike, sped ahead. He watched the brake lights on the truck flare.
Perfect.
They split, coming in fast on either side of the truck.
Suddenly, the two SUVs swerved to a stop in front of the truck, blocking the road.
The truck screeched to a halt, rocking lightly.
Rhys pulled up on his side and slid off his bike. He pulled out his Glock. Maybe this would go down easy?
The passenger door of the truck opened. A big guy slid out, lifting a rifle.
Or not.
Rhys fired. The guy spun around and laid down a volley of bullets.
Running, Rhys ducked around the back of the truck.
Vander slid in beside him from the other side.
“I’ve got one guy,” Rhys said. “Armed with an AR-15.”
“Same with the driver.”
“We’re closing in.” Rome’s deep, calm voice came through the earpiece. The guy never lost his cool.
Gunfire sounded from the front of the truck. Rome, Saxon, and Easton had engaged.
Then Rhys heard a yelp. He peered quickly around the corner of the truck.
His guy was down on one knee.
Rhys strode out of cover and broke into a sprint. He pressed his Glock to the back of the man’s head. “Drop it.”
The man made an angry noise, but tossed his rifle to the ground.
Saxon and Easton appeared, their weapons aimed at the man.
Rhys patted the guy down, and pulled a handgun from his waistband, and a knife off his belt.
Saxon held up some zip ties, and they quickly tied the man up.
A shout cut through the air, and Rhys turned to look through the open door of the delivery truck.
On the other side of the vehicle, he saw Vander deliver a hard front kick to the driver. The man staggered and Vander kicked the gun out of the man’s hands. Next, Vander delivered a powerful side kick, followed by a punch to the face, and an elbow to the jaw. The driver went down.
Rome moved to help Vander secure the man.
“Ace,” Vander said. “Call Hunt. Tell him we have some friends for him to come and collect.”
“Oh, Detective Morgan will be thrilled,” Ace drawled.
“Well, that was easy,” Easton said.
Those words sent a tingle down Rhys’ spine. A little too easy.
He strode to the back of the truck and listened. “Can’t hear anyone.”
As Rome and Saxon dragged the two subdued men toward the SUVs, Vander, Easton and Rhys got ready to open the back of the truck.
Vander and Easton stood to the side, weapons up.
Rhys opened the latch and swung the doors open. He whipped his Glock around and looked inside.
Then he cursed.
He heard Easton mutter some very nasty words.
The back of the truck was empty.
There were no thugs. No painting. Nothing.
“Someone set us up,” Vander bit out. Fury throbbed off him.
Rhys felt a sick curl in his gut. He yanked out his phone and called Haven.
It rang and rang.
Pick up, Haven.
Dread solidified as the call cut off. The others were all watching him. He ground his teeth together and called again. Still no answer.
“Haven’s not answering her phone.”
“Fuck,” Easton muttered.
Rhys sucked in a breath. He had no proof, but he was positive Volkov had Haven.
* * *
Haven paced across Rhys’ living room, swiveled, and paced back. She’d been at it for a while.
This was torture .
The waiting. The wondering what was going on. Were Rhys and the others okay?
She moved to the windows overlooking the balcony. The sun had risen, washing the bay and the bridge in golden light. She wrapped her arms around herself.
He’d be okay. He knew what he was doing. All the Norcross men were good.
She couldn’t lose Rhys. Her throat went tight, her heart squeezing in her chest. Oh God . She was in love with Rhys.
She pressed her palm to her chest. She’d thought for a while that she would fall in love with Leo. When things between them had been good and fun.
But it had never really happened. What she felt for Rhys was bigger, bolder, and brighter than the best of anything she’d felt for Leo.
Rhys had done nothing but care for her. Sure, he could be bossy, and sometimes made her mad, but she realized now that this was real.
That was life. Real love was give and take.
It wasn’t making yourself less so someone else felt good all the time.
It was being there, through the good and bad, no matter what.
She staggered to the couch and dropped down. She was in love with Rhys.
Flutters started in her belly and she felt a flicker of panic. No, that was the old Haven.