Chapter 11
11
KEELY
K eely sat at the long oak conference table in the Iron Spur’s private meeting room, arms crossed, eyes locked on the screens displaying real-time satellite feeds of Nico Alvarez’s compound. The heavy air in the room crackled with the unspoken understanding that tomorrow, one of two things would happen: they would end this, or they would die.
Jesse stood at the head of the table, arms braced against the wood, his jaw set in that immovable way that made it clear he was barely holding his temper in check. His eyes darted between the monitors and the team, but every time they landed on her, she felt the heat of his disapproval like a brand against her skin.
“We go in before dawn,” Reed said, dragging a hand over his face. “Alvarez has twenty men, maybe more, scattered across the compound. Perimeter guards, rovers, and a secondary team on standby in the city. We need to get them in one place.”
Dawson leaned back in his chair, twirling his combat knife between his fingers. “If we can get Alvarez to show himself, we can cut the head off the snake and take the entire operation down in one move.”
“Easier said than done,” Gavin muttered, scrolling through the tablet in front of him. “He’s paranoid as hell. The only way he’s coming out of that fortress is if we give him something he wants bad enough.”
Keely straightened. She knew exactly what that something was. “Me.”
Jesse’s head snapped up so fast she half expected him to break his own damn neck. “No.”
She ignored him, looking at the rest of the team. “I’m the one he’s after. He wants his diamonds, but more than that, he wants to make an example out of me. He can’t let me walk away from this. If I offer to meet him, tell him I’m willing to trade, he’ll take the bait. He’ll think he can get his diamonds and kill me—two for one. He won’t be able to resist.”
Jesse’s palm slammed against the table, rattling the glasses of whiskey they hadn’t even touched. “I said no.”
She met his glare with one of her own. “I don’t remember asking for your permission.”
The room went silent. No one spoke, no one moved. Jesse’s entire body coiled tight, his breathing deep and controlled, but she knew that look. She knew him all too well and knew he was close to breaking.
“Keely...” Reed started, but Jesse cut him off.
“Out. All of you.” His voice was a low growl, pure authority, pure command.
Hawke stood first, exhaling sharply. “You two fight it out. We’ll be at the bar.”
One by one, they filed out, leaving her alone with the one man who had the power to unravel her. Jesse waited until the door clicked shut before rounding the table, his steps measured, his presence looming.
“You’re not doing this,” he said, voice lethal.
She lifted her chin. “I am if it’s our best chance to catch this bastard.”
His hand shot out, fingers curling around the back of her neck as he hauled her up, pressing his body flush against hers. “This isn’t a goddamn negotiation, Keely.”
Her pulse pounded, heat curling low in her belly, but she refused to back down. “It never is with you, is it?”
His grip tightened, just enough to remind her who she was dealing with. “Not when it comes to keeping you alive.”
She reached up, fingers curling around his forearm, feeling the raw strength beneath his skin. “You can’t keep me locked away, Jesse.”
He leaned in, his breath hot against her ear. “Watch me.”
She shuddered, but not from fear. The way he controlled a room, an op, her—it shouldn’t thrill her the way it did, but damn if it didn’t make her want to push him harder. Test the limits of his restraint.
“I can do this,” she said softly, pressing against him, using every weapon in her arsenal. “We know what he wants, how he thinks. If we can get him out in the open, you’ll have a clean shot.”
Jesse’s fingers flexed against her nape before releasing her. He stepped back, dragging a hand through his hair, his control fraying at the edges.
“If this goes south...”
“You’ll be there.”
It wasn’t a question. For all his growling and bossing her around, there was no denying the truth in his voice. Jesse Bryant didn’t make empty promises.
She took a breath, then turned back to the table. “Then let’s figure out how to do this without me ending up in a body bag.”
Jesse muttered a curse, but he moved to stand beside her, arms crossed as he stared down at the blueprints of Alvarez’s compound. “Fine. But if you deviate from the plan even once, you won’t like how I handle it.”
She bit back a grin. “I don’t know, cowboy. I think I like how you handle me just fine.”
Jesse muttered something under his breath, but the heat in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. As much as he didn’t like it, he agreed with her and wouldn’t stand in the way of what he knew would be the best plan.
The air crackled with unspoken energy as Keely paced the dimly lit back room of the Silver Spur offices, running through the plan in her head for the hundredth time. The team had gone over every possible scenario, every potential outcome, but none of it made this any easier.
She was walking into the lion’s den, and she knew Jesse hated it.
“I still don’t like this,” Jesse muttered, arms crossed over his broad chest as he leaned against the edge of the table. The room’s overhead lighting cast sharp shadows across his face, deepening the scowl he hadn’t dropped since they’d finalized the details of the meeting with Nico.
Keely stopped pacing and met his gaze head-on. “I know.”
“That’s it?” He straightened, his muscles coiled tight as he took a step toward her. “You know? You think that makes me feel any better?”
“No,” she admitted, taking a deep breath. “But it’s the only answer I have. If there was a better way, you or Reed would have come up with it.”
Her big brother was no more of a fan than Jesse was. The silence stretched between them—dangerous and unyielding. On paper, the plan was simple. She would present herself to Nico as a desperate woman looking to save herself by returning the diamonds in exchange for Nico calling off his hunt. The goal was to bait him into lowering his guard just long enough for Jesse and the rest of the Silver Spur team to take him down.
Jesse raked a hand through his hair, his frustration rolling off him in waves. “I could go in your place.”
Keely shook her head. “No. He knows I’m a far easier target. He agreed to meet me, not you.”
“That’s what worries me,” Jesse ground out. “Nico doesn’t leave loose ends, Keely.”
She squared her shoulders. “Neither do we.”
Jesse let out a rough breath and turned away, gripping the back of the chair hard enough that his knuckles turned white. His control was fraying, and she knew why. This wasn’t just another op for him. This was her, and Jesse didn’t enjoy taking risks with the things he cared about.
Dawson stepped into the room, checking his watch. “It’s time.”
Keely nodded, ignoring the way her pulse spiked. She turned toward Jesse, but before she could speak, he was on her, backing her up against the wall in one swift move.
His fingers gripped her chin, tilting her face up to his. His eyes burned with something fierce, something furious. “You come back to me,” he demanded, his voice low and lethal. “No heroics. No bullshit. You do your part, and you get your ass out of there.”
Keely swallowed hard. “Jesse...”
He cut her off with his mouth, his lips crashing against hers in a kiss that stole the breath from her lungs. It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t gentle. It was possession, command, a promise and a warning all at once.
Keely moaned into him, fisting the front of his shirt, trying to pull him closer even as she knew she had to let go. Jesse’s grip on her tightened before he finally tore his mouth from hers, his forehead pressed against hers as he exhaled a sigh.
“You come back to me,” he repeated, his voice gravelly with emotion.
Keely nodded, unable to find the words. Jesse closed his eyes for a second.
The abandoned warehouse loomed in front of Keely like something out of a nightmare. Rusted steel beams jutted up into the night sky, the scent of damp concrete and decay thick in the air. Its seclusion—miles from the nearest town—was both a blessing and a curse. No one would hear the gunfire when things inevitably went to hell in a handbasket.
She adjusted the strap of the bag slung over her shoulder—the case filled with fake diamonds had been rigged to look like the real thing—and took a slow breath. Jesse and the team were already in position, hidden in the shadows, watching her every move.
“You got eyes on me?” she murmured under her breath, barely moving her lips.
Jesse’s voice crackled softly in her earpiece. “Every step you take.”
His presence steadied her, even as she stepped into the warehouse’s open space. A single overhead light flickered, casting eerie shadows across the cracked concrete floor.
Nico Alvarez stepped out from the darkness.