Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
Rafe Silva’s cell phone vibrated on the nightstand next to his gun. He seriously debated ignoring it and rousing Harper for a second round. He’d spent most of the last week in Langley hell, debriefing everyone who was ever remotely associated with the cartels in Colombia. He’d talked to the NSA, the DEA, Homeland Security, and, of course, at length to the analysts in the CIA.
As of Thursday afternoon at five o’clock, he was officially done working for the U.S. government. Recruited in college to keep an eye on his roommate, Carlos Narváez, Rafe had a five-year respite while a SEAL. At the end of his commitment to the Navy, he was recruited once again to watch his old friend, this time in Colombia. Carlos was now dead, thanks to two perfectly placed shots by Harper. When Carlos had forced Rafe to kidnap the gorgeous woman in bed beside him, it had been the last straw. Helping her escape had saved them both.
He was now free of the world of shadows he’d lived in all his adult life.
Rafe snuggled into Harper’s sex-satisfied warm body and breathed in contentment. He was going to love his new life as much as he loved the naked woman beside him.
Friday morning Rafe had started his new job with Guardian Security. He felt right at home with the company filled with special operators from every branch of the service. He’d toured the building earlier in the week when he’d been asked to come in and fill out the standard human resources paperwork. Nice place—state of the art equipment, spotlessly clean, and great food thanks to live-in service staff. Rafe was looking forward to a job that primarily involved being personal protection for politicians, their wives, foreign dignitaries, and CEOs of beltway bandits.
The phone vibrated again announcing he had a message waiting. Since he was no longer obligated to answer the damn thing, he considered checking it just so it would quit disturbing them. On the other hand, maybe he could slide the phone between Harper’s legs, right next to her clit, and hope it excited her the way her vibrator had. Playing with her toys had been a lot of fun last weekend.
When the damn phone trembled the third time, Harper reached across him and grabbed it. “You need to check your messages. If it’s not Guardian Security, it might be your girlfriend calling,” she teased.
“My girlfriend is right here.” He pulled her onto him, her nipples hardening as they brushed across his chest hair. He reached between her legs, still slick with their lovemaking, and pinched her clitoris. “I think my girlfriend is leaving me a message right here.”
Harper leaned up into a sitting position resting on his thighs, but not before she rubbed her wet folds along the length of his stiff cock.
Rafe couldn’t believe how lucky he was. As the two of them had made their way across Colombia, each escaping Carlos Narváez in a different way, they had found something special together. Every day he spent with the amazing Harper Tambini, he fell more in love with her.
She sat boldly naked atop him, her fingers rapidly flicking across his new smart phone. Some men would have been upset if a girlfriend checked his messages, but at this point in their relationship he and Harper had no secrets left.
“You didn’t think you’d get away with it, did you, Segundo?”
Rafe bolted straight up at the sound of Pablo Valez’s voice. “Payback is a bitch and I have yours.”
“What the fuck are you watching?” Rafe asked Harper who stared at the phone in her hands, her face stricken, all color fading away.
“He’s got Melina.” Determination chased anger across her pretty face.
She rolled off him and onto her back, holding the phone in the air so they could both watch the entire message.
“How the fuck did he get my new phone number?” Rafe’s mind raced through all the possibilities.
“When we got you the new phone, did you give them the old phone number?”
“Yeah,” he admitted, “but that was a Colombian number. Besides, I expect the CIA is intercepting any calls that come to it.”
“They probably are,” Harper explained. “But you’re not a priority so most likely if someone calls, the number it is being recorded and any messages left are being sent to an analyst. Again, since you’re not a priority, neither are the messages.”
“Well, this one is fucking important.”
The message started to play once again.
Harper told him, “You have to get this to Langley right away.”
“I don’t work for the CIA anymore,” he reminded her. “I don’t even have a contact there anymore. Besides, this is personal.”
“That doesn’t matter,” she insisted. “This is Melina. She still works for them. Have you forgotten how she warned us the cartel was after us then helped us escape from Cali? We have to save her from that self-aggrandizing idiot.”
“He wants me. This is obviously a trap, with Melina as the bait.” He could clearly see that, why couldn’t she? “I can’t just stroll onto an airstrip in the middle of fucking nowhere Texas without backup and a solid plan. And before you offer, I know you’re fully capable of helping. It’s going to take more than just the two of us.” Rafe sighed. “I don’t want some newbie team Langley hands me. I still consider her a friend.”
His mind scrolled through a short list of mercenaries and discarded each one. Most of them had been attached to a cartel in Central or South America. Hell. He might still have a price on his head down there. Rafe was at a loss for highly trained men who knew how to follow orders.
“Agreed. You certainly can’t go there alone.” She jumped out of bed and started throwing on clothes. “We need to get backup.”
“Fuck!” He suddenly remembered, “I’m supposed to work on Sunday. I’ve only been with Guardian for a day, and I’m going to have to ask for time off to go deal with CIA shit before I work my first real day on the job.”
Harper hit him in the chest with the boxer briefs he’d hastily shucked off thirty minutes before. “First things first. I need to talk to Katlin.” Bouncing on one leg, she shoved the other into the slacks she’d worn to work that day and pulled them up, covering the cheeky panties he liked far too much.
“What the hell can she do for us?” Rafe was totally confused. Katlin Callahan was one of six women, including Harper, who occupied the entire top floor of the condominium building just off DuPont Circle in Washington D.C. Although all the women were active-duty military officers, they currently were assigned to governmental agencies. They had a bond as tight as his former SEAL team.
Harper bit her bottom lip and stared at Rafe for a long moment before turning away to grab her blouse. “There’s more to Katlin than I can tell you.”
Worried now, Rafe threw off the covers and started getting dressed. “ Can tell me, or will tell me?” He quickly reconsidered. “Forget it. I don’t want to know. I’m out of that game. Forever.”
She turned and looked him in the eyes. “There are things I can’t tell you.” She stepped to him and ran her soft hands from his chest up to his bare shoulders. “You know I’ve had special training.” She glanced away as though unsure of continuing. When their gazes met, he saw the trust in her beautiful eyes. “That’s where I met Katlin…and the other women who live on this floor…in special operators’ training.”
Rafe was well aware of some of Harper’s unique skills. She’d proven herself time and time again as they’d been chased across Colombia by not just one, but two cartels. She was an excellent shot with most any weapon. She fought hand to hand like a man. While working out in the building’s awesome gym, they’d talked about going scuba diving and skydiving sometime soon, so she must be certified. He loved how outgoing and athletic she was, matching his enthusiasm for a fit body and adventurous soul. He’d learned to scuba dive in Boy Scouts and had joined the skydiving club in college, later honing both those skills in the SEALs. He’d never questioned, nor even considered, where she’d acquired those skills.
Ten minutes later, standing in Katlin’s kitchen as she prepared supper for what looked like an entire squad, Rafe watched the gorgeous blonde wince when Melina had been hit.
Katlin turned off the stove and asked to watch it a second time. She visibly concentrated on the small screen.
“Got it.” She reached into her dress slacks and pulled out her cell phone. With the touch of an icon, she was soon connected.
“Well, this is a surprise.” The deep voice sounded to be smiling, and vaguely familiar.
“Scrambling.” Katlin’s tone indicated the seriousness of the conversation ahead. “We’re secure.”
“Katlin, are you okay?” The concern in the man’s voice was evident even from four feet away.
“I’m fine, Uncle Tom, but one of your agents isn’t.” Katlin looked at Rafe and mouthed, What’s her name?
“Melina Costaneda,” he said, trying to put the pieces together. Who the fuck was her uncle Tom? An agent?
Katlin repeated the woman’s name into the phone.
As though reading his mind, Harper whispered in his ear, “CIA Deputy Director Tom Gillpatrick is Katlin’s uncle.” Well, if that wasn’t an enlightening connection.
“Uncle Tom, I’m putting you on speaker. I’m here with Harper Tambini and Rafe Silva.” Katlin nodded toward Rafe in a conversation handoff.
“Sir, I’m sorry to disturb you so late on a Friday night, but we have a situation.” Rafe briefed his former boss then forwarded the video to the number specified.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Tom, but I don’t think we can help this time,” Katlin explained. “We’re on hold waiting to leave for the G7 Summit in Italy. You know how much we love arm candy duty.” She slid a glance to Rafe then chose her words carefully. “But we have an observation mission. Seems when a particular world leader is away, he likes to play, very privately.”
“Understood.” Tom Gillpatrick most likely knew who she was talking about. Rafe didn’t, nor did he care. “I could talk to USSOCOM and get you reassigned.”
“No. Rescuing Melina isn’t something that we can do.” Katlin shook her head even though the man on the other end couldn’t see her. “You need a team that specializes in raid and rescue. Now, if you have a specific target that needs to be eliminated, we’re your women. This op is much better suited for a SEAL or Delta team.”
“I agree,” Tom Gillpatrick approved. “We’ll send the video to Special Operations Command so they can assign a team. Fortunately, Killeen, Texas is right outside Fort Cavazos, and they have a Delta Force on site. Hopefully we can get her extracted within a few hours. Rafe, let me see what I can do about getting you some on-site assistance. Katlin, I’ll talk to you before you leave.”
“Talk to you soon, Uncle Tom.” Katlin ended the call. “Rafe, you need to talk to Alex about this threat. Guardian may be able to help you.” Her statement threw him for just a moment.
“How?” Rafe wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.
“I know you’ve told Alex you’re not interested in this line of our business and we respect that, but Guardian Security has been known to take on special projects for USSOCOM.”
Rafe wasn’t sure where to start with that information dump. He knew Alex and Katlin were in a relationship but had no idea to what extent. She was mighty possessive of his company. And she’d said we and our .
Katlin raised an eyebrow. “I take it you didn’t know that I am a partner in Guardian Security.”
Rafe suddenly felt like an ass. “You assume correctly.”
The smile Katlin gave him eased the sting. “Don’t feel bad. Alex didn’t even know until a few months ago. I’m sure you haven’t had time to read the manual provided by human resources.”
Okay, now Rafe felt even worse. Top Cooper—manager of the D.C. center and his new direct boss—had handed him a two-inch-thick book as he’d left work a few hours ago. He’d planned on skimming through it before he reported to work on Sunday. “Guilty.” Changing the subject, he asked, “Special projects for SOCOM?”
“Yes.” Katlin hesitated then looked to Harper as though asking an unspoken question. When the woman he thought kept no secrets shook her head side to side, Rafe wasn’t sure he was going to like what he heard next.
Katlin’s gaze never left Harper’s. “Technically, we all work for USSOCOM.”
Rafe watched the woman he loved close her eyes when he asked, “I thought you worked for the ATF?”
Harper opened her eyes and held his stern gaze. “I did. Do. You know I’m an expert in explosives. I helped develop CHAZ, the most lethal nonnuclear bomb on the planet. The government?—”
“You mean SOCOM,” Rafe interrupted.
“Yes.” Harper took a reinforcing breath. “They decided I needed to be on that team and sent me to Colombia.” She smiled at him and the whole world righted itself. “You, better than anyone else, know the rest of that story.”
She stepped to him and threw her arms around his shoulders. “Even though I didn’t appreciate you kidnapping me, if that’s what it took to bring us together, then I wouldn’t have traded a single moment for what we have now.”
He couldn’t have stopped himself if he’d tried. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight.
Then she whispered his favorite words, “I love you, Rafe.”
He kissed her temple before he said the words from the bottom of his heart, “I love you, too.”
“I hate to interrupt this little lovefest, but the clock is ticking.” Katlin’s reminder brought him back to the reality of Melina’s kidnapping and Valez’s insistence that Rafe show up in Texas all too soon.
“So, Guardian Security is just a front for mercenaries.” Why the hell did I take that job? I wanted out of black ops and for some reason I keep getting forced back into it. But I’m the only one who can save Melina.
“No. Absolutely not,” Katlin declared forcefully. “Sometimes, Alex feels the need to back up our team. On occasion, a bodyguard mission turns into a raid and rescue. Or we’re available to supplement in a foreign country. He carefully picks and chooses which assignments he takes and refuses more than he accepts.”
“So, I won’t be expected to fly to some godforsaken country to play war or rescue some idiot who didn’t follow the State Department’s mandates to get the fuck out of there?”
“No.” Katlin’s smile broadened. “Trust me. There are more than enough men working for Guardian Security’s ten offices nationwide who jump at the chance to go play soldier then fly home in a luxury jet. You’ve made it perfectly clear you’re not interested.”
“Okay, then. I guess I need to call Top Cooper and ask for a few days off.” Rafe reached for his phone, but Katlin held up her index finger while tapping her screen.
Lei Lu wandered into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “What’s going on?”
Harper’s fingers flew in hand signals. Rafe recognized some of them taught back when he was a SEAL. A single nod from Lei Lu was the only response before she stuck her head back in the fridge and started pulling out snack food.
Within minutes, Alex and Lei Lu knew the basics about the situation.
“Alex, go to your video conference room and we’ll call you back in two minutes,” Lei Lu ordered. “This kitchen is getting damn crowded. Let’s move this party to the living room and a huge TV.”
It didn’t take the team’s geek a full minute to get everything set up and Alex’s live feed in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. “Let’s run through this at normal speed the first time, then I suggest we tear it apart frame by frame,” Alex suggested.
As they studied the video, Rafe couldn’t tear his eyes away from Melina. She’d been his handler the entire time he’d lived in Colombia. On a few occasions, she’d been his lover, although they both knew it could never go beyond sexual satisfaction. The spark just wasn’t there for either of them.
“Stop.” Katlin’s abrupt voice broke through his memories. “Back it up a few frames.” They examined the room.
“That looks like a prefabricated office,” Katlin commented. “Many warehouses have them. Is that metal roof trusses I see through the window?” She squinted at the screen. “It’s too small and dark to tell.”
“Melina hasn’t said a word in the whole video,” Harper noted. “But she’s blinking as though she has dust in her eyes.”
“Hold on.” Lei Lu picked up a pad of paper and pen and started scribbling. “I haven’t done this in years, but I think she’s blinking in Morse code.”
It took several runs through the video before they determined Melina’s message: Call my brother for help.
“Who is her brother?” Katlin asked.
“Already on it.” Lei Lu’s fingers flew over the laptop.
“Oh, shit. Katlin, you’re going to want to see this,” Lei Lu announced. A new box opened on the large TV. The driver’s license for Austin Costaneda. In the next picture he was wearing an Army green beret.
“Diving down that rabbit hole,” Lei Lu said without looking up. “He’s actually Delta. Stationed right there at Fort Cavazos. He has a condo and an SUV.”
“That just kicked it completely to SOCOM,” Alex announced. “Lei Lu, can you get General Lyon in on this call?”
Rafe was a little stunned and in awe that his boss could reach out and touch the commanding general of Special Operations Command at nearly midnight on a Friday night.
“Damn it, this crosses agencies. Lei Lu, pull Uncle Tom back into this conversation as well.” At Katlin’s swear, her hundred-pound dog lifted his huge head off his bed in the corner. “I’m sorry, Dammit, I didn’t mean to wake you.” The dog rose, stretched, and lumbered over before he crawled on the couch next to Katlin, placing his big head in her lap. She automatically scratched behind his ears and the dog closed his eyes. He was asleep in less than a minute.
“Do you think Valez knows Melina is the sister of a Delta?” Rafe asked no one in particular.
“I doubt he knows what a Delta soldier is, or cares.” Alex paused before he looked into the camera again. “Rafe, we’ll do everything in our power to get your friend back.”
Live feed of a square-jawed man in his late fifties wearing an Army uniform appeared in the upper left-hand corner seconds before the deputy director of the CIA appeared lower left.
“Gentlemen, we’ve uncovered new essential information on the captured CIA agent.” Katlin took control of the meeting, quickly introducing everyone with the most concise brief of the situation Rafe could imagine. He was amazed how she could congeal all the moving parts into a few short sentences.
“I don’t like this one bit.” General Lyon leaned forward, placing his forearms on his desk. “This is a direct threat made to a CIA agent who is directly connected to one of my elite special operators.”
“Valez has kidnapped a person connected to one of the most exclusive SpecOps teams in the U.S. military. I can’t afford to believe in coincidence.” The general glanced over his shoulder and spoke to someone off screen. In less than a minute, another box opened on the video screen in Katlin’s living room.
An Army colonel entered the frame leaning on a desk. “Yes, sir. I understand the situation has escalated and now directly involves one of my teams. We’re all in luck since that team is on its way in after a successful mission. Give me a moment while my aid transfers this to the conference room.”
Almost instantly the frame switched to where several large men in camouflage uniforms were taking seats, followed by the colonel in a crisp uniform of the day.
The soldiers, special operators according to the patches on their sleeves, glanced from one end of the room to another before returning their gazes to the senior officer. The camera had apparently been operating before their screen turned on.
Now the general’s meeting, he started by saying, “For security reasons, I’m not going to introduce all of you. Suffice to say, everyone here has the clearance to be in this meeting. Navy Lieutenant Callahan, roll the video for the men in Texas.”
With a nod to Lei Lu, Valez’s message took the majority of the screen as each of the live feed boxes lined the edges. Once again, Rafe was forced to watch Carlos Narváez’s nephew threaten and slap Melina. The live feed containing the Deltas in Texas erupted as almost every man around the table started to rise and all look to the dark-haired, well-tanned soldier. Melina was important to them all of them. At the conclusion of the video, Lei Lu had switched the boxes back to their maximum size.
The Army soldiers talked quietly among themselves.
“I take it from the disruption in your conference room, Colonel Ricci, your men know the captive.” The general’s statement was immediately confirmed.
“Yes, sir. She’s the sister of Staff Sergeant Austin Costaneda. The entire team has met her and enjoyed her cooking.” The colonel leaned forward in his seat. “Her kidnapping indicates a direct threat to the team.”
“In that case,” General Lyon affirmed, “this has become a terrorist action and falls under my jurisdiction. Deputy Director Gillpatrick, do you agree?”
“Completely.” Tom Gillpatrick nodded. “I’ve already officially turned over the rescue of my agent to SOCOM. This keeps it cleanly out of the hands of local law enforcement, which is perfect where my agency is concerned. To bring the men in Texas up to speed, the video you just watched was created by Pablo Valez, a Colombian citizen here in the U.S.A. on a student visa. The woman is a government agent who was the handler for Rafe Silva, the recipient of the video. Obviously, Valez blames Special Agent Silva for the death of his uncle who ran one of the largest cartels in Colombia. Our South American intelligence believes Valez is attempting to take control of that cartel.”
“Understood.” Colonel Ricci asked the question on everyone’s mind, “Do you have reason to believe your agent is here in the United States or has Valez transported Miss Costaneda to Colombia?”
“Special Agent Costaneda is currently assigned to a patient at the hospital on Fort Cavazos.” Averting the question and any other inquiries, Gillpatrick redirected, “We, here at Langley, do not believe Pablo Valez would have taken her because of her affiliation with your team but I fully understand your concern about the fact that she can identify each and every member of your team. As she is one of my agents, I can assure you she will die before divulging any of that information. My hope is that you rescue her alive and well before she is tortured anymore.”
After a short discussion in Texas, Colonel Ricci admitted, “Everyone here agrees.”
Retaking control of the meeting, General Lyon announced, “Effective immediately, I am setting up an inter-agency joint task force to be headed by Alex Wolf who may choose his team. I am going to mandate it include Army Captain Tambini. Harper, since you know the captive, you may be of assistance during and immediately after her extraction.”
“Thank you, sir,” Harper said. “I owe Melina for helping me escape during my last mission.”
“Navy Lieutenant Callahan, I will not pull you and your team from your pending mission.” With a wry smile, he added, “Ladies, be sure to take warm coats. It’s still damn cold in Russia.”
“Yes, sir.” Katlin sounded disappointed.
But weren’t they going to Italy for the G7 meeting? Rafe suddenly connected two pieces of the puzzle that was Harper’s friends.
“Rafe, of course, will be on the team,” Deputy Director Gillpatrick insisted.
“Most definitely,” the general approved. “I’m also adding one representative from this Delta team. I’d like to keep the rest of that team on standby in case Alex needs them for backup.”
The box in the lower right of the screen exploded into chatter. Melina’s brother stood up and announced, “This one’s mine.” The room quieted in agreement.
“Staff Sergeant Costaneda will be the Delta representative,” Colonel Ricci declared.
“Alex, since Melina was last seen in and around the Fort Cavazos area, and the designated airfield for Rafe’s meeting is close to that location, assemble your team there. Transportation is being arranged right now. Colonel Ricci, Alex’s team will work out of your secured area. His men have the same clearance as yours. Gentlemen, there are pressing matters elsewhere in the world that require my attention. I have complete confidence you can handle this raid and rescue. SOCOM out.” The general’s box went blank, and all others shifted in size.
“We have a team trying to locate and track the originating cell phone.” DD Tom Gillpatrick sat back in his chair. “We’ll send you updates when we pinpoint its location.”
“Colonel Ricci, we haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Alex Wolf, the managing partner of Guardian Security. I’ll contact you when we’re on the ground and headed to the post.” Alex paused and cocked his head to the side. “Colonel, you look very familiar. I worked with an Army Captain Ricci in Guatemala.”
The colonel returned the smile. “I knew you were one of us.”
“Close. My uniform was green, but I proudly wore the eagle, globe, and anchor.” Alex’s cell phone buzzed, and he glanced at it. “If you’ll excuse me, Colonel Ricci, I need to pull my team together. I’ll let you know as soon as I have an ETA.”
“Understood. We’ll be ready for you. Delta out.” Their small box on the screen blinked black.
“Rafe, even though you are no longer in our employ, you’re still one of ours until the situation is finished. If you need anything, just call. You know we have resources others don’t. To get Melina back, we’ll do anything we have to.” The number two man in the CIA morphed into Uncle Tom when he smiled. “Katlin, you and the ladies stay safe. Check in on your way home. We’ll cook out and have a huge picnic when you return.”
“Sounds like fun, Uncle Tom.” Familial love made Katlin’s face beam.
“You did mean all of us, right, Uncle Tom?” Lei Lu interjected. “Because we could all use a picnic and Virginian sunshine after Russia.”
He chuckled. “Yes, all of you ladies are invited. You, too, Harper and Rafe.”
“We’ll be there, sir,” Harper committed before Rafe could back out. He wasn’t sure about such a casual relationship with his former boss.
Tom Gillpatrick sat up straighter. “DD CIA out.” His box disappeared and Alex’s face filled half the screen.
“Rafe, you’re one of ours, now. And we protect what’s ours.” Alex added, “This is exactly why I’ve affiliated with USSOCOM. They let me keep those important to me safe. I need you both in the office now to get you geared up. See you in twenty. We fly out tonight. Wolf out.”
There was no room for discussion or questions. He and Harper were headed to Texas.