Chapter 42
“I want to wait up for Daddy,” Paloma said with a yawn that stretched her cute face.
She rubbed her tired eyes with the back of her hand as Britt carried her to the bed.
She’d taken Paloma to the suite she’d stayed in during her first days at the compound, grateful that the biometric sensors hadn’t been reset and still opened with her handprint.
The trek through the underground tunnel passed in a blur.
Emerging in the jungle rattled Britt. A disturbing reminder of the night she’d fled for her life after breaking free of the underground facility.
But the threat this time was direct and imminent.
And she wasn’t alone. She had to protect her little girl at all costs.
Racing through the jungle trail, Britt had been impressed by Paloma’s determination to follow her daddy’s instructions and get to safety.
Faint sounds of the attack on the house kept them moving quickly, but there’d been no signs that they were being followed.
It was the only reason they’d made it to the compound in record time.
As Britt pressed the metal stingray card against the access panel, she glanced around the deserted space blanketed in silence.
This part of the mountain was completely shielded from the mayhem at Lachlan’s home on the cliffs below.
No signs of any attackers. Lachlan had been right.
They only wanted him. It was a cold consolation to know her daughter was safe, but the man who owned her heart was not. And Britt needed to know why.
“How about I make you a promise?” Britt suggested, pulling back the covers as she placed Paloma on the edge of the bed. She slipped the muddy sneakers from the child’s feet, then helped her out of the sweaty clothes.
“What’s the promise?” Paloma gripped the Celtic knot on the chain Lachlan had draped around her neck. Her small fingers rubbed the smooth surface. Britt helped her into a Barbie sleep gown, then lifted her further onto the bed.
“You go to sleep, and I’ll wake you up as soon as your Daddy gets here. Remember how important Daddy says it is to get rest. He doesn’t want you to be tired in the morning,” Britt said, hoping that would do the trick.
Paloma’s gaze drifted from Britt toward the closed door of the luxurious suite. “You’re sure he knows we are here? He’ll find us?”
“Yes. We did exactly what Daddy told us to do. He knows we’re here, and he’ll be here soon,” Britt said, praying her words were true. That Lachlan had gotten away from the Quattro mercenaries and was making his way to the compound.
Yawning again, Paloma blinked slowly as sleep threatened to overtake her. She took a deep breath, then laid back on the pillow. Britt pulled Mr. Bow from the backpack and tucked the teddy bear under her little girl’s arm. Paloma held onto the toy bear tightly. “Okay. Don’t forget to wake me up.”
“I won’t.” Britt leaned over and kissed Paloma on the forehead. She stroked a hand through her curly dark hair, waiting for several minutes until she heard her daughter’s soft snores. Satisfied that the child would sleep until morning, Britt exited the suite, securing the biometric lock behind her.
The click of boots on marble alerted Britt to someone's approach.
A woman emerged from around the corner, her eyes widening slightly upon seeing Britt.
Though Britt couldn't recall her name or how they knew each other.
She moved forward hesitantly, concentrating on the woman's face, willing her fractured memory to provide even the smallest clue about their connection.
“I didn’t know how I’d feel when I finally saw you,” the woman said, staring at her. “I can’t believe you’re … alive. That you’re here. I’m sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry.” A shaky laugh escaped her lips.
“We were friends,” Britt said, feeling guilty for the memories locked away in her mind.
The woman's presence had an instant calming effect, like finding an anchor in a storm.
Britt sensed this was someone who had shared her darkest moments and who understood the weight she carried.
Having her here meant Britt wouldn't have to face Stingray's intimidating team of operatives alone.
“Close friends,” the woman acknowledged.
“We kind of bonded over having fathers who were in gangs. My dad was in the PC-5 for a long time. Yours in Quattro. We were GKs. Gangster’s Kids.
” She laughed. “A unique upbringing that most people can’t relate to …
what am I doing?” She ran a hand down the long braid draped over her shoulder.
“I’m Remi. I know you don’t remember me, but I hope you will soon.
I really would love to have my friend back. ”
“Remi.” The name was familiar and comforting, like a favorite melody. Britt squinted, looking at the friendly face. “Lachlan says I need to make new memories until I can remember the old. How about we do that?” Britt said, reaching for the woman’s hand.
“Now that’s worth a hug.” Remi pulled her into a tight embrace. Pulling away, she said, “I’m glad you got here safe. Any signs you were followed?”
“No.” Britt shook her head, then glanced down the hallway at the open door to the war room. “I’m actually surprised that anyone is at the compound right now. I thought Paloma and I would be here alone.”
“The security alarm on Lachlan’s house is programmed to alert all members of Stingray when there’s a breach. Bobby and I took the boat over as soon as it came through.”
“Bobby?” Britt blurted out, surprised by her confusion.
“Don’t you mean Everett?” She wasn’t sure why she was so sure that Remi and Everett were connected.
She glanced down at the massive diamond on Remi’s left hand, then back to her face, which was clouded by a sudden wariness.
Britt had inadvertently poked an old wound.
Shifting from one foot to the other, Remi twisted the wedding band nervously around her finger.
“Maybe your memories aren’t so far away after all.
I did get married, but not to Everett. I married Bobby.
It’s a long story. I’ll catch you up … after we find out what’s going on with Lachlan.
” She walked down the hall, and Britt fell into step next to her.
“Bobby’s in the war room monitoring the security feeds.
Directing the guys to get to Lachlan before Quattro takes him away—”
“So Lachlan is fighting them off? There’s a chance he’ll get away and make it back here?”
Remi’s response was a quickening of her pace toward the war room.
Britt’s hopes were trashed. Had the guys come too late? Was Lachlan already a captive of her father’s cartel?
Pushing the wide door open, Remi barreled into the room. “I found Britt. Paloma’s sleeping in the suite. What’s the update on Lachlan?” She made a beeline toward far corner of the room. The opposite direction of where her husband, Bobby, sat at the large conference table dominating the space.
Bobby stared at his wife with unveiled resentment as a handsome Palmchatter with deep dimples looked back and forth between them.
Britt knew his name was Adonis, even if she couldn’t remember anything else about him.
The tension was thick between the couple, but there was no time to unravel the strange marital dynamic.
Her sole focus was on Lachlan and making sure he was safe.
Britt looked at the screens behind Bobby, which cycled through several camera feeds at and around Lachlan’s home, the cliffside, and the beach. There was no movement. No signs of him or Quattro.
“Where is Lachlan?” Britt asked, stalking toward Bobby. “What happened to him?”
“Quattro got him. That’s what happened. We were too fucking late!
” Sebastian’s words thundered from behind her.
He stormed into the room, stripping off his shoulder holster, bulletproof vest and night vision headset, and slamming them onto the table.
He kicked at a chair, sending it tumbling across the space.
Kane followed him inside, breathing heavily as he squatted to the floor. “There were more of them than we thought. Even if we could’ve caught up with them, we were outnumbered. Didn’t have a chance with what we brought.”
“That’s fucked … “ Bobby muttered, pushing away from the keyboard terminal and raking a hand through his blonde locks.
Everett was the last to enter. His gaze honed on Remi, standing near Adonis. She was clearly as upset by the news as Britt was, but it didn’t stop her from instinctively turning to face Everett. It was as if she felt his presence. A move that didn’t go unnoticed by Britt or … Bobby.
“What are you doing here?” Everett asked, a tight edge in his tone. They all knew who his question was directed to.
Bobby moved between the two, his icy blue gaze directed at Everett. “Britt needed a friend to support her, even if it’s one she doesn’t remember.”
Everett’s gray gaze turned stormy. He nodded and turned away, ripping his tactical vest laden with ammo pouches and combat knives from his chest and dropping them on the floor.
Remi moved silently next to Britt, resting a hand on her shoulder. Britt needed to get them back focused on what mattered most.
“Did you see where they took Lachlan? Do we have any damn leads?” Britt demanded.
Everett shook his head. “We lost them as they entered the water. The boat has military-grade cloaking that prevents us from tracking it. We couldn’t take a chance of revealing our position because they could see us even if we couldn’t see them.”
“They would’ve taken us out easily,” Sebastian added. “We’re no good to Lachlan dead.”
“Please tell me you could track them through the feeds,” Kane said, heading to the keyboard terminal where Bobby had been sitting.
“Nope. Same problem disrupted the feeds,” Bobby said, walking to Kane.
“But I did identify four suspected Quattro ghost sites hidden in the Palmchat Islands. All likely locations for them to take Lachlan by boat.” He typed on the keyboard, and the monitors were replaced with maps, each one showing a different route from St. Felipe to the locations with estimated travel times.
Adonis didn’t look impressed. “It’s a start, but still not much better than finding a needle in a haystack.”
“Maybe I can improve our odds.” Sebastian headed to a computer terminal and typed quickly. “They’re likely taking Lachlan to Alejandro. By tracking the location of his private plane, we can triangulate the most likely of those four locations.”
Remi asked, “How are you going to do that? It’s not like any cartel files a flight plan.”
The jet’s call number. Britt knew that was the only way.
“Lucky for us, your hubby hacked and got the call number of the private jet. We were going to use it to monitor Alejandro’s location for the meeting tomorrow,” Sebastian said. “But it’s more useful now.” He turned to Bobby. “Can you shut down the scramblers and encryption shields?”
Bobby typed on his keyboard. “Done.”
The screen flickered, then stabilized, showing an avatar of the plane.
“What the hell … “ Kane said as Sebastian zoomed in on the screen.
“Looks like Alejandro will be landing in St. Basil in forty-five minutes,” Sebastian said.
Everett glanced between the two screens. “That’s about the same amount of time the boat will take to get from here to St. Basil.”
“But why would Alejandro do this?” Britt maneuvered between the men. “Why kidnap Lachlan if he already had a meeting planned with him for tomorrow?”
Sebastian leveled her with a serious stare. “Lachlan held all the cards for the meeting tomorrow. Quattro wanted the meeting but didn’t know what to expect since we set all the terms—island and location.”
“It makes sense for them to smoke Lachlan out and grab him before the meeting. Flip the script and put him at a disadvantage while allowing them to get what they want from him.”
“Which is … what?” Britt asked.
A quizzical glance bounced between the five men.
“We don’t know,” Adonis said.
“Why didn’t we anticipate this move?” Kane asked, slamming a fist against the table.
“Especially after the fluke insurgence against the coffee fields popped up this evening,” Adonis said. “Definitely a diversion to weaken our defenses, and the shit worked. We’ve got to do better.”
“And we will,” Everett said, then looked at Britt. “After we bring Lachlan back home to you.”
Sebastian turned toward the guys. “Everett and Kane, you’ll come with me to the ghost site in St. Basil. But just in case we’re wrong.” He turned toward Adonis and Bobby. “I’m going to need you two in the field.”
Adonis nodded. “Checking the next most likely site. I’ll put in a call to Rocco. I’m sure he can provide an assist so Bobby can stay here—”
“I’m not sitting on my fucking hands while you get all the action,” Bobby said. “Having Rocco on board helps, but I’m going, too. I can provide remote monitoring if necessary.”
“That works, but check out all three ghost sites. Only once you’ve cleared them all of any signs of Lachlan do you head over to St. Basil to back us up. Understood?” Sebastian asked.
The men nodded in agreement.
“Let’s synchronize our comms and get weapons from the armory,” Kane said. “Time is ticking.”
The men filed out of the war room.
Britt turned toward Remi, her breath hitching in her throat.
Remi rubbed her shoulders. “Don’t worry. They’ll find him.”
Britt nodded, but she wasn’t as confident as Remi. The Stingray guys had every base covered. So why did she still think they were missing something?