Chapter Eighteen #2
“Makes sense,” David admitted. “They’re going to a lot of trouble to grab a kid.” He thought for a minute. “All right. How about this? Each Fortress Security agent will wear an armband with the letters FS. We use them when we work security gigs.”
“That works.”
“Good. I’ll pass the word to our comms expert. He’ll pass the word to the backup team to wear the armbands.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“You can thank me when Julio is back with his mother. Any changes on that front?”
“No, sir.” Maria was still devastated and destroyed. The longer this kidnapping dragged on, the angrier and more confused Eddie became.
He frowned and glanced around the room. Where was Emily? She should be here with Eddie and her mother. None of the family should be home alone right now. “Where is Emily?”
“At a friend’s house.” Eddie squared his shoulders as though preparing for battle. “Sheriff Montgomery said it was fine for Emily to go to her friend’s house.”
“Sir?”
“Eddie is correct. The friend is the daughter of another officer. He’s at home with the girls and has two members of his squad with him. No one will get through them to Emily and Lilah.”
“Yes, sir.” He didn’t like it, but that was because Cam trusted very few people, and four of those men were here in this room. “We’ll send you the information and let you know when we’re on the road.”
“Excellent. What about Sedona? You are leaving her in our custody, right?”
“You don’t have anyone available to do bodyguard duty, and I will probably need my teammates to spring Julio.”
“I’ve got her, Cam. I’ll be at the lounge in five minutes. The officer at the door has several years of experience.”
Cam snorted. “He looks twelve.”
David laughed. “I’ll tell him you said that. Look, he has fifteen years of experience, much of it while working as a bodyguard for those wanted for their expertise in something. This will be right up his alley.”
“I don’t like it, David.”
“No choice, my friend. You can’t take Sedona into the heart of the lion’s den this time.
If you want to help Sedona, distract her with work.
Researching how to prevent animal abuse will be worth its weight in gold.
We’ve had a run of animal abuse cases in the county, and we can’t find the perpetrators.
They just leave their abused animals for the neighbors to find. ”
“I’ll talk to her.”
“Make her listen. The last thing we need is a civilian interfering with our investigation and getting hurt. I’ll send one of my experienced officers to guard Sedona. He’ll be there in five minutes. Call me when you’re ready.” The sheriff ended the call.
Cam slid his phone away and glanced down at Sedona. “We have to go soon. You can’t come with us, Sedona. We’re going into what could be a rough battle. If we have to be constantly worried about your safety, we won’t be as effective or careful.”
Disappointment glimmered in her eyes. “I understand.”
Relief swept over him. “Good. I promise you’ll know what’s happening soon after we breach the house. All right?”
She nodded.
He wrapped his hand around hers and went to the officer guarding the door. “Is there an empty room nearby?”
The guard inclined his head across the hall.
“Thanks. We’ll only be a couple of minutes. A bodyguard for Sedona should be here soon.”
“Yes, sir.”
He led Sedona into the empty room and closed the door behind them. Cam gently nudged Sedona backward until her back pressed against the wall, and he caged her in. “I can’t go on this mission without one favor from you,” he murmured.
“What is it?”
“A kiss, Sedona. I’ve been dying for a real taste of you.” His gaze shifted to her full lips. “Will you allow me to kiss you?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
Thank God. He didn’t know if he could go another minute, much less the number of hours it would take to rescue Julio and bring him back to his mother.
Cam bent his head, slid his hand to her nape, and took her mouth with his.
Lightning sizzled through his veins at the touch of her lips.
Holy smoke. This woman just did it for him in every way.
She tasted of heat and spiced honey. Delicious.
From now on, every time he tasted that flavor, Cam would think of her.
He sank deeper into the kiss, shoving all other worries aside for these two minutes with Sedona. Although careful to keep the bulk of his weight from her, he couldn’t resist the temptation to tug her against his chest.
Oh, man. Cam uttered a soft groan, and a moment later lifted his mouth from hers. “You don’t know how much I hate to stop.”
“Then don’t.”
“Tiger, if I don’t stop right now, I won’t be able to stop. The military trained me in the art of self-control and I don’t have any. Do you understand?”
Her cheeks turned pink as she nodded. “I never dreamed a kiss could heat me up to my bones.”
He chuckled. “Same.” With the mission clock running in his head, Cam sobered. “I’ll be gone for a while. Hopefully, we’ll have Julio when we return. Although we’ll do our best, kidnappers are unpredictable. I don’t know what the outcome will be.”
“I understand.” She paused, then said, “Cam, do you really think Julio is the primary target? A five-year-old boy?”
“Criminals don’t care about age or innocence.
They have an agenda or a mission they’re being paid to carry out.
I don’t know what Julio saw, but we better find out fast. His life might depend on us knowing what triggered all of this and who wants to silence him.
” And Sedona. Anyone who tried to harm his woman would find retribution burning them down to the ground.