Chapter 23
Maverick
Rage.
I’d known rage all my life, but until the days spent in the FBI, they’d been countered by acts of goodness. Maybe I’d gone into the FBI more na?ve than I’d originally thought, jaded almost immediately by the acts of violence I was forced to handle.
Maybe Steven was right. I was more like him than I’d ever wanted to believe because right now, the rage wouldn’t allow me to think about anything but finding the woman I was falling in love with.
And killing him.
That was it.
Two primal needs that had collided together.
There were several distinct differences in what had occurred years before, one being that I had no patience left. Not only that, I had no time to waste. The monster was closing a chapter to create another.
He didn’t seem to care that his identity would be exposed. And why? Because he believed his secrets would die with his brother. And his mother certainly wouldn’t blow his cover. Neither would his fucking father. Why did I have a feeling Jameson was on the list?
“Calm down,” Chase told me.
“How can I be calm? We don’t know shit about what’s happening.” The team had met me at the parking lot of where Alexia worked.
“We know Samuel’s house was owned by a conglomerate set up by Steven, a shell company that led to him,” Hudson offered. “But without our hackers, we wouldn’t have found it.”
“Big deal. So he owned the property.” I paced the parking lot, trying to rationalize what the hell had just happened.
“I’m still cross referencing everything we know about Betty Landers,” Chase added.
“Alexia’s life is on the line. We can’t sit here wasting time.” When I started to open my car door, Kendrick stopped me.
“Where the hell are you going? You can’t drive around the city or head toward the Everglades. That’s not going to work.”
“Damn it. I need something. Now!”
“He’s playing a game with you. You are his number one adversary. You beat him. He wants to see if the score can be evened. Now he knows how much you care about her. He’s using it against you.” Chase was using his calm voice. As if that would matter at this point.
He was right, but that didn’t make me feel any better.
“Where the fuck did they find Ashley Boudreaux’s body?” I threw out.
“Trust me. From what I learned, her body floated through the system for a few days. It appears she was killed right after she was taken. Maybe not Steven at all.” Gabriel had managed to call in a couple of favors even though it was an ongoing case.
I ripped off the fucking bowtie, shoving it in my pocket. Next were my sleeves, rolling them past my elbows.
I laughed. “Steven took the girl. He wanted to scare Alexia. And tempt me.” Fuck. I had to figure this out. “Give me something, Chase. Anything, for fuck’s sake.”
“Calm down.” He heard a blip on his phone and I was on pins and needles. “Hold on. We might have something.”
The four of us waited as he read over an email.
“It’s a long shot, but the only one we have. Betty Landers owns a place in Everglades City near the Big Cypress National Preserve.”
“That’s close to where I found her thirteen years ago. Given his surprise at my appearance, he needed a location that wouldn’t cause issues. That’s gotta be it.”
We looked at each other and I was the one to nod. We’d done this before, saving lives and terminating the monster involved.
I’d felt damn good about what we’d accomplished without realizing how doing so had affected me. But I wasn’t fixing the darkness inside. I was fueling it instead of repairing the guilt.
The only way of doing that was to put an end to the nightmare once and for all.
I’d changed over the years, barely able to recognize myself. I’d been angry when Steven had compared us, but he’d forced me to question all I knew about myself.
Maybe this was an end to a chapter, at least for me.
Raven Intel had been necessary, but in reality, taking justice into our hands hadn’t provided us with peace. Only a taste of what it felt like.
“Let’s do this. We won’t stop until it’s done.”
And in knowing I would die to keep her safe, I felt more like the man my father had taught me to be.
A law-abiding citizen.
Lightning flashed across the sky in a crisscross pattern, electrifying the horizon.
“Fuck. The last thing we need is a goddamn storm,” Chase hissed as he checked his weapon, slapping another magazine of ammunition inside.
I twisted my hand around the steering wheel, glancing out the windshield. The rain had yet to start. A storm. Just like the night I’d found her. She’d been knee deep in muck, the swampy area holding little more than decay and death. I would never forget a single moment of that night.
Not one.
Here we were again, finishing what had been started. But I refused for there to be an entirely different ending.
A picture was texted to my phone when we were only twenty miles away from our destination.
I glared at the screen, hissing as I did. Alexia was tied with rope, a gag in her mouth. While it appeared she was inside a building, there was nothing to indicate what type. He was just goading me.
“Jesus,” Chase said from the seat beside me.
We were in two vehicles heading toward the address with enough firepower to start a goddamn war. Only that’s not what was needed this time. This was a single man hell bent on finishing a job.
I remembered how much Timothy was into organization. He was very particular about everything from his desk to how he took notes. I’d even teased him about being obsessive-compulsive. That’s exactly how the killer had been and how I’d been able to find him.
I’d had the killer in my line of sight and I hadn’t put the pieces together.
“Don’t let it rattle you,” Chase advised.
“I’m perfectly calm, my friend.” I was anything but calm, yet I refused to play by his rules. I had my own and that’s the way it was going down.
I sped down the interstate, weaving past other vehicles. Now, being only five miles out, I’d need to be much more careful.
“The house is off the road by quite a bit. We should be able to park on the road. Then we walk in.”
I wasn’t interested in him giving me orders. I was a fucking wreck at this point, still weaving around traffic, even blowing my goddamn horn not once but twice.
“Maverick. Stop. I know you’re worried about her. We are going to get her back. Okay?”
After making the turn, I forced myself to slow down, paying close attention to the GPS. We were close, so fucking close that a knot had formed in my throat as rage threatened to take over.
With a quick glance into the rearview mirror, I confirmed the others were right behind me. Gabriel could drive like a bat out of hell just like I could. For some reason, the realization offered comfort.
If you weren’t paying close attention, the road leading to the house owned by Betty Landers could easily be overlooked. The gravel drive across the street offered a perfect location to park.
After climbing outside, I grabbed the bag of weapons and other supplies. I threw on a tactical vest as Chase joined me. We knew what we needed.
Additional weapons and ammunition. Knives. Small explosives. Flashlights.
By the time we were geared up, the others joined, all three men doing the same.
Hudson walked closer, nodding to both of us. “You sure about the location?”
“I’m not sure of anything. Just going by my gut. This wasn’t about making her hard to find. It was about whether or not I’d cross the line he continues to believe I’m capable of doing.”
“What line?” Kendrick asked.
“Killing him without hesitation.” I glanced in his direction just as the automatic headlights popped off.
“And will you?” Chase asked the question, although I had a feeling he already knew the answer.
“Fuck, yes.”
Another blip. Another text.
This time a video.
Her beautiful face. There was terror in her eyes and rage in my system.
Then her voice, a cry for help. A cry for the man who she’d considered a hero.
“Maverick. Help me.”
“Fuck,” Chase said as he looked over my shoulder. “Can you tell where it was taken?”
“No.” I studied the short clip again. And again.
And again.
The others formed an arc around me, the men remaining quiet. They knew what was at stake. We all had varied backgrounds. Military. The DEA. Police. Private security. The courtroom.
We were the same yet different, utilizing our skills in a way we never would have thought of doing before. We were only five men, our other associates never in the field. Yet it felt like we had an army.
Maybe because we relied on each other. Maybe because we could trust each other.
I knew without a shadow of a doubt they’d have my back.
There was no indication of where she was being kept. We could be on a wild goose chase for all I knew, but I had nothing to lose at this point. He was holding the chess pieces.
Images of her face popped into my mind as they had a hundred times. Only I felt such a sense of urgency I couldn’t breathe. “I can’t lose her. I just can’t.”
Another bolt of lightning, a deep rumble of the terrain and the first drops of rain on my face.
I glared at the sky, saying a silent prayer that she would be alright.
I didn’t give a shit about my life. I’d lived and enjoyed myself.
She deserved to be free of the monster lurking in the shadows. That much I would provide.
The men crowded around me and this time Hudson was the one who spoke.
“And you won’t. Come on, brother. Let’s go hunting.”
Alexia
Drip. Drip. Drip.
I lifted my head, studying the roof. Maybe I was imagining what I’d heard. I’d seen lightning even before being dragged into the building.
Another rumble of thunder and the ground beneath my feet vibrated. I glanced around the enclosure, trying to remain calm.
My captor had left a light on, blinding enough I winced. I could sense him lurking in the shadows, watching me as he’d done for hours at a time. Never saying anything. Just watching.