Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Sydney
The motel is dingy, and I won’t put Mari down on the floor. She’s fussing from her playpen, mad at me, but the thought of what she could be crawling or toddling on makes my stomach roll.
I’m only staying here for the night until I can get to a bank tomorrow to withdraw more cash to get us away.
I hated leaving my car behind, but I knew with Tucker having me followed, the bus was the best way to get away from them.
I don’t know who he has following me, but I saw him when the bus pulled away.
He was sitting on a bike watching my car as he talked on the phone.
I could make out his bright blue eyes when he lifted his glasses.
His dark hair was a bit longer than Tucker’s, and he had a beard and mustache.
He was handsome and not one of the guys from Drago Defiance that I’ve seen before.
I don’t know how I knew he was the one following me, except for the fact he was watching my car, but he looked like someone Tucker would know.
His body was ripped with muscles under his Henley.
He had an air of military to him, like most of the guys with Drago Defiance.
I pull the burner phone from my bag to call my mom so she knows I’m safe at least. I’ll have her pack up my house and put it on the market.
I left a letter for her to give to Tucker.
My heart hurts thinking about how much I’m going to miss him.
A knock sounds at the door before I can dial her number.
I walk over to look out the peephole, and my head hits the door. How the hell did he find me?
“Open the door, spitfire.”
I step back and release the chain before I twist the knob to open it. He pushes inside and slams the door.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he demands.
“Dada. Dada,” Mari coos from her playpen. He strolls over to her and picks her up.
He holds her to his chest and takes a deep breath.
“Come here,” he growls, and I move toward him. He wraps me close and holds both of us tight. “Thought I fucking lost you both. I can’t do that ever again.”
“What do you mean?” I pull back.
“Someone torched your house.”
“What?” His words don’t make sense.
“Some idiots torched your house. I had Dax come to the jobsite and tell me. I thought you both were dead. I can’t do that again. Baby, will you finally tell me what you’ve been hiding from me this whole time?”
I look up and see Mari is asleep in his arms.
“I killed her father,” I say so soft I’m not sure he can hear me. “I’m a murderer.”
“No, you’re not. You did it to protect yourself, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes, but I could have shot him in the leg.”
“He would have still killed you. You did what you were trained to do.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know that Colton works for Miles Kant?”
“How do you know that?”
“I have some friends who investigated him. I knew you were lying to me, but I prayed you’d tell me the truth soon. Kant threatened me, didn’t he?”
“He said you ride around and it wouldn’t take much to kill you. He threatened Mari and my mom too.”
“What else?”
“I know Colton took most of the pictures and was responsible for the rhino on my doorstep and my car, but I haven’t seen him in a while. Miles said he punished him.”
“Fuck, he could be dead too. What does Kant want from you?”
I start to tell him, but he holds up his hand. “Just a sec.” He walks over to the door and opens it. “Get in here. We’ve got to plan,” he says to someone outside.
I watch as the man from the bus station makes his way into the room. He limps slightly, but as he moves around the room pacing for a moment, I see he moves easier.
“When I sit too long, my leg gets sore,” he says as his hand lands on his knee. “I’m Carter.” He introduces himself.
“Sydney.”
“I know. Nice way to give me the slip at the bus station. Glad to see you’re safe. Poseidon here would have destroyed the world if something happened to you.” He chuckles as Tucker moves up behind me.
I look over to see that he laid Mari down in her playpen.
“We need to get them out of here and somewhere clean and safe.”
“Don’t want to take them to the clubhouse?”
“No, but I’ll get Cronus to set something up.”
“I’ll call him for you.”
“Could you?”
“I’ll message him now.” He moves away a bit, and I stay in Tucker’s arms.
Tucker finally turns me to face him. He leans down so that his lips are next to my ear. “I took you bare, you could be pregnant with my child, and you ran from me.” His soft words against the shell of my ear make my body break out in goose pimples.
I pull away and look up at him. I look him in the eye so he can see everything.
“I would have contacted you. I wouldn’t keep your child away from you. I just couldn’t risk losing you. I love you so much, Tucker.”
His hands go to my cheeks and hold me gently.
“Sydney, you were willing to take yourself and Mari, who calls me Daddy, away from me. She’s my child too. I want to adopt her. Fuck, I want to make you mine always.”
Tears clog my throat. He’s right, I was taking her away from him.
“I’m sorry.”
“You remember I was a SEAL, baby, right?” I nod. “I’m going to protect you. Let me do my job. What I was trained to do.”
I nod again as he leans forward. He kisses my forehead and then pulls away. I want his lips on me, but I know if he starts kissing me, I won’t stop.
“Besides, I need to tell you a secret too.” He pauses, and I wait for him, not sure what he’s going to confess.
“I’m a part of a private unit that is contracted by the government.
We investigate people who think they are above the law.
This Miles Kant is that kind of man. If I’d known sooner, we could have taken care of this and protected you more. ”
“What? How?”
“Most of the men with Drago Defiance are a part of it. Do you remember meeting Cronus?”
I just nod because I’m in shock over this. I never would have guessed he was still in the military.
“I thought you got out of the military?”
“I am. This is a private group. Cronus is our leader.”
“Is he going to be mad at me?” I worry that he will think I’m a threat to their organization.
“No. Never. He’s worried about you. Besides, since he let his own girl run, he’s eating crow with us guys.” Tucker chuckles, and I remember the imposing dark-haired man.
“Okay, so what is it that you have that Kant wants?” Carter asks as he turns back toward us.
“I have photos and video clips of him and Colton killing a rhino with Brigade men.”
“How?” Tucker asks.
“There was a night vision game camera set up in the area they killed it in. They didn’t know until later. Someone must have been watching us approach the camera. I retrieved the footage before they attacked us.”
I pull from Tucker’s embrace, but he stays close. The fear of almost losing me is still bothering him because he won’t let me move far from him. I pull the SD card from my purse and show them.
“We can copy it and put it on the internet, send it to news reporters before we turn it over to him,” Carter says.
“I can have my team along with Titan from Poseidon’s unit upload it for you.
” He reaches for it, but I hold it against my chest. I know Tucker trusts him, but this is the only thing protecting my family.
“Baby, it’s okay.” Tucker wraps me back in his arms. I slide mine around his body, holding him tight.
“If I give him this, he’ll stop. He’ll go away.”
“You know that’s not true.”
I nod against his chest. I know he’s right. Miles Kant won’t give up until I’m dead because I’m also proof that he had my team murdered.
“Okay.” I hand the card to Carter and watch as he plugs it into a laptop I didn’t even see him bring in.
“How do you get a hold of Kant?” Carter asks me.
“He was texting me, but I can email him too.”
“Log in to your account on this laptop. He won’t be able to trace you on it.” He offers me the laptop he was using.
“What am I going to tell him?” I look between them.
“On our way here, we came up with a plan. Your mom will meet us to take care of Mari. Cronus got you all a safe house. She can meet us there. Then tomorrow you’re going to meet Kant at the zoo for an exchange,” Tucker offers.
I can tell he doesn’t like the idea completely, but he’s going to do what he can to make us all safe.
“Okay.”
I log in and send Miles a message saying exactly what they want me to say.
Poseidon
Sydney and Mari are with Whitlock on their way to the safe house Cronus was able to line up for us.
Whitlock didn’t tell me where he secured Lydia and the kids, but I know they are safe.
Carter and I follow behind them as we make our way to a small three-bedroom house near the zoo.
I will do anything to protect my family.
Tomorrow I won’t be far from her side. Whitlock and Dax are going to be part of the plan so Kant and Colton can be arrested together.
When we pull up to the house, her mom is already waiting for us. Aries brought her and my dad, making sure he wasn’t followed. The ladies and Mari make their way into the house while we stand outside longer, taking in our surroundings.
“Lydia can’t believe Colton is a part of this,” Whitlock says after I introduce him to Carter. “I hate that I have to send her to work tomorrow so that he doesn’t know we know, but it’s the only way to make sure we capture him too.”
“Tomorrow, we need to make it seem like everyone is doing what they are supposed to except for Sydney. She’s already taken a leave of absence from the zoo, but Colton doesn’t know that.”
“I get that, but I can’t promise I won’t go off on Rorke for all he’s done.” Whitlock’s body is tight, his fists clenched. “This has become personal for me.”
“I get that, man.” I slap him on the back, knowing exactly how he feels.
“No, you don’t. I’ve never felt like this. She doesn’t even have a clue.”
“Welcome to the ‘one look.’” Aries chuckles.
“I don’t know what that means.” Whitlock moves past us toward the house.
Yep, he’s still in denial. I nod at Aries as we all move toward the house.
“What is the ‘one look’?” Carter asks, and I turn to him.
“Inside joke.”
Sitting at the table, I look around at some of the men from my team. Cronus wanted to meet to come up with a better plan.
“We need to do this as close to the book as we can. This man is a big game hunter. He’s going to be armed.” Cronus pauses. “Thanatos, I want you on scope, just in case it goes sideways.”
“I still don’t like using my woman as bait. Can’t we take him down on the way to the location?”
“I agree with Poseidon on this. Sydney isn’t trained for missions such as this,” Zeus adds in.
“I was trained by the Akashinga to use a gun and fight dirty. I’m not afraid of Kant.
I’ve seen the footage. I know he only took the killshot to the head of the rhino, but someone else shot it first. I must do this.
” Sydney’s voice breaks through our conversation.
She chokes, and her hand goes to her mouth as tears roll down her face.
“I have to do this for them. I left them there instead of burying them. I left them.”
I jump up and am across the room, pulling her into my arms. She looks up at me.
“Tucker please, I have to do this.”
“I know baby.”
“I’ll have him in my crosshairs the whole time,” Thanatos offers.
“I’ll be close by too,” Typhon growls, and I nod at them.
Zeus walks over to her. “I didn’t doubt you could handle yourself. I just don’t want to put you in danger, little sister.” He gently pulls her from my arms as I growl at him. “You and Mari are everything to us.”
“Yeah.” Hades walks up along with our dad.
“I’ll be there too, but I can’t be seen because Kant knows me,” Cronus says. “We won’t let anything happen to her. Take her back to the room, then we’ll talk more.”
I lift Sydney up into my arms after I get her away from my brothers and father. Carrying her into our room, I kiss her long and deep.
“Let me work this out. The less you know, the better. I love you.” I kiss her again before I leave her to head back out to the kitchen.
After we finalize the plan for tomorrow, I climb into bed behind Sydney, who has fallen asleep.
I look over to where Mari is sleeping across the room from us.
I didn’t want her far from me. Sharon is in the second bedroom, and my dad in the final.
My brothers are all taking up the leftover space around the house.
I wrap Sydney in my arms and hold her close.
The memories of earlier when I thought I lost her wash through me, and my body trembles.
“I’m here, baby,” she says as she rolls and melds her body to mine.
Her tiny sleep shorts allow her smooth legs to wrap around my waist. I hold her tight to my body. I want to slip my cock out and slide it into her, but I know we both need our sleep and need to wait. I don’t want anyone to hear the sounds she makes or for her to wake up Mari.
My bike is parked in a remote area as I make my way into the zoo. Sydney won’t be here for another hour, and the meet is set for a half hour after that. We wanted her to be here early enough that if Kant double-crossed us, we’d still be able to react.
I make my way toward the rhino exhibit. It’s fitting that Kant is going to go down in front of the animal he poached. Carter and several of the Unknowns, along with Drago Defiance members who aren’t a part of the unit, are scattered around the park. The police are already here or arriving soon.
A single guy would stick out like a sore thumb, so I’m dressed as one of the security guards. Lydia came through with the uniform. I move around the zoo, acting like I’m supposed to be here. Time flies by as I stay in the general area, watching families as they interact with each other.
I spot Sydney as she moves into the African exhibit.
She’s just come through the entrance when she’s grabbed.
A man pulls her in close, and I watch as she looks down in horror.
I recognize Kant and can make out the gun under the jacket he’s holding in his other arm.
She doesn’t know where I am. He starts to pull her away, and I move out of my hiding spot.
She looks over at me, then drops her eyes.
“I got him in my scope. He won’t get away with her,” Thanatos says. His calm, scratchy voice comes through my earpiece, steadying me so I can get back in the game.