41. Chapter 41
Chapter forty-one
Pony
I wasn’t panicked when Remi didn’t answer my first text. Concerned, yes. The panic came after my second went unanswered and all my subsequent calls went straight to voicemail.
She always texts back right away or picks up when I call. There’s only one reason she wouldn’t, and that’s because she can’t.
The tracking app shows her traveling at a high rate of speed along the Pacific coastline seventy miles away. That’s how I know, without a doubt, she’s been abducted and is being transported to a secondary location via helicopter. As soon as I see it, I alert the rest of my team.
Fear buries itself in my chest. Hands fisted at my sides, I start to pace. Heart racing, stomach lurching, I feel like I’m being eaten alive from the inside out. I have to keep reminding myself to breathe.
“We’ll get to her in time.” I mutter. The words are more for my own benefit than anyone else’s.
Knowing there’s a high probability the Consortium and Senator Thornton are involved, we don’t waste time, immediately working on a plan of action to get her back.
Considering how fast we put it together, we’ve come up with a solid plan. It’s a joint operation that includes two SEAL teams—us and Charlie team—and fifteen carefully selected FBI agents.
Remi’s tracker shows she’s being held at a mansion in Beverly Hills, and we acquired and studied the blueprints so we’ll have the lay of the land.
Satellite and thermal imagining of the property indicates a crowd has gathered.
No doubt for one of their nefarious parties, and Remi is right in the middle of it.
The two SEAL teams will cover the interior of the house, while the FBI secures the exits to capture anyone who manages to flee.
Once the raid begins, anyone inside will either be dead or facing a long prison term.
Dead or alive, this time the Consortium douchebags aren’t escaping the hands of justice.
Even knowing how quickly our plan came together, it’s solid.
Still, I can’t stop pacing. I can’t stop thinking about what Thornton’s doing to her.
Every second Remi’s alone with him, my anxiety deepens.
If we don’t get to her in time, there’s a high probability she’ll be put on a plane and flown out of the country, and I could lose her forever.
I can’t allow myself to think that way, to believe we might already be too late. But I won’t relax until Remi is safe and back in my arms.
Two days ago, Ricochet was cleared hot by both his doctor and the Navy. I’ve never seen anyone happier than when he received the good news. This is the first time in months we’re all rolling out together, and the timing couldn’t be better.
“You good?” Warlock asks Ricochet as we climb into the helo.
He flashes a big smile back at him. “Yeah, man. I’m solid. I hate the circumstances, but I’m ready to kick ass, take names, and bring RJ home.”
Warlock turns my way, his eyes filled with empathy. “What about you?”
“I’m good.” I’m lying, and the way he scrutinizes me tells me he knows it. Still, he nods his head and we climb on board.
Our helo drops us off at a staging area on a neighboring estate, and we move in on foot. Once we’re inside, the FBI will relocate and move into position.
It’s go time.
Both SEAL teams pair off. For us, Hawk’s with Ricochet. Warlock with Doc. Me with Nitro. One by one, we quickly and quietly take out the guards patrolling the exterior and slip inside, each pair fanning out and going in different directions.
Minutes later, Hawk’s quiet voice cuts through my earpiece, “Targets located in the ballroom.”
This ostentatious house is so big it has its own ballroom. It works in our favor that the scumbags have corralled themselves into a single room.
“RJ’s here.” There’s a pause before Ricochet continues, “She looks scared, but doesn’t appear to be injured.”
Something in his tone makes me think I’m not going to like what I see.
“Strong copy,” Warlock returns. “Charlie team, continue searching the second floor for hostiles and hostages.”
“Roger that,” Charlie’s team leader replies.
“Bravo team, converge on the ballroom and wait for my signal.”
One by one, each pair of SEALs quietly confirms they’re in position. Nitro and I stay in the shadows as we cautiously approach the back of the ballroom.
Taking in the scene in front of me, my teeth clench and my jaw goes tight. Remi is on a brightly lit stage. She’s on full display, dressed only in black lingerie. Her eyes are wide and her breath is coming in erratic pants.
It takes all my restraint and training not to rush the stage. The only thing stopping me is knowing I’ll fuck up the entire op, putting her in even more danger if I do.
“Two hundred thousand!”
“Oh, hell fucking no,” Nitro says in a low growl next to me.
Senator Thornton’s on stage with her. He’s parading her in front of all these sick fucks like a trophy.
If there was any doubt of Thornton’s involvement with the Consortium, this sideshow eradicates it.
He’s not only a member of the Consortium…
he’s one of the kingpins. As if on cue, he tells his audience, “I can personally attest to Ms. James’ impressive pain tolerance.
The lucky buyer will have the pleasure of breaking her. ”
Rage detonates inside me like a nuclear warhead.
“Two hundred and fifty!”
“Three hundred thousand!”
A big screen TV hanging on the wall behind the stage flickers to life. I flinch when a montage video of Remi being tortured in Venezuela begins to play.
“Three twenty-five!”
Hearing the details of what happened to her and seeing the physical results was one thing.
But watching my sweet, beautiful Remi suffer through what they did to her—seeing her terror, hearing her screams—is something else entirely.
It breaks my fucking heart to watch her on that stage reacting to the sounds and images of her torture.
The sights and sounds from the TV turn my stomach. I want to cover my eyes and ears. Those images are being burnt into my memory. I’ll be haunted by them for the rest of my life.
The film causes a frenzy of higher bids, while my mind spins as I imagine what the potential winner would do to her. My fury boils over into a rage I’ve never experienced. I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone as much as Andrew Thornton. My need to destroy him is overwhelming.
Charlie team breaks through my dark thoughts. “We’ve located hostages. The rest of the house is clear. We’re escorting them and their guards out, then we’ll make our way toward you.”
“Copy,” Warlock answers, while the auction continues around us.
“Three hundred and fifty!”
I want to open fire and kill every one of these bastards.
“Four hundred thousand!”
“Four fifty!”
“How much fucking longer does she have to be up there listening to this shit?” I snarl through my comms.
“He’s holding her too close. She’s in the line of fire,” Warlock comes back. “We don’t know if anyone in the audience or the bastard holding her is armed. We can’t move in until she’s clear.”
Knowing I can’t race across the room to her, I try to muster patience I don’t possess at the moment.
“Half a million!”
Remi looks pale, and even from here I can see her trembling. Fear drenches her features. Even though the man in the suit has a grip on her arm, she’s trying valiantly to break free.
“And if she doesn’t get clear?” I ask, trying to block out what’s happening in front of me.
“Five fifty!”
“Six hundred thousand dollars.”
The man in the suit caresses Remi’s cheek. She tries to jerk away, but with his hold on her, she can’t go far.
I don’t know how much more of this I can take. The way he’s looking at her, touching her, makes my skin crawl. Like a living thing, an oppressive feral anger rolls off me in waves. “I am going to kill him slowly with my bare hands,” I hiss.
Next to me, Nitro grunts his approval.
“Charlie team is in position.”
“Copy that,” Warlock replies.
“I submit a personal bid of one million dollars,” the man in the suit announces, giving her a sinister grin.
There’s an audible gasp and murmuring from the crowd.
Remi recoils and her wide eyes flare with panic. She’s shaking her head almost violently, her panting breath coming harsh and fast.
Mercifully, the television goes silent and dark at long last.
Now that the TV is silent, I cup my hand around my mouthpiece to ensure I can’t be heard by the crowd. “He’s not going to let her go,” I bark in a low, clipped voice. “He doesn’t appear to have a weapon. We need to move in. We have to get her away from him. I can take him.”
No response.
“Goddammit, Warlock. I’m not waiting any longer. I’ll do it alone if I have to. Make the fucking call.”
Normally, I wouldn’t tell Warlock how to lead the team, but Remi’s already been through too much. We need to get her away from Thornton and out of here. Now.
“Fuck it,” Warlock snaps. “All stations, on my signal.”
I breathe a huge sigh of relief as both SEAL teams answer as one, “Copy.”
Several seconds of silence pass, then Warlock comes through our comms again. “In three. Two. Execute! Execute! Execute!”
The room erupts as both teams of SEALs flood in from every direction and surround the crowd. There’s panic, shouting and screaming, and people trying to get away. Chairs topple over. Plates and glasses crash to the floor. Anyone who dares to lift a gun is fatally shot.
My body is coiled tight. My rifle raised and ready to fire. With laser focus, I weave through the chaos toward Remi, ignoring the commotion surrounding me.
The man in the suit knows he’s caught. He wraps one arm around Remi’s neck, the other around her waist, holding her tightly against his chest and using her as a shield.
“Let her go,” I order in a deadly voice.
His arms tighten around her as he backs up. His eyes bounce around the room, searching for an escape route I guarantee he will not find.
“The woman is nothing!” he shouts at me across the distance.
That comment just signed his death warrant.
My glare is razor-sharp, my tone lethal. “That’s where you’re wrong, asshole. She is everything. Let. Her. Go.”
Thornton shakes his head and tucks her closer against him.
“It’s going to be okay, baby.” My words are barely more than a whisper.
When Remi makes a fist and places it over her heart, the movement catches my attention. When our eyes meet, she flashes three fingers and taps them against her chest. Her terrified eyes don’t leave mine. It’s a countdown. I give her the slightest nod in understanding. I lift my rifle into position.
Two fingers tap her chest.
My focus narrows. The pandemonium in the room disappears, rifle steady, my scope trained on the senator.
Remi flashes a single finger.
She pulls in a deep, shaky breath and makes a fist again. Then she ducks her head, twists hard to her left, and throws herself to the floor. As soon as her head and shoulders are clear, I squeeze the trigger and put a bullet between the eyes of the villainous man responsible for tormenting Remi.
Then I’m running for her.
I leap onto the stage in one fluid movement and step over Thornton, who’s sprawled on his back, blood pooling around his head, his dead eyes staring up at the ceiling.
Remi’s on the ground, freaking out. She’s in shock and practically hysterical.
I know she’s not processing anything around her.
As I approach, she scrambles, crab-crawling backward, away from me.
There’s a wild look in her darting eyes and a heartbreaking, unrelenting scream tearing from her throat.
I slide my rifle over my shoulder until it rests on my back. “Remi.” I hold my hands out to my sides, moving a little closer. “Remi. You’re okay. It’s me. It’s Colton. It’s all over. No one is going to hurt you.”
Her screaming stops, but her eyes continue to dart around the room, not landing on any one thing. She’s breathing so fast I’m afraid she’ll hyperventilate and pass out.
“Remi, look at me. You’re okay. I’m here. Come back to me, baby.”
Her wild eyes finally shift to mine and hold. I give her a small smile. “There she is.” I step toward her, keeping my movements slow and calm. When she doesn’t try to flee, I close the distance and drop next to her, pulling her into my arms.
She’s shaking, clawing at my vest, her voice raw and panicked. “Colton.”
“I got you, honey. You’re safe. Thornton can’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Promise.”