35. Thad
Thad
I watched in horror as two men exited my room. One holding a lifeless Emerson. The other closing the door behind them. Neither were concealing their identities. They must’ve picked the patio door lock, because they hadn’t entered the way they were leaving.
It had taken Garrett five minutes to hack into the hotel’s security and email us the footage.
It had taken me longer arguing with Declan to allow me to watch it.
We’d gone into a stare down, and as much as I respected Dec, I wasn’t above kicking his ass and terminating my employment with Z Corps in order to find my woman.
And the first step in finding her was watching the video of her being abducted.
“You running the men?” I asked.
“Yeah. So far nothing,” Garrett answered. The man didn’t have to be in front of me for me to feel his frustration. “Listen, Thad—”
“Don’t,” I cut him off. “Not one goddamn word. I’m holding on by a thread, I don’t want platitudes and niceties.
I know you all have my back and you have hers.
I know we’re gonna find her, because there is no other option.
I don’t need to be told jack shit about that.
I don’t need to be handled, either. So, with respect, Garrett, just find me the intel I need to bring my woman home. ”
“Copy that, Thad. I’ll be in touch.” Garrett disconnected and my team was staring at me.
My barely checked temper was getting ready to snap when my phone rang.
I snatched it off the table and I didn’t bother to check the caller ID.
“Bench,” I snapped.
“She’s in Mexico, right across the border.”
“Autumn?”
“It will be faster for you to come in by boat. Literally across the border on the beach. There’s a string of cafes on the boardwalk.
Third one in. There’s a sculpture of a heart.
It’s blue. If your back is to it, you’ll see a structure that looks like storage.
There are two shipping containers in there. She’s in one of them.”
“Where are you?” I asked.
“Sitting at the bar across the street.”
“Stand down,” I demanded. “We’ll be there in forty minutes tops, now you get the fuck outta there.”
“Not a chance. Word is there are buyers in town. Yesterday’s offering wasn’t up to standards and her body washed ashore this morning.
Which means they’ll be going back to that container to pick another woman.
I hate it for all of them, but that woman will not be my sister.
I’m sitting here, watching, but I will not approach unless Emerson is tonight’s pick. ”
Motherfucker, she was crazy.
“We’ll be there in thirty. Keep in touch.”
Autumn disconnected and I was already figuring a way to shave ten minutes off our time. We didn’t have a boat which meant our options were limited—beg, borrow, or steal. Any of the three worked for me, whichever was the fastest way to acquire a boat was the choice we were taking.
“What’d she say?” Declan asked.
I quickly relayed the information Autumn gave me and our immediate need for a water craft.
“Rear Admiral Dag Creasy,” Kyle said. “He’s still the commander of Group One. Special Boat Team 20 is stationed at the Anphib base. They’ll have what we need.”
“I’m thinking I’d rather steal a civilian craft than a RIB from the Navy,” I told him.
Though the ridged-hulled inflatable boat was exactly what we needed.
“We won’t have to, he’ll give us one,” Kyle returned, pulling his phone out.
I left him to it, not caring Kyle was about to get an ass-chewing from a Rear Admiral for calling in the middle of the night, and went to the kitchen table to pick up the newly loaded magazines Max had been working on.
I shoved three extra .45 caliber Pmags into the webbing on my vest and made sure they were secure.
Brooks was doing the same, tapping his equipment, making sure he had everything he needed.
When he was done, he looked over at me and our eyes locked.
I hoped like hell he wouldn’t speak. I hadn’t lied when I told Garrett I was holding on but barely.
The cold detachment I was forcing myself to feel was slipping and it was becoming increasingly harder not to let my emotions overtake me.
Emerson deserved more. She didn’t need my rage and destruction, not yet.
She needed me calm, calculating, and deadly.
The only way for me to give her what she needed was to lock my emotions down and detach.
She wasn’t my future wife. She wasn’t the woman who would have my children. She wasn’t the woman I loved more than anything. Not right now. All she could be was my target. This was a rescue op and all she could be was a faceless vic who needed our help.
A job.
If she became anything else to me, I would lose my tenuous hold and fall apart.
“Were you able to track the call?” I heard Declan ask. There was a pause. “Intel’s good, then. Keep tracking her. Thanks.” Then he turned to us. “Tex verified Autumn’s where she says she was.”
It was good Declan had the wherewithal to double-check. I didn’t think Autumn would jack us around when it came to Emerson, not after what I’d seen back in Manicore, but Dec made the right call confirming her intel.
“Creasy’s meeting us at the NAB and he did one better than I thought.
SBT 20 will give us a lift, but they cannot make a beach landing.
They’ll get us in as close as they can and hold for our return.
He said he’ll have the team ready in ten minutes and it will take them fifteen to get us to the drop point. ”
“Let’s roll,” Declan barked and I swung my AR over my shoulder and followed him.
“I’ll be waiting,” Tatiana called out. “I’ll forward anything Garrett or Tex finds.”
“’Preciate it,” I returned, not looking back.
Part of that was because Tatiana was not locking down her emotions like the rest of the team was. She was wearing her worry plain as day and I couldn’t bear to look at her.
Declan got us to the NAB in record time.
Thankfully when a Rear Admiral gives an order to the E-nothings running the gate, they don’t question orders.
We pulled up, Declan gave his first name, the gate opened, and a SUV driven by a MP pulled in front of us.
He escorted us to the other side of the base where the Special Boat Teams had their compound.
The MP did this driving at a high rate of speed, which meant Dec was following just as fast.
Thank fuck, because the longer this went on, the harder it was to keep the crippling fear at bay.
The MP took us through a second security gate surrounding the SBT compound. Dec pulled into a spot near the staging area by the dock and the five of us got out.
Rear Admiral Creasy was standing near a four-man crew, all of them were fully kitted out, complete with face paint to conceal their identities. Creasy looked exactly the same as he had when I left the teams. Tall, fit, a man who stood tall and proud from all his years of service.
“Gentlemen, I know you don’t have time so I’ll keep this brief. Pains me to say it, but my men cannot engage. Hate your asses are swinging, but this crew is simply out on a night training mission and will deny any knowledge of your presence. Hope you understand but—”
“No need, Admiral.” Declan cut him off. “We appreciate the ride and with respect, you’re right—we’re out of time.”
“Right. Godspeed, boys.” With a clap on Declan’s back, the Admiral nodded to his men and stepped aside.
The nine of us jogged the short distance and loaded into the RIB. Without warning, we shot from the dock and I stumbled in surprise.
“Drop will be at the water border. We’ll get you as close to shore as we can, but you’ll have approximately forty-five meters to swim,” one of the crew told us.
“Border Patrol?” Kyle asked.
“Admiral made a call. You have one hour until we’ll have to get creative on your exfil.”
“If we get close to that leave—”
The man cut off Kyle. “That’s not happening. We’ll adapt.”
“We brought you drysuits in case you wanted them.” He nodded to the pile of vulcanized rubber suits .
Declan took over the conversation and watched as we passed the lights on the Imperial Beach pier flying by and the runway markers for the IB air field came into view.
We were halfway to the border.
Almost there, agápi mou. Just hold on.
Fuck. I scrubbed my hands over my face and felt a hand on my shoulder.
Brooks was in my space scowling at me.
“What?”
“Don’t do it. We’re almost there.”
What the hell was he talking about?
“Do what?”
“Brother, I see it. I recognize it. I’ve been there. Your mind is wandering. We’re five minutes to drop. Five after that, we’ll be breeching the storage building. Don’t slip.”
With a lift of my chin, I gave him a halfhearted agreement.
I was staring off into the water, I could feel the boat rocking as the pilot guided us closer to Mexico, but I was not there.
I was stuck back in the empty hotel room.
A place she should’ve been safe. The very place she should’ve been asleep waiting for me.
The place I made love to her and made her mine. Where she told me she loved me.
Fuck.
My jaw clenched and my heart hurt so fucking bad I couldn’t breathe.
“Stop it,” Declan barked. “You have thirty seconds to get your head back where it needs to be or I’m pulling you.”
“The fuck you are.”
“No, really, Thaddeus, I will. We have one shot to get your woman. Kyle, Max, and I take point. You and Brooks are overwatch. If you deviate from that, I’ll shoot you myself.”
“I’m hitting the container,” I argued.
“The hell you are. We don’t know what we’re walking into.
You’re holding on, but barely. If there’s something in that box you don’t like and you snap, we’re all fucked.
You’re not taking point. You’re gonna follow orders.
We’re gonna grab your woman and we’re gonna haul ass.
That’s the plan. That’s what’s gonna happen.
And just to add, if I were in your place, I’d expect you to make the same call and keep my ass in check so I didn’t get us all killed. ”
I hated he was right. If I lost my shit, everyone could die. I should’ve gone at this alone. Slipped away after Autumn called and handled business.
Brooks gave me a nudge, and reading my thoughts the way he always could, he shook his head.
“Copy,” I bit out.
“Good. You wanna drysuit?”
I glanced around the boat and as expected none of the guys had donned one. The water would be cold but nothing we couldn’t handle.
“I’ll pass.”
“Here.” One of the SBT crew members held out a lock box and I fished my cell out of my pocket and tossed it in with the others.
The RIB slowed and stopped. “Far’s I can take ya,” the pilot said.
“’Preciate it,” Dec answered.
Kyle, Max, and Brooks already had their boots dangling over the edge.
“Ready?” Brooks asked.
“We’re out,” Dec told the crew.
The three men slipped silently into the water and Declan and I followed.
The five of us side-stroked through the calm surf, making our way to shore. In under three minutes we had our feet under us and were coming up out of the water.
Hold on, agápi mou, almost there .
Declan gave the signal to advance and I took in a deep breath to shove all emotion away.
With my chest tight, my heart twisting, and my throat closing, I forced my training to kick in.
I was ready.
I couldn’t fail.
I wouldn’t lose her.
Not now. Not after I finally got her back.
I’d never survive.