Chapter Twenty-Eight
Angel
Ash had been taken.
Kidnapped.
The last two hours of my life had been a blur of nightmares and pain.
We’d just finished watching a recording of Ash’s abduction, taken on his phone.
He triggered the distress signal on it when this man, Tucker Fitzgerald, found him at my spot.
Jake said that if anyone on the team triggers an SOS on their phone, it will send an alert to all Red Snake members, and the phone will automatically start recording.
Ash knew what to do and he left the phone at the scene for me to find.
Along with a few drops of blood. The video was clear at first, then Ash let the phone fall onto the ground, covering it with his boot.
All we had after that was audio…shocking and damning audio.
This man had been trying to kill Ash for years.
And Dominic just confessed that Ash had gone to Tucker for a favor after I came into town.
Tucker had helped Ash find Alan. He was the reason Ash was about to avenge me.
“What?” Hayes barked, his nostrils flaring. “He told you that, and you didn’t—”
“Patient confidentiality, Mitchell,” Dominic said, his voice cold. “I had no other choice.”
Jake’s roar nearly shattered my eardrums as he flipped the conference room table on its side.
It landed on the floor, and the bang triggered Red Snake’s break-in alarm.
My hands slapped over my ears as I watched Jake, my vision blurred, my eyes stinging as the alarm blared.
The image of Tucker, a frozen frame from the video was still on the screen.
He had a shaved head and a black mustache.
His eyes were gray blue, filled with so much hatred it scared the hell out of me.
That, paired with the scarred half of his face, was enough to fuel my nightmare for years.
“God dammit, Murphy,” Grayson shouted, prowling toward him.
Hayes was there too, coming in like a ghost. Both of them slammed Jake back into the wall.
Margo, who was holding my arm, flinched, and Carrie covered her mouth to stifle a whimper.
My eyes searched for Dominic, but he’d disappeared.
Hayes was in Jake's face, holding his head and talking low, his green eyes practically on fire.
The alarm cut off and the half second of silence was filled with Grayson hushed words to Jake. “We’re going to find him, but you need to keep a level head. I’m not going to lose anyone today. Do you fucking got me?”
Jake glared back at him, both of their chests heaving. Hayes shook him, and Grayson barked, “Do you fucking understand me, Murphy?”
“Yes.”
Hayes and Grayson stepped back. All three of them looked across the room to me, and my breath caught. “This is all my fault,” I rasped, tears streaming down my face. “I should’ve told him to meet me at Rossy’s.”
“Then you and Carrie would have been taken, or worse, killed,” Dominic said, coming back into the room.
His sleeves were rolled up, his hair combed back, eyes cold.
“Tucker Fitzgerald is bad news, Angel. He would’ve killed you, Carrie, and Rossy without so much as a second thought.
I need you to understand that.” He stepped closer, his eyes scanning my face.
“Release your guilt. It won’t help any of us. ”
“Who the fuck is this Tucker guy and why are we just hearing about him?” Margo asked. “Ash has never once talked about his time in the military. I’ve never heard of him. Carrie, have you?”
Grayson’s eyes landed on Carrie. “No, she hasn’t,” answering for her.
“Please tell me you have something on this fucking guy,” Margo pushed, letting go of me and walking over to Jake’s mess, various papers crunching underneath her Doc sandals. “Hayes, please.”
He nodded, moving to her. “We do, Temper. We’re going to find him.”
“How the fuck did Tucker convince him to go into Devil’s Den?” Grayson asked, putting his hands on his hips.
“I don’t think it was him,” Dominic said. “There’s another player here.” His indigo eyes landed on me. “Ash would’ve asked questions if he ran into Tucker the day he found Angel.”
“Dominic is right. Tucker is a puppet master.”
“Then why reveal himself now? Why not send someone else to get Ash?” Hayes asked, folding his arms over his chest.
Dominic leaned back against the wall, sighing. “Ego.” All eyes went to him. “It’s not a secret that Tucker envied Doss when they served together. We know this,” he stated.
“The girls and I don’t,” Margo clipped.
“Temper,” Hayes warned.
“So what? This guy is a sociopath with a god complex? Is that it, Edwards?” she pushed, ignoring Hayes.
“Based on what we have, yes.”
“Have any of you ever met this guy?”
“Once,” Jake answered. “A gala in DC for the Wounded Warrior Project. Ash was surprised to see him there, given what he does for a living.”
“What’s the story with the scarring on his face?” Carrie asked, staring at the screen.
“Extraction mission went bad on his first tour. He hit a trip wire,” Dominic explained, eyes on the scattered files covering half the floor. “Ash pulled him out.”
“Christ,” Grayson bit off, pinching the bridge of his nose. I took a moment to look at the long scar running from his temple to his neck. A part of me wondered what his story was. The other half was too scared to know the truth.
As the others continued, Jake came to me.
“Are you okay?” I asked, meeting his eyes.
He said nothing, wrapping me in a tight bear hug.
I didn’t have the energy to be shocked. Instead, I melted into him, letting his heat surround me as I buried my face in his chest, sobbing. “Jake, what are we going to do?”
“We’re going to find him,” he answered, his voice distant as he rubbed my back. “Not going to lose him again. You hear me?”
I nodded. My tears soaked his shirt, but still, he held me until I managed to get it together. “I don’t know what to do or what to think. I need to do something with my hands or I’m going to lose my mind. How can I help?” I pulled back.
Jake’s hair was down, framing his face and mine. He brushed a tear away with his thumb. “I wouldn’t recommend flipping a table,” he said, trying to get me to smile.
It didn’t work.
“What can I do?”
“Just sit tight.”
“I can’t, Jake. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. I have to be in this. I have to do something. Please.”
He frowned, reading me. “Okay, Angel. I’ll find you something.”
“Murphy, pull up everything you have on Fitzgerald,” Grayson ordered.
Jake nodded and left the room. Hayes and Margo were hugging, and Grayson had Carrie’s face in his hands, talking softly to her. She was a wreck. Then again, we all were. Red Snake nearly lost Ash once, and I knew they wouldn’t survive if they lost him for good.
I wouldn’t.
He was too ingrained in my life, in my soul, down to the very essence of my being. I was he and he was me. We were connected, linked by a bond that time and distance couldn’t break.
I just hope we weren’t too late.
Four hours later.
“I’m coming with you,” I told them.
Grayson, Dominic, Jake, and Hayes were dressed for battle, taking up most of the small weapon’s locker.
It was in the center of their offices. There was a large safe in the opposite wall by Jake, rows of guns, ammo, knives, and even bows and arrows, on the wall.
It looked like something out of a dream, a fantasy I should’ve never been a part of.
All-black outfits consisting of thermal long sleeves, cargo pants, and boots.
Each of them had a mask hanging by their hip, black with delicate colored designs over each.
Silver wings for Hayes, red smoke for Dominic, green claw marks for Jake, and red and white snakes for Grayson, who gave me a pained look.
Thirty minutes ago, after Jake hacked into some traffic cameras, Red Snake was able to get a location on Ash.
Tucker had taken him farther inland, away from the coast. Ash was being held in an abandoned coffee packing plant.
Carrie, Margo, and I were instructed to stay here.
The team would be leaving on the chopper, and we were just expected to sit around and wait.
I couldn’t wait.
Not after everything.
“You can’t come. Stay here. We’ll have Ash back.”
My voice cracked. “How can you be so sure? How do you know that Tucker hasn’t…that he hasn’t—”
“Tucker likes to drag out his jobs,” Jake interrupted, loading a magazine into his AK.
He swung it over his shoulders and started pulling his hair back, keeping his attention on me.
“He’s an independent contractor. He’s worked for various criminal organizations for the last ten years, mainly sticking to the States and Mexico.
He’s heavily involved with the cartel and has his finger on the global human trafficking pulse.
” Jake lowered his arms. With his hair tied back, he looked menacing.
A shadow fell over him. “Which is why he was so confident about making those comments about you, and why he knew about Alan Benson.”
“I want to go with you,” I repeated firmly, ignoring the fear coiling around my neck. It had been holding on, circling, waiting for the right moment to tighten and choke life out of me.
“Angel, where we’re going, you won’t—”
I stepped up to Hayes, my blood burning. “Don’t you dare tell me what I can and can’t handle. I’ve been through hell. Ash saved me and blindly sacrificed years to find me.” I turned to Grayson. “I want to be there for him. He’ll need me.”
“I meant no disrespect,” he said gently. “But we’re trained for this. You’re not.” He put his hand on my arm. “Doss would fucking kill me if you got hurt.”
“And if you can’t bring him back to me?” I whispered.
Hayes flinched.
Dominic’s jaw worked and he rolled his neck. “Fuck,” he grunted. “Fucking hell, let her come.”
Hayes’ and Grayson’s heads snapped to him. “What?”
Dominic moved to the cabinet on the wall, yanking open the doors. “Angel, come here.”
“Edwards, what the fuck are you doing?”
Dominic glared at his team as he handed me a bulletproof vest. “Suiting her up.”
“But—”
“We don’t know what kind of state we’re going to find him in,” he pressed, yanking more stuff out of the cabinet.
“Ash’s trauma from Devil’s Den has been suppressed.
His brain’s way of defending him. We don’t know if this has triggered it and sent him into a state none of us can pull him from.
Not even me.” He jerked his head in my direction.
“But her? The love of his life? She might be able to.”
Hayes’ anger filled the room. “You’re willing to put her in danger?”
Dominic was in his face then, nose to nose.
They were polar opposites. One light. One dark.
The air in the room shifted. “You may be willing to play by the rules, and that’s fine.
But I will not stand here and let your fucking rule book get in the way of saving my fucking brother,” he said, his voice dark.
“You don’t think he’s mine?” Hayes shot back. “Ash is a part of this family.”
“Then bend the rules for your family.”
I glanced at Grayson. He was set in stone, watching everything play out. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or proud.
Dominic lifted his chin, looking at his boss. “There’s not a chance in hell I’m losing him again, understand? Jake can cover Angel.”
“And if she gets hurt?” Grayson asked, his eyes on me. “What then?”
Jake shook his head. “That’s not happening.” He looked at me. “Get dressed.”
The men started to file out, and I looked down at the stuff in my hands.
Thermal shirt, pants, a taser, pepper spray, and the vest. Lifting my head, I found Hayes lingering by the doorway, agony in his eyes.
“Please don’t do anything reckless,” he whispered.
“We’re going to get him back, but you have to know this. ”
A lump formed in my throat, the fear around my neck tightening. “Know what?”
“After he lost you, he was barely living. I know the last few weeks have been hard, but when I see him with you, he’s never been more alive,” he said, his voice thick. His throat worked for a moment. “If he loses you again…if you get hurt…he’ll never live, Angel. He’ll be a ghost again.”
My eyes began to burn. All I could do was nod.
“Do as we say, yeah? Don’t run off. Stay with Jake.” He closed his eyes. “Please, Angel.”
“I will,” I promised. “I’ll be careful.”
He came back into the room, hooked his hand around the back of my neck, and pressed a firm kiss to my forehead. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered as he pulled back.
He blinked, rolled his shoulders, and practically transformed into a different man. “Get dressed. Meet us on the roof in two minutes.”
“The roof?”
“We’re taking the chopper,” he called over his shoulder.
When I was ready, I found Margo and Carrie in the hall. Margo’s eyes were cold, her lips pinched in worry. “Don’t you do anything stupid.”
I shook my head. “I won’t.”
“I’m serious, Blue.”
“Blue?” Carrie and I repeated.
Margo smirked. “You always wear blue.”
Carrie started to cry. “Oh my gosh, you finally have a nickname!”
I smiled. “When all this is over, I would like to join your, uh, goodness, what the hell is it? You’re Wednesday thing?”
“Wine Wednesdays,” they replied.
I nodded. “Yes. That.”
“Angel!”
We all turned to find Jake at the end of the hall. “Chopper’s started! You coming or what?”
“Wait,” Carrie shouted, running into the weapon’s room. She came back out with a mask, this one black with blue engravings, waves all around the eyes. “This is Ash’s,” she said, holding it out to me. “Wear it for him.”
“And for you,” Margo added.
They pulled me in for a hug. “Go kick some ass, Angel.”