Avenged (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (Volume 5) (18 page)

He took the invitation and licked into her mouth, needing to get deeper, closer. Hunger roared through him, making his heart pound and blood pool in his groin. His cock hardened, pushing against his fly with a throb that was quickly becoming unbearable. He slid one hand into her hair, his fingers flexing against her scalp as he tasted her, gliding his tongue along hers. His other hand trailed lower, down her jaw to her throat and the fine, silvery scar marring the soft skin there, a place he’d wanted to touch since he’d seen her in that D.C. hotel room two days ago.

Driven by the need to erase the past, show her what it felt like to be touched by a man who cared deeply about her, he broke the kiss and angled her head back to follow the line of that scar with his mouth. Taya moaned softly, the sound vibrating beneath his lips as he licked and nibbled his way down the length of the scar. He’d managed to keep her alive that day, would go back and do it all over again, endure that hell again just to have her in his arms like this.

He felt the goose bumps rise beneath his mouth as he sucked at her skin gently, felt her shiver in his hold and wanted more. More of her skin to explore, more of her melting in his arms. His right hand slid lower, over the neckline of her shirt to caress the curve of her breast.

She sucked in a breath and grabbed the back of his head, holding him to her. He cupped her in his palm, explored the fullness in his hand and swept his thumb across her hardened nipple. An incoherent sound of pleasure came from her and she arched harder into his hand, then grabbed his wrist.

Nate lifted his head, the soft weight of her breast still cradled in his palm. As the tide of lust slowly receded he became aware of her stillness and a low buzzing sound and realized it was his phone where he’d placed it on the bedside table earlier. He searched her eyes for a moment, hoped she wasn’t assuming it was some woman calling him at this hour—dammit, even though it might be.

Releasing her breast he cupped her face between his hands once more and pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her with a fierce sense of possessiveness that felt exactly right.

When he lifted his head they were both breathing hard.

Taya shifted off his lap and stood while he retrieved the phone. He activated it, saw DeLuca’s number on display. He’d just hit a button to call him back when treads on the staircase made him swing toward his door.

Knuckles rapped against the wood. “Doc. You there?” Cruz asked softly.

“I’m here.” He hauled the door open.

Cruz’s gaze cut from him to Taya over by the window, then flashed back to him. Nate was prepared for questions but his teammate didn’t ask any. “DeLuca just called.”

“I know, I was just calling him back.” He stepped back to let Cruz in.

Cruz looked over at Taya as he strode in and paused inside the doorway before closing the door. “New intel just came in.”

When the latch snicked shut Nate faced him. “What’s going on?”

“They got a credible new threat against Taya.”

Nate’s muscles tensed and he saw Taya look over at him. “What kind of threat?”

“Got a tip this morning from a concerned father that his son and a friend of his are working for a group called The Brethren.”

“Fuck.” Those radical assholes had been in the media for months now, bragging about how powerful they were and how they couldn’t wait to unleash operations in the U.S.

“You know the name?” Cruz asked Taya.

“I’ve read about them, yes.” She wrapped her arms around her waist, calm under pressure as always, but he was starting to know her well enough to see beneath it and the anxiety she was fighting to hide made Nate want to haul her into his arms.

Cruz nodded. “FBI executed a search warrant on the kid’s apartment a couple hours ago. Both he and his roommate are involved. The roommate has a computer science degree and must be pretty damn good at what he does, because the NSA tried to recruit him last year. They’re digging into phone records and all that right now, but apparently last night both these guys used computers where the father worked to hack into various sites. Including surveillance video of the hotel Taya was at yesterday. Vance and I are both seen on video with her in the hallway.”

“So they’ve seen your faces,” Nate finished in a mutter, glancing toward the door to Taya’s room as a phone rang in there. Would DeLuca call her personally about this?

“Pretty much. DeLuca is leaving us on the detail for now, but that could change depending on what else they turn up about these guys.” He shifted his gaze to Taya. “I need to talk to Nate for a minute alone.”

Nate’s gut constricted at his teammate’s quiet command. He knew Cruz was going to drop something big on him once they were alone.

“Sure,” she murmured, casting a lingering glance at Nate before slipping past him through the door connecting their rooms.

When the door closed behind her Nate focused back on Cruz, his mind spinning as he ran through the new intel and what it might mean for Taya. “Does the Bureau think they could have traced us here?”

“It’s possible. They could have hacked into the phone transmissions. Agents are looking into that now. If the hacker is as good as they seem to think, then it could mean trouble for us. No matter how you look at it, this isn’t good. DeLuca’s sending Tuck down to us, and may pull some of the other guys off their details to work with us. The Brethren want Taya bad.” His amber-brown eyes were grave. “Bad enough to put a million dollar bounty on her head.”

A
million
? Jesus.

Nate ran a hand through his hair, his blood running cold at the thought of every radical whackjob on the eastern seaboard coming after her with guns blazing, radical Islamist or not. “Fuck.” Urgency hummed in his gut. “How long do we have until we need to be out of here?” There was no way they’d endanger Taya’s life by staying here if someone was tracking her.

“Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. Vance is doing a perimeter check. I’ll bring the truck around the side for you guys.”

“Okay. I’ll tell her and meet you down there.” Nate turned toward the connecting door, reached out a hand for it but it opened before he could grasp the crystal knob. Taya stood in the opening, bathed in the lamplight streaming behind her, her face pale, eyes bright with tears.

Alarm jumped inside him. Automatically he reached out to wrap a hand around her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“My father’s back in the ICU,” she whispered. A tear spilled over, flashed down her cheek and Nate’s chest constricted. “He had another massive heart attack, and they don’t know if he’s going to make it this time.”

“You sure this is the place?” Ayman asked as he slowed the vehicle at the corner of the street down the block from where the inn was located. One of the others in the group had borrowed this car from his cousin for a few days. If anyone noticed them in the area and traced the license plate, nothing would lead back to them.

“Has to be,” Jaleel murmured, craning his neck to see down the road to the right. “It’s the only inn listed on this street, and the signal was definitely coming from here.” He’d been able to hone in on the cell phone signal’s location using the computer program he’d been working on.

“I’m gonna drive around the block. Keep out of sight.” Darwish was waiting with two other men a few miles away in the parking lot of a strip mall. He’d sent Ayman and Jaleel here to find out if the whore was actually here, and to see whether there was any sort of security response to their presence.

Ayman turned right and drove up to the yellow-painted historic inn then past it, careful not to slow or do anything to draw attention to them. If this was the place then there’d be highly trained FBI agents inside, and probably in the vicinity as well.

A white SUV was parked at the curb partway up the street, but all the other vehicles were parked in the driveways of private residences. It was possible they were keeping her in some kind of government safe house, but the inn made the most sense. There could be agents posted around the perimeter in plain clothes or hiding in one of the gardens lining the street. It made him uneasy. “Anything?”

“Can’t see into the place from here. Turn the corner and I’ll see if I can get a better look inside with my binoculars.”

Ayman turned right at the next street. Trees and hedges blocked a decent view of the inn, no doubt for privacy of the guests. And it made him nervous to think that trained agents might have eyes on them right now.

“Slow down,” Jaleel commanded, ducking down to peer through his window with the binoculars. Hopefully discreetly enough that a watching agent wouldn’t be tipped off. “I can see into the back when there’s a gap in the hedges. The curtains in one room are open a little. Maybe I can get a look inside.”

Ayman slowed, glanced around to make sure no one was around to see, then shifted into reverse and backed up a bit. “I’m only giving you a second. If they’ve got people watching the road they might see you.” The engine whined in protest as the vehicle moved backward to the slight gap in the hedge. “Better?”

“Yeah.” He shifted in his seat. “I see…a guy. Big guy, with his back to the window. He’s in a dining room, I think. And there’s…yeah, there’s a woman in there too, she just walked through.” He lowered the binoculars. “Looks like our target. Long, dark, curly hair, face looks right.” He glanced at Ayman.

“How sure are you?”

“Pretty sure.”

“I need a percentage.” Everything hinged on this, so it had better be extremely high.

“Ninety.”

He nodded, somewhat satisfied. “Has to be her.” Had to be, because Darwish and the others were getting impatient and wanted them to take action.

Immediately he drove away, turning left at the next corner. Excitement pulsed through him as he pulled out a burner phone and dialed Darwish.

“Yeah?”

“It’s her,” Ayman said, knowing that if he was wrong, they’d kill him.

“You sure?”

“As sure as I can be without giving us away. Want me to do it now?” His heart beat erratically, his pistol hard against the small of his back. The assault rifle was in the trunk, loaded and hidden beneath a bunch of camping gear, along with his special scope. As soon as he got the word to attack, he’d use it rather than his pistol to make the shot easier, and to put as much distance between him and the target. Once he pulled the trigger, he’d have only seconds to get out of there.

All he had to do was get within range of the whore, find a clear shot. One shot, that’s all he needed.

If he got lucky, The Brethren would allow him to watch the place for a while longer, maybe even wait for the target to come outside. Then he’d take the shot, get to the car where Jaleel would be waiting to get them out of the area. They’d have to switch vehicles because every Fed and cop within a hundred miles would be gunning for them afterward.

After that, Ayman was done. He’d have the satisfaction of pulling off his part in this operation, and receive the money promised him. He had an escape plan in mind to evade the authorities; he just needed the opportunity to enact it.

“Has anyone seen you?” Darwish demanded.

He glanced in his mirrors. “Don’t think so.” But he wasn’t certain and that only amplified his anxiety. Clammy sweat broke out between his shoulder blades and beneath his arms.

He was merely a foot soldier to The Brethren. At least if he carried out this attack he had a chance of survival. If he balked or ran away now, they’d kill him for sure. And maybe his family as well. Ayman couldn’t let that happen.

“Find a place to hide the vehicle and wait. Keep an eye on her. If you see an opportunity, take it.”

“Okay.” He slipped the phone back into his pocket and put the car into gear. “Gotta hide out for a bit,” he said to Jaleel. “You get out here, see if you can get another look inside the back of the house then meet me here. I’ll come back for you as soon as I find a place to leave the car.” And he’d have his rifle hidden in his backpack.

Jaleel looked uncertain, but nodded. “Okay. Hurry though.”

After his friend climbed out and vanished into the shadows, Ayman steered the little car to the next block and turned left along the beach. The restaurants along the water were all busy and there were people out walking along the promenade. His palms were damp, his breathing unsteady as he parked in a darkened lot off the road and got out, pulling his ball cap lower on his forehead. The damp, salty breeze washed over him, clearing away some of the nerves.

This would all be over soon. He’d eliminate the target, get his money and disappear, start over in Mexico or on an island in the Caribbean.

All he had to do first was kill the whore.

****

The next few hours passed in a blur for Taya. After her announcement Nathan and the others had immediately moved into action. More agents had arrived about an hour ago while she’d stayed up in her room, packing and trying to get a handle on her emotions.

All she cared about was getting to her father as soon as possible, but this new security threat against her might make that impossible. Even though she’d made it clear that seeing her father was more important to her than her own safety, it wasn’t just her at risk by going there.

Someone knocked on her door. “Come in.”

Nathan stepped inside, sliding his hands into his jeans pockets. “You packed up?”

She nodded, beyond the ability of making small talk at the moment. “Any word yet?”

“DeLuca just called and the agents are in place. We’re just waiting for confirmation on transportation.”

“But you’re taking me?” she asked, hope a painful pressure beneath her ribcage.

“We’re gonna do our best,” was all he said.

“What did you mean about transportation? Do we have to switch vehicles now?”

“If we drove, absolutely. We’ll switch with the agents who just arrived. But we’re hoping to charter a small plane to fly us to Raleigh. Our company jets are all in use right now, getting our guys to the other witnesses, but a private plane is better for us anyhow. Lower visibility for you, less chance someone could tail us. And it would get you to your father quicker.”