Avenged (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (Volume 5) (8 page)

God, she was so thankful she hadn’t volunteered to enter the WITSEC program.

Taya shook her head, adamant. “This is unbelievable.” God, she hoped that man was put to death after the trial.

“I’m sorry,” DeLuca said.

She rubbed her fingers over her burning eyes and nodded, not trusting her voice. If they had the resources and manpower to get to Chloe and the others, then Taya and the remaining witnesses were all facing a significant threat of their own.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” he said in a quiet voice. “If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

Unless he could find Chloe and rescue her before her kidnappers ended her life, no, there was nothing he could do for Taya at the moment.

The door shut quietly behind him. She released a ragged breath.

“Taya…”

She turned back around to face Nathan. He was watching her, his green-gold hazel eyes full of torment. The lump in her throat suddenly magnified, all but choking her. She didn’t care that they were in his commander’s office or that he had a professional distance to maintain from her. He’d seen firsthand how she and the other female captives had been treated, and he knew Chloe’s story. He understood Taya’s pain better than anyone else could have.

Taking a step toward him, she exhaled a shaky breath of relief when he reached for her and pulled her close. Warm, strong arms closed around her, one banded around her ribs, his other hand cradling the back of her head. Taya leaned into him and held on, letting his heat and strength soothe her. When he held her like this she felt truly safe, for the first time in forever.

Tears burned the back of her eyelids as she focused on regulating her breathing, using every technique she knew of to find her center. Concentrating on Nathan’s clean scent and the strength of his body helped calm her.

But after a few moments she became all too aware of all the hard muscles pressed against her. She melted a little when he began stroking her hair, his fingers catching in her curls.

Tingles spread out across her skin, spiking her pulse rate and making her nipples tighten. The pull she felt toward him was powerful, and not something she could hide for long if she didn’t put some distance between them. Gently easing away from him, she immediately regretted the loss of his warmth.

Rather than step away he surprised her by reaching out and brushing an errant curl from her cheek. “Just to play it safe we’re gonna get you out of town for a couple days, okay?”

She frowned up at him. “We?”

He nodded. “Me, Cruz and Vance.”

“You’re on my detail now too?” She hoped it was true.

Nathan exhaled and nodded. “All the guys have been placed on protective details for the remaining witnesses when they arrive in town during the next few days. I spoke to Matt and my team leader about things, and unless you have any objections, I’ve been added to your detail, along with Cruz and Vance. You’ll have the three of us for the time being, and we have the option of adding in more guys later on. The trial’s going to be delayed, we just don’t know for how long.”

She got the feeling there was something more to it than he was telling her. There had to be rules and protocol about this kind of situation, him protecting a witness he knew personally. Was he volunteering out of a sense of obligation? “You’ve already done more than enough for me, Nathan. You don’t need to do this.” DeLuca was aware that they knew each other on a personal level, and she didn’t want to be the cause of any sticky situations for Nathan that might either hurt or jeopardize his career.

His mouth tightened and he shook his head. “Yes, I do.” He dragged a hand through his hair, looking slightly agitated. “Cruz and Vance are both more than capable of guarding you, but you’re too important to me to stand back and do nothing. I need to make sure you’re safe.”

He thought he owed her, she realized. She shook her head, adamant. “You already saved my life in Afghanistan. You don’t owe me anything.”

“Yes, I do, but that’s not what this is about.” He paused, searching her eyes. “Unless you don’t feel comfortable having me on your detail.”

The uncertainty in his eyes took her by surprise. She wouldn’t let him doubt her trust in him for one second. “Of course I am. I’ve put my life in your hands before and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.”

His smile was so full of relief and maybe even gratitude, it made her heart ache. “Then come on. I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”

****

Special Agent Ethan Cruz slid his arms into the sleeves of his clean T-shirt and held his phone to his ear with his shoulder as he took his sidearm from his locker. The briefing had finished ten minutes ago and all the guys were headed out. He and Vance were going to the Virginia coast with Schroder to guard Taya, after a little pit stop at DeLuca’s place.

“Ethan!”

He couldn’t help but smile at his mother’s excited voice. “Hey. Sorry I didn’t call you back last night. Been busy.”

“But you’re all right?”

She liked him to check in with her at least every couple days when he was stateside, just to let her know he was okay. Didn’t matter that he was twenty-nine years old and a member of the HRT. He’d always be her baby. “Yeah, I’m all right. You?”

“Fine, son. Are you boys still scheduled to come down this way at the end of May?”

“Looks that way for now.” They were tentatively scheduled to do a joint exercise with the DEA in Miami. He glanced over his shoulder as Vance walked in with a duffel and went to his locker, located next to Ethan’s. “You sure you still want to host us all for dinner one night?”

Vance’s face brightened and he paused in the act of packing his body armor. “Is that Mama Cruz?”

Ethan gave him a nod and grabbed two extra magazines for his M4 and put them in his own duffel. Before he could say anything else, his mother’s delighted gasp sounded in his ear. “Is that Sawyer?”

Oh, lord. “Yeah, it’s Sawyer,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Vance grinned at him, all white Chiclet teeth and sparkling eyes. “Hey, Mama Cruz,” he called out, loud enough for her to hear. “You’re still having us for a cookout when we come down there, right?”

His mother laughed. “Tell him of course, and that I’ll have his favorite bread pudding and a flan ready.”

“She says yes,” he grumbled, omitting the last part.

“Tell her I’ll love her forever if she’d make one of those flans,” Vance said, his expression hopeful. Guy was six-two and two-thirty easy, but right now he looked more like an eager puppy dog than an elite counterterrorism and hostage rescue operator.

Ethan lowered the phone slightly to cover the microphone and shot him a mock glare. “Get your own mom.” Vance and his mother were ridiculous in how much they loved each other.

Vance chuckled and landed a solid punch to Ethan’s left shoulder, knocking his upper body a few inches to the side. Guy had fists like a freaking sledgehammer. “You’re just jealous, man, cuz you know she loves me more than you.”

“You wish. You’re only an honorary son,” he muttered and raised the phone, turning his head when DeLuca stepped into the locker room. Their commander looked directly at Ethan and waited, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Hey, Mom, I gotta go.”

“Wait, I wanted to tell you about Marisol.”

Ethan frowned. He hadn’t seen the little-girl-from-next-door in his old neighborhood for several years now, since she’d graduated from law school. “What about her?”

“I was speaking to Soledad today, and she said Marisol’s coming back into town in a few weeks to work on a big case she’s landed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office here in Miami.”

“That’s great,” he said, not sure why his mother was telling him this.

“Yes, something to do with a big drug lord who was arrested by the DEA a few months ago.”

Ethan straightened as he filled in the blanks. “Diego Fuentes?”

“I think that’s him, yes. Anyway, Soledad is very proud. It’s a big honor for someone who just started working for the U.S. Attorney. She said Marisol will be around when you come down, so maybe you’ll see her.”

“Yeah, maybe.” The “ice princess” would probably go out of her way to avoid him as she had the past few times he’d gone home for a visit, but he still didn’t love the idea of her prosecuting someone like Fuentes. That asshole was ruthless, and his network extended far beyond Miami. In fact, word was, he’d controlled most of the drug trafficking throughout northern Mexico and even into the Caribbean. He also still had tentacles everywhere throughout the region. For her own safety, Marisol needed be aware of exactly what she was getting into with the case. “I’ll call you soon, okay? Love you.”

“I love you too, Mama Cruz,” Vance called out.

His mother giggled. “He’s just too adorable. Tell him I send a hug.”

“Uh huh, will do. Bye.” He disconnected and shot Vance a bland look. “You’re pathetic, you know that?”

Vance clapped him on the shoulder. “She sent me a hug, didn’t she?”

Ethan couldn’t help his grudging grin. “Yeah.”

DeLuca cleared his throat, bringing Ethan’s gaze to him. “Can I have a second?”

“Yessir, of course.” He shared a look with Vance. “I’ll meet you outside.” When they were alone he faced DeLuca.

“I need you to keep an eye on Schroder,” he said without any warning.

Whoa.
“In what way?”

His commander gave a casual shrug. “Couple things have come up that we’re concerned about. Just want to be sure he’s taking care of himself. If he’s not, I need you to let me know.”

Ethan frowned. “Wait, like, you want me to babysit him?” What the hell for? Doc had never done anything to warrant supervision. Sure, he was the newest guy to the squad and his social life with the ladies was getting a little out of control, but that was his personal biz and it never affected his performance at work. All the guys liked him, including Ethan.

“No, just let me know if you notice anything off. Being placed on this security detail might not be easy for him.”

Ethan had read the file on Taya Kostas and knew she had some kind of history with Schroder from over in A-stan. This was just too fucking strange though. He’d never heard of DeLuca asking any of them to spy on another teammate. “All right,” he said slowly.

“I’m not anticipating a problem,” DeLuca added. “Just looking out for him.”

“Sure.” Ethan watched his commander walk away. Well, hell. Now he was dying to know exactly what had happened between Doc and their principal.

When Ayman entered the apartment that night, Jaleel was waiting for him. His roommate sat up on the couch, muted the TV and looked over at him. “Have you heard the latest?” he asked in Arabic, eyes lit with excitement.

Ayman nodded. While he was happy about the attacks, he’d since lost most of his initial excitement. Now that reality was sinking in, he felt almost numb inside. He hadn’t accomplished anything yet. His part in this had only just begun, and the consequences if he failed were too grim to think about.

“I just came from a meeting.” He didn’t have to say aloud that it had been with his group from the mosque. “Got the call two hours ago, right after the story broke on the news.”

Jaleel turned to face him squarely, his expression tense. “And? What did they say?”

“They said taking three key witnesses is good, but if the Kostas woman is still free, then it’s not good enough.”

Jaleel watched him remove the pistol he’d tucked into his waistband and take out the magazine, checking it out of habit. He was always armed, even at work. Darwish had helped turn him into an expert marksman, and Ayman had to be ready to protect himself from law enforcement that might come sniffing around.

And from the men he worked for if they decided he was no longer of use to them.

“Do they know where she is?” Jaleel asked.

Ayman shook his head and opened the kitchen drawer that held extra ammo and the military-style knives he’d collected. He knew how to use those too. Close quarter battle skills were a useful part of what he’d learned during his sessions with Darwish.

He took out another magazine, examined it to ensure it was fully loaded before slipping it into his pocket. “Someone was able to follow her partway from the airport. He lost her vehicle in traffic once they got into the city but he was able to narrow the hotel she’s staying at down to four possibilities. He saw the SUV stopped at an intersection and then someone took a suitcase into one of the hotels on the east side of the street. But now that some witnesses have gone missing the FBI will move her soon, if they haven’t already.” So now his and Jaleel’s task would be even harder.

Jaleel frowned in concern. “So what now? How will we find her?”

Finding the American whore was their responsibility. Locating her, tracking her, was all up to him and Jaleel. She was their target and the currency that guaranteed their survival. “You need to find us a reliable starting point.”

“They won’t let her use credit cards or an unencrypted phone. I’d have to hack into the hotel’s security itself.”

“Perfect.”

Jaleel blew out a breath and ran a hand over his closely shorn hair, clearly agitated. “They’ll be able to find us, no matter how carefully I cover my tracks. Maybe not right away, but eventually if anyone gets suspicious and starts looking into the hacks. We’ll have to plan out emergency actions.”

Ayman’s heart thudded. “But you can find her, right?”

“Yeah.” He looked away, appearing deep in thought for a moment. “Once I gain access to the right hotel’s registries and security footage, I can find her.”

“I’ve got the names for you,” Ayman said, pulling out his phone.

“I’ll get my laptop.” Jaleel headed toward his room.

“No, you can’t use it.”

Jaleel stopped at his sharp tone and looked back at him. “Why not? It’s encrypted.”

“It’s not safe anymore. We’ll have to go elsewhere.”

Jaleel frowned at him, as though unconvinced. “So what do you expect me to use, then? The libraries are closed, and the internet cafés won’t be open until morning. We can’t wait that long. If the FBI is moving her, we need to find her
now
.”