Her Fierce SEAL: Midnight Delta Book 6 (18 page)

“Lay off the swearing.  I don’t know how much English this one understands.  I’m at a high school gym.  We’re helping set up another shelter here.  It is on high ground, and should be away from the flooding, for a while, at least.”

“I read up on what’s going on.  There are some holes you can drive trucks through.  The Red Cross is getting its ass kicked.”

“Instead of saving homes, we have some forces more concerned with saving lucrative crops.”  Declan gave him a meaningful look.  Finn got the gist of what he was saying.  He knew Paraguay was one of the world’s leading producers of marijuana. 

“I take it your team is on it?”

“You know it.” Declan’s smile was savage.  “But that wasn’t why you called.  I have a friend, former Army Ranger, who has a place on Lake Texoma.”

“Alliance member?”

“Sometimes,” Declan said cryptically. 

“How do I get ahold of him?”

“He’ll be in touch with you tomorrow. He’s getting things set up.”  The little girl started to fall asleep, and Declan pulled her onto his lap.  “Good luck, Finn.  With everything.  I think I know where your head’s at, and know you’ve got a home if you want it.”

“I’ve always known that, Dec. But I appreciate the words.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I’ve made the offer damn near every time we’ve talked since I’ve started the Alliance.”

Finn chuckled.  “I look forward to hearing from your resource.  What’s his name?”

“Laird Campbell.”

“Fuck, another Scotsman.  I’m surrounded.”

Declan laughed.  “At least you know your girls will be safe.”  He cocked his head.  Finn heard someone calling for him in Spanish.  “I have to go.”

“Thanks, Dec.”

“Call me again if you need anything, including if you just need to talk.” 

“I will.”

The screen cleared, and Finn turned around and held out his hand.  He’d heard Angie come out midway through the call.

“So that was your friend, huh?” she asked as she twined her arm around his neck and kissed the top of his head. 

“Yes, that was Declan.”

“Who was the little girl?”

“He’s in Paraguay at a shelter for the flood victims.  Kids have always been drawn to him.”  He pulled her down, and she slid easily into his arms. As she nuzzled his neck, he held her closer, and it settled him.

“What are the next steps?”  Finn’s mind had been racing since hearing about the kidnapping.  It was Wednesday.  He still had an appointment to keep at a strip club on Friday night. 

“You and Lou are going to be driving to San Antonio tomorrow, well today” he corrected, “with Sergei and Dasha.”

“I thought we would be going to Lake Texoma?  I’m confused?  Wait, what do you mean Pops and me, why aren’t you going?”  She started to get up, and he held her tighter.

“Angie, here me out,” he started slowly.

Come on, Crandall, this is your strong suit, start tap dancing. 

“Grace Preston’s ranch is in San Antonio.”

“That’s south.  Lake Texoma is north.  Why would we go south, when we need to go north?”

“Give me a moment to explain.”  She vibrated beneath him.

“Okay, but make it fast, because something smells fishy.”

“The four of you go down to San Antonio and acclimate Dasha to the girls who are staying with Grace.  Clint didn’t say it, but trust me, now that we have a plan as to where the girls are going, and we know that there might be a breach of security at the Preston Ranch, Jack Preston will be arriving there like an avenging angel.”

“Then the Brady Bunch is down in San Antonio, except you are still here in Austin visiting Sixth Street.  What?  Is there a band playing you don’t want to miss?”

“No, I’m going to be coordinating with Clint as well as checking to make sure nobody is sniffing around your granddad’s house.”

“I’m not buying it.  Pops has security.  Hell, the security feed can be routed to his phone.  Try again, Finn.  Why am I in San Antonio and you’re in Austin?  Are you even coming to Lake Texoma?”

“Of course, I’m coming to Lake Texoma.  I just need a couple of days, okay, Angie?  As soon as you start the trek north, I’ll meet up with you, and we’ll head to Oklahoma.  Angie, you have to know I want to be with you.”

“Well, right now it sure isn’t looking like it.  This is pretty suspicious.  Finn, is it because you don’t want to see Jack?  I thought you were okay with seeing your team members again.  You were fine talking to Clint on Skype.” 

That could work. 

“I need a couple of more days before I see my teammates in person, okay?”

She placed her hands against his chest and pushed out of his lap, but her eyes never left his.  She repositioned herself so she straddled him, and cupped his cheeks. 

“Finn, whatever you need, I’ll back you.  Do you know why?”

He shook his head.

“Because I claim you.  I have decided you are mine.  I don’t know what our future holds.  There are a shit ton of obstacles.  I don’t know if you’re going to want to claim me.”  He watched her eyes fill with tears.  One formed on the tip of her lash and held on for dear life. 

“I know claim is such an archaic word.  But my Viking, I claim you.  I have seen your soul, and it is beautiful.  You are brave and good, and for the rest of my life, no matter how my life plays out, I’m going to hoard our time together in the deepest recesses of my heart.  I love you.”  The tear fell, and he licked up the salty treasure.

“You shouldn’t, Angie.  I’m a bad bet.”

She placed the softest kiss imaginable on his lips.  “You’re a royal flush.” 

“Lady.  I love you too.”

“Thank you for that.” Her smile could light the darkest night.  She hugged him close, and they held each other for long minutes.

“I told you about my son.  Now I need to tell you about Canada.  I’ve been thinking for so long that I’m broken, but now I think maybe I can be put back together.”

“Oh honey, you were never broken.  There might be a few cracks, but those can be fixed, but you have never been broken.”

“It’s been building and building.  It seems like so many innocents get hurt, and I don’t get to them fast enough.  They suffer.  They die...” his voice drifted off.

***

A
ngie made sure she didn’t wince when she sat straighter in his lap and tucked his head next to hers.  This was about his pain, not hers.  “Tell me,” she whispered into his ear, stroking his head.

For long moments, Finn didn’t say a word.

“You met Lydia.  She’s wonderful.  God, I thought she would die.  She did.  I swear Clint brought her back to life.  We were too late.  She shouldn’t have been beaten.”

He wasn’t making sense.  She slowly rocked him, back and forth, and he seemed to calm.

“Take your time.”

“It was almost two years ago.  We were late getting to a cabin where Lydia and her family were being held.”  He took deep gulps of air.  She wrapped her arms around his head, trying to protect him, shield him from the past.

“They’d stripped and hurt her sister Beth, and Lydia sacrificed herself.  She was being whipped when we got there.  We killed the fuckers.  She was shredded.  Both of the girls were traumatized, but Lydia was sick and had been tortured.  Clint carried her for five days through the jungle.”  He bit out the words.

“Just twenty minutes earlier.  Just good fucking intel, and twenty minutes, and we would have saved her all of that pain, both girls would have been saved.  They were doing CPR on Lydia when they loaded her onto the chopper.”

“But she lived.  She’s thriving,” Angie reminded him.

“But it was so close, and so often it ends in death.  How many girls did the Liu’s sell that we weren’t able to save and who ultimately died?  How many other women were killed by those bastards that had savaged Lydia and Beth?  How many more people can I possibly fail?”

“But Finn, you’ve saved so many.  I’ve read about the girls at the farm, you went undercover and protected them.  You were one of the men on the team that saved Lydia.  How can you think you fail people?” she whispered urgently into his ear.  He trembled in her arms.

“I love you, Angie, I really do.  But I’m no royal flush.  I feel like such a failure.  I’m not just sick in the head, I’m sick in the heart.  I’ve feel like I failed everyone, and I can’t take the chance that I will fail you too.”  He stood with her wrapped around him.  He walked down the hall, both of them staring at one another. 

He needed comfort.  He needed to believe there was one damn person in this world that cared about him and were in his corner.  He set her down on the bed and kissed her forehead.  He was turning to leave when she grasped his hand.

“Angie, let me leave.”

“In a moment.”  She brought his hand to her mouth and kissed his palm.  His breath broke.

“I claimed you, Finn Crandall.  You’ll have to trust me to see you clearly when you can’t.  You’re a good man.  You are not a failure, you’re a hero.  You’re my hero.  I love you.  You said you love me.  I hope that means you like and respect me as well.  You like and respect your teammates.  None of us see you as a failure.  We all see you as a good man.  Let us be your mirror because the only thing broken about you is the reflection you see.”

She watched the anguish on his face.

“Please stay with me tonight.  You’re sending me away in the morning.  Please just let me hold you, nothing more, I’m begging you.” 

Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to provide him some comfort when he was feeling such unimaginable pain.

He was beside her on the bed in an instant.  “Never, never do you have to beg, lady.  I love you.  I don’t deserve you, but I need tonight.  I need you.”

“You have me.”

––––––––

“P
ops, what the hell did you do?”  Angie looked at the two hummer’s parked in the driveway in the front of her grandfather’s ranch house.

“I bought new cars.”

Finn and Sergei smiled as they walked around the huge vehicles.  Dasha looked at them with trepidation. 

“When did you get these?”

“This morning.  I had them delivered.”

“Holy fuck!”  Finn and Pop’s heads whipped around to look at her.  “What?  I’m not allowed to swear?  Just how much money did you spend?  These are like military vehicles.”

“Closest thing possible,” her grandfather agreed.  He looked at Dasha, who was sitting on one of the Adirondack chairs on the porch with her uncle.

“We’re now dealing with a foreign combatant.  I want the best equipment possible.”

Angie closed her eyes.  Then she looked  at her grandfather.  “Give me the key,” she demanded.

“What key,” he asked innocently.

“There damn well better be a key.”  Finn watched the back and forth between the two Donatelli’s with curiosity, but he finally caught on.

“If she’s talking about what I think she’s talking about.  I want to see it too.”

“Not in front of the girl,” Pops said in a hushed tone.

“Dasha,” Angie called out.  “Can you get us some lemonade from the refrigerator?”

“Yes,” Dasha called out.  As she went into the house, Sergei immediately came down to join them.

“Lou, you going to show them your stash?”

“Yeah, Angie figured it out.”

“Of course, she did,” Sergei said.  “Your granddaughter is no fool.”

The older man opened up the back of the black hummer.  He pointed to a large steel lockbox.  He then handed each of them a key chain with a key fob but no key. Finn pressed the fob, and the lid to the box elevated with a hydraulic hiss. 

“Well, we’re ready for Armageddon,” Angie said sarcastically.

Finn moved forward and pulled out one of the four assault rifles.  “Four?” he asked.

“My Angela can handle one just fine,” Pops said smiling proudly.  Finn’s head spun as he gave Angie a sharp look.

“What?” Angie asked defensively.

“Did you serve?”

“I served under Pops.”

“I made sure she could handle every weapon imaginable.  Hell, I fought to have her compete against boys in the 3-Gun Competition.  Back then they didn’t have a competition for girls.”

“Pops, he doesn’t need to hear about my childhood.” Angie squirmed.  Finn continued to look between her and her grandfather.

“No, tell me more.”

“We don’t have time.  We need to get on the road,” she insisted.

“No we don’t, Dasha is getting lemonade remember,” Finn reminded her.

Pops pulled out a Sig Sauer pistol and handed it to her.  It felt a little big in her hands.  She handed it back to her grandfather.

“I’ll stick with mine.”  Finn pulled out the sniper rifle and checked the balance.  “Isn’t that overkill?”

“I’d prefer to have too much firepower.”

Crash.

Sergei immediately started talking in Ukrainian, and that was when Angie saw Dasha standing amongst broken glass and a puddle of lemonade.  Finn was storing all of the weapons.

“What is this?”

“We need to be safe darlin’,” Pops said.

“Why guns?  What wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Pops soothed.  Sergei attempted to put his arm around Dasha, and she shoved it off.

“No!  You lie.  First, we must to leave.  Why?  What gone wrong?”  Tears rolled down her face.  “Please, Angie.  You tell me truth.  Woman to woman.  Tell me truth. I know is about my Yulia.  Is my Yulia safe?”

Angie walked over to the petite young woman and took her into her arms.  “The general doesn’t have your baby.  We are still looking for your baby,” Angie assured her.

Dasha collapsed in relief, all of her weight falling onto Angie, causing her to cry out with pain.  In a flash, Finn had both Dasha and Angie in each of his arms, helping both to stand.

Sergei pulled Dasha into a bear hug, and Finn held Angie’s trembling form in his arms.  “Let’s get you sitting down.”  She tried to catch her breath so she could answer him, but couldn’t get the words out.  “Fuck this shit.”  He picked her up and carried her to the chairs on the porch.

Angie could still hear Ukrainian and tears behind her. 

“Are you okay?  Talk to me.”

“I’m fine.  She just took me by surprise, and hit my ribs wrong.”  She flashed Finn a wan smile.