Stripping Her Defenses (21 page)

I let my fingers glide through her hair one more time then leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Sliding out from her slowly, to avoid waking her, I got out of the bed yet reached back to pull the sheet over her body. It was time for me to get ready to go after Sandoval.

My reason to live was lying there in that bed. I took in everything about her and burned it into my memory. Never again would I take advantage of seeing her like this. It was a gift I would cherish each and every day.

Quietly, I pulled my boxers and pants back on, followed by socks and boots, but I left my T-shirt on the end of the bed for her. I didn’t look back at her again as I left the room because this wasn’t goodbye. I would be back later tonight to get my woman.

Stepping out into the hall, I found Ice propped against the wall across from the door, waiting for me. His body was relaxed, but his eyes remained alert.

“There a reason you’re standing out here, Ice?”

He nodded. “Three reasons. First, good news. A friend of ours on the force stopped by a while ago to let us know that a patrol cop stopped two gang bangers for suspicious driving. They were stupid enough to have a couple of AK-47s in their back seat, poorly hidden underneath a blanket. So, with both of them havin’ records, findin’ themselves with multiple new charges, includin’ possession of smack, driving under the influence, and possession of not one, but two unregistered assault rifles, they asked for a deal. Seems they knew about this photographer across town who wanted his competition intimidated out of the business. They confessed to vandalizing and then shootin’ up her studio for a reduction of sentence time on their charges. They also gave up the name of the photographer who hired them to do it.”

I rocked back on my heels at this revelation. I’d known there was no way Kara’s troubles had been related to my mission, but I had thought it would stem from whatever the Regulators had going on. Instead, Kara had shit of her own going on and hadn’t even known. Un-fucking-believable.

“Did the police already pick up the photographer?”

Ice nodded. “Not before he got a visit, though.”

“A visit?”

He shrugged. “She may be yours now, but she’ll always be a friend of the Regulators. And nobody fucks with one of ours.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Not that I wasn’t thrilled the fuckwad who had hired thugs to scare my wife had probably had the shit beat out of him. I
was
fine with that. It was the ‘one of ours’ shit that sort of bugged me. It probably bugged me more than it should. The man had been there for Kara when I couldn’t. Because of that, she had created bonds with a group of men who probably saw her for the treasure that she was and wanted to protect her. I’d have to learn to live with that. That meant it was time to move on from my grudge.

“I have to go. Can one of you run Kara home since it’s safe for her now? Tell her I’ll meet her there when I’m done with work.”

“I’ll have Hammer run her home.”

“Sounds good. Thanks. Now, what else did you need?”

“Hammer told me you figured out our operation back here. I expected that. What I want to know is what you’re gonna do with that information.”

I ran a hand over my chin and exhaled. “Nothin’.”

“Nothin’?” he asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yeah, nothin’. Kara explained the who’s and why’s. And I’m not going to take protection away from women who would be standing on a street corner, exposed and in danger if it weren’t for what the Regulators do for them.”

“Appreciate that.”

I waited for him to spit out whatever it was he had left to say, but he didn’t say a word. “I’m running out of time here, Ice. What else did you need?”

He was quiet for a little while longer, but as I waited, something passed over his eyes. Acceptance maybe? The man was good at keeping his emotions concealed, so it was hard to tell for sure.

“Saw you with her,” he finally mumbled.

He must be talking about the parking lot the other night. Where was he going with this?

Crossing my arms over my chest, I asked, wanting to be clear, “We talking the parking lot?”

The side of his mouth tipped up in a half grin. “Wasn’t what I was talkin’ about, but I saw you there, too.”

“Then what the fuck are you talkin’ about, Ice?”

He tipped his head towards the room Kara was sleeping in. “We got cameras in every room as protection for the girls. I happened to walk into the control room while you two were in there.”

“You into voyeurism, Ice?”

“Sometimes, but it wasn’t my intention this time. I had Big Jim turn that camera off… but not before I saw it.”

“Saw what?” I asked him impatiently.

“The connection you two have. The look on her face when she’s with you,” he replied.

“There a point to this conversation?”

“I threw me and Kara in your face when you got here. I did that to protect her, but also because she means something to me. Thing is, she never meant to me what she means to you. I always knew it would never be like that between us, but now I see why she didn’t want to settle for a friendship with a little more. She’d had you, and she tried to tell me, but I didn’t get it. What I’m sayin’ now is, I get it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to disappear out of her life. I’m hopin’ you understand that.”

It was hard to do it, but I had to give him that. So, I gave him a chin lift followed by a low, “Later.”

I was halfway down the hall when he asked, “You sure you boys don’t need back-up?”

I didn’t stop walking, but I turned my head, looked back at him, and told him, “No.”

As I left the club behind me, walking towards the borrowed motorcycle, I realized I had the biggest mission of my life accomplished, and she was now lying asleep in the building behind me. Kara was mine again. This time for good.

Now, it was time to go take care of the other mission—Sandoval.

~~~

Jaxon’s voice came through my comm. link. “We move in when I give the signal. Remember, the objective is to take as many of them as you can alive so we can find out who Sandoval is.”

I was squatted down in between some shipping crates and the outer wall of a building about a hundred feet from where we thought Sandoval was supposed to meet Medina. Chase, whose hobby was being a hacker when he wasn’t doing a mission, had found the plans for the docks south of Bayfront Park. Finding the docks wasn’t the problem. No, the issue was that the docks were vast and used for shipments of cargo. That meant there were a number of warehouses to house that cargo along with a number of other obstacles.

Jaxon stationed us spread out through the docks to provide the best vantage points for at least one of us to spot wherever it was Sandoval showed up. I was betting he was going to show up in my area, though. I was stationed to cover the last three buildings. One was a good sized warehouse, and the other two were smaller hub stations, more than likely for the employees who worked there.

My end of the docks were closest to an escape route with a boat, although furthest from where anyone would be able to escape with a car. The thing was, if Sandoval was traveling to and from Cuba, I was betting on a boat versus a plane and then a car. Boats could slip past the Coast Guard patrols in the dead of night. Planes were much more easily tracked.

Our team had been in position for about two hours now, and the itch at the back of my neck told me action would be hitting us soon. As a result, I stayed crouched in my position, waiting. My legs were starting to ache, and my back was getting stiff, but I’d been trained long ago to ignore things like this while in the middle of a mission.

Blocking out all of my discomforts and thoughts about Kara, I continued to wait.

Finally, a little over an hour later, the wait paid off.

While we were expecting someone to arrive, his mode of transportation ended up being a complete surprise. The subjects didn’t show up by car, and you couldn’t call it a boat.

One minute there had been nothing out on the waters past the dock, and the next, I heard a muffled motor sound followed by the slow appearance of what looked to be the top half of some sort of small submarine.

Holy shit! They had a semi-submersible!

I’d known the Mexican and Columbian cartels had been utilizing them to transport drugs, but I’d never considered the Cubans showing up in one. I could see how that would come about, though. The Cubans could have bought or bargained for one in their dealings with the Rivera Cartel.

Speaking softly into the comm link, I informed the rest of the team, “The party has arrived. Semi-submersible stopping at end of the docks.”

“Ten-four, Sullivan,” Jaxon replied. “Everyone else, gravitate closer but wait for my signal.”

Holding my position, I watched as the hatch on top opened. A figure stuck their head out a little bit, and the glint of the light off glass let me know that, whoever it was, they were sweeping the area with night vision binoculars. I wasn’t worried about him seeing me or anyone else from the team, for that matter, because we were the best of the best. If our asses ever got caught, it would be out of sheer stupidity or very bad luck.

The figure disappeared back down the hatch and then re-emerged a couple of minutes later, this time, completely climbing up on top of his vessel. He stood guard as another figure climbed out and then a third and fourth before they exited the top of the ship and went onto the dock. The party of four headed towards the two smaller buildings situated side by side.

I updated the team again as to their activities.

“Hold your position, Sullivan. We’re almost ready,” Jaxon acknowledged.

We had to move quickly. It wouldn’t take long for them to figure out Medina was a no-show, and then they’d book it out of here.

Adrenaline started coursing through my veins. I was ready.

I brought my rifle up, looking through the night vision scope to try for a better view of our suspects.

Two of them were out of sight behind the buildings. However, the other two I could make out vague details of. One of the men had a dark tan complexion, while the second man had a much darker mahogany skin tone. Both men were armed, one with an assault rifle and the other with a semi-automatic handgun. It was a safe assumption that the two unseen men would be armed similarly. I relayed this info then continued to wait for Jaxon’s signal.

Ten minutes later, Jaxon questioned, “Everyone in proximity?” Affirmatives were given, and then Jaxon ordered, “Engage.”

I left my hiding spot and ran forwards, hunched to make myself smaller and less noticeable, towards a fork lift parked halfway between where I’d been and the building. Movement to my left caught my eye, and I spotted Lucas closing in with Jaxon right behind him.

Using the fork lift as cover, I raised my rifle, sighted the subject with the assault rifle, and then took him out seconds before the rest of my team converged on the building.

I saw the second guard's body hit the ground right after the guard I’d taken out dropped. That’s when we started to take on fire from the semi-submersible. The boat started slow movement backwards while a fifth man used an automatic rifle, lying down, spreading cover fire to temporarily cut off my chances of moving closer. I returned fire towards the sub, but none of my shots landed on the target.

I could see Logan, Wyatt, and Declan closing in fast without utilizing any cover on the two men left in the building. Jaxon, Arturo, Chase, Lucas, and Bobby gradually closed in as they moved in by shuffling from one crate to the next for cover. There were no other possibilities for me to take cover between the fork lift and the building. That meant I needed to take out the shooter on the sub to advance.

The bastard kept ducking my shots, though, popping in and out of his hatch like some kind of human groundhog. Frustration was mounting, and I shot off another string of rounds at the sub’s gunman when I saw movement from the front of our targeted buildings.

Both of our suspects were making a run for the sub. Fuck.

I wasn’t the only one to see it, either. Wyatt and Logan started running towards the building with Declan on their heels. The three of them were firing their rifles as they ran at the subjects, so they didn’t see the figure from the sub pop out of the hatch and throw something in their direction.

I did, though.

I was out from behind the fork lift, running towards my brother and screaming a warning, when the world ignited in front of me. The small building they were running past exploded, the force of it throwing Declan backwards. Time stood still as I watched my little brother’s body flying through the air. It only seemed to start again when his body landed so violently it bounced, rolled twice, then skidded until finally coming to a stop. Wyatt and Logan were somewhere in the flames, and the sound of a tortured man screaming echoed in the air.

The semi-submersible could no longer be seen beyond the flames, but that didn’t matter. Whoever it had been was lost to us now. What mattered was getting my brother and the others to safety.

I ran up to where Declan lay on the ground, motionless. The sight caused my stomach to pitch and my heart to stop in my chest. My little brother was covered in cuts, his clothes shredded and smoking.

Dropping to my knees beside him, I checked for a pulse at his neck, gently probing the skin without pushing too hard. I didn’t know if he’d broken anything; therefore, I couldn’t take the chance of moving him. I started to panic when I didn’t feel the tell-tale thump of a pulse, but someone upstairs must have decided to cut me a break because, a few seconds later, it thumped against my fingertips.

The muscles in my chest unlocked, and I could finally heave a sigh of relief.

“Dec,” I called. He didn’t respond. “
Dec
!” I yelled this time, hoping he would hear me and come around. Still no response.

The sound of boots pounding up in my direction grabbed my attention. I spun on my knees and drew my weapon up, ready to defend my unconscious brother if I had to. Instead, I found Ice, Hammer, and two other men in Regulators’ cuts coming towards us.

Ice ran to me while the other three headed in the direction the rest of my team had disappeared to, in search of both Logan and Wyatt.