He’d felt bad for Justin’s wife and daughter having to stand there as lines of people said they were sorry. Those words meant nothing, but there wasn’t anything else to be said.
“It wasn’t like I didn’t expect it, you know?” She was staring at her fingers. “I mean, I figured he’d either get himself into trouble or overdose.” She shook her head and let out a breath. “At least I know for sure now.”
“Yeah,” Dane murmured.
She swallowed and took another deep breath before she looked up at him. “I thought you’d left me.”
They hadn’t had a chance to speak before the funeral. He’d been wrapping things up with Thorne.
“I’m sorry. The federal prosecutor wasn’t pleased that we made a move against Kulakov on our own. And since he’s still not ready to make an arrest, even with all the kidnapping charges, we’ve gotten the order to stand down.”
Her eyes widened. “We aren’t going after Kenzie?”
He held up a hand. “Of course we are. It’s becoming more and more obvious the prosecutor is working for Viktor, even if we can’t prove it yet. We’re not waiting. We’ll make our move as soon as we know where we’re going.”
She closed her eyes briefly, then asked, “How is Tobey?”
Dane pressed his lips together to rein in the emotion. The little time he’d had with his son just made him want more.
“He’d hurt his knee,” he said, “but he’ll be fine. He promised to keep my secret. We’ll see what happens. He’s ten. It might be hard to keep something like that bottled up. But we didn’t really have any other choice. He saw me, and I didn’t want to lie to him anymore.”
She gave him a sympathetic look. “Now that he knows the truth, will you be able to see him?”
“We know how dangerous that can be,” he said, reminding them both of how Tobey wouldn’t have been in danger if someone hadn’t been following Dane and seen him watching Tobey at the soccer field. “Maybe later when he’s older. Or if my former employer, Tim Reynolds, is ever put in jail.”
“Is there any chance of that happening?”
Dane shook his head. “Doubtful. When his partner killed himself, all the blame for their indiscretions went with him, and all the assets of the company went to Reynolds. Reynolds was left the innocent, oblivious partner. I’m the only person who knows how involved Reynolds was. He’s rich, and rich men can afford to cover up a lot of sins.”
She placed her hand on Dane’s. “I’m sorry.”
Maybe there was something in those words that did help. If just a little bit.
She leaned against him, and he wrapped his arm around her.
“Will you stay with me?” she asked quietly.
He had his own room down the hall, but he didn’t want to leave her. He didn’t want to be alone. He nodded and kissed her hair.
After helping her out of her gray sheath dress, he undressed down to his boxers and waited on his turn for the bathroom. It felt comforting to share space with another person. It had been one of the things he’d enjoyed about being married. He was never alone. Not like he’d been as a child after his mother died. At home, his father was always closeted in his office, and later, he hadn’t come home from the university for days.
It was easy to see, now, why his relationship with Caroline hadn’t been strong enough to survive. He’d latched onto the first person who had treated him like he mattered. He’d been so desperate for human contact, he’d held onto Caroline for no other reason than that she kept him from feeling alone.
He’d loved her for that, but he hadn’t been in love with her. He’d often heard people say that, but he hadn’t really understood the distinction until now.
Lena came out of the bathroom in one of the T-shirts he’d left behind. He got ready and came out to find her in bed already asleep. He slid under the covers next to her, and she snuggled up against his side.
Whatever this was between them, it felt like more than just someone to fill the void, or a distraction. It was much more than that.
She was still in his arms the next morning when they were wakened by his phone. It was early, so he cursed as he reached for the device.
“Yeah?”
“Angel’s found something. Come down to the lounge in ten,” Colton said, sounding like he’d just been ripped from sleep, himself.
“See you there.”
…
Lena’s hair was still dripping as they got off the elevator and made their way to the hotel restaurant. All things considered, she felt pretty good. Dane had joined her in the shower, so her usual two-minute wash had come with a nice view and someone to scrub her back.
She felt well rested for once, thanks to being held in his arms all night. He’d seemed to know exactly what she needed. And what she’d needed was someone to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay.
He hadn’t pressed for more. He hadn’t tried to distract her with sex. He probably knew it wouldn’t have happened. Things were different now that she didn’t know where her daughter was, or if she was okay. No way could Lena indulge in pleasure when her daughter could be in pain.
They glanced around the cozy restaurant. Samantha and Garrett were walking in from the other entrance. Thorne was on the phone in a corner booth. Angel was seated at a table feeding John a bottle while Colton watched with a peaceful smile.
It must be nice to have that feeling of safety, and a husband who was truly a partner.
Brandon had said he wanted children, but it turned out he’d only wanted to do the fun things. He wasn’t interested in the nighttime feedings and diapers, or really any of it, other than the few minutes a day when the baby was clean and happy.
As Mackenzie got older, Brandon had started using drugs, and Lena kept him away from Kenzie as much as possible.
Angel handed the baby to Colton, who happily took over the feeding.
Lena pushed down a twinge of envy so she could focus on Angel’s news.
“Our ship has come in,” Angel said. “Or it’s on its way, at least.”
Thorne ended his call and came to join the group. “Go on.”
Angel continued, “Kulakov is meeting a shipment at Long Beach Port in California. He keeps a home and a yacht nearby. When he goes to the meet the freighter at the port, he’ll take most of his entourage with him, and we can move into the house to get Mackenzie.”
“How do you know she’s there?” Lena asked.
Angel glanced over at her and frowned. “We don’t.”
The thought of rushing into another empty compound made Lena’s stomach heave. She swallowed as Dane rubbed the back of her neck.
“I’ve been to his place in Long Beach,” Colton said. “Like Angel said, he keeps a yacht at a nearby marina. Glorious Morning is a big yacht. My guess is after meeting the shipment, he’s planning to leave the country. If he’s paying the prosecutor but was still targeted by a police raid, it might be enough to make him run. This could be our only chance to grab him.”
“Oh God,” Lena whispered and covered her face. Was he planning to take Kenzie with him out of the country?
“Is there any chance we can get more people on this job?” Garrett asked, looking at Thorne with a frown.
Thorne nodded. “I’ve reached out to another team and secured three more marshals.”
“I’m going,” Colton said calmly.
“It’s not necessary for you—” Thorne started, but was cut off.
“I’m going,” Colton repeated, looking at Angel. “I know the last time you had me grounded was because you thought it was too much of a risk. But I can’t sit here when I could be helping to save someone’s child. You can’t ask it of me. What if it was John? Wouldn’t you want as many people as possible helping to bring him home?”
Angel let out a shaky breath. “Of course.”
“Okay, then. Grandpa Thorne can watch John while we go take care of this together,” Colton said with a glance at his boss.
Thorne no
dded in agreement. Lena knew he wasn’t the baby’s real grandfather. But as the father figure for Task Force Phoenix, he had taken on the role.
“Thank you all so much.” Tears streamed down Lena’s face as Dane pulled her close and kissed her hair. She didn’t know what she would do if Viktor took Kenzie out of the country. Anything could happen to her out there. Horrible, awful things, things that she couldn’t think about.
They had to get her back.
Thankfully, she now knew the team would do everything in their power to make that happen.
She owed these people more than she would ever be able to repay.
Chapter Eighty-Four
With a plan in place, they all headed out en masse. Dane was proud to be part of Phoenix, which truly treated each other like family.
Angel had secured a new ID for Lena so she was able to fly. They all took the next flight to LAX. Once there, they rented a house and obtained a shit-ton of weapons and ammunition.
Thorne was in constant contact with everyone…when he wasn’t taking care of John.
The furnished house had three bedrooms. Angel immediately turned the dining room into a command center, and started showing Samantha how to operate the satellite feeds and the domestic communications.
They didn’t have much time—the freighter was due to arrive the next evening. Once it was loaded with Viktor’s cargo, they expected him to jump on his yacht and flee.
What they didn’t know was if Kenzie would be part of the cargo on the freighter, or if she would be travelling on his personal vessel. Or maybe she wasn’t there, at all. Maybe she’d already been sold or shipped off elsewhere.
Dane looked over at Lena, who stood back from the hustle and bustle of the team. “It’s going to be okay,” he told her. “If she’s there, we’ll get her back.”
Lena’s eyes filled. “And if she isn’t there?”
“I promise we won’t stop looking for her.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
“I really wish I hadn’t hit you over the head with a bottle,” she murmured into his chest, making him laugh.
“When this is all over, I’ll use that guilt whenever I want to get my way.”
Her smile was strained, but at least he’d gotten a smile from her. She was so tense, he worried she would snap at any minute.
“Come on,” he said gently. “We’ve done everything we can. Everything is in place, we can’t do anything more until tomorrow evening. Let’s go up to bed.”
She nodded and placed her hand in his when he offered it to her.
They’d taken the room at the end of the hall, which was the smallest. The other two rooms had queen-size beds, while this one was only a full.
He didn’t mind sharing a small bed with her. They slept close together, anyway.
She sat on the bed and flopped back with a deep breath.
He bent to take off her shoes, then pulled her back up to a sitting position so he could take off her shirt. She helped get her pants off, and he handed her one of his T-shirts. Before her body was covered with the clean cotton, his own body reacted to the sight.
Stripped down to his boxers, he pressed her back onto the bed and kissed her. When his cock lurched against her, she gasped.
“Just ignore him,” Dane instructed with a wry smile. “He has misinterpreted the situation. Usually when I get in bed with a beautiful woman, it’s his turn.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Can you tell him I’m sorry for the confusion?”
“He understands. Roll over. I’ll give you a back rub.”
She did as he asked and sighed as his hands moved over her. “I don’t deserve this,” she murmured.
“It’s just a back rub.”
“No. I mean I don’t deserve to have your team put themselves in danger—for you to be in danger—because of me.”
He gave her a sincere look. “We do this all the time for people we don’t even know. Sometimes for people who are complete assholes. There’s nothing worse than protecting someone who should be going to prison, but is in WITSEC because they can put away a bigger fish. But with Mackenzie? It’s a no-brainer. We want to help.”
He paid special attention to massaging her butt muscles when he worked his way down there, then moved back up.
“Tell me about your daughter,” he said, so she could stop worrying for just a little while.
Lena thought for a moment, letting out an emotional sigh. “She’s small for her age. She looks a lot like I did when I was little.”
He smiled. “So, beautiful, then?”
She laughed and went on. “She swims like a fish, and once you get her into the pool it’s hard to get her out without a fuss. Usually she’s well behaved, but a few months before she was taken, she’d picked up a smart mouth from a kid at daycare. She told me she hated me, but when I cried, she apologized right away. I remember thinking at the time it was the worst thing that could happen—to have my daughter tell me she hated me. But it’s not.”
“No. I’m sure it won’t be the last time she says that, I’m sorry to say. I hear teenagers tend to use the sharpest weapons at their disposal.”
She let out a long breath. “I hope I get the chance to have to deal with my daughter telling me she hates me. How ridiculous it sounds to say that.”
“I understand.”
“I’m so sorry you can’t be with Tobey.”
“For some reason, it’s a lot better now that he knows I’m alive. I feel like he’s less likely to forget me that way.”
“That makes sense.” She was quiet for a spell, and when she spoke again, her voice was soft and slow with exhaustion.
“Kenzie is kind. She always worries about people. Once we saw a homeless person on the way into the grocery store, and she wanted to get her something to eat. She picked out a meal and gave it to the woman when we were leaving. In the car, she asked if we could go back the next day to take her a sandwich.”
“Did you go?”
“I thought she’d forget, but she didn’t. But the woman had moved on when we got there…”
Lena’s story drifted off, and her breathing slowed. She was asleep. He softened his touch and covered her with the blanket and turned off the light before pulling on his jeans and going out to the living room where the team was gathered.
“Is she sleeping?” Samantha asked with a compassionate frown.
“Yeah.”
Angel shook her head. “I can’t imagine what she must be going through. If someone took my son and threatened his life, there would be hell to pay,” she said fiercely.
Dane didn’t doubt that for one second.
“What happens on Tuesday?” Garrett casually asked.
“Tuesday?” Puzzled, Dane looked around at the others. Today was Sunday. They would be raiding Viktor’s home tomorrow evening. Tuesday was…nothing. Tuesday it would all be over.
“Oh.” He understood now. They wanted to know what he was planning to do when this was over. “You mean me and Lena.”
Everyone nodded.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “We haven’t talked about it yet. It’s always seemed premature to bring it up, you know?”
They backed off and turned to another equally difficult subject. Tobey.
“Are you planning to see him again?” Garrett asked.
“Yeah. I am. I mean, I don’t know exactly when, but I’ll reach out to him. Check in. Now that he knows I’m alive, I think it would be upsetting for me to just drop out of his life completely. Again. He might think I don’t care about him. I know I can’t get involved, and no one else can know the truth, but occasionally I’d like to make sure he’s okay.”
“I don’t blame you,” Colton said. “I’d do the same thing if it was John. I wouldn’t be able to stay away.”
“You’ll have to be careful,” Garrett warned.
Dane nodded. “Yeah. I will.”
“You probably thought you were being careful before, but someone was watc
hing you,” Garrett pointed out.
“I know.” Dane had been reckless. He shouldn’t have showed up in public. He would do better the next time. “I’ll be a lot more careful.”
“Justin always wished he’d gone into WITSEC alone,” Garrett said. “He always felt guilty because he made his wife and child give up their old lives. Thorne told him to bring his family.”
Everyone looked up. They’d not heard this.
“Really?” Sam said.
Garrett continued. “Yeah. Justin told me once when we were on a stakeout.”
“What exactly did he say?” Angel asked in disbelief.
“I think it hit Thorne a little too close to home—Justin deciding whether or not to walk out on his daughter.” Garrett looked over at Samantha, the daughter Thorne had walked out on, himself. “Thorne couldn’t make Justin do it. He told him to bring his family along. Justin always regretted doing it. Especially after the marriage fell apart and they split up.”
“Thorne told me he regretted it, too—that advice,” Dane said, recalling a conversation he’d had a few years ago with their leader.
“Thorne’s getting soft in his old age,” Angel joked.
“He doesn’t seem all that soft to me,” Garrett said with a grimace.
“You’re his son-in-law, he’s supposed to hate you. You touch his daughter,” Colton said.
They all laughed, and Dane wondered how much longer they might have this easy camaraderie. How long before everyone drifted apart and moved on with their new families?
Garrett only did the odd job here and there for Phoenix. Donovan was out of the country most of the time—as he’d been for this mission. Angel and Colton were only here because Dane needed them. And now Justin was gone.
Why wasn’t Thorne recruiting anyone new for the task force?
Suddenly, Dane wondered. Was he about to lose this family, too?
Chapter Eighty-Five
The next day, Lena woke knowing this day was going to be the most important one in her life. Today she would either get her daughter back or lose her forever.
While no one had said anything specific, she knew the importance of apprehending Viktor before he left the country. Because once he was gone, her chances of finding Kenzie were slim. If they couldn’t hold him, they had no leverage to make him give her up.
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