by Elle James
Casey hurriedly sat in the stylist’s chair. “We don’t mean to cause you any trouble. We’re worried about our friend. You see, he’s supposed to be getting married tomorrow. We think your cousin Camila is trying to sabotage his wedding by stealing the groom.”
“Madre de Dios,” Mina muttered. She pulled the ponytail out of Casey’s hair and ran a brush through the long strands. “That woman is muy loco.”
“I believe it,” Jacob said. “She showed up at the bachelor party last night to tell our friend he couldn’t get married tomorrow because he loved her, not his fiancée.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t.” Mina shook her head. “I think Camila has been smoking some whacky weed.” Mina sighed. “Every other month, she’s in love with someone new. And it never fails that they break up with her. I’d be suspicious of them, if they didn’t. I’m speaking truth. That woman is bat-shit crazy.”
“Crazy enough to have two burly men load up a man in a delivery truck and send him across the border?” Casey asked, meeting Mina’s gaze in the mirror.
Mina’s hand paused in mid-stroke. “Are you sure that’s what happened?
Jacob and Casey nodded at the same time.
“We have video from the hotel and images of the same van crossing the border,” Jacob said.
“Madre de Dios.” Mina grabbed the curling iron, tested it for heat and grabbed a strand of Casey’s hair. “Why would they do that?”
“I don’t know if it means anything,” Casey said, “but they took our friend’s tuxedo he was supposed to wear for the wedding.”
Mina twisted another strand of hair into the iron. “They stole the groom and the tux?” She shook her head, released the strand of hair, gathering another in her hand and wrapped it around the barrel of the iron. “That has Camila written all over it.”
Casey stared at the stylist in the mirror. “What do you mean? Has she done this before?”
“Not exactly. She had her brothers pick up a man she liked and bring him to a villa she frequents on a beach in Los Cabos, Mexico.
“The brothers got him there, but they couldn’t make him stay. He eventually got away from them and headed back to the US. When he tried to cross the border, he didn’t have his passport. The border patrol gave him hell until he had a family member bring it to him.” Mina shook her head. “The woman is insane. Her brothers are even more insane for encouraging her.”
“Do you have any idea where they might have taken him?”
Mina shrugged. “Maybe they took him to the villa she uses in Los Cabos.”
Casey’s heart sank to her knees. “They’d take him that far? Do they have a house or compound closer where they might hole up until they move him again?”
Mina turned her chair away from the mirror and twisted another strand of hair around the iron. “I really have no idea. I do know that they visit our abuela, grandmother, on a regular basis. She lives in Tijuana, in a nice cabaña, purchased with money she suspects is drug-related. She doesn’t ask. They don’t tell.”
Casey cringed. “I would hate to ask, but would she know where they would have taken our friend?”
Mina shook her head. “No. But one of the cousins might visit, and then go back to their compound. It’s not much to go on.”
“At this point,” Jacob said, “anything would be better than nothing.”
“If you promise not to disturb mi abuela, I’ll give you her address. You could stake out the house, wait for someone to visit and let them lead you back to their hideout.” She shrugged. “I wish I could help you more, but I stay blissfully ignorant. It keeps me out of trouble. For the most part.”
Casey touched her arm. “We appreciate anything you can do.”
When Mina turned her back to face the mirror, she said, “You have beautiful hair. It’s nice to find someone who has her own natural hair color. It’s so soft and undamaged.” She stood behind Casey and fluffed the loose spiral curls she’d crafted around Casey’s head.
“Wow. I’ve never seen my hair look this good. How much do I owe you?” Casey dug in her purse for her wallet.
Mina shook her head. “Nothing. I feel bad about your friend.”
“Really. You should let me give you something for your time,” Casey said.
“If you like what I do, spread the word. I always have room on my schedule for walk-ins and new clients.” She smiled and walked with them to the door.
“I’ll take a business card, if you don’t mind,” Casey said, snagging one from the counter.
“Here, let me write mi abuela’s address on the back.” Using a pen from a cup near the register, she wrote down the address and handed the card to Casey.
Casey slipped it into her purse and grabbed one of her own cards to give to Mina. “If you think of anything else, give me a call at this number. And thanks again for the information and the beautiful hairstyle.”
Mina hugged Casey. “I hope you find him in time to get him to his wedding.”
“We will,” Jacob said, his jaw hardening.
Casey nodded. “Damn right, we will.” She prayed she was right. It was bad enough to be kidnapped. But to be taken by a brutal Mexican drug cartel didn’t bode well for Hawk.
All the more reason to get across the border and start their search in earnest.
Somehow, Casey didn’t think Jacob would let her go with him on that particular information-gathering mission.
She’d have to figure out how to do it and make him think it was his idea.
Jacob drove back to Casey’s apartment deep in thought. They had so little to go on, he was beginning to feel desperate. The longer Hawk was missing, the more likely he was to be hurt or killed.
As soon as they arrived in the parking lot of the apartment complex, he jumped down and hurried around to the other side of the truck.
Casey was already on the ground, shutting the door behind her.
Without saying a word, he took her hand as he walked into the building and up to her apartment. She felt comfortable beside him. They didn’t need to talk when they didn’t have much more to go on. Hopefully, Hank and Swede had come up with more information about the cartel. Surely, their contacts with the FBI, DEA and ATF would have given them some idea of where to begin their search.
Jacob heard the low hum of male voices before they even opened the door. He glanced at Casey. “I think you have more company.”
Her eyes widened, and her face brightened. “Do you think they found Hawk?” She shoved open the door and stared at the men gathered in the small space.
“Who are all these people?” she asked.
Jacob grinned. “My team.” He cupped her elbow and ushered her in.
“There you are.” C-Note detached from the others and crossed the short distance to the door. “We heard. And came.” His brow dipped low. “I can’t believe it. Kidnapped. Who does a thing like that to a man about to get married?”
“A nut job,” Jacob said. He gripped C-Note’s hand and pulled him into a hug. “Glad you came.”
“Hank put out the word, and we all came,” Cowboy said. “On the eve of Hawk’s wedding. It just isn’t right.”
“That’s right. You should have called us this morning. We could have been helping,” Tuck said.
“Well, we’re here now.” Viking crossed his arms over his chest, looking like the conquering Nordic warrior he was. “Let’s find our groom.”
Hank pushed his way through the men, Kalea following behind him. “We got info from Swede’s contact with the DEA. They have a fairly recent location where the cartel has holed up. Their source says they might be getting ready to move again. We need to make our move tonight. They have sentries on all entrances into the compound and out further along the road leading in.” Hank’s face split in a grin. “The good news is…it’s on the coast.”
A whoop went up from all the men gathered.
Jacob couldn’t help his own grin. “That is good news.”
“Why is everybody smiling?” C
asey asked. “What does that mean?”
“It means the extraction won’t be by land.”
“I don’t understand,” Casey said. “Are you going to fly in? If so, where are you going to find someone who’s willing to take a plane or helicopter across the border into Tijuana?”
“They’re not going in by air.” Kalea took Casey’s arm in hers. “They’re going in by sea.”
Casey’s gaze went to Jacob. “By water? But I’m not that good a swimmer.”
Jacob frowned. “Sweetheart, you don’t need to know how to swim.”
Her eyes rounded for a moment and then narrowed. “Oh. You’re not going to take me.”
He shook his head, his heart squeezing hard in his chest at the look of disappointment on her face. The mission would be far too dangerous to take her. “I wouldn’t take you even if it was by land. The cartel is known for being ruthless. They are equal opportunity bastards. They’d just as soon kill women and children as grown men.”
Casey gave him a tight-lipped smile and a nod. “I get it. And I’d be a distraction.”
“A beautiful distraction, but a distraction, nonetheless. And we’re going by water. That, in itself, will create all kinds of challenges you’re not trained for.”
Again, she nodded. “I’m convinced.”
“Besides, we need you to stay here with Kalea,” Hank said. “The two of you can look out for each other while we get in, get our guy and get out. We’ll have to do this all on the down-low. We can’t wait for the government to sanction this. By the time it goes through channels, it might be too late to save Hawk.”
Kalea gasped and pressed a hand to her lips.
“We’re not going to let red tape bog down our efforts to save our friend,” Jacob added, his jaw tight, his hands clenched in tight fists.
“So, what’s the plan?” Cowboy asked.
“We meet at C-Note’s place,” Hank said. “As we speak, I have some of my guys flying in from Montana on a private jet. Some of you might remember Brandon Rayne.”
“Boomer?” Cowboy laughed. “He’s still alive?”
“Very much so. And he has a baby girl.” Hank grinned. “And Maddog Maddox.”
“I haven’t seen Maddog since our raid outside of Fallujah,” C-Note said.
“I have a couple of Deltas coming with them, as well,” Hank said.
“Better find some water wings for the Deltas,” Viking said. “I hear they don’t float.”
The other men chuckled.
“They assured me they can swim quite well,” Hank said. “They’ll be here in another couple of hours. That will give us time to put together a plan and collect the necessary arms and watercraft.”
Jacob turned to Casey. “Are you and Kalea going to be all right here by yourselves?”
Kalea nodded. “We’ll be fine. Are you sure there isn’t anything we can do to help?”
Hank shook his head. “The best thing you can do is remain safe and stay behind a locked door. We don’t know exactly why they took Hawk. The only information we have to go on is conjecture.”
“Do you have a gun?” Jacob asked Casey.
She shook her head. “No.”
Jacob’s brow furrowed. “Do you know how to use a handgun?”
Casey nodded. “I’ve been practicing at one of the local indoor gun ranges. I was going to purchase a small handgun for self-protection.” She gave him a crooked grin. “Guess it’s a little late for that.”
“You can have mine. I know for a fact that C-Note has a veritable arsenal at his place. I can pick up a weapon there.” Jacob left the apartment and hurried out to his truck, returning with his nine-millimeter Glock.
Casey took it, her hands shaking slightly. “I’ve only held a gun at the range.”
“Don’t worry.” He held up a magazine full of bullets. “It’s not loaded. Show me what you learned.”
She turned the weapon over and pointed to the safety features. “That’s the trigger safety, the firing pin safety and the drop safety. I keep them on until I’m ready to fire the gun.” She cupped it in her hand the way the instructor had shown her with her finger alongside the trigger, not on it. “Once I’m serious about firing, I line up my sights.” She raised the gun and closed one eye. “When I’m ready to shoot, I disengage the safety features, and I squeeze the trigger.”
“You have the basics. Just remember…once you pull the trigger, you can’t take back that bullet.”
“I know. Be absolutely sure of what I’m aiming at.”
He took the weapon from her, slid the magazine full of bullets in the chamber and handed it back to her. “If you’re being attacked, shoot to kill. If you wing someone, it might not stop him. You’ll only make him mad.”
She nodded. “Hopefully, I won’t have to use this. You guys are the ones going into danger. Are you sure you don’t need to take this with you?”
“I’ve got him covered,” C-Note said. “Rooster’s seen my collection.”
“I always thought C-Note’s love of guns was overkill,” Ringer stepped up behind C-Note and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Right now, I’m thinking he had the right idea. I mean, I own my own rifle and handgun, but he has all the bells and whistles.”
“Let’s get over there and formulate a plan,” Hank said. “I have a call out to a friend of mine who owns a boat.”
“What kind of boat?” Jacob asked.
“I’ll fill you in when we get there,” Hank said. “We only have a few short hours until dusk. We need to get moving.”
The men filed out of the house one by one until only Kalea, Casey, Hank and Jacob were left.
Hank held up his cellphone. “I’ll have this with me on silent. You have my number. If you need us, text.”
Kalea and Casey both nodded.
“You can ride with me.” Jacob tossed Hank the keys to his truck.
Hank caught the keys and left Casey’s apartment.
“Seriously, keep the door locked and don’t go anywhere until we get back. I don’t like leaving you two unprotected.”
“We’ll be all right. Kalea and I took the same self-defense class. We have skills and code words we can use if we’re attacked at the same time.” Casey held up his gun. “And we have protection, should the need arise.”
Jacob took the gun from her and set it on the table beside the door. Then he took her in his arms.
Kalea cleared her throat. “I think there’s something in the oven I need to check on.” She performed an about-face and hurried into the kitchen, leaving Jacob and Casey alone in the hallway.
“I know we’ve only been together for a short time,” Jacob said, brushing one of the curls Mina had so carefully placed back behind her ear. “But I want you to know, I like you. A lot. And I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
She smiled up at him and cupped his cheek. “I like you, too. Please, don’t let those cartel dudes wreck your pretty face.” Casey winked at him. “Or any other part of you. I’m looking forward to that date we’re going on after the wedding.” She leaned up on her toes, cupped his cheek in her hand and pressed her lips to his. “I like kissing you.”
“You call that a kiss?” He gathered her in his arms and crushed her to him, his mouth descending to take hers in a hard, hungry kiss that left them both breathless.
When he set her back on her feet, he stepped away. “I’ll be back for more of that.”
Casey pressed her fingers to her lips. Her cheeks were a charming pink, and her eyes glazed with what he suspected was desire. “I’ll be waiting.”
Jacob left before he couldn’t. He took the stairs to the ground floor two at a time and jogged out to his truck where Hank sat in the passenger seat.
When he slipped in behind the steering wheel, he turned to Hank. “Let’s get this done. I have a date with a pretty lady I’d like to get to know better.”
Hank gave him a crooked grin. “Thought there might be something going on between the two of you.”
&
nbsp; “I hope so.” For the first time since he’d become a Navy SEAL, he was thinking past a single date or one-night stand. Casey was a beautiful young woman with drive, determination and fearlessness. She knew what she wanted and went after it. He understood her reluctance to date a Navy guy. It was very much the same reason he’d refused to get involved with someone for a long-term relationship. He’d be gone more than he’d be there. If anyone could handle that kind of lifestyle, Casey could. The question was, could he handle being away from her? At the moment, all he could think about was getting back to her as soon as possible.
“Just so you know,” Hank said. “I understand how hard it is to focus when you have someone you care about waiting at home.” He grinned and stared out the window. “I have two someones—Sadie and Emma. But they know how important it is for me to help others. It’s part of who I am. Sadie is one of the strongest women I know. She worries about me, but she doesn’t try to stop me from doing what I do.”
“But you’re no longer on active duty. You can choose when you take on a case.”
“Sometimes. Other times, I have to do what’s right.” He waved his hand. “Like now. Hawk is one of my guys. I have to be here. Even though I have others who can do the work, I need to be there, too. It’s who I am.”
Jacob nodded. “That’s how I feel. My team is my family as well. They’re my brothers.”
Hank turned to Jacob with a serious expression. “We don’t call it a brotherhood for nothing.”
Jacob’s jaw tightened. “And we don’t leave a brother behind.”
Chapter 9
Casey paced the length of her apartment, passing Kalea along the way.
“I want to call my father,” Kalea said, shaking her phone in the air. “But he’s in the air right now. He’s supposed to land this evening after the scheduled rehearsal.”
Casey snorted. “At this rate, the rehearsal isn’t going to happen. Not if we don’t have a groom.”
Kalea choked on a sob.
Feeling like a heel, Casey wrapped her friend in her arms. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me.”
“But it’s true.” Kalea clung to Casey, tears soaking her shirt. “What if they don’t get to him in time? Hell, I don’t give a damn about the wedding. I just want Hawk back.”