Don’t be nervous.
Holmes’s house looked like every other house on the street. None of the houses looked like anyone was home, but they were all small, unfenced, and set far apart from the street, lined with scraggling trees. The problem was there was no easy way for Noah and the others to approach the house. Not until she got him to open the door; then they could come around from behind.
She glanced behind her and saw that Nate and Noah were running parallel and behind her through the backyards.
That meant Adam and one of his people were approaching from the other side, though she couldn’t see them.
She stopped in front of the house. Looked around as if she were lost, then walked up the narrow cement walk. Holmes’s yard was immaculate. The lawn was a sickly green color from the drought, but it was cut short and there were no weeds. The small porch had been swept, and matching pottery with cacti framed the door. The house was well maintained—the roof, for example, had a few new shingles, neatly patched.
Fastidious. Methodical.
She knocked on the door, then rang the bell. It buzzed loudly, which surprised her.
She had the distinct impression that she was being watched. At first she dismissed it as Noah and Nate getting into position, but she stepped back a foot and glanced around, not like she was intentionally looking for something, just casual.
But she saw the camera mounted under the narrow eave of the roof.
Holmes was watching her.
She wiped the sweat off her forehead, then stretched, which had the added effect of stretching her tank top tight over her breasts. Her cotton shirt was damp, which made her uncomfortable, but it would intrigue Holmes. She fanned herself and rang the bell one more time.
He was inside. Why wasn’t he coming to the door?
Then she heard footsteps. “I’m so glad someone’s home,” she said for Noah’s benefit. She kept her voice light, young.
The door opened. The security screen was still locked. She couldn’t see into the dark house, and the screen made it difficult to make out any details. “Hello?” she said. “I’m sort of lost. I mean, not really, I know I’m in the right neighborhood. My grandpa moved in last month, and this is the first day off I’ve had in forever. He told me his address was 11678 Diablo. But two street signs are missing. I’ve been to four houses, no one answers. Do you know where Diablo is?”
He didn’t say anything for a second. “I think I do.”
“Oh, thank you. I’m so hot. I can’t wait for winter, you know?”
He still didn’t open the screen. He said. “I think Diablo is the street two over from here.”
“Two over which way?” She turned, not completely putting her back to Holmes, but trying to get him to step out and point. “Two streets over parallel? Perpendicular?”
“Go to the corner, turn left, two blocks.” He looked around. “You don’t have a car.”
“I parked under a tree down the block, hoping someone was home to help.” She fanned herself. “Thanks.” She coughed.
“Hey, you want some water?”
“Oh, I don’t want to trouble you.” She coughed again.
“No trouble. Come on in.” He unlocked the screen and opened it.
“I don’t want to put you out.”
But she held the screen open, not giving him a chance to close and lock it.
“It’s not a problem.” Holmes was staring at her breasts. “You can stay here, I’ll bring it to you. Icy water.”
“Okay, thank you so much. I’ll wait right here.”
He walked away. She had the screen open, and turned her back to the camera, took out her phone, and whispered. “He’s going to the back. There’s a camera on the porch.” Then she saw there was a second camera. If he was watching, he would have seen her talking into her phone. “Shit,” she said, “two cameras.”
Noah and Nate both ran from the yard next door and toward the porch. Inside, she heard a door slam. “He knows,” she said.
She pulled the gun from her ankle holster and went inside. Noah and Nate were right behind her. Noah was talking through a mike in his sleeve to Villines. “We’re inside, need cover.”
Stairs went down to the dark basement. The door was open—this wasn’t where he’d gone.
Lucy gestured. Noah nodded, motioned to Nate to lead. Noah stayed at the top of the stairs—they didn’t know where Holmes was.
Lucy followed Nate down. It was darker than upstairs, but ground-level windows let in some natural light.
She smelled blood. Urine. Bile.
In the corner, a naked woman hung by her wrists from a hook on the ceiling.
No no no no!
Lucy made a move toward her, but Nate put up his hand and stopped her.
The basement had nearly as large a footprint as the house. Nate motioned to a switch on the wall. Lucy nodded, turned it on.
A weak light gave them more visibility. The basement was one large room and they quickly cleared it.
Nate said into his com, “We have her. Basement secure.”
He helped Lucy cut Marisol off the hook, then he stood guard because there was no word as to where Holmes had gone.
Marisol moaned. She was alive. Lucy said, “You’re safe. You’re safe, Marisol.” She looked around for something to cover her. There was nothing.
“Ana. My sister.”
“She’s safe. She’s in the hospital, she’s going to be okay. The babies—they are healthy.”
Marisol began to sob. “I’m so sorry, so sorry.”
“You saved them, Mari,” Lucy said as she hugged the shaking woman. “You saved them because you had the courage to escape.”
“It’s my fault. I … I called Angelo. I thought … He…”
“I know,” Lucy said. “He lied to you. He used you. That’s not your fault, Mari. That’s on him.”
A single gunshot made Marisol jump. Nate said, “Stay with her,” and ran up the stairs. There were several voices and footsteps above them. Then Nate came back down with a blanket. “Holmes killed himself,” he said.
“Where was he? We cleared the house.”
“There’s a false wall in the second bedroom. And there’s evidence of his crimes. A wall of photos.”
Lucy felt ill and closed her eyes. “Good riddance.”
* * *
Lucy watched from the doorway as Marisol was reunited with her sister, her baby, and Siobhan. She was relieved, more than anything, that they’d found Marisol alive. She’d been abused, but she was a survivor. Lucy would give her a bit of time, then come back and talk to her.
Marisol would need someone to talk to. Someone who understood what she’d suffered. Someone who could help her overcome the worst of her trauma. For now, she needed her sister.
Lucy turned and walked away. She needed to go home.
Home. What home? Did she even have a home anymore?
“Lucy!”
Lucy stopped and waited for Siobhan to catch up. John Honeycutt was right behind her. “They’re safe because of you,” Lucy told Siobhan. “You never gave up.”
Siobhan hugged her tightly. “You saved them. What you did … What you do … Thank you.”
Lucy accepted Siobhan’s hug, but she was so emotionally drained that she couldn’t muster a smile or a tear.
Lucy turned to John. “Thank you, John. You and your family are a light in this world that we all need.”
As she spoke, she believed it—yet the light was fading. She saw it here, but what about outside? What about her life? She hadn’t felt this lost and alone in a long time.
“I—um—Adam told me I might be able to see Marisol.” He held up a pink gift bag. “My mom made Baby Elizabeth something.”
“Looks like a lot of somethings,” Siobhan said.
“My mom knits when she’s worried.”
Siobhan said, “Let me tell Marisol you’re here. I’m sure she wants to see you.” She went down the hall.
Lucy watched as John adjus
ted his collar. “You care for her,” she said.
“I—I’m just relieved. I was scared for her. Adam said you found her, saved her. Thank you.”
“It’s my job.”
“You went above and beyond. Adam told us about the baby last night. He’s down in the neonatal unit right now checking on her.”
Siobhan came out of the sister’s room and said, “You can come in, John.”
Lucy intended to leave the hospital, but she found herself in the neonatal unit. She wanted to see Baby Lucia one last time.
Adam Villines was watching Baby Lucia being fed by a nurse. He was beaming. When he saw Lucy, he said, “She’s perfect. Dr. Davidson said she’s going to be fine. She still needs extra oxygen, but not for much longer.” He took her hand. Lucy felt uncomfortable with the intimacy. “Do you want to hold her?”
Lucy shook her head.
“That’s my wife in there.”
“Feeding her?”
Adam nodded. “We talked about it last night and this morning. If Children’s Services can’t find her family, we want to adopt her. We have three girls, one more would be a blessing. She needs someone who will love her unconditionally. Protect her. And my family is strong. Mine and the Honeycutts.”
Lucy’s heart skipped a beat. She wanted to say no. She wanted to say Baby Lucia was hers.
But Lucia wasn’t her baby. And right now, Lucy wouldn’t make a good mother. She didn’t know if she ever would.
Sean, on the other hand, would make a great dad.
He’s the light in your life. Without him, you’re nothing but dark.
But she didn’t have Sean anymore, did she? Because she didn’t know him. And he didn’t trust her.
Whatever happened, she would continue to survive.
“She’s a lucky baby,” Lucy heard herself saying. “You’ll love her?”
“I already do.” He hugged Lucy.
Noah was staring at her. She hadn’t even seen him walk in. The look on his face … He saw more than she wanted him to see. She averted her eyes.
“I talked to Nate,” Noah said. “He’s going to stay here and wrap things up over the next day or two. Let me take you home.”
She didn’t argue. All she wanted was to go home.
Even though she didn’t know what she would find there, or if she even had a real home anymore. Because home wasn’t just a place, it was a person. It was family. She thought her home was Sean.
She just didn’t know anything anymore.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
After the last seventy-two hours, the flight back to Texas was relatively uneventful.
Sean needed uneventful.
They made two stops. One to refuel in the middle of nowhere—how Kane had friends in the oddest, most remote places always surprised Sean. The other was in Hidalgo, where the FBI was waiting to take Carson Spade into custody. Sean didn’t know the agents, but JT did. He took responsibility for the official RCK statement on the extraction of Carson Spade. No one at RCK talked officially to any law enforcement agency except JT.
Jesse had slept almost the entire plane ride, even through a few rough patches when they were low on fuel and hitting some turbulence. But he woke up when they landed in Hidalgo and watched as his stepfather was taken into custody.
Kane put his hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, kid.”
“I know. Thank you.”
Kane cracked a grin. “He’s already more polite than you ever were, Sean.”
Carson Spade practically growled. “Madison will never let you near him, not after what you’ve done.”
Sean glared at Spade. He was in deep. Could the feds even trust him? That wasn’t Sean’s concern.
He glanced down at Jesse. Yes, Carson Spade was Sean’s concern, because he was in his son’s life. Even if Spade went to prison for the rest of his life, he had worked for some very bad people, and those people may seek retribution on Spade’s family.
Sean’s son.
Kane caught his eye. His expression was hard, as if he knew exactly what Sean was thinking. Kane put his arm around Jesse’s shoulders, silently showing Spade—and Sean—that Jesse was under their wing. That the Rogan family would protect him.
The FBI agents drove away with Spade, and JT came over to them. “Sean, do you have a minute?”
Sean followed JT away from the others. Jack and Matt were refueling the plane and talking. Sean had learned that Matt was Jack’s brother-in-law. That, more than the fact that Matt was a prosecutor and JT’s closest friend, was probably why he’d come to help. Because he was family. It was truly a small world.
“First, the feds are going to want to talk to Jesse, but I convinced them to let you bring him back to his mother in San Antonio. Madison Spade has been told not to leave town until after she and Jesse are both deposed. I thought you might want some alone time with your son first.”
“Thank you.” He cleared his throat, surprised at the emotions that ran through him. It was like he was one big emotional balloon that could burst at any moment.
“Sean, I want you to come back full-time with RCK.”
Sean hadn’t expected that. He didn’t know what to expect—maybe a lecture, or a warning. For years he’d wanted to please his brothers—and JT, who was the next closest thing to a brother—but he always felt like he’d fallen short. That he’d disappointed them. When he left, he left on his terms, because he realized that his brother Duke—his guardian, his mentor, his tormentor—would never think of him as an equal. Sean would always be the problem child, the kid who got in trouble and tried to charm his way out of it.
Duke never gave him the benefit of the doubt.
“You know why I left.”
“Yes.” JT looked Sean squarely in the eye. “Family is complicated, and while we love our family unconditionally, there are still … long memories. Deep resentments. Sometimes we can’t overcome our own insecurities, guilt, failures, or fears. Duke is a good man, but he has a blind spot when it comes to you. He’s trying. I want you back in RCK. Me. And Jack. You’ve already been working freelance, but I want you under our umbrella. You’re an asset, one I don’t think any of us appreciated until you were gone. You won’t be working under Duke. You may have to work with him, because when you two partnered on security systems it was truly a sight to behold. You work well together … But you would be a full partner. Like Jack. Like Duke. Like Kane. Like me. Equals.”
Sean was speechless. He hadn’t been expecting the offer, and he didn’t really know what to think about it. He missed his old assignments, but he didn’t miss the tension.
If he was really a full partner, an equal, maybe he could find a way to work with Duke.
JT continued. “It won’t be easy. Jack and Duke are both married to federal agents, you soon will be, and there are times when we won’t necessarily see eye-to-eye. But I know we’ll make it work. I want to make it work.”
“I need to talk to Lucy. I need a few days.”
JT nodded. He slapped Sean on the back and said, “You were good back there. Truly good. Even with the personal stakes. But it’s not because of this operation that I’m asking you back. It’s because you make RCK better.”
“I appreciate it.”
“One more thing.” He put up his finger to have Sean wait, and walked over to the plane. He spoke briefly to Jack and Matt, then went inside and came out empty-handed. Odd.
This week had surprised him. JT and Jack had Kane’s back. They didn’t work south of the border anymore, but when Kane and Sean needed them, they were there. That kind of brotherhood went beyond blood. And for the first time, Sean felt like he was really one of them. Not just Duke Rogan’s smart-aleck troublemaking little brother, but one of the team.
Returning to RCK had a lot of pros, more pros than cons. The only big hurdle might be Sean himself—whether he could forgive his brother Duke, whether he could pull himself out of the role of the troublemaking little brother, whether he could get ove
r his insecurities and resentments. Maybe his entire problem with RCK in the first place had been psychological.
JT came back over to him. “The bearer bonds. They’re in the lock chest on the plane. I need you to take them to your house. You have a safe, correct?”
“Yes.”
“State of the art, I assume.”
Sean smiled. “Yes.”
“Those bonds are hot right now. There are a lot of people who want those bonds for a variety of reasons. Until things cool down, I’d like you to keep them in your safe.”
“Okay,” Sean said, skeptical. “Though RCK has a safe, too. Bigger. Better.”
“It’s complicated. But Rick Stockton and I have an agreement—and it works for us. One of the terms is that we don’t keep certain information from each other. After the operation, he heard about the bonds … and asked me if I had them. I said not anymore. So I can’t have them, at least not right now. When things settle down, we’ll arrange a time for you to bring them back to RCK.”
“Okay.” Sean was curious—more than a little curious—but he would do research on the bonds later. Talk to Kane.
First things first. Reunite Jesse with Madison. See Lucy.
“You’re good here?” JT said. “Kane’s going to go with you to San Antonio, just in case. I don’t expect trouble, but…”
He didn’t need to say anything else.
Sean asked, “Do we have a report on casualties?”
“All I know for certain is that Samuel Flores is a confirmed kill and Jose Flores is alive and well. He’s the least of my concerns.”
“There was a girl, with Alberto. Young. And an infant.”
“Gabriella got the girl and baby out, but I don’t know where they are. The Romeros will try to get them back to the States. I don’t have a report on Alberto, Dominick, or Jasmine, but we have people down there. We’ll have intel soon.”
“Thank you.”
“Watch your back, Sean. Until we get a full and confirmed report, we all have targets on our back.”
JT left with Jack and Matt. Kane walked over with Jesse. “Ready?”
“We’re fueled, let me just check over the plane and we can go.”
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