“What? What does it say?” Aqua asked.
“From Zayn. He said federal agents are there, took over security, and stated that Mike is dead.”
“What?” April asked, entering the kitchen, looking gorgeous and now stunned.
Simon pulled her into his arms. “It’s Mike, baby. He was in a car accident last night.”
“No, no, tell me he isn’t dead,” she said as tears filled her eyes.
“Zayn said he’s alive, but that federal agents got there, took over, and now texted. They are saying Mike is dead.”
“What? Oh God, we need to go there,” she said, pulling from his arms.
“Wait.” Simon grabbed her hand. Caden took in the sight of her. The tight hip-hugging capris in cream and the tank top in a light green along with her heeled sandals, she looked sexy and classy. His heart hammered inside of his chest.
“Maybe you shouldn’t go there. Maybe it’s too dangerous. We don’t know what Mike is involved in, and we don’t want you in any danger,” he said.
She squinted and then recovered. “He’s my friend. How could I not go there to find out what the hell happened? What could possibly be going on? He’s done work for the federal government. Technically he’s an agent but working out of the state police barracks. It would be normal for the feds to show up, wouldn’t it be?”
Caden looked at her. “He could be involved with something bad. Like maybe whomever tried to kill him went after Katie to get to him, to lure him in,” Caden said, and she covered her mouth with her hand and then put her hand down.
“So you think I shouldn’t go to the hospital to see my friend who may die if he hasn’t already?” she asked. Caden heard the anger in her voice. Simon wrapped his arm around her waist.
“We’ll go with you. They may not even let you near him to see him,” Simon told her and hugged her from behind. She turned her head to look up at him. Caden thought she looked so beautiful, feminine, and sweet. He didn’t want her exposed to this shit, to any danger. Had questions about how she even knew Mike and became friends, but now wasn’t the time to ask or to come across as jealous.
“Let’s eat something and go,” Caden said.
She nodded, and Simon released her. “I have a bunch of things in the refrigerator,” she said and went toward it.
“I’ll fix us some eggs. You point out where everything is,” Aqua said to her.
“We’ll do it together,” she said and caressed Aqua’s arm. He winked at her and they prepared breakfast, but Caden felt that ache in his gut clench a little deeper.
* * * *
“What do you mean he’s alive?” Kulta asked.
“The fucking guy didn’t die. We rammed the shit out of him. The car flipped over and the hood was caved in. Pretty certain he was dead, but we couldn’t finish him off with a bullet. You said not to, and then there were cars coming and we needed to get the fuck out of there.”
“Shit. Okay, you got rid of the truck. Doesn’t matter if the cops find it. I want you to meet up with the others. There’s been a change of plans. I got my orders, and I’m going to need several men just in case.”
“Okay, we’ll be at the location waiting by the phone.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch.”
Kulta ended the call and then licked his lips. He looked at the pictures he had spread out on the table in the hotel. He sent them along to the team of men. This would be an easy snag, but considering the many cops and agents around this fucking town, he wasn’t taking chances. No way was he going to piss off Gorbin and Fulta. He stared at his phone. When they said to move in and do the job, he would be ready.
Chapter Eight
April was fuming mad. It was difficult to not show that anger and to not react. To not answer her cell phone and get updates from Pierre. When they got to the hospital, it was intense to say the least. Security was high on the floor Mike was on. He was in the ICU, and they were told it was touch and go. She didn’t recognize any of the agents, and none of them seemed to look at her as if they knew her. They shouldn’t. Not many people knew who she was, including her men. She felt so guilty right now. She wanted to share with them who she was, but with this recent attack on Mike, Katie being abducted, and those men watching her and the one approaching in New York, she was on edge. They still didn’t know if she was being looked at because of Mike and her relationship to him just like Katie.
Her last text to Pierre was her plan to draw them in. To be seen here, distraught, over Mike’s accident. With her men in tow, it could confuse those who were hunting Mike and causing him this pain. It could also make her men targets. This had to end. She hoped the recent information she sent Pierre on the plane was helping in some way.
“She’s the closest thing to family he has. Let her see him,” Caden said to one of the federal agents. They talked back and forth, and she waited. They let her in, and the sight of Mike looking pretty much dead tore at her heart. It was easy to show her emotions. To let the tears flow. He looked like hell. Tubes everywhere, bandages, bruises, cuts, swollen eyes, damaged cheek, and a slew of injuries that would lead him into several surgeries to save his life. She felt the hands go to her hips, and Caden pressed his body to hers. “He’ll pull through,” he said to her. She reached out, not knowing where to touch he was such a mess. She went to his hand and stroked the top then leaned closer.
“I’m here, Mike. Keep fighting. You got this, Mike. You got this,” she said to him then lowered down and kissed his hand.
The nurses ushered them out pretty quickly.
April needed to get on the phone with Pierre and see what the plans were. She was antsy as the men walked with her outside and then toward the truck.
“Don’t you have work today?” she asked Caden.
“I do, but I took off to be with you.”
“Caden, I’m fine. I feel better that I got to see him.” She swallowed hard. Aqua pulled her next to him in the back seat of the truck. He kept his hand over her thigh as Caden and Simon got into the front of the truck.
“We missed you being away for a couple of days. Figured we could spend the day together,” Caden told her.
“I’d like that. I do have a few things to just check on with emails and stuff,” she replied, thinking she could probably go into the bedroom or someplace to make a few calls.
“Do what you need to do. We’ll hang out while you do it.” Simon spoke up. She leaned her head against Aqua. She felt conflicted. She went and fell in love with these men. She wasn’t going to put them into any danger. She didn’t care about anything else but their safety. They had gone through so much in their lives, in their careers. They could die if these men who went after Mike went after her. She wasn’t going to let that happen.
* * * *
“April wants protection for Caden, Simon, and Aqua,” Pierre said to Colonel Brothers.
“She does realize that they’re Seals?”
“She’s in love with them. She’s concerned and rightfully so. The intel we have is pointing at Syrians that came to the hotel to visit. I’m trying to get confirmation on who they work for. All avenues seem to be leading to Kerrin Bulla.”
“Son of a bitch. Do you think he knows she’s the one who killed Turbin, the one who help to kill those men on the boat in Cypress?”
“I sure the fuck hope not. It doesn’t make sense. Going after Katie, who we got nothing on, and then Mike.”
“Revenge?”
“Could be, but no one knows that April is basically a spy. Then of course the recent info she got points to some big business meeting happening in the next few days somewhere in Syria. You said there were women being transported and that someone saw a redhead that matched Katie’s description? Could they be bringing the women in for these businessmen?” Pierre asked.
“I wouldn’t doubt it. I just got some intel from my men there in Syria. They said food is being ordered, that a woman is in charge of entertainment for the men. There’s some chatter about special orders,”
Colonel Brothers told him.
“Damn, this could be about the business those men want to push. Guns, women, drugs, and setting up cells for terrorist attacks. They get the money backings from these businessmen, maybe keep them happy with women and drugs, and then Rosen and Kerrin do their thing.”
“Have you told April about Evan’s relationship with Caden, Simon, and Aqua? He was part of their team at one point. Then he was out for a time with injury and got put with that other unit temporarily.”
“No, I didn’t. Right now if I did then she would definitely cut them off and insist we really cover them. Maybe even take them into protective holding.” Colonel Brothers laughed.
“Holy shit, she does love them. Never thought I would see the day that sexy blonde let someone into her heart. She’s fierce.”
“Yeah, but against odds like these and a multitude of men, while also trying to keep her men safe and her friends safe, she could be over her head.”
“Let’s hope not. Try to get names to those men who saw her at the hotel. I’ll do the same on my end.”
* * * *
Watson, Dell, and Fogerty were dropping off Amelia for an hour to train with April. Caden, Simon, and Aqua were there too and talking to them.
“Come back in an hour or so,” April said.
“How about we do lunch? Want to go meet up someplace when they’re done?” Watson asked.
“I could do that. I’m working, but get a lunch anyway,” Caden said and squeezed April’s shoulders then kissed her neck.
He was feeling uneasy. He didn’t like leaving her, and he worried about her constantly. Caden was caught between being a man, a Seal, and letting this sexy bombshell of theirs turn him into a vulnerable guy. He was thinking about her all the time, and so were Simon and Aqua. In fact, Simon mentioned where the relationship was going and that maybe they should ask her to move in with them. Then of course Aqua pointed out that she wouldn’t leave her place for theirs, and that got them talking about her income, and how well off she was. She didn’t really need them to take care of her financially. It was a roller coaster of emotions.
“We could grab some things at the store and come back and get things started,” Aqua suggested.
“We’ll go too and come back here and set things up while the ladies enjoy their training,” Dell said.
“Well, give us a little more than an hour them. Bring back some clothes for Amelia. We can go swimming like we usually do and then hang out by the pool,” April said.
“Sounds like a plan,” Simon replied, and they all agreed.
“You good with that, April?” Fogerty asked, and she gave a thumbs-up and winked. Caden felt a twinge of something, but then April gave him a kiss good-bye then Aqua and Simon too before she and Amelia headed to the training room April had set up. Totally state-of-the-art and she claimed most of it was for show. One look at her body in the sports bra, short tank top, and spandex shorts and he knew she was bluffing. His gut clenched again, but then they all headed out and he went back to work.
* * * *
April and Amelia were working out.
“So things are going really well with the chief and his brothers?” Amelia asked.
“Definitely very well.”
“So awesome. They seem very serious. Do they relax any, or are the three of them always in Seal mode?” Amelia asked.
April chuckled. “They relax a bit, but I know what you mean. You probably can see more because your men are Special Forces. Those guys can be just as intense.”
“I suppose most soldiers are, and then add in the elite ones and definitely they have a hard time relaxing.”
She was showing her some moves when April caught sight of movement through the windows outside. It was quick, and so was her reaction as one man in black, holding a gun, approached. She grabbed Amelia. Amelia screamed. The door burst open. April pressed the wall, and it opened. “Get in there. It will lock. Air will flow. Pick up the phone immediately.”
“April, what’s going on?” Amelia screamed as April shoved her inside and slammed the fake wall, a door and special panic room, closed. She knew that Amelia was safe, but now she had these guys to deal with.
“Come with us. No trouble. Let’s go,” the one guy yelled to her as the other one went to try and open the wall. He wouldn’t be able to.
“I don’t think so,” she said and went to run to the right. The guy reached out to grab her, and she throat punched him and took him down. The other one came at her. She disarmed him, took his gun, when the door opened again and others were going to come in. She raced toward them, shooting the gun, hitting one, two, and then a third in the head. She ran out, needing to get to the house, to her weapons, and waste time until the cavalry arrived. If Amelia kept her head together, she should have picked up the phone by now, and Pierre would be sending in men. She ran to the house and felt the sting to her neck. She stopped, placed her hand on her neck, and felt the dart. “Poison.” Her initial thought was to run inside, but then she feared for her men and for Amelia’s. They would be coming back soon. This had to end. She heard their voices and then felt the arm around her waist and the gun being pulled from her hand. She started to sink to the ground, and he picked her up. He spoke in Syrian as an SUV sped up the driveway. They pulled her inside, and she knew she may never see her men again. They were safe though, and so was Amelia. That’s what mattered first.
* * * *
“Men in black. April is in trouble. She shoved me into this room in the wall in the gym. Oh God, they had guns. I hear gunfire. They’re going to kill her. Help us.”
“Calm down, Amelia. I have men on the way. You hang tight. How many men?”
“I don’t know. One outside and then there were others coming into the room. I heard gunfire. She could be shot and dead right now.”
“I need you to calm down. She put you in there to protect you. Nothing can penetrate that wall. We’ll get to you shortly.”
“Oh my God. Oh my God, what is going on?”
* * * *
Caden sped up the road. There were so many cars, black SUVs with tinted windows, agents walking around. He didn’t know what the fuck was happening.
Then he saw his brothers, Zayn, Watson, and Dell, and a few other men in suits. He got out of the police truck.
“What the hell happened?” he demanded to know.
“It’s a fucking mess. There are several dead bodies, two men out cold inside the training room, and April is missing,” Simon told him.
“Dead bodies? What the fuck is going on?”
“April and Amelia were training, and they saw a guy in black outside approaching,” Zayn said as he held Amelia close.
Amelia started talking. “She saved me. She shoved me into this secret space in the wall in the gym. There was a phone on the wall. She said to pick it up and someone would answer. Then I heard gunshots, and she saved me, Caden. She could have gone in there with me, but the men were coming at her and she closed the door and they took her.”
His head was spinning as Aqua explained about the belief that April took out five men and disarmed and knocked out two more. They were already being taken in by federal agents.
“Federal agents? How the fuck does April know federal agents and have a room like that in the gym?” he asked.
He looked at his brothers and his friends.
“Some serious shit is going on here,” Zayn said to him.
“Excuse me.” They heard a voice and turned to see some tall guy in a black suit approach. The other agents and people on scene moved out of the way.
“I’m Special Agent Pierre Franks. If the three of you will follow me inside, we can talk about the situation.”
Caden looked at Zayn, Dell, and Fogerty.
“I need to keep this small. April doesn’t want you involved in any way, and that means friends included,” he said to them. “Follow me,” Pierre told them.
“Go ahead, you need answers,” Fogerty told them, and Caden, Simon, a
nd Aqua walked into April’s house with Special Agent Franks.
They were stunned as Pierre explained who April really was, and about the case and connections to Frank and even Amelia’s rescue and her killing Turbin.
“Holy shit, that was April?” Aqua asked and ran his hand over his jaw.
“She took a great risk taking him out. She’s been taking a lot of risks trying to protect not only you and her friends, but others like Mike and other military personnel. I’ll explain as much as I can quickly, as you can imagine we have people tracking the men that took April to the airport.”
“Airport? Where the fuck to? What do they want with her?” Simon asked.
“Our intel, prior to her killing those men outside, was that they thought she was important to Mike. That’s why Katie was taken. She’s been seen being transported to the same location we think these men took April. Since only the one person who took her now realizes her capabilities, it won’t be long before they figure out who she is, and that she isn’t just capable of shooting a gun and being a martial arts expert. They find out she’s a spy, a special agent, and they link her to Cypress, then they could kill her on the spot,” Pierre said.
“Fuck.” Simon exhaled.
“Cypress? What happened in Cypress?” Caden asked.
Pierre exhaled and then looked away and then back at them.
“She’s in love with you guys. After today, the three of you were going to be under total protection. Her orders were that if you got in the way, then you would be taken to a special protection facility.”
“What?” Caden asked and paced.
“She does know that we’re Navy Seals?” Simon asked. Now he was pissed off.
“She knows everything about you, and that’s why she didn’t want you to get hurt. Listen, I don’t have time for all the details. She was protecting you. She knows about why you retired, Caden. About the ambush and you nearly dying. She knows why Simon and Aqua have been doing few jobs in between. She knew Evan, as well.”
Healing Hearts 4: Mission to Love (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) Page 12