Locke and Load

by Donna Michaels

  “As if you didn’t know, honey,” the wiry prick, Beers replied instead.

  Cage cursed and curled both hands into fists. Just because he wasn’t too happy with Nikki at the moment didn’t mean he appreciated some pompass, condescending suit talking down at her.

  Delaney turned to the captain. “Can I go in there and toss back a Beers?”

  “I’ll hold him down,” Rivera offered, never taking his gaze from the agent.

  “Pryor?” She ignored the prick and continued to focus on the man in charge. “What is going on?”

  Good question.

  Tension squeezed Cage’s shoulders and radiated into his throbbing skull. An arms dealer? Christ, the soft, giving woman he slept with, lost himself in…fell for an arms dealer? How?

  Maybe the better question was…how the fuck could he fall for a woman who married an arms dealer?

  The lead agent twisted in his seat to stare directly at her. “Last night, two miles off the coast, the cutter believed to be the base for the group responsible for last week’s anthrax threat on the business district was boarded. Everyone was killed.”

  The captain muttered a curse next to him. “Why the hell wasn’t I notified?”

  Instinct told him something much bigger was going on.

  Nikki tilted her head. “The group that was killed, did they murder Detective Johnson?”

  Cage stilled. Didn’t move. Didn’t dare breathe as he waited for the answer.

  Pryor nodded. “Yes. We found clear video evidence of the detective pursuing the suspect we have in custody.”

  “Suspect? What suspect?” Nikki asked.

  “One of the cutter’s crew,” the agent replied. “He’s now the only survivor.”

  She frowned. “Did he have the anthrax?”

  “No. It’s missing.”

  And that would be the something bigger.

  “Damn. I need to start making some calls,” the captain said, pushing away from the window.

  “Hang on,” Cage said. “She’s getting a lot of information from Homeland for you.”

  Rivera blew out a breath and nodded. “You’re right.”

  The three of them returned to the window and continued to watch.

  Nikki held Pryor’s gaze. “I take it you don’t think it was pirates.”

  “No.”

  She drew in a breath. “Rojas?”

  “Yes.”

  She exhaled. “But how? He’s in prison. His cartel was dismantled. Why do you think he was involved?”

  “We know he was,” the agent replied, shoving another photograph in front of her.

  All the blood drained from Nikki’s face, and when she gripped the table and closed her eyes, Cage got the impression she was talking herself out of puking.

  “Damn, she doesn’t look too good,” Jersey observed.

  When her eyes reopened, they were dark, fathomless pools of fear? “Are you saying this was taken two nights ago, just off this coast?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, God…Cage…” She shot to her feet and rushed to the window before the agents could blink. “Cage? Are you in there?”

  “Sit down, Ms. Locke,” Beers ordered, jumping up.

  “Delaney? Captain? Are you in there?” She knocked on the window. “Don’t let Cage leave this building.”

  Beers grabbed her shoulder from behind. “I said, sit down!”

  Cage growled, feeling so damn helpless. He couldn’t interfere in Homeland’s interrogation, but he wasn’t about to let the jerk manhandle her.

  “I have to warn him.” She shook the agent off and stared right at Cage, as if she could see him. “I know you’re in there. I can feel you. Please don’t leave this building. Please….” Her forehead rested against the glass as a lone tear fell down her cheek, cracking his heart wide open. “Don’t let it be for nothing. Not all for nothing,” she repeated as Pryor and a disgruntled Beers pulled her back to her chair while O’Toole remained at his post by the door.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone more terrified,” his partner observed. “Captain, can’t we let her know Cage is okay?”

  Rivera nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “I want in,” he said, facing his boss. “Now.”

  “Is Cage all right?” she continued to ask. “Answer me, dammit.”

  “Who the hell is Cage?” Beers scowled.

  “Detective Burnett,” she replied, her face still so damn pale. “Don’t let him leave the building. It’ll all be for nothing…”

  “What will? The anthrax?” Pryor frowned at her.

  “What? No. No. My hell.”

  Cage sucked in a breath, remembering her nightmare that first night, and how she’d called out his name.

  “What does she mean?” Jersey stared at him.

  He shook his head, his gut bunched tight as instinct told him he wasn’t going to like the answer.

  Just then, a knock sounded on the interrogation room door, and they watched as a frowning O’Toole cracked it open. A second later, it burst wide, and two big men and an attractive woman with a ponytail strode in.

  “What the hell?” Delaney straightened.

  An air of lethal confidence surrounded the newcomers so thick he could feel it from behind the glass.

  “We’ll take over now, Agent Pryor.” A man with an authoritative presence tossed a paper on the table.

  “Commander Knight.” The lead agent jumped to his feet and saluted before he gathered his photos into his folder. “I hope you’re here to help, sir. We can use it,” he said, then ushered his men out of the room without one word of protest.

  “Jesus, who the hell is Knight?” Jersey asked.

  Cage didn’t stick around to hear the rest. He rushed into the hall, shoulder-checking Beers into the wall as he strode past and into interrogation room three.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nikki released Sam and pulled Brooke in for a hug. She’d never been so damn happy to see her boss and her two fellow agents in her life. Okay, with the exception of two years ago.

  But this was a close second on the list.

  Now that they were here, they could help her find Cage and keep him safe while they recaptured Rojas.

  “I’m so sorry I had to fly that damn helicopter two years ago,” Brooke said, squeezing her tight. “If I had been on that yacht, Rojas would’ve been dead and none of this would be happening.”

  She drew back and frowned. “Hey. This is not your fault, it’s mine. Don’t try to take the blame.”

  “It’s mine,” Knight stated. “I’m sorry, Nikki. Rojas still had loyal followers, and we just found out they’d threatened the families of two guards. That’s how he escaped.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Are the families okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Nikki,” Cage called from behind.

  She whipped around and choked back a sob at the sight of the man she loved striding into the room safe and sound. “Cage.”

  “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

  Breath clogged her throat and her eyes filled with tears as she rushed right into his arms. Damn, he felt good. So damn good. At that moment, she didn’t care who was in the room or where the hell they were. She needed to hold him, to reassure herself he was indeed real and safe from harm. “God, I was so worried about you. I thought you’d left.”

  “I’m okay. I’m right here,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and holding tight.

  She burrowed into him and squeezed harder, the steady beat of his heart calming her nerves. “You’re okay,” she whispered as she heard the others go through introductions.

  Cage drew back and stared at her, his green eyes clouded with confusion and pain. “Nikki, what’s going on? Are you really married to Rojas?”

  “What?” Brooke’s voice echoed around the room. “Hell no, she’s not.”

  Sam stepped close. “It was annulled when we rescued her two years ago.”

  Cage stiffened and sucked
in a breath. “Rescued? What the hell do you mean rescued?”

  Knight cupped the captain’s shoulder. “And I think that’s our cue to leave, so my agent can have a long overdue talk with Detective Burnett.”

  Her heart was pounding as she watched the others head for the door. God, how she wished she could go with them.

  “Tell me, Detective Delaney, how attached do you think your captain is to that window?” Brooke asked.

  Jersey glanced at the glass and frowned. “No idea. Why?”

  “Because I’ve the feeling it might not survive this overdue talk,” Brooke replied, grabbing a chair. “Better remove these just in case your partner gets the urge to throw something.”

  A worried Delaney nodded, and Nikki watched as they grabbed the chairs on their way out of the room. By the time the door shut, her pulse had beat her throat bone dry.

  What she was about to tell Cage was going to destroy him. She knew it. To her very core. That was why she had kept him in the dark for so long.

  But now…now she didn’t have a damn choice. Because of Rojas.

  God, how she hated that man.

  “All right, Nikki, talk.” Cage drew back, running his hands up her arms as he bent slightly at the knee to hold her gaze. “Why did you need rescuing from Rojas? Did he hurt you?”

  She snorted, she couldn’t help it. Out of all the questions he could’ve asked, did he have to start with those?

  Every day with that man had been hell, and not something she would ever share with Cage.

  But he wanted the truth. Deserved the truth. How was she supposed to give him that when she knew how much pain and guilt it was going to cause?

  And it would. He was going to blame himself for her captivity.

  “Nikki? Answer me.” His grip tightened and gaze darkened with realization. “He did hurt you.” He released her as several curses sprang from his lips. “Why did you stay with him? Hell, why did you hook up with him in the first place?”

  All his questions had the same answer.

  Him.

  She just couldn’t bring herself to say it. To crush him. To open the floodgates of guilt.

  And it wasn’t his fault. It was hers. Her choice. Hers alone.

  But he’d never understand.

  Cage began to pace. “When did you meet him?”

  She closed her eyes and sighed. She couldn’t even answer that question.

  “Dammit, Nikki. Say something.”

  Her eyes flew open and she shook her head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Fuck that. Talk to me. When did you marry Rojas?

  She cleared her throat. “Four years ago.”

  “Why?”

  “Several reasons.”

  Like the live feed and surveillance of one of his men targeting Cage until she said “I do.”

  It was the same motivation that had forced her to break up with him and leave with Rojas in the first place. It had all happened so fast. She hadn’t had the time to even send out a message for help to Lisa, or Sam, or any of her contacts. Then she’d switched gears and thought maybe she could work undercover to bring the drug lord down. But, God, she’d never thought it would’ve taken over two years.

  “Which were?”

  Bringing her mind back to Cage and his questioning, she leaned against the table and stared at her feet. Unwilling to mention him, she told him the other reason. “The village children he held at gunpoint when he needed to force me to do something. I didn’t believe him the very first time. Didn’t think he’d be that cruel.” She hiccupped, at the memory of the fatally wounded child. “I was wrong.” But never again. “That poor little boy’s life is on me.”

  “Ah, hell no, Nikki. No, it’s not.”

  She was pulled in against a hard, warm chest. Her arms immediately wrapped around him as he stroked a hand down her back.

  “Did Rojas pull the trigger?”

  She nodded, trying to rid her mind of the image.

  “Then it was all him.”

  If she would’ve just done what he’d said, that little boy would still be alive. Hell, she’d ended up doing what he’d wanted anyway. No way would she have allowed another innocent child to die because of her. Ever.

  Same went for Cage.

  No way could she have lived with his death on her conscience. She was barely managing with the little boy’s. And she hadn’t known him.

  “How did you even meet Rojas? Was he part of your undercover work?”

  She closed her eyes and concentrated on Cage’s steady breathing. “No. Not really. About six years ago, I was analyzing his cartel for Naval Intelligence. He apparently found out and tracked me down two years later.”

  He stiffened in her arms. “Where at? Miami?”

  She nodded, squeezing her eyes tight, knowing the gears were working in his head, putting it all together.

  “You told me you didn’t really cheat on me with that sailor.”

  She nodded again.

  “It was undercover work, right?”

  God, how she wished she could nod a third time.

  “Shit.”

  She felt his heart literally rock in his chest.

  “Did Rojas put you up to it?”

  Tears rolled down her face as she nodded, but wished to God she didn’t have to.

  “Fuck.” He released her and stumbled backward. “Fuck. No. Not me. Jesus, Nikki, tell me it wasn’t because of me.”

  The anguish in his tone was more than she could bear. “It was because of me.”

  He shook his head, gaze dark and disbelieving. “You went with him—because of me. Married him—because of me. Slept…stayed with him—because of me. Didn’t you?”

  “No.” She shook her head violently. “Because of me.”

  “Bullshit,” he spat. “The bastard threatened my life somehow. Didn’t he? What did he have…a gun on me or something?”

  She sucked in a ragged breath and nodded.

  “Fuck.”

  His whole body seemed to deflate in front of her.

  “You should’ve let him kill me.”

  “No,” she cried, and staggered toward him. “Don’t say that.”

  “Why not?” He began to pace again. “It’s the truth. It’s better than living with the realization I was the reason you suffered at his hands.” He halted and blew out a breath. “If I stop to think about what he did to you with those hands…I…” His mouth clamped shut and fist slammed down onto the table. Hard.

  He did it again.

  And again.

  She flinched with each blow. Then he picked up the table and threw it across the room where it crashed into the wall across from the mirrored window.

  It’s Cage taking his frustrations out on an inanimate object, she reassured herself.

  Not Rojas in one of his fits. Not Rojas…

  She shuddered. And couldn’t stop.

  Neither did Cage. He kept kicking the table, now twisted onto its side.

  “Stop. Cage, please stop,” she begged, her whole body trembling as she grabbed his arm. “Please, just stop.”

  His mouth was grim and gaze was dark and wild in his flushed face. Then he blinked at her and worry chased away some of the anger. “Shit, Nikki, you’re shaking. Come here.” He crushed her close. “It’s okay. Shh…” he soothed, those wonderful hands of his running up and down her arms and back, reducing her tremors to occasional shudders.

  “I’m okay. You know I am,” she said into his neck. “And once we find Rojas and he’s behind bars again, we’ll get through this. Together.”

  He stiffened before holding her at arm’s length. “We will get him. And I promise you he’ll never…ever…hurt you, or touch you, or coerce you into doing anything because he threatened me, or anyone else, ever again.”

  His voice was raw and hoarse with emotion, and her heart ached for him.

  She nodded, wishing there was something she could do or say to take it all away.

  He released her and set h
is shoulders. “But we can never be together.”

  “What?”

  “We’re done, Nikki.”

  Her heart stopped beating. Froze. Quit.

  Or maybe she was just going numb. She placed a hand on her chest to feel for movement, and was surprised to find a steady thump.

  “I could never look at you without knowing I was the reason that man put you through hell.” His lip curled as he spoke. “I fucking hate that you suffered at my hands, Nikki.”

  “No, not your hands, Cage. They make me feel good. Alive. Worthwhile.” She stepped right up to him and cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. “You said it wasn’t my fault that little boy died.”

  “It wasn’t. That was Rojas.”

  “Then how is my suffering your fault? That was Rojas, too.”

  Indecision and pain battled for control of his gaze, but pain finally won out.

  “I’m sorry.” He shook his head, warmth gone from his gaze. “I couldn’t live with that constant reminder every day.”

  This was exactly how she knew he’d react. She’d just hoped, maybe she’d been wrong. She drew in a breath and released him. “I understand.”

  At least he was alive. Hell, hadn’t that been good enough for her just last week? She’d had no intention of reconciling with him. Ever. And twelve hours ago, during the best night of her life, she’d acknowledge it was going to be hard to leave him at the end of the mission.

  But she’d still planned to leave him.

  “You’re right,” she agreed, her tone sounding just as resolute as his. “Even though I love you with all my heart, we can’t be together. It’s too dangerous. I couldn’t live with the constant worry of him or one of his men showing up to kill you. Why do you think I stayed away, once he was imprisoned two years ago?”

  His jaw worked and nostrils flared as he inhaled, and even though Cage looked like he wanted to, he made no move to touch her.

  They definitely had no future.

  She’d just have to find her way back to that mindset. Right now, they had a monster to catch. “Let’s go find the others and see what has to be done to get Rojas and the anthrax.”