Stronger (The Unit Book 2)

by Greyson, Sarah

  “We don’t have time for a debriefing. He’s either going to trust me or he isn’t. But I do need his resources,” Rob admitted.

  “Then bring him in. He has always had our backs in the past. He will have them again, especially since he is still on Richard Sardeson’s payroll,” Tony promised.

  After the agonizing thirty minutes it took to refuel the plane and pay the controller, they were finally taxiing down the runway.

  They pulled up to the office building of Blackrain Security, grabbed their gear bags from the backseat, and ran into the building. The Ortiz Cartel now had a half day start on them. Rob went straight to Tyrrell’s office.

  “What’s the emergency?” Tyrrell questioned.

  “We don’t have a lot of time. The Ortiz Cartel recaptured Lola and it’s my fault. I was there and didn’t stop it.”

  “Did you see it happen? Why didn’t you go after them?”

  Rob hung his head in shame and mumbled, “I was sleeping.”

  “You’re kidding?” Tyrrell knew him better than that. Hell, anyone who knew Rob, knew he didn’t sleep, yet alone soundly.

  “Look, I already know I fucked up. Now I need your help to fix it. Can I count on you?” Rob asked cutting to the chase.

  “You have worked for me for a little under a year. Have I ever let you down? What makes you think I would now?”

  “This is a do or die mission for me. Are you still in?”

  “What do you need? You’re lead.” Tyrrell reassured him.

  “I need a satellite location on the Ortiz Cartel. Pull up Lola’s necklace GPS. Call the FBI, the CIA, whomever you need to call. Hell, call them all. I need authorization to take down the entire Cartel. No man left standing. I won’t leave a man alive. Lola isn’t safe until all of those mother fuckers are in the ground. You still in?” Rob asked with a worried voice.

  “Explain to me why you are willing to risk your life and the life of my men for a woman you just met. You aren’t even being paid for this mission,” Tyrrell said as he raised a brow quizzically.

  “I can’t explain it because I don’t understand it myself, but Lola has done something to me. I’m hers as long as she will have me. And I promised her no harm would come to her. I intend to keep that promise.”

  “You’re talking about taking down an entire drug cartel for one woman,” Tyrrell argued.

  “I know exactly what I’m doing. And I am doing this. I know Tony and Steve will be in with me. The only question is, will you?”

  “You’re going to need more help than that. I need to reach out to my contacts with the FBI and let them know about this. And what are you going to do if you get caught? At most this will be an unsanctioned mission. You know damn well the FBI can’t move on a Mexican cartel located in Mexico.”

  “I know that. I’m not blind nor am I stupid. But I won’t let anything happen to Lola. She’s already been taken. I have to get to her before they sell her again or worse.”

  “Do you love her?” Tyrrell asked, pretty sure of the answer.

  “Yes,” Rob responded. “She has me, boss. When I’m with her, I’m alive again. The memory of Lizzie’s death stops playing in my head. She brought me back to life. And I’ll be damned if I don’t get her back. I will do whatever is necessary for her.”

  “I didn’t realize you could feel so strongly after only a few days.”

  “I knew it the minute I saw her. I knew I had to have her. She was more than a mission from the second I laid eyes on her. She feels it, too. I’m not crazy. We’re both unique individuals. It just happened fast for us. So what do you say? Do I have your support?” Rob asked hope filling his eyes.

  “Let me make a few phone calls then we will talk strategy.”

  Rob extended his hand and Tyrrell shook it looking at him with both eyes. Tyrrell could see the fire and love that burned in Rob’s eyes. He would be the last person to extinguish it. And hell, even Tyrrell knew if anything happened to Lola, Rob would go over the cliff never to return.

  Rob met Tyrrell’s steady eyes. “I am in love with her.” He turned and walked out of the room. There was nothing left to say. That one sentence summed up everything for Rob. He loved her with his entire being. He would figure a way to let Lizzie go after he got Lola back. He still didn’t know how he could love her after Lizzie, but that was how he felt. He would die for her. And one only dies for true love.

  Chapter 22

  It took the better part of the morning, but Tony had pinpointed the Ortiz Cartel to within a one-mile radius. Ortiz’s compound was large. Satellite imagery showed a main house, several outlying smaller structures, and one large warehouse. The warehouse must be where he got his drugs ready for distribution. Satellite imagery also showed large trucks moving in and out of the compound. The trucks backed up to the warehouse for loading so it had to have a loading dock.

  The main house was large. They would need to get boots on the ground to stake out the compound and study the armed guards and their movements. A stake out like this could take two weeks. Tony just hoped Rob didn’t lose his shit during that time. He didn’t know how he was going to keep his brother from going on a suicide mission. They had to make this a clean take down. They would eliminate the Ortiz Cartel so they could never sell another innocent girl ever again.

  The next morning, Tony awoke from a fitful sleep in one of the bedrooms housed at Blackrain’s office building. The room didn’t have a window, so he had no idea what time it was until he glanced at the clock on the side of the table: 0627. Getting out of bed, he headed to the shower. He thought about the right words to say to Rob that would calm him down and make him wait the required length of time necessary to track Ortiz’s men’s movements. There could be no mistakes. This operation had to go off without a hitch.

  Tony knew Tyrrell spent the better part of the evening contacting everyone he knew in all law enforcement agencies and would have information for them today. Tony was anxious to hear that information. Having the FBI backing their mission meant they didn’t go to jail. That was important to Tony. After five tours in Afghanistan, he rather liked his freedom. He quickly lathered his body with soap and rinsed. He stepped from the hot shower with red marks on his back from where the hot water had washed away his guilt for the day. Tony had seen and done many things he wasn’t proud of; things that weighed on his conscious like a load of cinder blocks. He didn’t suffer from the nightmares like his brothers did. Now that Michael had Emma, Michael told him his nightmares had dissipated, but Tony knew Rob and Steve suffered from them nightly. They often confided in him about what they constantly dreamt about and they were the same things that weighed on Tony’s mind: the killings, the close brushes with death they’d each had, the torture they inflicted on other human beings, the kill or be killed mindset which they were all still living with. These thoughts plagued Tony’s mind as they did the minds off all the men in The Unit.

  He stepped from the shower, dried himself off, and quickly dressed. He ambled down the hallway to the conference room to find an anguish-filled Rob, Tyrrell, Steve, and Aaron waiting on him.

  “Nice of you to join us,” Tyrrell commented tapping his watch.

  “I didn’t realize we were scheduled to meet this morning,” Tony replied. “I came to brief you on what I found last night.”

  “Great, we will get to that in a second. First, I want to go over how this will play out,” Tyrrell said looking Rob directly in the eyes. “We will stake out the compound until we are certain we have the routine of Ortiz and his men down pat. We will not enter the compound until we can say, without a doubt, where subject one will be and when. These men have a routine, and they will stick to it. Spend enough time watching and yes, waiting, to figure it out. I just got off of the phone with the FBI. They can’t officially support this mission and will deny knowing anything about it. But they are willing to go along with it after the man you turned over to them a week or so ago confirmed they are running a sex-slave trade and abducting girls from th
e United States. They can’t send a team, but they will keep us out of hot water. That is, as long as we don’t get caught.”

  “We, boss? I thought I was leading this mission with Michael being gone,” Rob inquired.

  “You are. But I will be a member of that team. It’s been a while since I have been out in the field, and God knows, you’re going to need all the help you can get. We will have a five-man team. You, Tony, Steve, Aaron, and myself.”

  The men looked to each other. Tyrrell coming out on a mission. None of the men had ever been in combat with him before. Could they trust him with their lives, with Lola’s life?

  “I was a Navy Seal. The best. I have kept up with my training. I will have your backs,” Tyrrell said catching the look of uncertainty in The Unit’s eyes.

  Rob sat bouncing his leg up and down under the table so hard, the coffee was moving. He tugged on the collar of his t-shirt. Finally, unable to wait any longer, Rob stood quickly and knocked over his cup of coffee. “Sorry boss, I will get it…I will clean it up.” Rob reentered the room with a handful of paper towels. “When do we leave?” Rob questioned as he cleared his throat and sopped up the mess on the table.

  “Gather your things and be ready for takeoff at 1300.” Tyrrell grabbed Rob’s hand and stopped his frantic movements which were just slushing the coffee all over the table. He squeezed Rob’s hand, and he let go of the paper towels. Tyrrell finished cleaning up the mess then he turned to face his men who were now standing beside his office door. “Go, get ready. This is going to be a long mission. Prepare. Make your phone calls. Be ready at 1300.” He dismissed the men with a wave of his hand and threw the sopping wet paper towels into the trash can.

  Rob was the first out of the door. At his locker, he grabbed his Sig 226, his Glock 19, his Walther P22, and his knife. He glanced over at Tony and the man was filling his gear bag with tactical assault rifles including his 240 Bravo – a favorite of his from his time in the Army.

  Once the gear bags were loaded, they studied the satellite imagery Tony had gathered from the FBI satellites. Tony went over the compound with The Unit and covered the most likely places to have guards stationed. Rob paced and cursed the entire time, trying to wait for 1300. Finally, they were loading into the SUV which would take them to the airfield.

  They grabbed their gear bags from the SUV and loaded into the private jet set to land on the same airstrip as the first mission. Finally, slouching down in his seat, Rob felt he was getting started. The plane was going to touch down and he was going in. He had to find Lola.

  Chapter 23

  She laid there on her lumpy cot mattress thankful they weren’t feeding her drugs this time. They wanted to give her every chance to think about the upcoming sale. She hadn’t heard mention of when it was going to be, but this time was different. Not only were they not feeding her pills, they also had her in a hut by herself. She wasn’t examined after the initial two day period like she was the first time. But it was the same type of hut so she knew she was back in the same place. The same type of bucket sat in the corner. She slowly rolled over stretching her body. She had slept fitfully all night. She awoke every hour or so with the thought of a rescue she was beginning to think would never come. She picked up the rock and marked her tenth mark into the packed dirt floor of the hut. In that time, no one had come to talk to her or do anything with her but change her bucket and bring her food. She noticed her food wasn’t as good as last time. Maybe that was the effect of not being high on the pills they fed her before. Over the last day or two, she didn’t really have an appetite. Smells made her nauseous. That bucket in the corner was doing a number on her. She was so sensitive to the smell, she could pick up the urine and feces smell even after she placed the lid back on it. She was nauseous, and she was sure it was her nerves. Unlike last time, this time she knew exactly what they wanted from her. Only this time she wasn’t a virgin.

  What would they do to her when they found out? Surely the doctor would examine her again. Would they still sell her? Of course they would. They only cared about one thing: money. They would sell her to the highest bidder. Now she wished she wasn’t as pretty as she was. If she were unattractive, they would have probably never have taken her in the first place. She wasn’t vain, just honest. She knew men found her attractive; it was apparent each time she entered a club or danced in one. They flocked to her like sheep to their Shepard. She had been so bold before playing up her looks to torment and tease. Now she regretted teasing the men the way she had. Karma was a bitch, and she was getting hers.

  She wondered about Rob. What was he doing over the last ten days? Was he trying to find her? Her gut told her yes. He felt something for her, of that she was certain. It couldn’t be one-sided. Feelings as strong as hers had to be shared. She knew he would be blaming himself for her being taken again. He had blamed himself for not saving Lizzie so it would only stand to reason that he blamed himself for her predicament too. Would he get to her in time? Would she be forced through the degrading process of prancing around in front of the men who sat behind the mirrors again? Would someone who meant to do her harm buy her this time?

  She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t live under a man’s thumb. If Rob did save her, the first thing she would do would be to kiss him. The second thing would be to have a serious conversation about him considering her a possession. That would never work for her. She had to be free. Free to go where she pleased and free to befriend whom she pleased.

  Rob. She missed him something terrible. While it was true they only knew each other a short time, she still felt feelings for him that were so strong, so potent, the thought of not seeing him again had her in tears.

  She sat against the bamboo wall of the hut, shoulders slumped as she covered her face. What good did it do her to cry? She had to be ready for what the Cartel would do. Still, she wrapped her arms around herself. She would be brave. Rob would want her to be brave. She would face what was to come alone. She knew she had to mentally prepare herself. She knew in her heart Rob was working on rescuing her. But just in case he didn’t make it in time, she had to be brave.

  Just then the door to her hut opened and in walked an armed guard. She jumped at the chance to talk to him, for some sort of connection to the outside world.

  “What day is it?” she asked.

  “Wednesday. The doctor will come for you in a few hours,” the man said while walking over to her bucket and grabbing it by the handle.

  “Wait. Can’t you stay and talk to me. I have been alone for so long. I just want to know what you have planned for me.”

  One could tell the man felt sorry for her, yet he kept his gun readied in his hand. He would shoot her if she tried anything. Maybe she could seduce information out of him. Men had always responded to her before, what would make this man any different. She jumped from the bed and caught him gently by the arm before he had a chance to exit the hut. “Am I going to be sold again?” she asked already knowing the answer. She left her hand on his skin which burned under her touch. He turned to face her, his mouth drawn into a tight line. She could tell he didn’t like his job. The thought of selling her did something to him. He tightened his grip on his gun as she left her hand trail its way down his arm gently and fall away.

  “I shouldn’t be talking to you. You are merchandise, nothing more.” He shook his head. He opened his mouth as if to speak only to close it again.

  “Tell me: How many of us are there? How many girls will be sold this time?”

  He pulled his brows inward and looked down at the ground. He took a deep breath and then exhaled in a rush. Telling her this information could get him shot. He raised his head and made eye contact. She could see the conflict warring inside his mind. He rubbed his hand over his heart. “Why do you want to know? Won’t that just make it harder for you?” he questioned.

  “Please.” She stepped closer to him. He inhaled her scent deep into his lungs. He had never smelled anything or anyone who smelled so good. Surely this wa
s an angel sent by God. What if he did tell her? What would she do with the information? Who could she tell? She was kept here, in this hut, guarded. What if Ortiz found him talking to her? What would Ortiz do to him? They were to be merchandise and that was all, much like the drugs.

  Finally he let out a long, slow sigh. He would give her this information. He would help this angel in any way he could. Still, he could never go up against the Ortiz Cartel; he was but one man.

  “There are fifteen of you.”

  Fifteen young, innocent girls. Last time there had been twelve besides me. She had to stop this, but how? She was but one woman.

  “When is the auction scheduled? How long do I have?” she asked backing away from the bearer of bad news. He let his gun hang from his shoulder strap as he reached out his hand to bring her chin up to meet his eyes.

  “It will happen in one week. Arrangements and invitations have already been sent.” She had one week of freedom left. Rob had one week or he would lose her forever. She knew if Rob lost her, he would never again find himself. She stumbled forward as she tried to walk and fell into the man. The man grabbed her with his free hand and spilled some of the contents of the bucket onto the floor.

  Clutching her stomach, Lola indicated she was going to be sick. She darted to the corner, away from her cot, and retched up the contents of her stomach. She was ill at the thought of Rob never finding her. Ill at the thought of never being in Rob’s arms again. Ill at the thought of belonging to a man who purchased her.

  When she was done throwing up, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She had no way to brush her teeth and now she was going to have to live with the smell of vomit for the next week.

  “Do you think? I mean, is there any way, you could get me something to clean that up with?” She motioned to the vomit.

  The man, standing there watching her helplessly, nodded his head. “I will be back with your empty bucket and a towel. But you mustn’t tell anyone where you got it from. I could die for helping you.”