Supernova

by Desiree Holt

  “You know there’s a good reason,” Eagle told him. “Anyway, he just texted me for us to meet him at his dive shack at seven in the morning. He says he has an idea to go over with us.”

  “Good.” Rocket nodded. “Because I have one, too, and I want to run it past you and see if you think I’m off the rails here.”

  Eagle thought for a moment. “I think I should contact Vacation Rentals, talk to Ed’s friend and arrange for the chopper. But not in here where anyone can overhear us.”

  “Then maybe we should get the hell out of here and discuss it someplace we won’t be overheard.” Rocket looked around the table. “Okay to put off dinner for a little while?”

  “Sure,” Viper told him. “No problem.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Then let’s go for a walk on the beach. Better take our drinks so we don’t look out of place.”

  The pathway to the beach was just past the pool. There were other people out there, as well, just enjoying the evening and being on vacation.

  When we get her out of here, I’m going to take Mallory on a vacation, someplace where she can relax and we can really get to know each other.

  But first he had to get her ass out of there before Barrera decided to take drastic measures.

  He walked down the beach with the others until they were pretty far away from anyone who could overhear them. Large palm trees dotted the interior edge of the beach and they gathered next to one of them.

  Rocket tilted his head toward Eagle. “So, let’s hear your idea.”

  “Remember when we had to get that ambassador out of a village where people were watching the building he was hiding in?”

  “I do.”

  “Remember what we did? The rebels were only focused on the front of the building. We had him climb down from the roof using a ladder and grappling hooks. Then we rolled him in a rug and carried him down an alley to a vehicle we had waiting. Well, I checked online and many of the houses in Santa Marita have that same kind of thing, a flat roof with a lip around it. If the one Mallory is at does, we could do the same with her.”

  “Is she in physical shape to do that?” Viper wanted to know. “Climbing down two stories isn’t for people out of condition.”

  “I’m sure she can handle it. She was in great shape when I knew her before.” Well, that didn’t come out right. “I mean, I think she works at it. Anyway, I’ll ask her. But what’s your plan after we get her off the roof?” Rocket asked.

  “There are tiny alleys behind the houses,” Eagle went on. “We need to scope it out or ask Ed the best way to sneak someone in there. Or both.”

  “If we do that,” Blaze began, “we need to have transport to get her out of there and someplace to take her unseen afterwards. And in a way that doesn’t attract attention.”

  “Someplace we can move her to,” Viper put in. “Also unseen. And we’ll only have a split second to do it all.”

  “Ed needs to find a way to let us have eyes on the area,” Rocket told them, “and work with us on extraction.”

  “He will,” Eagle assured them. “He said he knows Santa Marita and I believe him. I guarantee you he worked to set up his ‘relationship’ with Barrera because he’s got black ops things going on the side, official and otherwise. And on our team, he was the best at this kind of stuff.”

  “We believe you.” Blaze drained his drink and turned to Rocket. “Meanwhile, let’s hear your idea, Rocketman.”

  Rocket had listened closely to Eagle’s idea and wondered if maybe that was the better one, but he figured he’d put his out there anyway.

  “Well, mine’s a little more dramatic, but we should at least have two options.”

  “Then drop yours on us and we’ll pick it over.”

  “Okay. Everyone’s on pins and needles that Barrera’s gonna show up—or his men will—and just tear the house apart until he finds Mallory, then drag her out of there. She told me his right-hand man, a guy named Ruben Vidal, just in the last few days has barged into a house with his thugs and dragged out whoever they were looking for. She says she’s very well hidden, but who knows how long that will last.”

  He watched the others’ reactions. “If Ed can get his hands on what we need, like some uniforms and a car like they run around in, we could stage the arrest ourselves and haul her off under everyone’s noses.” He looked at Blaze. “Just like you did in Iraq when you had to get that nurse that was being held. The one you told me about one night, remember?”

  “I do.” Blaze nodded. “But that way might call more attention to us than we want. Then we were dealing with a tribal chieftain who was power hungry, much, as I’m gathering, Barrera is, except he didn’t control a whole country. We managed to pull it off, I’ll grant you that. Scared the shit out of the people around the house, but we were gone before anyone could discover what we’d done. But we did it, we succeeded, and that’s what gave me this idea.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Only you’re right. This is a different situation here.”

  Rocket looked at everyone. “What’s the common thought here?”

  “We can run both of them past Ed, but I think I know which one he’ll go for,” Blaze said at last. “Let’s lay it out and figure out what could go wrong, and go from there.”

  “And, Saint?” Blaze turned to the pilot. “You’ll need to man home base here in case we need air support of any kind. Or anything else that can’t be done from Santa Marita.”

  Saint nodded. “Got it.”

  “I say right now we need to talk to Ed,” Viper told them, “and get his feedback. Right away. He’ll know which one is the most difficult to accomplish, plus he’s obviously already made some plans of his own. Eagle, what time are we meeting him?”

  “Seven o’clock.” His mouth curved in a hint of a grin. “Fishing starts early. He says he’ll have breakfast for us.”

  “And where will he be waiting for us to meet him?”

  “Down at the marina not far from his dive shack. I have directions.”

  “Then I have two suggestions,” Blaze told them. “The first is for you, Eagle, to call Ed again and lay out our two options for him. Then we should get a quick bite to eat and grab some sleep. Tomorrow is probably going to be a long day.”

  “Good idea.” Eagle pulled out his cell and hit speed dial.

  “I’ll be there in a second,” Rocket told them as they headed back toward the hotel. “I want to touch base with Mallory.”

  He turned away before they could make any comments and speed dialed the number.

  “It’s me,” he told her when she answered, breathing a little easier when he actually heard her voice. He kept thinking every time he called her that either he’d get no answer or someone from Barrera’s army would answer.

  “Hi, me.”

  Her soft voice settled his nerves just a little. “We’ve discussed a couple of different options and we’re waiting for final feedback from Eagle’s friend. We’ll finalize the plan in the morning, so hang on, kiddo. It won’t be long now.”

  “I have faith,” she told him, although there was a tremor in her voice. “I keep telling myself if you did it once, you can do it again.”

  “And I will,” he promised. “We will. Stay strong. I know you can.” He lowered his voice even more. “For me.”

  There was a nanosecond of a pause.

  “Okay. For you.”

  “Call you tomorrow. Keep that phone handy.”

  “Like it’s attached to my body.”

  He disconnected, the sound of her voice still lingering in his ears. He’d been a SEAL for a long time, completed a lot of missions successfully. Now he was going to use everything he’d learned to make this one succeed.

  Failure was not an option.

  Chapter Seven

  Mallory clutched the phone to her body, holding it against her after Rocket had disconnected, as if she were feeling his touch on her skin. Just the sound of his voice seemed to be enough to soothe her, which she badl
y needed in the middle of this crisis. Inez’s parents, according to her, were being very closemouthed, although they were walking around on tiptoe, as if expecting Barrera’s men to burst through the front door at any time. Mallory knew it had to be very stressful for her friend, and she was worried about the safety of her family, but no one suggested she leave or tried to throw her out of the house.

  In fact, Mrs. Albado had suggested she come down to Inez’s room for a couple of hours each day to get out of the attic. And she made sure to send up plenty of food, although appetite was the last thing Mallory worried about.

  She was definitely glad for the rooftop. Now she stretched out on the old quilt, the toss pillow beneath her head, and stared at the stars. The sky was very clear, so they were sharp and bright. If only she was in a different place, where her life wasn’t endangered and she didn’t have to hold her breath at every sound. Some place where she and Rocket could be together and finally see if the chemistry between them that had exploded in Afghanistan was just a result of the danger they’d faced or was real and maybe the foundation of something.

  She’d been asking herself every day since she’d spoken to him why she’d never looked for him in all this time. Telling herself he could just as easily have found her didn’t cut it. He was a SEAL, who was off on missions to undisclosed places or stationed who knew where. She had connections, and Alicia had even better ones—she could have made the effort, but she was so used to casual relationships that had no lasting memories, or attachments that she’d tried to write it off. She’d told herself he had a busy life as a SEAL and probably had no room for her.

  But the past couple of nights since reconnecting with Rocket and hiding out here on the roof had made her long for something she wasn’t sure was even available. She knew next to nothing about Rocket and his partners except for what Alicia had told her, but she trusted her sister, and trusted her memory of Rocket.

  She made her head more comfortable on the pillow she was using and closed her eyes. As usual, the first image that floated into her mind was Rocket, with his lean, muscular body, his dark hair and scruff beard, and intense blue eyes. She saw him again, as he’d been that day in the cave, sweat glistening on his muscles from the heat of the day. The damp scent of the cave mingled with the musky odor of their bodies had only enhanced the electric sexual desire sparking between them.

  There had been very little discussion, because their hunger for each other had overriden anything else. Despite her desperate situation, when he’d eased into the place where she’d been held, slithering in like a ghost then sliding back out with her, her body had reacted as if she hadn’t had sex in forever. Which hadn’t been that far from the truth.

  Lying here now, just like so many other times, she could feel his hot body pressing hers, the swollen length of his cock imprinting itself on her, one hand squeezing a breast while he tasted every inch of her mouth with his tongue. Just thinking about it now brought back that hunger, that need, that sense of desperation for him to take her, and her body responded.

  She slid one hand beneath her shorts and panties, over her mound until she could ease two fingers between the hot, wet lips of her sex. She rubbed them slowly up and down, making sure to abrade her throbbing clit with each movement. She had an urge to hurry, a craving to thrust her fingers into her clenching sex, but she wanted to prolong it, imagine again that it was Rocket’s hand stroking her, pinching that hot little nub of flesh between his fingers and tugging on it. She imagined Rocket’s hard, lean fingers there instead of her own, his tongue scorching her mouth before sliding across her cheek to taste her neck. His lips pressed against her ear, whispering hot, filthy things to her that made her want him even more.

  She increased the pressure of her fingers as the need in her sex increased. Muscles rippled with light spasms, begging for penetration, but she didn’t want to hurry. Trapped here, her world at the moment confined to an attic and a roof, her life in danger, she wasn’t going to rush this. Instead, she stroked slowly, imagining Rocket’s hand there, his fingers on her slick skin.

  Move faster, a voice in her head whispered. More, more, more.

  Now her fingers moved faster. She could only prolong it for so long before her hunger and need got the best of her. Planting her feet flat on the roof and bending her knees, she reached down and thrust her fingers inside her slick, hungry channel.

  Faster, faster, faster.

  Then she was…there!

  Oh, god.

  Her walls convulsed around her fingers, squeezing them while she rode her hand, biting her lip to keep from crying out.

  Finally, at last, the tremors subsided and she slid her hand out of her panties. Her heart was racing and her breathing was choppy, her pulse still pounding. She forced herself to take deep breaths until she could bring her body next to normal. Her legs splayed out, her muscles weak from the tension, and her heart thundered in her chest as if she’d had real sex. God, how pathetic was that? She was just damn lucky Inez hadn’t decided to come up on the roof during her little self-gratification session.

  She lay there, letting her heart rate settle, and wondering just how much longer her luck would hold. The vibrating of her cell phone in her pocket startled her. She drew it out and looked at the screen, relieved to see the familiar number there, but wondering why he’d called again so soon. Had something bad happened in just the past few minutes?

  “Just had to hear your voice one more time before I close it down for the night,” he said as soon as she answered. “I just—” There was a short pause. “Just had to hear your voice again. We’re in Manzanillo and tomorrow Ed’s setting us up to get to Santa Marita.”

  “Be very careful,” she urged. “Barrera’s no idiot. He’s a power-hungry, bloodthirsty animal who was smart enough to break off from the Sinaloa cartel and still maintain a relationship. He controls everything. What he can’t control, he eliminates.”

  “Understood. Been there, seen that before.”

  Of course he had. He’d been a SEAL for twelve years and she was sure he had been in situations worse than this one.

  “I’m just…concerned.”

  “I know.” His voice softened. “We’re playing it smart, Mallory. And the connection Eagle has down here is going to even the playing field.”

  “I believe you. And trust you. It’s just…”

  “I know. It’s hard when you wonder if any minute you’ll be found and dragged away. I promise we aren’t going to let that happen. Can you go up on the roof early in the morning?”

  “As soon as the Albados leave for work. After that, the neighborhood settles down a lot. People are gone to work. Kids are off to school. Only mamas with babies are left and they couldn’t care less about anything outside their immediate circles.”

  “Good. We’re meeting Eagle’s friend at what I think is the buttcrack of dawn. I’ll call or text as soon as I can.” There was a second of silence. “We’re doing this, Mallory. I promise, and I don’t give my word lightly.”

  “I know. And I’m counting on it.”

  After he hung up, Mallory lay there for a long time, staring at the sky without really seeing anything, Rocket’s voice still echoing in her head. Tomorrow, she kept whispering to herself, and hoping tomorrow would get here very soon. In the meantime, she wrapped her fingers around the gun Inez had given her, the one always next to her. She would not let Barrera and his men have her. She’d kill herself first.

  * * * *

  Ed had suggested they meet him at the Salty Dog Dive Shack in the morning. It was on the beach almost directly in front of the hotel and he’d told them that was the usual procedure. He had an arrangement with the Grand Plaza that they would just send anyone interested to see him and he’d take it from there. The beach was already dotted with a decent-size crowd of early sunbathers, but a narrow, paved walk to Ed’s place allowed them to avoid the oiled and tanned bodies.

  The Salty Dog was open on three sides, although, as they approached, they
saw wooden shutters rolled up and fastened beneath the thatched roof. The back end of the place was enclosed and stools ringed the front of the open bar. Ed looked up and saw them coming, and immediately poured four large glasses of orange juice.

  “Morning.” He pointed to the glasses. “Drink up. That’s how we start the day here. I’ve got breakfast waiting on the boat.”

  Eagle stared at him. “How fucking early do you get up here? You sounded like you sleep half the day away.”

  “Only part of it,” Ed joked. “Come on. The boat’s waiting.”

  The marina, about a mile away, was a busy place when they arrived. The parking lot was already more than half full of vehicles, and the docks with berths on either side of them were bustling with activity. People were preparing for day sails or longer cruises or fishing expeditions or whatever. Boats were already backing out of their slips and heading for deeper water. And down the beach to the right of the marina, more vehicles were parked at the edge of the sand, with people lugging surfboards out to where the waves rolled up to the sand.

  They had all dressed the way Ed had told them to, as businessmen down here for a fishing holiday, wearing the usual attire of loud printed shirts, khaki shorts and hats people would remember because of the color of the insignia, rather than their faces.

  “Let’s get on the boat before we discuss anything,” Ed told them. “Big ears and all that.”

  Ed led them through a gate and down one of the docks, waving to a man who sat in a little shack at the edge of the parking lot. Rocket watched Ed as they followed him along one of the piers, the slight hitch in his gait caused by the prothesis barely noticeable. He gave the man a lot of credit for not letting the severity of the injury defeat him.

  They walked past several other boats until they came to a sleek, white flybridge fishing boat, with the name Cyclone painted on the bow.

  “Hope that name isn’t an indication of the way you drive this thing,” Blaze joked.