Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Navy SEALs [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Cara Covington

  He doubted the puny woman would be able to free herself. He’d handcuffed her, but not cruelly, and secured her to the bed. She seemed about as weak and soft as he’d expect a rich man’s daughter to be.

  He’d left a light burning on the one other piece of furniture in the room—an old dresser—so that there would be no surprises for either of them. This way he could peer into the room and assure himself she was still there—and when she awoke, she would be unlikely to panic.

  Her awakening in the dark would only cause her to panic and hurt herself.

  She has done nothing to deserve being handed over to Ramos. The moment Juan let that thought into his mind, once he acknowledged the truth of it, he knew he’d made a decision and it was the right one.

  He would wait for a day—long enough for the woman’s family to know that she was indeed missing. Then he would contact them, and advise them how they could recover her.

  He wouldn’t ask for too much, even though the Benedicts of Lusty, Texas, were reputed to be billionaires.

  Two million dollars. I can make a new life with two million dollars.

  It was a significant enough sum of money so that her family would take him seriously, yet not so much that they would have difficulty getting their hands on it.

  Juan patted the outside of his pocket that held his cell phone, a new one he’d purchased just a couple of days before. Prepaid, untraceable, it would serve him well.

  Yes, that’s what he’d do. He’d wait until tomorrow evening, and then he’d send them a message.

  * * * *

  Drew kept the expression on his face purposefully blank. Standing back as Dev led a briefing before a mission had never been hard for him. His faith in his best friend—his brother—was absolute.

  Especially now, at this moment, for this, the most important mission they’d ever undertaken.

  “There’s been no movement for the last three hours. Either Julia’s phone has been found and tossed, or our kidnapper has stopped moving.”

  Neither of them would voice the third alternative, the one possibility that secretly and between them they couldn’t make go away, the one that chilled them both to the bone.

  The third possibility was that Julia’s body had been dumped. Drew thought if that happened, if they somehow lost her, he’d die himself.

  He looked up, met Dev’s gaze, and knew he felt the exact same way.

  “I believe they’ve stopped moving, and have hunkered down for the night. No reason not to. As far as he or they know, they’ve gotten away clean. There have been no alerts issued, and the fact that Julia’s missing hasn’t been reported by any of the major news outlets.”

  The others present in the hangar that housed Kendall Aviation kept silent. Morgan and Henry Kendall both looked like what they were—men who’d been in this kind of life-or-death situation before. That wasn’t to say they weren’t worried. Even though he’d not known them long, Drew could read the concern, and yes, the anger in their eyes.

  Tracy and Tamara sat side by side, their faces pale, their eyes red rimmed. Adam Kendall, Lusty’s sheriff, had insisted that Dev and Drew take the lead today, that they put together the rescue mission. Adam’s brother, Jordan, along with Peter Alvarez and Julia’s triplet brothers rounded out the group gathered in front of the map board.

  Mitchell Grafton had provided up-to-date intel so that they’d been able to track the movements of Julia’s cell phone. Just a half hour before, they’d managed to patch the satellite feed into the computer here. Now their intel was as instant as it was reliable. The sun was setting, the kidnappers had gone to ground, and it appeared that the time for action was finally at hand.

  Thank God. I just want to get her and get home.

  “Henry’s going to fly Drew and me in the helicopter and drop us down about two miles from where the signal is originating.” He pointed to a place on the map, a spot that was just a few miles from the city of Rocksprings, Texas.

  “He didn’t travel far,” Morgan said. Leaning back against the desk they’d carried from the office into the open area of the hangar he considered the map. “Good elevation there. Rocksprings is on a plateau, I believe.”

  “Yeah,” Dev said. “We’ve had a look at some satellite imagery of the area. We have a pretty good idea what to expect.” He used his finger to circle the target area. “Rural, elevation around 2,000 feet, vegetation a mix of scrub and trees. And rocks, plenty of rocks. The city itself is on the plateau, as you said. They’re not in the city. We think they’ve got her in some kind of a simple structure about midway up that formation, but off the beaten path.”

  “Nothing showed up on the satellite images,” Drew said, “but there were a lot of shadows, and a lot of vegetation there.” Drew had never had so much trouble focusing on the minutiae of a mission before. He inhaled sharply. He had to put aside the fact that this rescue mission was to find and save the woman he loved. Using every bit of will at his command he did just that, and focused his gaze back on the map. “Our best chance is to go in fast, on foot, and after dark. We have no idea who has her, how well armed he or they are, or how Julia is being held. We don’t know—” He had to take one moment to push back his fear, to swallow the lump that wanted to choke his throat and tear his eyes. “We don’t know what condition she’s in.” Too easily he could recall the sight of all that blood—Julia’s blood—that had drenched the dash in her car and bits of broken plastic from the dispersed air bag. “There’s been no ransom demand yet, and that lends credence to Peter’s theory. One thing to consider is that if Miguel Ramos is behind this, he likely ordered that she not be hurt until he’s there. He’d want to make certain he has Peter’s attention, first.”

  “We’ve asked for a title and records search to see if that property is connected to Ramos in any way,” Peter said. “On the surface, the answer would seem to be no. My friends in Washington are still digging. I’ve also been advised that as of an hour ago, that bastard was still holed up at his base in Culiacán.”

  “Do we know how much longer Julia’s cell phone will keep transmitting?” Richard Benedict looked considerably more haggard than he had the last time Drew had seen him at Lusty Appetites. His brothers looked even more so.

  It occurred to Drew that Richard, too, was aware of that third alternative and was just as determined not to give it any credence.

  “She had it plugged in overnight, last night,” Drew said. “It was fully charged when she turned it on around ten this morning. Should go another twenty-four hours, easily.”

  “Good.” He looked like he wanted to say more. Since he was the ranking member of the Benedict family present, no one thought to deny him the right.

  Richard looked at Drew, and then Dev. Then he scanned the rest of the people—family, or soon-to-be family, all.

  “Everyone’s been put on alert. That means, effectively, we have all the phone lines into all of our businesses and all of our houses being monitored. Any call that comes in from the kidnappers will be routed here. I don’t have to remind y’all that it’s been the family’s policy—hell the Town Trust’s policy, come to that—to never negotiate with kidnappers.”

  Drew’s temper soared, and he took one step toward Richard, ready to lay him flat with one punch. He stopped when that man held up his hand.

  “But this is my sister who’s been taken, and I don’t give a fuck what the policy is, or how much I have to pay to get her back. She’s worth everything I have.”

  “We’ll get her back.” Drew let his anger toward Benedict go. He said the words with utter confidence, and not only because he believed them.

  The plain truth was that no other outcome was acceptable.

  His gaze met Dev’s, and he saw the same total resolve in his eyes.

  “Damn right we will.” Dev stood silently as Drew had seen him do so many times, until everyone turned their attention to him.

  “Okay, we know our objective, and where we’re going. Let’s get our equipment togethe
r and bring Julia home.”

  “I think I have most of what you’re going to need,” Adam Kendall said. Then he smiled, a feral kind of smile that Drew had no difficulty interpreting.

  “No offence, Sheriff,” Dev said, “but some of what we need isn’t exactly standard issue.”

  “None taken, Lieutenant Commander,” Adam replied. “I may not be a SEAL, but I’m not without my resources. I made a few calls earlier. Come and see what I’ve gathered together for you.”

  Drew met Dev’s gaze. It was good to know they weren’t the only ones who’d do whatever it took to get Julia back. They were used to being dropped and then left to their own wits to succeed.

  Having an entire town at their backs would likely make all the difference in the world.

  Chapter 13

  At the sound of the approaching footsteps, Miguel Ramos turned from contemplating the view of the ocean over the cliffs. The man who’d arrived owed his loyalty to no one. He worked simply for money, one contract at a time. He’d introduced himself as Mr. Talbot, and Ramos recognized his ilk. Mr. Talbot was a stone-cold killer—but he was also a businessman.

  Ramos was beginning to think the entire concept of loyalty had become passé. The only thing he could truthfully count on was the greed of those he’d hired. He understood that some of his people thought he was on the downward slope, and that his power waned. He dared not bring any of them close, for he knew several of them would slit his throat if given half the chance.

  This man he’d hired cared nothing for his organization. He only cared for the money. Ramos felt confidence in him, for if he wanted to continue to get paid, he would continue to do his bidding.

  “Do you have something to report?”

  “Yes, sir. Pecos’s car has stopped moving. He’s still in Texas but several hundred miles southwest from Lusty, where he’d been almost constantly for the last few days. I have his current location pinpointed on a map.”

  Miguel Ramos nodded. When Juan had been here, receiving his bonus and his new orders, Ramos had ordered a GPS tracking device placed on his car.

  He’d failed to keep a proper control of the situation when he’d hired young Manny Ramirez to kill Peter Alvarez.

  That was a mistake he would not make again.

  “Are there any reports of a missing young woman from Lusty?”

  “My partner has been monitoring the official police frequencies—both local and State—and there’s been nothing so far.”

  Ramos tilted his head, because the man’s tone told him there was more. “But?”

  “But there have been a lot of people, including the sheriff, holed up at the airfield outside of town since late afternoon today, including a couple of men who look like pros. My partner pegs them either as Rangers or Navy SEALs.”

  Ramos thought about that for a moment. “It makes sense to me that if the good people of Lusty, Texas, found one of their women missing, they would want to handle the situation without arousing media attention. They would take care of it themselves.”

  “Sir, I can’t say for certain one way or the other if one of the women is missing, or not. Perhaps Pecos did follow your orders. Or perhaps he changed his mind and rabbited. You ask me, my money’s on the latter. Juan Pecos, for everything I’ve learned of him, is nothing more than a bit player. I really doubt he’d have the stomach to kidnap a woman.”

  Ramos wondered if this new man—this mercenary—was trying to curry favor by casting Pecos in a poor light. But then he reasoned the man had no motivation to do so. He didn’t have to worry about appearing competent at the expense of another. He only needed to worry about completing the assignment.

  Ramos turned back to his view as he considered the situation. Juan Pecos had left Lusty, Texas. He’d either decided against doing what he had been ordered to do, or he’d succeeded in grabbing the woman.

  If he succeeded, then why hasn’t he called me?

  Ramos was pretty certain he knew the answer to that. He’d only recently spent time and money having that small town, and the people who lived there, investigated.

  Lusty, Texas, appeared to be an enclave for the super rich. Three families dominated the town, and their net worth, combined, was astronomical. Ramos had also been able to find out that Alvarez’s woman was a member of one of those families—though he did not yet know her actual identity.

  If Juan Pecos had indeed taken the woman, and he had not called to tell Ramos of it, to arrange to have her delivered, then it was clear the little bastard intended to double-cross him, to perhaps ransom the woman back to her family.

  Yes, that is what he has done. I sense it. I know it. Again I am betrayed by one to whom I have offered nothing but kindness!

  “I suppose there is only one way for me to know for certain whether or not Señor Pecos has done as ordered, or become a coward.” He turned and looked at the mercenary, a big, unsmiling man far smarter than most of the people who worked for Ramos.

  Talbot nodded. “Yes, sir, there is.”

  A man like Mr. Talbot didn’t look like the sort who would have any difficulty carrying out his orders, no matter what impediments stood in the way—or what that order might be.

  “I’m not supposed to enter the United States. There is, I believe, a warrant out for my arrest. But I very much want to go and see Juan Pecos for myself.”

  “You’re paying us enough, Señor Ramos. Getting you into the United States won’t be a problem.”

  “Good.” Ramos hadn’t revealed why he’d wanted a woman taken. Now he said, “My adversary at this time is a Special Agent working for the American DEA. He may, in fact, be personally involved in whatever situation Juan has landed himself in. We will likely encounter him, and perhaps his friends. They will be armed.”

  “Shooting accidents happen all the time. Even to Special Agents working for the DEA.”

  Miguel Ramos nodded once, that simple gesture conveying a wealth of information. Ramos’s nod meant agreement, resolve, and regret for only one thing.

  He should have hired men like Mr. Talbot a long time ago.

  * * * *

  Julia held herself perfectly still, her eyes open to just the barest slit, her breathing deep and even. She didn’t know if her ‘sleeping act’ was being bought or not, but she so desperately wanted her captor to buy it, to buy it and leave her the hell alone.

  He stood by the open door, a lit lantern in one hand, and she felt his gaze intent upon her. She supposed he was watching her, trying to determine if she was awake or asleep.

  She really wasn’t worried that he would molest her or harm her in the next little while. But her headache had eased considerably, and with the receding pain came the growing realization that the best thing she could do was to get herself the hell out of this shack in the middle of nowhere.

  The longer she allowed this situation to continue, the more ugly the outcome could be.

  Julia couldn’t say why she felt that way, but the urge to escape had become a shout in her thoughts, so loud it overwhelmed everything else.

  Run, run, run!

  She had to force a calm she didn’t feel and continue to play possum.

  Her captor had left the door fully open since he’d cuffed her to the frame of this small bed upon their arrival. He’d let her free just once, so she could pee. She’d still been groggy with pain at the time, but had taken the opportunity to have a good look at the rest of this shack. She’d acted fully cowed, so as to make the man believe she posed no threat, either to him personally, or of escape.

  The bathroom consisted of just a toilet and a sink with no running water, with the rest of the place being nothing more than a small room with a door and one window. The furnishings she would call garage-sale bare minimum—an old sofa and a kitchen-style table with two wooden chairs.

  When the man had brought her a simple bowl of cold, canned pasta and a cup of water for her dinner, she’d consumed the meal timidly, keeping her eyes down, continuing the role of meek captive.


  Subterfuge was one of the few weapons she had, and she meant to make the most of it.

  Julia decided her best route for escape would be out the window of this small bedroom she was in. All she needed was time to try and figure out how to get out of these cuffs, and time to get that window open.

  Finally the man turned from the door. Then he stopped, turned to face her again. She’d kept her eyes nearly all the way closed, but she could see enough to see that reached forward.

  Julia stopped breathing. Had she been wrong about him? It took every scrap of iron in her to remain as she had been, the very image of a deeply sleeping woman.

  In the next instant, she heard a creak as he pulled the door, not completely closed, but about halfway so.

  This was even better than she’d dared hoped for.

  Time slowed to a crawl as Julia continued to lie perfectly still, eyes remaining opened to tiny slits, waiting. The instinct for urgency and the urge for caution fought within her. She had no idea what time it was, except that it was nighttime. Her watch had gone missing, and she figured it had likely fallen off her wrist while she’d been unconscious in that bastard’s trunk.

  Only a few moments later the dim light from the oil lamp went out. She heard another creak, and realized the man had settled on that old sofa in the other room.

  Would he fall asleep, or would he, like her, remain vigilant, alert and on guard?

  Julia had her answer several minutes later when her ears picked up a new sound, a low rumble. The sound came again, and then again, settling into a slow, steady rhythm.

  Her captor had fallen asleep and was snoring!

  Julia listened a few moments more, until she was certain he was, indeed, asleep. Slowly, careful of every movement, she pushed the single thin blanket off her, and turned onto her right side.

  Her right wrist was encased in one side of the handcuffs, while the other circled a part of the small bed frame. Her eyes had adjusted to the mostly dark environs. The moon, full and not quite at the optimum angle to light the room, nonetheless relieved the blackness a little.