Bound to Danger

by Katie Reus

  Heart racing, he silently descended the stairs. He could hear the soft murmur of male voices as he reached the bottom step. According to the diagram, there were two guest cabins in the back part of the lower deck. His team had designated that as sector twelve.

  The voices stopped and a set of footsteps lightly padded toward him. Flattening himself against the small wall between the stairs and hallway leading to the two cabins, he sheathed his weapon. Their goal was to incapacitate the terrorists before they could alert any of their friends. If there was a chance they might alert the others, Cade’s team had the authority to use lethal force.

  When a blond-haired man stepped into his line of sight, Cade immediately struck, landing a vicious blow to the man’s temple. It was a dangerous move, one that could kill a target if done wrong. The tango didn’t even cry out as he slumped to the floor.

  A sliver of relief slid through him as he recognized the man as Oto Ozols. Cade had started to pull out one of the syringes the NSA team had provided when another man stepped out into the hallway from one of the rooms.

  The dark-haired man’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he reached for his pistol.

  Cade was faster. Withdrawing one of his blades, he launched it at the man’s chest before he’d even drawn from his belt holster. It embedded deep, the crimson stain of blood spreading around the man’s green T-shirt before his knees had even hit the floor. His mouth opened. He gasped out a noise before falling face-forward.

  Internally cursing, Cade stabbed the syringe into Oto’s neck, then swept the two rooms. Both were clear of tangos, but there was a shitload of Semtex stacked along the full-sized bed. Thankfully not charged to blow.

  He retrieved his blade, then dragged the dead man into the nearest room. Moving quickly, he shoved him in the empty, small closet. There wasn’t time to clean up the blood trail, but it was minimal.

  After securing Ozols’s arms, he carried him into the guest room. Placing him facedown on the floor on the opposite side of the bed so he was hidden, Cade secured his feet and gagged him. The drugs should keep him unconscious for at least an hour, but Cade wasn’t taking a chance. As he stood, he snagged his radio and turned it all the way down to level one.

  He tapped his earpiece. “One tango down, the other secure. Viper two unconscious in sector C.” Mihails had been dubbed viper one and Oto viper two. Easy to remember. “Echo situation in sector C.” Meaning he’d found explosives.

  Withdrawing his Glock again, he internally smiled when Ortiz, Jack, and Freeman all checked in. Each of them had brought down at least one tango too.

  “Wheelhouse secure,” Freeman said, and Cade could practically hear the grin in his voice.

  They now had complete control of the vessel. According to the aerial reports, there should be only one bastard left.

  “No sighting of the eagle or viper one,” Ortiz said.

  That bastard had Maria. Cade was certain of it.

  And he was going to find her. Sweeping out into the hall, he hurried down the narrow walkway. At the first door, he paused and listened at it. When he didn’t hear anything, he eased it open, weapon in front of him.

  Empty.

  As he started to step back out, he heard another door opening. Without pause he ducked into the room he’d just checked. With no portholes, the room was near pitch-black. He left the door cracked open only a splinter wide. Pressing up close to the wall, he watched the hallway.

  “Walk,” a man ordered, his voice a guttural growl.

  A second later, Maria came into view, moving under her own power. Harsh relief that she was alive slammed through Cade. An instant later, ice-cold flooded him as he saw the pistol pressed to her side.

  Slowly, quietly, he withdrew his own blade. While he wouldn’t mind shooting Mihails, a blade would work better. Less chance of Maria getting caught in the cross fire. Because he planned to get up close and personal with Mihails.

  The fear on Maria’s face as she passed by him, not even knowing he was there to save her, flayed him alive.

  Taking out this bastard would be the best thing he’d ever done. As they moved by the room, Mihails pulled out his radio. Cade immediately turned off the one he’d stolen.

  Once they’d passed his line of sight, Cade sent up a silent prayer for Maria’s life. He didn’t give a shit about himself; he just wanted Maria to survive this.

  Easing the door open, he stepped out behind them, his heart in his throat. He could reach out and touch Mihails.

  “What the hell?” the man muttered.

  Cade realized he’d seen the faint water trail.

  Mihails started to turn back around, moving the gun off Maria. In that moment, Cade instantaneously grabbed Mihails’s head using his left hand and sliced the blade across his throat with his right. Blood sprayed everywhere, the arterial drench a geyser over the wall.

  The gun went off, wood splintering in the explosion.

  Maria screamed as Mihails dropped to the floor like a stone. Crimson liquid pooled around him. Kicking the weapon away, Cade bent to check the man’s pulse. He knew it would take a minute for Mihails’s heart to stop and did it as a precaution.

  “Cade!” Maria shouted.

  He heard the fear in her voice, the warning note. Driven by instinct, he dove, tackling her by the legs as bullets ricocheted around them, the staccato sounds deafening. Wood splintered and glass shattered. Rolling, he lifted his Glock.

  Pain slammed into him, fire licking down his arm. The need to protect Maria, to keep her safe, overrode everything else. He could hear Ortiz shouting into his earpiece. Everything funneled out as he focused on the dark-haired tango taking aim again from down the hallway.

  Cade fired. Pop, pop, pop.

  Two to the chest, one to the head. The man dropped before he could get another shot off, his weapon falling to the floor with a clatter.

  “Cade.” Maria scrambled out from under him, her eyes wide as she looked at him. She attempted to put pressure on his shoulder, but he pushed her off.

  He didn’t know if the danger was over yet. She couldn’t be exposed like this. Fear clawed at him, razor-sharp blades stripping away at his insides, completely dulling his pain. “Get in that cabin and lock the door,” he ordered, shoving her in the direction he wanted her to go.

  She looked at him as if he were crazy, but when she moved he thought she was obeying. Instead she grabbed Mihails’s fallen gun. At a whisper of sound, she raised it at the same time Cade rolled back over, his own weapon drawn.

  Immediately he lowered it when he saw his team.

  “Mihails is dead. The other tango came from the engine room. Haven’t secured it yet,” he told Ortiz as he attempted to sit up. His shoulder ached in agony as he moved, but he wasn’t going to just lie there helpless.

  Ortiz nodded as he continued past him, leaving red footprints tracked from Mihails’s blood.

  Jack knelt next to Cade.

  “He needs medical help now,” Maria snapped, her hoarse voice tinged with fear.

  “I’m fine,” he muttered as he leaned against the wall. It hurt but he’d been injured worse than this. And he didn’t want her there. He wanted her away from all the death and blood.

  “We’re heading back to the marina. He’ll have help in less than five minutes,” Jack said as he withdrew one of his knives. That meant Freeman was driving the vessel. Good.

  With practiced efficiency, Jack cut away the neoprene suit at the shoulder without even grazing Cade’s skin.

  Maria helped peel the sleeve off his arm. Once it was free, she stripped off her shirt and wrapped it around his shoulder and under his arm to slow the bleeding. Jack pulled it tight and knotted it.

  A ridiculous possessiveness built inside Cade at the sight of her wearing nothing but a bra and pants. It didn’t matter that the sports bra covered more than most bathin
g suit tops.

  She cupped his face with her palm. That was when he saw the tears in her eyes. “Thank you for coming for me,” she rasped out.

  He covered her hand with his. “Maria . . .” His gaze landed on her bruised neck. “Did they hurt you? Do you . . . need medical attention?” He didn’t want to ask the other question. She hadn’t been alone with the terrorists that long on the yacht, but . . .

  “Ozols choked me in the car. I think they were going to do worse, but you showed up. . . .” Her voice cracked on the last word as she trailed off.

  Not caring about his injury, he lifted his good arm and tried to pull her close.

  “Your arm!” she admonished, but buried her face against his neck anyway.

  Grunting at the discomfort, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and looked at Jack, who was busy talking to Burkhart over their radio frequency. Cade had been half listening to the conversation and knew by now that the engine room was clear, all the terrorists neutralized and accounted for. The only thing they needed to do now was clear the explosives and make sure there weren’t any more rigged on the boat.

  “Burkhart and the medics are coming down now,” Jack said as he gently pulled Maria back.

  Cade didn’t want to let her go but knew he needed to. Until they’d secured this boat, he wanted her away from it. Hell, he wanted her completely away from the marina. “You’re going to go with some agents. They’ll keep you safe until I can get back to you,” Cade murmured, weakness overtaking him with each second that passed. Maybe he’d lost more blood than he thought. Or maybe he was just dizzy with relief that Maria was okay.

  She nodded and batted away some errant tears. “What about you?”

  “He’s going to be taken to the nearest hospital,” Jack said. “Come on, let’s get you up.” He stood and looped his arm under Cade’s shoulders.

  Cade was taller, so he leaned into Jack. The pain and weakness hit him all at once like a full-on body blow. No way. He’d been shot worse than this. He had to stay awake. His body didn’t listen to his brain. He stumbled, his knees giving out as blackness engulfed him.

  Chapter 25

  Two days later

  Holding two to-go coffee cups, Maria opened the hospital door to Cade’s room and pushed it open with her hip. As she entered the room she jerked to a halt at the sight of Cade standing next to his hospital bed shirtless, his jeans unbuttoned and unzipped.

  And he was definitely commando, the proof of that clear. Even with, or maybe because of his bandage, he looked even sexier.

  “Like what you see?” he asked wickedly, a grin teasing his lips as she met his gaze.

  She ignored the heat spreading across her cheeks. “You know I do. Did the doctor discharge you?” He was supposed to have come by an hour ago, but when no one had shown up, she’d gone to get them coffee.

  “Yeah.” He picked up his collared shirt off the bed. Wincing, he slipped it over his head. The bandage around his shoulder pulled with the movement.

  She cringed watching him and wanted to offer to help but knew he wouldn’t take it. She’d already tried more than once the past couple of days and she’d quickly learned that he was crabby when he was injured, not wanting anyone to do anything for him. Closing the distance between them, she asked, “Are you sure you should be leaving?”

  “There’s nothing else they can do for me. I was lucky.”

  He’d been more than lucky. It was an absolute miracle. The bullet had gone right through his shoulder, missing anything major, and while she didn’t understand most of the medical-speak from the doctors, the important thing was that he wouldn’t lose any mobility. Which meant his injury wouldn’t affect his career. For that, she was grateful. She might hate that his job put him in danger, but he clearly loved it and was good at it. If that had been taken away from him, it would have killed her.

  “Thanks for the coffee.” He plucked one of the cups from her hand and brushed his lips over hers. The kiss might have been nearly chaste, but she felt it all the way to her toes. She wanted to lean into him, to discard her cup and wrap her arms around him. Well, she wanted more than that. She craved to feel his naked body against hers again. With his injury, however, she wasn’t pushing anything. Of course he’d tried a couple of times, but until the doctor discharged him she hadn’t been willing to risk injuring him.

  “Hold that thought for another hour,” he murmured, his voice pulling her gaze up to meet his.

  The lust she felt was mirrored in his electric green eyes. Mesmerized by that intense stare, she found it impossible to look away.

  At the sound of a throat clearing, she jerked around, nearly sloshing her coffee.

  Wesley Burkhart stood in the doorway in a dark suit, a crisp white shirt, and a dark tie. His expression was unreadable, which wasn’t a surprise. From the limited time she’d spent with the man, he was like a closed book. Stepping inside, he shut the door behind him. “How’re you feeling?”

  Cade just grunted in response, which apparently his boss took as a good thing because he half smiled.

  “What’s up?” Cade asked.

  “I know you’re taking some time off, but I wanted to give you a couple updates in person before I head out of town.”

  Maria blinked in surprise. She hadn’t known Cade was taking time off. She’d been too nervous to broach the subject of them or the future, especially since he’d been shot. And he’d been a bit of a bear the past couple of days. She was positive the nurses would be glad to have him out of the hospital.

  Cade wrapped his good arm around her, pulling her tight to his side. She leaned into his embrace, holding on to his waist as she waited for Burkhart to speak. She loved that Cade wasn’t afraid to show that he cared for her. No matter what happened between them, his actions in front of his boss and other people meant so much to her.

  “Paul Hill has been indicted on over three hundred separate charges. He and his partners turned on one another pretty damn quickly, each wanting to cut a deal. He’ll never see the light of day again and neither will they. The state’s attorney will likely ask for the needle for him. Not sure yet about his partners. Ozols still isn’t being cooperative, but he and his crew are going away forever too. He’s definitely getting the death penalty and I don’t even think he’ll be fighting it. He’s refused all legal counsel. So have his men.”

  “What about the rest of their plans?” she asked. Cade had told her the NSA had found explosives and a detailed map of the Port of Miami along with blueprints laying out the schematics of two hotels downtown. Apparently the hotels had also been used by Paul Hill’s disgusting network. Now the owners of those hotels were also under investigation.

  “All the explosives have been accounted for and each target thoroughly swept. They hadn’t got that far in their plan yet. Westwood was horrific, but it could have been a lot worse for Miami. Ozols actually seemed . . . relieved after we told him what was happening to Hill and his partners.”

  Most people would never know how much worse the devastation could have been. The NSA and FBI had decided to keep what they could out of the media. Maria was still coming to terms with everything and knew she’d never get over the loss of her mom. But she was glad the nightmare was over.

  “Did we ever find out how Maria was tracked?”

  A hard smile crossed Burkhart’s face, the glint in his eyes lethal. “A very talented hacker exploited a weakness on Jack’s phone, but he won’t be a problem ever again.”

  Maria felt a chill go down her spine at that blunt statement. It wasn’t hard to read between the lines. “Thank you for everything,” she said to Burkhart. She was just one person and she knew that she could easily have been considered collateral damage in the NSA’s effort to bring down the terrorists. While she knew Cade didn’t consider her that at all, she also understood that if his boss had wanted, he could have made any decision in reg
ard to the terrorists and excluded Cade in everything. But he hadn’t.

  He simply nodded and did that same grunting thing Cade had, before focusing on Cade. “Can I talk to you a sec?”

  It was slight, but she felt Cade tense next to her. Even though she didn’t want to leave the warmth of his embrace, she stepped aside. “I’ll give you guys some privacy.” Without waiting for his response, she hurried from the room.

  Once outside she leaned against the wall and texted Leah, her dad, then Nash. Her father wanted to have dinner at his house tonight with her, Cade, and other family members. Nash was included and she’d already invited Leah but wanted to make sure her friend was still coming. In between staying at the hospital the past couple of days, Maria had spent as much time with her dad as possible. He was a wreck, and would likely never get over the loss of his wife. There was just no cure for that kind of grief. Time would dull the edge of pain, something Maria kept trying to remind herself. It didn’t help much, because that ache still sat heavy in her chest. She missed her mom so damn much. Being around Cade certainly helped, but she wondered if soon she’d have a new ache when he moved on to his next mission. Things had been so intense between them, but he’d left once before and she still wasn’t sure why. Oh, she knew what he’d told her before, but deep down, she felt he was holding something back from her. With everything going on, there hadn’t been much time to question him. Nothing was stopping her now. Unfortunately she wasn’t sure if she wanted his answer.

  When the door to his room opened, she straightened and pushed away from the wall. Burkhart held it open for her with a half smile. “He’s all yours.”

  She wished that were true. Inside she found Cade lifting his duffel bag from the bench by the window. Immediately she went to him and grabbed it. “I don’t care how grouchy you get, I’m taking this.”

  “Grouchy?” His eyes widened, but he let her take it.