by Bella Juarez
“We’ll see if your information is correct.”
“I assure you, it is.”
Even though they’d grown up together, Nacho never knew what Umberto did. He knew he’d made a career of the Panamanian Army, but he didn’t know about the faction Umberto had been a part of, and it would be a secret that would go with him to the grave. Nacho trusted few and Umberto was one of the few. As Nacho’s personal servant, he had the run of the house and privy to all of the information in it. His thoughts were interrupted when the top of the hour newscast came on, and a female anchor began to report the news.
“Buenas noches, soy Angelica Carrillo y esto es lo que está pasando en la parte superior de la hora…”
Umberto closed his eyes. He almost wished the information had been wrong, but there was no denying that young woman who called herself Angelica Carrillo, was in fact Anita Montenegro. He glanced at the huge picture of Nacho’s dead wife that hung in the room. It had been one of the few things that had been salvaged from the house in Panama. Anita looked just like her mother. He watched Nacho’s reaction. At the sight of his missing daughter, the man who ran a multibillion-dollar organized crime syndicate broke down in tears.
* * * *
The beating rotors of the chopper were a welcome intrusion into the quiet that had her replaying the picture she’d seen earlier in her head. Once she heard the SEALs had reached Mexico and had breached the compound she let her prey go. It had taken everything she had not to draw her weapon and kill him like the vermin she knew him to be. When the doors of the chopper slid open she moved to run toward the aircraft, but someone grabbed her. She turned around and looked at a very pissed-off Gavin. She’d been avoiding him all day while she kept an eye on the one person who could’ve ended Danny’s life with a phone call.
“You’ve got some explaining to do, partner.”
“I was at the CBP all day keeping an eye on our friend.”
“How did you get that damn picture?”
“What difference does it make? I got it, and it’s still on the burn phone in his car. Quit screwing around with me, and get that phone, so you can put him away for good.”
When the ambulance arrived on the tarmac, Rio broke free and ran to the chopper where all of the SEALs were getting out and making way for the medics who would be taking care of Danny. She got there in time to see him being carried out of the aircraft and into the ambulance. Shaq caught her before she got to the doors of the ambulance.
“Baby girl, you don’t want to see him right now.”
“Let me go!” She jerked away.
“Lil’ bit, come on. Let them take care of him. We’ll follow them to the hospital,” Van said, leading her away.
“Damn it!” she screamed. “Get your fucking hands off of me! All of you! He’s still not safe.”
“Rio! Go with Van. I’ll go in the ambulance with Dan,” Gavin said.
The ambulance door shut and took off. She twitched when Shaq put his arm around her.
“Come on, baby girl, let’s go. I’ll take you,” he said.
They arrived at the hospital and were informed that, after a quick once-over to ensure he was stable enough, Danny would be taken straight to X-ray, then to surgery. No, she would not be allowed to see him, but the doctor would see her when Danny was in recovery. They did tell her that he’d been shot twice, one a clean shot through his arm, but the second bullet was still lodged in his shoulder.
She hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours, and she fought the exhaustion that threatened to bring her down and break her. She didn’t care what he looked like; she just wanted to see him and touch him.
I’ve been sitting here for three hours. What the hell is taking so long?
She watched Shaq and Van through the window as they talked among themselves. She knew they were talking about her. When her traitorous brother joined the conversation and whispered with them, she almost snapped. They thought they were protecting her, but instead, they were just pissing her off. She was a federal law enforcement agent. She’d been a military cop and understood the risks she and Danny took with their jobs. Treating her like a frail girlfriend who didn’t have a clue was really starting to grate on her already strained nerves.
“Lil’ bit, I heard that Danny’s—” Davey said as he approached.
“Get the fuck away from me. I’d rather hear it from the doctor.” Shaq and Van exchanged worried glances.
“Well then I’ll tell you,” someone said from a direction she couldn’t see from the window.
When she turned toward the voice, she blinked. It was Alex Richards, dressed in scrubs.
“He has three cracked ribs and one of them punctured his right lung. We removed the bullet and set his left shoulder. He’s got some deep internal bruising of the spleen and kidneys, a small fracture in the left lobe of the liver, one hell of a concussion, and a ruptured eardrum. He had some internal bleeding from the liver fracture, but not enough to require a transfusion.” Rio’s world tilted on its axis.
Thank God. He’s okay, he’s okay, he’s okay…
“When can I see him?” She couldn’t believe this was happening and wanted to act as if she were watching this happen to someone else.
“He wants to see you, too. He’s awake and we’re moving him to the ICU where he’ll be under observation for a few days to ensure we didn’t miss anything. I’ll make arrangements for you to be allowed to visit anytime and stay as long as you like. Want to come with me?”
She followed him through the double doors into the ICU. Danny was in a room across from the nurses’ station. There were a couple of staff members still in the room.
“Chief, did you do those vitals?” Alex asked when they got to the room.
“Yes, he’s stable. Neuro check was within normal limits. We’ll do another neuro check in two hours.”
“Did the antibiotic I requested get here?”
“It’s all good, Doc. Smitty’s on his way down to get it from the pharmacy. They sent enough for several days, so we’re good to go. There’s minimal drainage from the HemoVac in the shoulder, and the chest tube is clear. Dilaudid’s running, and he seems to be resting comfortably. Smitty’s handling the meds as soon as he gets back up here.”
Rio waited impatiently just inside the door while Alex finished up with the staff. These were not the usual hospital staff; they were Navy corpsmen. She knew the SEAL teams had their own medical support, and Captain O’Malley or Gavin or both had managed to get Alex and his team here to take care of Danny. Relief washed over her. Not only would he get the best trauma care available, they’d keep him safe as well.
Smitty squeezed her arm and gave her a wink and a smile on his way into the room. She watched as he hung a small IV bag and hooked it up to Danny’s line.
“Same infusion rate, Doc?”
“Yeah, for now. If we need to increase we’ll do it later. You know the drill. Vitals, I&O, neuro checks, and get me another full set of labs first thing in the morning. He’s got enough pain meds on board, that he should sleep through the night.”
“Put it all in the system, Doc. You’re the only one with privileges right now.”
“Jesus H. Christ, civilians…” Alex mumbled as he logged in to the computer beside Danny’s bed and typed for a few minutes.
One by one, the medics filtered out of the area until she’d been left alone with Alex. Danny slept through everything without moving, which begin to unnerve her. How the hell had he asked for her if he’d been unconscious? As if reading her mind, Alex said, “We’ve been keeping him on a steady dose of Dilaudid. He’s floating in and out. I’m sure he’ll wake up again in a little while. We’ll also be waking him up every two hours until morning to make sure his head’s still on straight.”
“Why so much with the drugs? Is that a good thing?”
“Three broken ribs and the rest of the trauma is all excruciating. If we keep him comfortable, he’ll rest better and be able to breathe easier. We’re conditioned
to withstand a helluva lot of pain, but there are limits, even for us.” Alex moved around to stand next to her. “I’m not sugar coating this, angel. This wasn’t just a beating; he was tortured.”
“I know what they did,” she said, not wanting to hear the extent of what Danny had been through right now. There would be time to understand it all, later.
Alex removed his gloves and tossed them into the trash. That one gesture seemed to remove him from being a doctor. Now she talked with a friend. “It could’ve been worse. When they got him in the chopper, Smitty said his wounds had been cleaned and bandaged. It looks like someone was watching out for him.”
That struck Rio as odd. The cartel wasn’t known for their first-aid skills. In fact, they were animals. Their torture methods seemed to get more refined and cruel as time went on. She recalled meeting with an informant who told them that there were specialists in the organization whose primary job was to develop methods of extracting information in the most painful ways possible. She’d heard how they’d keep victims alive for days with drugs just to draw out their interrogation or punishment. The thought of what he must’ve gone through made her shudder. Alex ran his hands over her shoulders and pulled her close.
“Get your fucking hands off of my woman, Doc. I’m not dead yet.” Danny’s voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper, but it had to be the most beautiful sound Rio had ever heard.
“Danny,” she said, taking his hand. He squeezed hers reassuringly.
“I’m okay.” He blinked a couple of times and stared at her. “When was the last time you slept?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Someone has to.” He reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair out of the way.
The groan he released when he lowered his hand sent a painful stab straight through to her heart. She kissed his fingers and saw the deep cuts and bruises from the restraints he’d been held with. Tears rose in her eyes, but she stubbornly willed them back down. She needed to stay strong and in control, but it was damn hard as she looked at his battered body.
“Just rest.” She started to pull her hand back, but he wouldn’t let go. “Don’t worry. I’m not leaving you.”
“You need to… You need to go home and get some sleep, babe. When you do, make sure Shaq stays with you. I’ll be fine.”
He wanted her to leave and get some rest? The comment would’ve been laughable if it wasn’t for his dire circumstances. There would be no way she could rest. Hearing his voice and touching him again filled her with overwhelming relief. Her wounded tiger needed her protection right now. The cartel would come back and they weren’t done with either of them.
“There’s no way I’m walking out of here without you.”
“Please.”
“I can’t.” Her voice cracked.
He gave her a weak smile, blinked heavily, and then closed his eyes. She released his hand when it went slack. She needed a few minutes alone. The emotional roller coaster she’d ridden for the last two days was about to crash. She walked out of the ICU and found a small conference room she remembered passing when she’d first arrived. She closed the door, found the nearest chair, and faced the wall. As she exhaled, she allowed herself to finally break down. The first sob that ripped through her made her double over.
The second brought her to her hands and knees and took her breath away. She sat back on her heels and wrapped her arms around herself as tightly as she could and began rocking back and forth. She lost all sense of time and place as she cried. Danny had become her life, her reason for breathing, and someone had almost taken it all away. People who didn’t know them and what they meant to each other had almost extinguished the light and laughter he’d brought back into her lonely life.
When she’d watched the ambulance drive off without her, it felt as if her heart had been torn from her chest. In a single instant she hated Gavin for going with Danny and leaving her behind. She hated Shaq for being the one who’d been able to save him. She hated Danny for putting her through all of this hell. The deep pain she experienced was as real as having her fingernails ripped from her. She didn’t hear the door open and a voice call her name.
* * * *
“Man, someone needs to get in there and see if she’s all right,” Shaq said, glancing nervously at the door Rio had closed.
“Leave her alone for a few. Did it ever occur to you that she wanted to be alone for a reason? Give the woman a minute, will you?” Alex said.
“I’m worried about her. I’ve never seen or heard her like that,” Davey said.
“I’m with you,” Van said to Davey.
“All right, you all have known her longer than I have. Which one of you is going in after her?” Alex said, folding his arms.
Three men stood looking at one another. It was just like Alex figured; she had them whipped. All three of them were at least a foot taller and had almost a hundred pounds on her. He’d wondered about Dan’s relationship with this woman when he first met Rio and noticed the collar around his neck. Now watching these men cower away from a closed door with a little woman inside, he knew she was clearly the Dominant in more than one relationship.
As he observed Rio and Dan interact, it struck him that theirs was an odd Dominant/submissive relationship. He knew Dan and Shaq were consummate pranksters, and in the short time he watched Rio and Dan interact, it seemed that he messed with and pranked her on a regular basis. Most Dominants wouldn’t have tolerated that sort of behavior, but she was content to let Dan be Dan. He’d found it interesting to watch how she’d crafted and directed their unique relationship. He suspected that his friend could be a difficult submissive. Knowing Dan the way he did, he could probably give his Domme textbook answers to what submission meant, but when it came down to it, he’d be combative and make her earn every inch she gained.
Alex also noticed the subtle things that escaped most people. Dan revered and adored his Domme, and it showed in all the little touches he watched them share. This was the first time he’d seen Dan serious about anything other than his job. Then he recalled seeing Dan and Rio share an intimate conversation at a dinner they’d all attended before the race. He watched Dan rub his nose against Rio’s and the way it made her smile. He looked at the three men standing around him.
“Well, I mean I could go but, you know, I’m not sure how Dan would take it,” Shaq said, nervously glancing at the door.
“What do you mean? Are you planning on making some kind of move on her?” Alex asked.
“No!” Shaq said.
“You two?” Alex asked her brother and the man standing next to him.
“I think maybe you’re right. Maybe she wants to be alone,” Davey said.
“Chicken shit motherfuckers,” Alex muttered as he pushed past them and opened the door to the room.
When he walked in and saw her on her knees leaning up against a chair, his heart broke. He’d seen a lot of fear and grief in his life, but what he saw now was by far the saddest thing he’d ever seen. She looked broken. There had to be so much going on with her, fear, relief, anger, pain at seeing the man she loved in the shape he was in. What made this situation difficult for him was there would be no way to sugar coat things for her because she knew what had happened and the way it went down.
Maybe he would be the best person to deal with this, and he’d do it Dom to Domme.
Closing the door, he got down on his knees next to her and touched her. She didn’t move or acknowledge his presence in the room.
“Rio…angel, look at me,” he coaxed as he pulled her close.
“No…” she said, pushing away.
“Angel, listen to me,” he said, tightening his embrace. “You have to let this go before you leave this room. Do you understand? You won’t be able to help him otherwise,” he said as a sob tore from her. “That’s it, baby, let it all out.” He helped her up to a small couch and held her as she cried.
There were only two people in his life whose tears could cut him deeply,
his wife’s and his daughter’s, Leila. And now, there was a third. Rio’s tears started deep inside her heart and echoed the profound pain that had driven her to them. He waited for her to take a breath before he tried to speak again. Before he could say anything, she pushed away and looked at him.
“I’m okay,” she said, catching a jagged breath. He reached behind her to the table and pulled out a few Kleenex and handed them to her. “Thank you. I need to get back in there and see him. He’s still not safe.”
“He’s safe, angel. He has four SEALs around him at all times and a bunch outside waiting.”
“No, there’s someone else that might come for him; someone who looks like they belong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t tell you.” Rio had quickly pulled herself together and got up to return to Dan’s bedside.
“You’d damn well better tell me. How the hell am I supposed to protect him?”
“Ask Gavin. In the meantime, while you guys are sorting all of this out and deciding what’s top secret and what’s not, I need to get back in there and keep watch.” She straightened her clothes and went into the small bathroom. He could see her washing her face. When she’d finished, only her swollen eyes betrayed her previous emotional state. Rio was back on her feet and ready to take on the world. “I will tell you this: I won’t hesitate to kill that son of a bitch if I see him within a hundred feet of Danny. I consider him a threat to my family, and that’s a message you can pass on to Captain O’Malley and Chief Walsh when you see them. Know this, the cartel isn’t done yet. They’ll be back, and when they come, I’ll be waiting.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“From what I heard, the rescue team waltzed into the Montenegro compound without much resistance. Does that sound right to you? Something’s up. No op ever goes that smooth, especially when you’re dealing with a cartel that has a small battalion of former Mexican Spec Ops at their disposal. If I see anyone that’s suspect around Danny, I will shoot to kill. They’ve fucked with the wrong people this time.”