Black Out: HOT Heroes for Hire: Mercenaries: A Black’s Bandits Novel

by Lynn Raye Harris

  Ice flooded Colt’s veins. He wanted to kill these men for hurting her. For scaring her. He wouldn’t, but he damned sure wanted to.

  He slung his assault rifle around to the back and picked Angie up. She protested, but he shushed her with a quick kiss.

  “You don’t have shoes on, Ang. Or a coat. We’re parked a mile away, so let me carry you.”

  They made their way through the warehouse complex, carrying Angie and the man she’d cracked over the head with her pipe. They dumped him into the back of the SUV and Colt got into the middle row with Angie. He held her tightly against his side and didn’t let go for the entire ride back to BDI.

  Once there, Colt carried her to the elevator while she lay her head against him and closed her eyes. He could see the purpling of a bruise on her right cheek and rage swelled inside him.

  He took her to the fourth floor. Jared went with him. Brett had the man over his shoulder and he took him to a secure interrogation room and locked him in. Ian, Jace, and Ty headed into Annapolis to keep the meeting with Paul Sobol. Dax had traced the McLaren to him. They’d already known he was their man, but now they had confirmation.

  Ian and crew would sweep him up with the other man and bring them back here.

  Maddy walked out of the suite she’d been waiting in when she heard them coming. When she saw Angie, she closed her eyes and smiled as she lifted her face heavenward. “Thank you, Jesus.”

  “Jace will be back soon,” Colt told her. “He’s fine. Just mopping up.”

  “Thank you.” She shifted her attention to Angie, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “How are you, honey?”

  “Cold,” Angie said.

  Maddy opened the door to the suite so they could pass inside. Then she hurried to the refrigerator and got a bottle of water, retrieved a stack of blankets from a closet, and rushed back to the couch where Colt set Angie down.

  Her hair was a mess and her face was bruised, her shirt—his shirt—was torn, and the leggings and socks were streaked with dust and grime.

  “What else do you need?” Maddy asked as she shook out a blanket and laid it over Angie. Angie opened her eyes and smiled up at her friend as Maddy shook out another blanket and tucked it around her legs and feet.

  “I fought back, Mads. I didn’t cower in the corner.”

  Maddy smoothed her hair from her forehead. “Oh honey, of course you fought back. You’re fierce.”

  Angie smiled wearily. Colt thought his heart was going to break but he didn’t do anything other than hold her hand while Jared checked her over for broken bones or abrasions. When he’d examined her, Jared exchanged a look with Colt.

  Colt swallowed. He knew what Jared was getting at with that look. “Baby,” he said to her.

  “Yes, Colt?”

  “Did they… they didn’t abuse you, did they?” His throat was tight. Rage hovered beneath the surface. If they’d assaulted her, he would kill them all. He didn’t care how hard a time Ian would have cleaning up the metaphorical mess, nothing would stop him.

  Angie smiled, and he knew it was real. Relief rushed through him before she ever spoke a word. “No. That man was trying, but I hit him with the pipe. He never touched me.”

  Colt kissed her forehead. “You’re amazing, Ang. I love you so damned much. You have no idea.”

  He heard Maddy gasp. Angie’s eyes widened.

  Jared stood. “On that note, I think I have some paperwork to fill out. Maddy?”

  “Oh, yes. Absolutely. Me too. Let’s go.”

  Colt didn’t take his eyes from Angie’s as Jared and Maddy disappeared through the door. He heard the quiet snick as it closed.

  “You love me?” Angie asked, her voice filled with wonder.

  He tucked her hair behind her ear, skimmed the side of her face that was uninjured. “Yes, I love you. I know it’s fast, and I know you might not feel the same way, but—”

  He didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence because she surged up and pressed her mouth to his. Their tongues met, tangled, and hot emotion flared in his soul. Angie was his.

  “I love you,” she whispered against his mouth. “Love you so much.”

  “Je t’aime mon ange. Je t’aime.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Angie was still in a daze when Tallie arrived half an hour later. The daze wasn’t because she’d been kidnapped and held in a pitch black room, or because she’d knocked a man out with a pipe. No, it had everything to do with the tall, blond, beautiful man who’d told her he loved her. In French and English.

  “Angie,” Tallie cried as she rushed into the room carrying a shopping bag that she dropped as she came over and gave Angie a gentle hug.

  “Hi, Tallie. Thanks for coming,” Angie said as she squeezed Tallie in return.

  Angie huddled in a comfy chair, wrapped in a blanket, her legs curled beneath her, drinking hot tea with Maddy. Maddy and Tallie hugged, then Tallie picked up the bag again.

  “I stopped and grabbed some clean things for you from Walmart on the way in. Underwear, socks, leggings, a sweater, and some flats.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Angie said, feeling touched.

  Tallie shrugged. “It was no problem. I figured you might be here for a while and you’d want to shower and change.”

  Angie loved these two women. She’d loved Maddy for a long time, but Tallie was turning out to be wonderful in her own special way. Tallie had the most remarkable eyes. One was blue and one was hazel. She was tiny and absolutely adorable in every way. There was also Sharon, Tallie’s bestie who came up to visit sometimes. She wasn’t around much, but she was every bit as great as Tallie. It was like having a group of sisters, which is something she’d never had.

  “I would love a shower,” Angie said. There was a bathroom attached to the suite they were sitting in, and it had everything she needed to take a shower. She’d already looked when she’d gone to pee earlier. She’d thought about it but she hadn’t wanted to sit around in nothing but a robe.

  Colt had to go up to the fifth floor with the guys, and she knew that might take some time. He’d apologized to her for it, but she’d caressed his puffy cheek lightly, feeling overwhelmed that she got to do that now, and told him she understood.

  She really did. She was safe, he was safe, and she loved him. Even better, he loved her. She still couldn’t believe it. It made shivers of happiness slide through her from head to toe. Amazing how life could change in a single instant.

  She left Maddy and Tallie and went to clean up. The shower felt heavenly and soon she was dressed and feeling better than she would have expected considering what she’d been through since those men burst into Colt’s house and took her.

  When she emerged from the bathroom, Colt was waiting for her. Maddy and Tallie were still there, but they were quiet. Waiting and watching her and Colt.

  Colt took her hand. “How are you feeling, minette?”

  Angie smiled. She could feel Maddy and Tallie’s eyes on her as they took in the pet name. Tallie lifted a brow. She spoke French, Angie remembered. She blushed in response, naturally.

  “I’m much better now that I’m here at BDI.”

  “Good.” His eyes searched hers. There was so much she wanted to say to him. So many things she still wanted to know. “If you’d like to come up to the fifth floor with me, Ian wants to tell you some things.”

  Angie blinked. Maddy said, “Whoa. I have never been to the fifth floor. How about you, Tal?”

  “Nope, not me.”

  “Um, are you sure, Colt?” Angie asked, glancing at her friends.

  He grinned that gorgeous white grin of his. “Oh yeah, absolutely sure. You ready?”

  “Well, sure.” She looked at Maddy and Tallie again. “Is this an episode of The Twilight Zone?”

  Maddy laughed. “Could be. If we’re eaten by aliens while you’re gone, then you’ll know.”

  “Stop it, Mads,” Angie said with a laugh.

  Colt laughed too. “You aren’
t going to be eaten by aliens. But I hear Ian ordered some breakfast to be delivered, so hang tight.”

  Maddy looked at Tallie. “It’s a trap. Don’t eat anything they bring,” she whispered loudly. “That’s how they get you.”

  Colt shook his head as he took Angie’s hand firmly in his. “Come on, Ang. These two are off their meds.”

  Angie walked out of the room with him and down the hall to the elevator. She glanced over her shoulder before they stepped inside—and there were Maddy and Tallie, peeking out of the suite, grinning like fools the whole time.

  The elevator doors closed and Colt put his arms around her, pulling her close. He bent his forehead to hers. “There are so many things I want to say to you, so many things I want to do. Soon, I promise.”

  Angie tipped her face up and kissed him gently. “I can’t wait.”

  Colt escorted Angie through the security protocols, enjoying how her eyes widened at every new thing. He couldn’t quite believe Ian had decided to bring her behind the most secure doors of any facility Colt had ever been inside, anywhere in the world, but he had. “Clear her,” was what he’d said to Dax. And Dax had done it.

  There was nothing in Angie’s background to prevent her access. She was a native born American, she had no questionable ties or affiliations, and no criminal record. Not a single arrest or speeding ticket. Besides, she’d already been investigated because of her closeness to Maddy, who was engaged to marry Jace. There’d been nothing in that investigation to raise any alarms.

  When Ian wanted something done, it got done with amazing speed and efficiency. Far beyond what it would have taken in any other facility, that’s for sure.

  “Whoa,” she said when they stepped through the last locked door. The operations center was state of the art, with all the latest in technology meant to impress. And not just impress, but do the best job possible.

  “Come on,” Colt said as he led her to the war room where his team gathered. “I’ll give you the tour later.”

  Everyone stood as she walked inside. Ian was grinning broadly.

  “Welcome, Angie.”

  “I… Thanks.” She tilted her head. “Why am I here?”

  “Because there are things you need to know, and they can’t be said outside these walls. I told you I’d tell you what I could. Remember?”

  “I do.”

  “I’ve decided I can tell you a lot. But what we say here doesn’t go beyond this room. Understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then have a seat.”

  Colt let go of her hand and pulled out a chair for her. He took the one beside her. He already knew what Ian was going to say. The things they’d discovered, thanks to Angie and Charles Martinelli. Angie listened attentively while Ian told her about Steve Gorky and the various accounts detailed in Martinelli’s spreadsheet. They’d found other, hidden account numbers when they’d analyzed everything.

  “It took a computer to do that analysis, Angie. You didn’t miss it,” he added. Colt was grateful he said it because he knew Angie would be upset she’d missed something that important.

  Ian explained that Paul Sobol had clarified some things as well. He was the one who’d been having sex with Jenny. They’d met during one of his many visits to Charles at BB&B, but they’d only been going at it for about a month. He’d targeted her initially because she was easy to manipulate, and he’d wanted eyes on Charles because he’d been growing suspicious of his old friend and co-conspirator.

  Sobol erased the files from the server, but Jenny logged in. He was trying to clean up the evidence, but not doing a great job at it.

  “That’s why she was nervous when I asked if she’d found any wonky accounting in Charles’s files,” Angie said.

  “Probably so.”

  “Did he kill her?”

  “He says he didn’t. He says that Gorky ordered it because she was a liability, and Tommy Baskin carried it out. He’s one of the men who grabbed you.”

  “The one who asked if redheads feel more pain than other people,” she said.

  Colt stiffened. She shot him a smile. “It’s fine. I’m okay.”

  “They made it look like a suicide because that’s the way these kinds of people operate. Jenny was known to be depressed about her situation, and Sobol knew she had a prescription for Xanax. The rest was easy enough to do. Gorky has always had strong ties to certain people in high places. Not that they’re aware of his criminal activity, but they don’t make it easy to investigate either. It’s possible someone leaned on law enforcement to close the case when they had an obvious cause of death.”

  “She texted me that night. Was it really her?”

  Ian shook his head. “I’m sorry, no. They were trying to draw you out. When you didn’t answer, they moved on.”

  “And Charles? Is he alive?”

  “No, he’s not. Tommy and Marco—that’s the guy you clocked with the pipe—good work, by the way; he has a concussion, and one hell of a headache that he richly deserves. Anyway, Sobol talked Charles into meeting on the night of the fire. Charles had been lying low, but Paul sent him messages saying he was coming around to Charles’s view. Charles eventually agreed to a meeting. They met in public, but Tommy and Marco grabbed Charles when he left the meeting and took him to the office. They were supposed to drug him and knock him out, then start the fire so he’d burn to death in the building. But Tommy shot him and they had to move him. They started the fire to erase the blood spatter evidence and disposed of the body elsewhere.”

  Angie had a hand over her mouth.

  “You okay?” Ian asked.

  “Yep. Just disgusted at how evil people can be.”

  “It’s a lot to process, I know. I won’t tell you how they disposed of him, but we’ve sent a tip to the police about where to look for remains.”

  Angie’s nostrils flared. “Who tried to break into my condo?”

  “Tommy. He was supposed to get your computer and take it to Sobol.”

  “And if I’d been home?”

  Ian’s dark eyes flashed. “Tommy Baskin kills indiscriminately. I think it would have been very bad if you’d been there alone.”

  Angie nodded. Colt was watching her closely for signs that it was too much, but she was taking it all in stride. His kitten wasn’t helpless. She was fierce as fuck. God, he loved her.

  “I appreciate you telling me everything. I honestly didn’t think you would.”

  Ian smiled. “I know. But I was serious about you working with us, Angie. I know BB&B is moving into another location soon, and you already have a job there. I’d like you to consider working here, though. We need good analysts, and I’ve seen your SAT scores as well as your grades. I think you’d do great here.” Ian shot her one of his trademark grins. “Plus you’re already cleared for the fifth floor. Think about it.”

  She didn’t comment on what he’d said about her SAT and grades. She was learning. “I will. What happens now? Can I go home again or what?”

  “You need to stick with Colt for a few days, until we wrap up some loose ends, but you should be able to go home then.”

  “Would that be Steve Gorky?” she asked.

  “That’s right.”

  As predicted, Gorky had moved the money from his offshore account to another one he thought they didn’t know about. But they had evidence Gorky was funneling money and arms to terror groups in Afghanistan in an effort to destabilize the region. Sobol had added a little information of his own to their knowledge, which was basically that Gorky also sent arms to neo-Nazi organizations in the states because he liked the idea of white supremacists pushing back against black arrogance, as he put it. The fucker was a straight up white pride kind of asshole who pretended to hide it while posing for photo ops with black councilmen and bucking for deals to build houses for low-income families, many of whom were black.

  Ian wanted to make sure they could nail Gorky to the wall this time before sending Angie back home. Tommy, Marco, and Sobol were locked up
and unlikely to bother her. Christopher Shaw was still out there but his only crime was laundering money and taking kickbacks. He wasn’t involved in skimming from a mob boss or murdering his associates. He’d get rounded up too, of course.

  It was nearly 9:30 a.m. by the time they left BDI. After the fifth floor meeting, everyone adjourned to the fourth to eat a big catered breakfast together. Sobol, Tommy, and Marco cooled their heels in the detention facility, and the Feds prepared to raid Steve Gorky’s Star Island retreat in Miami.

  Jace and Maddy took Colt and Angie back to his place. He hadn’t driven and his SUV was still in the driveway. A team from BDI had removed a tracking device from the bottom of the vehicle. The electrician at Jace and Maddy’s was on Gorky’s payroll. He’d called Marco, who’d swung by with Tommy to attach the tracker yesterday.

  Colt hated that he hadn’t looked for a device, but Ian had taken him aside and told him that everything—absolutely everything—was working out the way it should. If not for the device, if not for Angie being kidnapped, if not for the frantic search and a million other things, they’d have less on Steve Gorky than they did. They wouldn’t have Sobol or Tommy or Marco either.

  Perspective. It was all about perspective.

  Colt tried to remember that as he and Angie walked into the house. Ian had sent a team to clean it, naturally. They’d swept for bugs, found none, and cleared up anything broken or upended. Angie had her bag with her laptop and phone. Colt had his gun. It was like none of it happened.

  Except the part where Angie smiled at him and his world melted into a million bright shards of color.

  “Come here,” he said, opening his arms. She walked into them and put hers around him. He pressed her head to his chest, stroked her hair. “I love you, Angelica Turner.”

  “I love you too, Colton Duchaine.”

  “I want to take you to bed right now—” She gazed up at him. He grinned. “And catch up on our sleep.”

  She laughed. “Honestly, so do I. But if you wanted to make love first, I’d have agreed to that too.”

  “I always want to make love to you. But I’ll do a better job when I get some sleep first.”