“I’m in charge here and not Finn, so don’t think you’ll convince me to change my mind.” Nick used his commander’s voice.
“Whoa, Nick, take a breath,” Danni said. “The house is large enough to hold a full battalion, and neither of us is planning to interfere. We’re here to help everyone handle the stress.”
“This isn’t a social event. We all have to be on our A game. Not distracted or entertained.” Nick’s face was beet red. The muscles in his neck strained. His carotids visibly pulsated.
Sophie wrapped her arms around Nick and hugged him. “We’re worried too. We couldn’t stay away. We needed to be together.”
Surprisingly, Nick hugged her tightly back. “I need to get him back before Emily finds out. She’ll be devastated.”
Darcy was shocked by the grim ex-Marine captain’s frank admission of concern for Reeves’s sister. He trusted Sophie Dean with his feelings. And then Darcy remembered that the Dean sisters had grown up with the Jenkins brothers. They were family, and as Nick had told her, they all considered Reeves part of that family. Suddenly, she felt like an interloper and backed up to sneak away from emotional entanglement, which she excelled at. Losing both her parents, she had resolved never to get too close. Involvement meant loss and gut-wrenching grief.
Danni released Lars and skewered Darcy with a whole-body perusal. Her expressive eyes tracked up and down Darcy’s person. “Not so fast. We have a lot to talk about.”
Darcy never ran from a fight. But right now, she wanted to run as fast as she could. She played no part in this touching scene with everyone who cared about Reeves when there was nothing between them except for the flaming lust. She marched into the foyer where they were huddled, her flip-flops slapping against the marble entry.
Sophie’s eyes softened in sympathy. “You poor thing.”
Not now, please not now, no kindness when her guard was down. Darcy didn’t want to face these sophisticated women who were important to Reeves.
Danni moved right into Darcy’s space. “My God, it’s good we came.” She put her hand on her hip and glared at Lars and Nick. “You let that poor woman stay in her bloody skirt.”
Darcy had done her homework on all of Reeves’s friends, looking for connections to terrorists. Danni had gone to MIT and was another of Reeves’s circle of brilliant and beautiful women. Had Danni or Sophie been one of Reeves’s friends with benefits? Darcy’s face heated with embarrassment. Reeves was missing, and she was jealous of the women in his life? Her concussion had scrambled her brains. She didn’t want to admit that Reeves Hewitt had done more to her with one kiss than any blow to her head.
“I’m fine. Thank you.” Could she turn any redder under both women’s intense scrutiny?
“You’re not fine. You have one arm in a sling and no one to help you. When Lars and I were working together on a case, I was almost run over by a van and broke my arm.”
Lars coughed dramatically.
Danni whipped around, her hand back on her hip. “We only worked together once you accepted that I could be of help.”
“Yes, honey.” Lars winked at her.
“I was in a splint for weeks. Trust me, I haven’t forgotten how difficult it was to accomplish basic life functions. I had Lars to help me. But you have no one until the Jenkins brothers bring Reeves back. They will. You needn’t worry. They never accept failure. It was probably tattooed on their butts when they were born.”
Darcy appreciated any woman who had no qualms standing up to alpha males. She and Danni had a lot in common—except for style, looks, and brains.
“My clothes won’t fit you, but Sophie’s will.”
Danni was back to perusing Darcy’s body. Her eyes took in every inch of Darcy’s chest and her curvy hips and bottom. “You can’t be comfortable in that skirt.”
“I have yoga pants that will fit. And you’ll be able to move more comfortably. But I’m not sure about the top.” Sophie moved to stand next to Danni.
Darcy winced with their blunt assessment but refused to be intimidated. She had stood up to a lot worse inspection by the brass. Although Sophie had a similarly curvy body, Darcy’s chest was much larger.
“Will it hurt too much to change your shirt?” Danni asked.
“I have a soft cotton long sleeve shirt that will make you look more professional. Handling all these men, you have to be at your best. I wish it weren’t so, but that’s the reality of our world.”
Sophie wasn’t judging Darcy’s body but assessing how to make her more comfortable. Darcy flashed on how difficult it had been to pull her panties down to use the facility. Not that she wanted the women’s help.
Losing the braless t-shirt look was appealing. Eventually, she would be interacting with the FBI and local police, and it was difficult enough to assert her authority, being female and height challenged. Going braless wasn’t ideal when working with men.
“Don’t try to fight them, Darcy. You won’t win.” Lars’s intimate look at Danni was telling.
“You like it when you lose, Lars,” Danni countered with an infectious grin.
“We understand you have CIA business. Unless you have something to do right now, let Danni, and I give you a little sisterly TLC. We’re very good at that.” Sophie was encouraging and sweet.
“And we have a lot to share about Reeves. You want to hear everything, don’t you?” Danni raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows.
Darcy would like to get out of the bloody skirt and definitely would like to have a bra for taking down the Sureños. But it meant asking one of the women to help her. She needed to woman up. Utilizing available resources on a mission was part of adapting to the circumstances. And Danni and Sophie were concerned and caring resources.
“Reeves is the son my father always wanted. He told us that Reeves was speechless upon meeting you. Reeves is never speechless.” Sophie’s blue eyes were like the crystalline mountain lakes in Pakistan’s Karakoram range. One of Darcy’s better memories during her deployment.
“Listening to all our stories will help distract you until there is news.” Danni took her arm to lead Darcy away. “And you’ll be doing us a favor. Helping you means we’re taking care of Reeves. And getting to talk about our dear friend will lessen our worry. You wouldn’t say no, would you? A woman who shut up Reeves must be very special.”
Darcy wanted to protest that Reeves wasn’t enthralled, but she didn’t get a chance.
“And we’re dying to tell you about Lily, his ex, who we all despised.”
And with the promise of information about Lily, Darcy was hooked. She was a CIA officer whose business was information. And Darcy should have known not to underestimate Danni. The gorgeous woman wasn’t the fluff she appeared to be. Not everyone graduated from MIT.
“Danni, Reeves won’t like you butting into his business, especially when he isn’t here to defend himself,” Lars said.
“Now, whose fault is it that Reeves isn’t here? It’s time for the Jenkins brothers to do their magic.”
“Never doubt it, honey. We’ll find him,” Lars said.
“Darcy needs to rest and eat. She was assaulted and T-boned in the last six hours. Cut the romance talk and get her to lie down,” Nick ordered.
“Of course, Nick,” Sophie intoned in the sweetest voice.
“Does that work with Finn?” Nick asked.
“Yes. He likes when I’m all agreeable.”
“You haven’t been agreeable since you were five years old.”
“Not for you, but for Finn, I am. Until I don’t want to be.” Sophie laughed over her shoulder.
Exhausted, Darcy couldn’t fight against the tide of two strong-willed women surrounding her. She allowed herself to be led down the hall and taken in by the teasing warmth of Reeves’s friends.
Chapter Sixteen
Reeves sprinted down the alley, keeping to the side, hiding in the shadows of the two-story buildings. He raced toward the fading sunlight, away from the busy thoroughfare. As h
e looked over his shoulder, his senses heightened, waiting for the gunshot. His heart was revving as his muscles pumped hard, pushing not to be an open target. He’d soon have the cover of darkness.
By now, Galina had probably alerted the gang. They would be combing the area, knowing he couldn’t get far in his overdosed state. He had to get out of the open.
He wasn’t going to last long at this pace. The adrenaline surge from his escape would only take him so far. His energy was lagging, his breathing choppy, and his legs were weakening. And his dress shoes were inhibiting his “run for your life” scenario. Under pressure, his focus jumped all over the place as he ran through mathematical outcomes based on different choices. Algorithms exploded in his brain.
He neared the far end of one of the rows of warehouses with still no one coming. Why hadn’t Muscle chased him? Nothing was stopping the guy, and he was fit.
He stared out at the street in front of him, a rundown residential area with small, dilapidated houses. He had no clue about his location. Nothing looked familiar—not one landmark that he recognized. And he was too far away to read the street sign.
To get to the residential area, he’d have to be out in the open too long, giving the Sureños time to spot him. To survive, he had to find a hideout in the industrial section until the Jenkins brothers and Darcy got there.
He had to cross the alley, which required that he come out of the shadows to get to the next row. He stopped at the corner. He felt the uptick in his heartbeat when he left the relative safety of the shadows. His roaring pulse resounded in his ears. His loud gasps blasted the eerie silence. It was difficult to switch from running as fast as you could in order to avoid a bullet to slow, quiet stealth. His body was in overdrive. His sympathetic nervous system dialed up to flight mode.
He took measured breaths as he crept to the next corner. He held his breath and peered around the corner, prepared to see the armed Sureños. A forklift was parked halfway into the doorway on the opposite side as if the operator were on a break. He waited and watched, trying to ease his thumping heart rate and breathing. He saw and heard no one. His body was attuned to every sound and sight.
Reeves had to take the chance that it was empty. He could try to elicit help if people were working in the space. But that would only put innocent people in the way of the Sureños. It all depended on how many people he found in the warehouse and whether there was any chance of them taking on the armed and dangerous Sureños.
He hugged the wall of the first two buildings.
He searched for an open door where he could find cover and call Nick. He’d like to call Darcy first, but he didn’t have her number memorized.
He stopped when he had a good view of the entrance into the rectangular space filled with crates. No movement and no sound. He rushed through the doorway, and once out of view, he paused to assess.
Nothing that he could detect. There were stacks of wooden boxes in the front of the forklift as if they had just been placed there. He raced to the back of the warehouse, keeping between the crates. He dialed Nick from the phone he’d taken from Muscle.
Nick immediately answered. “Nick Jenkins.”
“Nick, I’m okay. Is Darcy all right?”
“Thank God.” Reeves heard Nick’s long exhale. “She’s fine. Sitrep.”
“I don’t recognize the location, but I’m in an industrial area with rows of warehouses. Not sure how long before the Sureños will find me. I’m going to take out the SIM card after this call.”
“Are you wounded?”
“I’m weak from the overdose but nothing else. They hadn’t gotten to the torture yet. I’m hiding in the back of the second warehouse on the eastside, using the setting sun as my guide. I have no idea what row I’m in. I’m armed with a GSh-18.”
“We’ve got you. Hang tight. You’re in East Palo Alto, ten minutes out. Stay hidden, no matter what you hear. And only start shooting if you have to. No damn heroics. If anything happened to you, Emily would never forgive me.”
“I love you too.” Reeves shut the phone down to remove the SIM card. Ten minutes was going to be an eternity. He hadn’t told Nick to tell Darcy … What could Nick tell Darcy? That Reeves loved her? It was a little premature, but he had never felt this way about a woman, and he didn’t think anything could change how he felt. He had to consider if it was some sort of crazy rebound phenomenon to have this blinding attraction. Nope, he wanted Darcy as he had never wanted another woman.
His hands shook as he disabled the phone, and he was a bit dizzy. The symptoms might be dehydration or the effects of the drugs in his system. He moved to face the door, giving him a sightline on unwelcome visitors. He didn’t calculate his chances with one weapon against the Sureños’s heavy firepower.
He lowered himself to the floor, knowing he needed to reserve his strength for the next round. He was depleted in every way. His nerves were jacked up, but his body was weary, his mouth dry, his head throbbing. What he would do for water and Darcy right now.
He pulled out the GSh-18 to check how much ammunition Galina required to intimidate him. And how long could he last against the Sureños?
He had enough ammo to make a statement but nothing more. He refused to let them take him back. He had to hold out. Darcy waited for him.
He leaned against the crate and closed his eyes for a second. The back of his eyelids rubbed like sandpaper. He couldn’t fall asleep. To do so would be fatal.
Reeves jerked awake at the sound of hushed voices. He hadn’t been asleep but rather in a mediative state. He heard the slap of footsteps on the concrete floor and the click of assault rifles. The threat of an imminent attack charged his body awake with a flood of adrenaline, skyrocketing his heart rate, tightening his muscles. Sweat beaded his forehead.
He pushed up from the floor, trying not to make any sound, focused on his view. And waited as his pulse tripped into outer space. He slowed his breath and steadied his hand as he raised it into a firing position.
Nick, followed by Finn and Lars, were a welcoming sight in their vests with their assault rifles moving in formation through the space. He blinked twice to make sure they were real and not a drug hallucination.
Nick spoke into his comm mic. “We’ve got him. Repeat. We’ve got the target.”
A voice Reeves didn’t recognize came over Nick’s mic. “The warehouse is cleared.”
He had to suppress the need to hug the macho men who were bristling with aggression, still on high alert, even with their weapons now not pointed at him.
“Took you long enough, guys!” It was either be a smart-ass or weep tears of relief.
Reeves almost lost his balance when Nick slapped him hard on his back.
“Fuck, is it good to see your sorry ass!” Nick’s voice cracked.
“Never thought I’d be this happy to see the Jenkins brothers.” His comment got a heavy thump from Finn and a fist bump from Lars.
“Darcy, we’ve got him. He’s upright but looks like shit.”
“Darcy is here?” Reeves staggered as his stomach bottomed out. “Why in the hell would you allow her to come to a potential firefight when she’s injured?”
He thought he’d have time to regroup before seeing her.
“She’s been at the front entrance waiting until we cleared the building, dumb ass.” Nick never reacted well when his solid judgment was questioned. Too bad. This was Darcy.
“Man, you better not let her hear you. The woman is Army and a CIA officer. She can handle herself. And you better remember that when you want to go all alpha on her, or she’ll take you down. Learn from my stupid-ass mistakes with Danni. Never underestimate your woman.” Lars grinned.
“Do you need help walking?” Finn’s baby blues were lasered onto Reeves, seeing more than Reeves wanted the SEAL to see.
“Right, asshole. I’m fine.”
And he was grateful that the Jenkins kept their comments to themselves when he stumbled before righting himself. But he didn’t miss t
he concerned look between Nick and Finn.
Damn it. He didn’t want Darcy to see him like this. He understood her over-responsible, guilty self would be upset. But he knew how to tease her out of the “weight of the world rests on my shoulders” attitude.
The promise of teasing Darcy lightened his step.
Darcy had never been this amped up. Her heart rate was in the red zone, nearing stroke level. She tried for slow, easy breaths, but she was too jacked from the adrenaline flooding her body. Not being able to rush in and defend Reeves was worse than the T-boning or the punch to the face. Hamstrung by her injuries, waiting outside as the Jenkinses and the FBI’s HRT teams assaulted the warehouse was a living hell.
She was stuck in a nightmarish time warp. The seconds were measured by her frantic helplessness and the “what if” scenarios rocketing through her. Her fear exponentially grew as she waited. If they were too late … would they find Reeves as they had Tex? All that joy and life gone. His laughing eyes, his teasing banter snuffed out. Replaced with an empty, blank stare.
She shifted her weight and fought to bring herself into the moment. To keep her discipline and training at the forefront and not let her thoughts sink into a black hole. The air wouldn’t move in her lungs. Finn must have tightened her Kevlar vest too tight.
Her nerves were strung taut as a piano wire ready to snap, and she was aware of the silence as the team moved through the warehouse. Radio silent. She was isolated except for two members of the HRT team next to her to protect the entrance if the Sureños arrived. And although no one said it, to cover her. She coped with her stress by getting physical, fighting the bad guys, and instead, she was trapped—unable to protect others—useless to the team.
No shots. Nothing from the warehouse. Her stomach roiled. Reeves was gone. The Sureños had arrived before the team. Raw anguish filled her chest. The Sureños would torture Reeves for escaping before they killed him. She leaned against the wall for support.
She had taken lives and caused lives to be taken in the Army and the CIA. They were bad players, and she liked to believe that her actions had saved lives. She had never harmed an innocent before. Remorse weighed on her soul. Reeves was a vibrant and caring man. The world would lose a shining light.
Mission: Impossible to Deny (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 7) Page 12