by Maddie Wade
“Um,”
“Want to share the shower,” she asked with a smile.
He was out of the bed with her over his shoulder before she could blink. She laughed loudly and smacked his bare ass.
He put her down in the shower and turned the water on causing her to shriek for a different reason as the cold water hit her warm skin.
“Jace, it is fucking freezing,” she said and shivered.
“I’ll warm you, baby,” he said and joined her. Lucky for him the water quickly warmed.
They showered among other more enjoyable things. Jace tried to muffle her cries of climax aware that her brother was only down the hall. He fucked her long and hard until they were both satiated.
She seemed lighter today, and for the first time, he heard a couple of random thoughts fly through her brain. It felt like her walls had come down. He got out, wrapped a towel round his waist, and handed one to her. She wrapped it around herself and followed him out into the bedroom. He stopped short at the sight of a stunning dark haired woman sitting on the bed. She was wearing jeans and a leather jacket over a long sleeve plain t-shirt.
“What the fuck?” he asked. Lucy peered around him.
“Wow Luce this guy is hot, and after, was that three orgasms, I need a cigarette,” the woman said.
Lucy pushed passed him and went for her bag. “Why are you in here Roz?” she asked.
Jace felt the woman eye him hungrily and realised why the Zenobi woman had gotten their reputation. This woman scared the piss out of him. Of course it could be because she was eyeing him like a prize steak.
“Roz, eyes on me or we are gonna have a fucking problem,” Lucy said, and the woman turned away from him and smiled at her.
“So he’s the one?” she asked Lucy.
“Yes he’s the one,” Lucy said as she pulled on clothes under her towel.
“He’s cute, I totally get it, and if a man that cute can shoot as good as he fucks, then I might even think about settling down.”
Lucy laughed, and Jace grabbed his bag and slipped back into the bathroom away from the scary Roz and the whole fucked up situation in his bedroom.
He dressed quickly in cargo trousers, a long sleeve top and combat desert boots. Lucy slipped in beside him with her toothbrush. “Sorry babe. Apparently, she and the girls are here to help us.”
He kissed her cheek as he walked past, “No problem baby as long as you don’t leave me with her, she is mega scary,”
Lucy smiled, and this one was different from all the ones he’d seen before. This smile lit her eyes. He opened his synapses and listened, and there she was. God, I love this man.
“I love you too baby,” he replied, and she jerked to a stop with the toothbrush in her mouth.
She spat the paste into the sink and rinsed, holding his eyes in the mirror. “Did you just read my mind?” she asked.
He smiled big and nodded. “Yep, it started in the shower,”
“Well that explains a few things,” she laughed, and he smacked her ass.
“Oi,” he pulled her to him and kissed her hard and until she was breathless. He looked at her, “That’s better,” he said looking in her eyes.
“I’ll get coffee on while you finish up in here,” she still had her wet hair to start, so he knew he had some time to talk to Zack.
“Okay,” she replied.
He left and went to find the rest of the team. It was time to plan this op for every fuck up possible and then some.
~~~
Jace entered the kitchen to find Zack and Dane seated at the breakfast bar drinking coffee. Zack smirked, and Dane glared. What the hell was wrong with him now?
“Really Jace, really?” Dane said. He had his hand curled around a mug of coffee, the other resting on his leg. Jace looked at him in confusion.
“What?” he asked going to the pot and pouring himself a mug of heaven in a cup. He crossed to the fridge and grabbed the milk. Pouring an inch in he added three sugars and turned back to Dane who was looking at him with raised eyebrow.
“The walls are pretty thin in this place,” Zack offered, and Jace realised that he hadn’t done a great job shutting Lucy up earlier. .
“Oh,” Jace said and took a sip of coffee to hide his smile. He didn’t want to piss Dane off any more than he already was. “Sorry about that,” he said and couldn’t suppress the smile any longer. He went to Dane, put his arm around his neck, and put him in a headlock.
“Come on man. Don’t tell me you and Lauren conceived those babies by immaculate conception.” Jace dodged the punch that Dane threw and laughed as he let go and rounded the other side of the counter again.
“Just keep the noise down next time,” Dane said with a frown.
Turning he watched as Zin and Nate walked in the room. They’d obviously been for a run from the looks of them. Both wore shorts and long sleeve base layers; sweat dripped from them.
“You’re getting soft man,” Nate said with a laugh at Zin. Zin looked up from where he was bent with his hands resting on his knees.
“Mudak,” he said, and Nate laughed.
“Language Zin!” he laughed again.
Jace went to the fully stocked fridge and started pulling out bacon, eggs and sausage. A good British fry-up was what they needed.
Zack spoke up then, “I want a meeting in one hour, so you all have that long to get your shit sorted and eat. Also as some of you may have seen, we have visitors. Roz from the illustrious Zenobi has joined us. She and her team will be assisting on this mission. Please be polite to them and play nicely,” with that Zack slugged his coffee down and left the room.
There was general chatter as the others came into the kitchen. Dane and Jace got cooking, and Lucy started helping when she came in. Jace was a little worried when she started a batch of pancakes. Normally Luce only baked when she was stressed.
When the food was dished up and put onto platters, everyone grabbed a plate and took a seat. Roz had joined them, and despite her earlier antics, she was quiet and watchful. Every member of the team sat down to eat together.
Lucy sat next to him with a smile and tucked into a massive plate of food. Jace felt himself relax as she ate. Lucy cooked when she was stressed, but she didn’t eat. Watching her eat and laugh with the team settled him. He caught Dane watching her and could see he felt the same relief he did.
After everyone had eaten, they all loaded the dishwasher with their plates and sat down with coffee waiting for Zack to start the brief. This team was different to his other teams. They seemed more relaxed and yet no less focused when it came down to it.
Jace sat next to Lucy as Zack rolled out a projector screen. He set the laptop up and then a blueprint came on screen.
“This is a blueprint for the facility that Lizzie and Megan Bennett are being kept in,” he said, and Jace felt the muscles in Lucy’s leg twitch. He opened his mind and reached out for her. He was pleased to hear how confident and jazzed she was for this.
He focused back on Zack, “These show that the building is split into two wings with offices in the middle. The left seems to be made up of two large barrack-like rooms and a large open space almost like a gym. The right side has two labs and then a series of five smaller rooms. From what we know from Roz’s contact, Lizzie and Megan are being kept here,” he pointed to the first two of the five rooms. “We will need to take out the guards at the front and back before we infiltrate the right wing. Zenobi will handle the left wing and any guards or hostiles there. Our primary objective is to get Lizzie and Megan out safely. We also need to take out both these labs; after we get samples. We need to detain anyone we can, but if it comes down to it, then you take them out.” Zack looked around the room at everyone.
“Any questions?” he asked the room at large. Everyone shook their heads in the negative.
“Good let's nail down the details. Roz would you like to invite your team in.”
Lucy sat up straighter next to him as Roz stood and left the room. Everyo
ne turned to the door as five women walked in. Three took positions behind Roz, and the other two walked towards Lucy. Luce stood and held her arms open, and the two ran to her.
The women embraced as everyone looked on patiently. The first woman who was an African-American by the sound of her spoke. “Girl, I missed your stupid ass,” she said and although her words weren’t flowery the look in her eyes showed how much affection she had for Lucy.
“I missed you too Misty,” Lucy turned to the tall platinum blonde, “You still sharking men at poker Angel?” Lucy asked with a smile, and the woman turned a mega-watt smile on her.
“You know it Raven,” she said in a Finish accent.
“It’s good to see you,” Lucy said, and Jace could hear the emotion in her voice.
“We’ll catch a drink before this is over,” Angel said, and Jace saw her squeeze Lucy’s hand. Luce nodded.
“Thanks for coming,” Lucy said to both women and turned to encompass the other three who also nodded.
“You need us, we come,” Misty stated as if it was a done deal.
“Okay now the reunion is over, let’s get the details sorted,” Zack said taking the room back.
Over the next two hours, they hammered out every single detail. Tonight, they would do recon and then tomorrow night it was go time. Lucy would team up with Zin; he was with Zack, Dane and Dan and Nate and Liam. Those pairs worked together best, and although he wanted to be with Lucy, it didn’t work.
Later that night they all drove to a mile outside the facility and left the cars parked in a country pub that was closed. The car park was large, and nobody would notice three cars parked near the edge, and if they did, they would think it was people from a nearby house.
Nate had checked earlier and taken care of the cameras. They then walked through the woods to the edge of the facility.
They split up then with Jace, Zack, Nate, and Liam going to the rear of the building and the other two teams taking the front. They spent all night watching the patterns of the guards and taking note of all the cameras.
There were a shit load of cameras. Will would be able to remote access them though and take control. Roz’s contact who she was very cagey about was going to disable the exterior doors to the labs. The Intel they had suggested that most of the scientists went home at nineteen hundred hours, which was good.
As they all walked back into the cottage around six in the morning, tired, hungry and cold, Jace swung his arm around Lucy and kissed her head. He hadn’t seen much of her since they’d eaten earlier.
“You okay babe?”
She nodded and slid her arm around his back. “Yeah, just tired.
“Let’s get some food and get our heads down for a bit. You want me to make you something?” he asked.
“No, let’s do it together.”
Jace dumped their gear in their bedroom and came back out to find Lucy getting the ingredients out for Spanish omelettes. They worked together quietly one chopping while the other cooked. The silence was comfortable and relaxing, and he could almost believe they were on a little holiday until he saw the weapons on the living room floor.
The others started to filter in as he and Luce sat to eat. Liam made a sandwich and sat down next to them. He too was quiet and seemed lost in his own head. Zin and Nate came next and started making pasta.
He and Lucy finished up and retired for the night, but not before Lucy had sought out Dane. She wanted to check in with him before that night, and he totally understood that. This was the biggest mission of their lives..
If anything went wrong, the effects on them would be catastrophic.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lucy felt nervous. The butterflies in her stomach had started up as soon as she woke. The sick feeling had plagued her all night, making her short-tempered. She’d already snapped at Dane and then felt like a total bitch and said sorry.
He’d hugged her, and for a second she’d felt okay but as soon as he let go it was back. A sense of doom so dark and so heavy she could hardly breathe enveloped her every time she thought about Lizzie.
She put it down to the fact that this mission was as personal as it got. Not only was everyone on the team in danger but her sisters were so vulnerable, and anything could go wrong on a mission like this.
When it was just her and Zenobi or even just her and Dane, she could cope, but tonight she had Roz, Angel, Mustique, Dane and Jace to fret over. Especially Jace. She honestly didn’t know if she could go on if anything happened to him.
Then there was the worry over her dad and Mateo, not to mention, Nate, Zin, Dan, and Zack who had all become like family to her. She slipped out into the cold night air to try to bring some focus back.
Looking at the stars, she wondered if there was a heaven. If there was what was it like. Did you see everyone you knew or was it all beaches and palm trees?
She turned as the door behind her slid open. Jace, was there. His handsome face shrouded in worry for her. She held out her hand to him, and he approached her and fitted his front to her back, his hands coming around her and locking around her waist.
They stood like that quietly for a few minutes, and she leant her head back onto his shoulder as they both looked at the stars. She loved how he didn’t fill the silence with chatter, as content as she to just be.
After a little while, she spoke, “Do you believe in heaven?” she asked softly. He went silent as he considered his answer, yet another thing she loved about him, the fact that he thought about what she’d asked.
“Yes and no,” he said quietly. “I don’t believe that heaven is a place where God is seated on a throne, and we get all our hearts desires. I like to believe it a place where every person we love is and we get to spend eternity living the life we would have chosen on this earth.”
“So almost like a parallel universe?” she asked softly.
“Yes, we get the sweet life we didn’t necessarily get here. So, the childless couple that tried for years to have a baby get to live that life and the man who loses his wife and child to a drunk driver gets to life a life with them.”
“I like your idea of heaven. I hope my mum is living out that life with all her kids.”
“I’m sure she is babe,” he said, and she felt his lips on her temple.
“I love you, Jace, always have always will no matter what.”
“I love you to my Lucy,” he said, and she smiled. She was his Lucy.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes, let’s do this,” she said and twisted in his arms. “Kiss!” she demanded. Jace willingly obliged and bent down to kiss her with fire and passion and yet incredible tenderness.
She lifted her head and looked into his handsome face. “Let’s do this,” she said and grabbed his hand pulled him toward the door.
~~~
An hour later they had reached the car park and where tramping their way toward the facility where Lizzie and Megan were being held. Zenobi had checked in to say they were in position.
She and Nate were to take out the guards in the towers that watched the front and back perimeter fence. Then Zenobi and Fortis would go in. Zack would co-ordinate with Will on when to take control of their systems. The buddy watches would be used to communicate and keep track of each other.
It had been relatively easy to bypass their firewall and hijack the system according to Will. Although easy to him was Mensa-worthy for others.
She and Nate got into position with her taking the shot from the front and him from the rear of the building. Simultaneously and with deadly accuracy, they fired, taking out the men on the tower. It was on.
Lucy heard Zack through her comms unit telling Will to hijack the system now. Lucy scrambled down the muddy slope and met up with Zin. Dane and Daniel were going in through the front as Zenobi cleared the west side of the building.
She could hear gunfire and ignored it. Her objective was to get to the side door that Roz’s asset had left open. Hugging her body to the wall, she
quickly ran along the side of the building, ducking as she went past a window.
She poked her head round the corner and saw two men racing their way. Signalling Zin they both stepped out and fired. The men instantly fell to the ground. Stepping over the bodies she and Zin located the door. Giving it a twist, Lucy was relieved when it opened. She cracked it open and slipped in as Zin covered her.
The hallway was clear, and she could hear Jace saying that the first lab was clear. Shouts in Russian were coming down the hall, and she heard Zin shout something back in Russian. It must have confused them because the voices all of a sudden got further away as if the men were leaving.
Quickly they cleared the first room, and Lucy’s heart fell. No Lizzie or Megan. Exiting the room they quickly ran to the next and slipped in weapons up.
Her heart nearly stopped in relief.
“Lizzie,” she cried and ran to her sister. Liz was huddled on the bed and in her arms was Megan. Lizzie jumped up and ran to her.
“Oh my God Lucy you came,” she cried flinging her arms around Lucy. Lizzie twisted to look at Megan, “See I told you they’d come.”
Megan was looking at her in shock and Lucy could see why. They were like twins; only she was covered in camo paint. She hugged Lizzie to her tightly and then pulled back to look her over. Zin guarded the door for them.
“Are either of you hurt?” Lucy asked and looked between her sisters. They seemed well, healthy in fact.
“No, we’re both fine,” Lizzie replied for them both.
“Hurry up,” Zin said from the door.
“Liz, we need to go, do exactly what we say and stay behind us no matter what okay!”
“Okay,” Liz answered and grabbed Megan’s hand.
Lucy stepped up behind Zin, and they eased out with Lizzie and Megan behind them. They ran down the corridor back towards the exit they had come through and stopped. Four heavily armed men were there blocking the entrance. Zin backed them up before the men caught sight of them and then they both fired their weapons taking them out. The last man lit a charge before they had a chance to take him down and the building shook from the explosion as it started to collapse.