The Ex Assignment (Rogue Protectors Book 1)

by Victoria Paige

  “Ari,” Migs said. “If the family dog becomes rabid, it’s kinder to put him down.”

  Ariana didn’t seem to take offense to Migs comparing her brother to a dog. It appeared they’d had this conversation before. As far as Gabby was concerned, a rabid dog was better than Ortega—she wanted the whole book thrown at him, and to have him rot in jail for an eternity.

  “Will you testify against him?” Gabby asked the other woman. “If we get him back?”

  “It’s too soon to say if this would even go through the courts,” Garrison interjected.

  “What the fuck?” Gabby stared at Declan who was across the room from her. “You think I’m going to stay quiet about this.” She glanced at Kelso for support.

  “Thinking,” her partner clipped.

  As it was, the coffee table seemed to be the dividing line between the law and the lawless.

  Garrison, Levi, Declan, and Bristow were standing across from the long couch where she and Kelso were seated. Migs sat on the arm of the big single couch where Ariana lounged.

  “We uphold the law,” Gabby stressed. “Always.”

  “Sometimes we have to bend it a little,” Declan said finally.

  “You won’t bring your mercenary ways onto my turf, Roarke.” Gabby surged up from her seat. “Your lawlessness has no place in LA—”

  “Oh, and you speak for the entire LAPD?” he cut in. “Our son’s life is at stake.”

  “I don’t appreciate you making me feel that I’m a mother who’d put her job ahead of her son—”

  “I’m not—”

  “People! Focus!” Garrison barked. “This is the worst time for infighting. We need to focus on getting Theo and Emma back.”

  Everyone turned surprised eyes on the CIA man who’d been known to be ruthless, who had no problem with collateral damage.

  “What?” he shrugged. “I watch their show. All their dossiers go through me. I’ve learned enough about them. Good kids. Besides, two dead teenagers won’t look good on the force we’re trying to establish here. This is just the tip of the iceberg, people.”

  “We get Ortega. Then what about Andrade?” Migs asked.

  “We’re in the long game. For now, Andrade is not our focus, Raul Ortega is,” Garrison said. “He was an annoying splinter before, now he’s literally a malignant disease we need to eliminate. My analysts are combing through his properties and finances. There’s a very good chance he’s keeping the kids in one of them, but we’re looking at all his cronies too.” John’s eyes landed on her. “We’ll get them back.”

  Gabby nodded, unable to speak as her walled-up emotions threatened to buckle under Garrison’s kind words. As a cop, she was used to hardening herself when she was told to suck it up. But in the face of having Theo stolen away from her a second time, the trauma that had fallen on her eighteen-year-old self echoed emotions from long ago.

  Fear.

  Terror.

  Agony.

  An uncontrolled sob made its way up her throat. She held her breath, trying to control it, but she started shaking.

  Her hand flew to her mouth as the ragged sob finally broke free and tears scalded her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks.

  Kelso got up beside her and tried to fold her into his arms, but she resisted. He settled by putting a hand on her shoulder, head lowered close to hers. “You heard him, Gabs, we’ll get him back.”

  Her ears were ringing as she continued shaking her head, continued fighting back the terror that had seeped deep into her marrow, until finally she heard him.

  “I’ve got her.”

  History had a way of repeating itself, but Declan wasn’t that insecure boy anymore. Watching Kelso get up to comfort Gabby punched him straight back to the time when he saw Nick escort her to the awards show on TV. It exhumed the pain that still had the power to stab him in the chest.

  But circumstances were a helluva lot different now.

  For one thing, they were different people. Shaped from the mistakes of the past, but for the better.

  His strides were already taking him across the room before it registered in his mind. He saw her stricken face before she attempted to hide it, and he wanted nothing more than to wrap her in a cocoon of reassurance.

  Her shoulders rose and fell in her attempt to stay strong.

  “I’ve got her.”

  Kelso lifted his gaze, their eyes exchanging an understanding that it was Declan’s place to comfort Gabby.

  His touch was tentative on her shoulder as he gently eased her into his embrace. “Angel.”

  “Declan,” she cried softly and buried her face on his chest, his lungs expelling a breath of relief that what she refused from Kelso, she accepted from him.

  One hand cupped the back of her head and the other cleaved her body to his. “Shh … it’ll be all right. We’ll get him back.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “My gut does and it’s rarely wrong.”

  She puffed a watery laugh. “Is that so?” She blinked up at him and they stared into each other’s eyes as if they were the only people in the room.

  The others turned away, giving them privacy, but Declan was anxious to get Gabby to their room anyway. “Come on.”

  With his arms around her, he supported her weight just in case her feet weren’t steady. She’d just checked out of the hospital after all. The doctor wanted to keep her for another night, but Declan knew staying there would be akin to putting her in a straitjacket with Theo missing.

  When they entered her room, he led her to the bed and sat her down. He knelt, removing her sneakers from one foot and then the other.

  “I can do that,” she said quietly.

  “Yes, but I’m faster. Lie back.”

  She did as she was told— robotic—as if all the life had been sucked out of her and she was going through the motions.

  Declan didn’t say anything. Asking if she was fine was a dumb question when he himself was feeling far from fine, but this woman who’d always owned his heart needed him to stay strong.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  His brows drew together. “Why?”

  “Breaking down out there. I tried to hold it together—”

  “Gabby,” he called her name firmly. “Stop acting like a detective for once and cut yourself some slack. Our son was taken. We shouldn’t even be on the case.”

  “You think Garrison will keep us out of any rescue?”

  “Not sure.”

  “I’d like to see him try.” She shook her head. “This is not sitting well with me. Not reporting it to the LAPD.”

  “But you know this is the best option.”

  Gabby nodded reluctantly. “I can’t help but think that fate is conspiring against us being a family.”

  “No, Gabby.” He got to his feet and started pacing. “Don’t you see it? Our past is giving us another chance to make this right.” He faced her squarely, his own emotions laid bare. She was looking at him in confusion. He returned to the bed and sat on its edge, gathering her hands in his. “This is our second chance,” he repeated. “We didn’t survive our problems before, but the biggest test of our life is now, babe. Are you with me on this?” His eyes searched hers and she still wasn’t getting it. “Do you remember when I said I loved you?”

  Her eyes shined, a smile tugging at her lips. “I seem to recall a dammit somewhere in there. Also something about dragging me back from heaven or hell.”

  Declan chuckled. “I got through to you, didn’t I?”

  “So bossy, even when I’m dying.”

  His heart clenched. “You scared the shit out of me, Angel.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead and a light one on her mouth before pulling back. “Don’t do that again.”

  “I can’t help it, Dec,” she said seriously. “Are you sure you can handle being in a relationship with a cop?”

  “I’m handling it, aren’t I?”

  She shook her head. “Are you going to inject yourself i
nto every operation that I’m on when there’s a potential for it to go bad?”

  “No.”

  “You’re two for two.”

  “There were extenuating circumstances.”

  “Dec, if anything between us has a chance of succeeding, you have to let me do my job without interfering.”

  “I’m trying hard, Gab.” He couldn’t make false promises. Never again. “I love you. My instinct is to protect you—”

  “Dec,” she protested.

  “But you’re a damned good cop. It’s not you that I don’t trust to do a great job but the people around you. I trust Kelso, but you’ve got patrol officers having your back, and some rookies—”

  “Dec—”

  “But,” he said firmly. “I understand it’s part of the job. I’ll get there, Angel.” His arm reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind an ear. “I’m here to stay. You have my word. Even if you try to kick me out, I’m going to try even harder so you can’t live without me.”

  “You make it so hard not to fall in love with you,” she breathed in a resigned sigh.

  Declan barked a laugh. “Don’t sound so glum.” Then he deadpanned. “You sure know how to stroke a guy’s ego.”

  “I don’t think I ever fell out of love with you,” she whispered.

  “I know.” He gave her his roguish smile. The one he knew would elicit an eye roll from her, but he didn’t expect that cute lip pucker reminiscent of eighteen-year-old Gabby. That was a sucker punch, transporting him back to their lost years.

  “The panty-melting smile,” she grumbled. “You practice that often?”

  “I’m Pavlov’s dog with it. It only comes out when you’re around or when you pout.”

  “I do not pout.”

  He laughed again and leaned in to kiss her. It was their moment of respite from the underlying anxiety of not knowing their son’s fate, but the levity didn’t last long and the mood in the room turned somber again.

  “When do you think Garrison will have something for us?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” Declan said. “It could be hours or days.”

  “Twenty-four hours would be really, really bad.”

  Every hour that Theo was gone diminished the chances of finding him. Their eyes met and he knew in their unspoken words, she’d thought the same.

  Fear entered her eyes. “We need to get a lead soon.”

  “Why don’t you rest?”

  “I’m afraid to close my eyes,” she shuddered. “I don’t want to have bad dreams about Theo. It’s going to mess with my ability to think when it’s time to rescue him.”

  “But you need your rest if you want to be effective. Go on, I’ll watch over you. Would that make you feel better?”

  “You don’t have to be out there? Talking to the guys?”

  “I don’t want to see their ugly mugs. I’d rather be with you.”

  Gabby didn’t answer. She merely smiled, and settled on her side, tucking her clasped hands underneath her cheek, and closed her eyes.

  Declan kicked off his boots, dropped his jeans, and crawled over her body to settle behind her back, spooning her. She scooted her ass into his crotch, and he couldn’t help the bolt of lust that shot to his groin, but Gabby needed rest.

  He waited for her breathing to even out, before he gave in to his own exhaustion.

  28

  Their phones went off at two in the morning.

  Gabby jerked awake, flailing, hearing a grunt followed by a curse, and remembered Declan was behind her.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. He must have tried to reach over her to pick up his device as well and she elbowed him somewhere on his anatomy. “Woodward.”

  “Briefing in the living room,” Garrison said and ended the call.

  As a cop, going alert from zero to sixty seconds was a skill developed over the years, but this time the adrenaline flushing through her was different. The kick in the heart and tightening of her chest indicated that the stakes couldn’t be higher.

  Declan rolled to the other side of the bed, and got to his feet, briskly striding to the bathroom without saying a word.

  Then they were both in the bathroom, going through the motions of washing their faces, gargling on minty mouthwash to further jolt them awake.

  “You okay?” Declan spoke for the first time since they’d woken up, stepping back into his jeans. Her eyes seemed to follow the track of the zipper. He left the top button open. “Gabby?”

  “As fine as I ever could be.” Anxiety and adrenaline affected people differently. For Gabby, ever since Declan returned, any heightened rush translated to a sexual need only he could quench. Their eyes met and his eyes reflected a heat equal to what was thrumming through her veins.

  She changed into a jogger and put on her slip-on shoes. Declan opted to stay barefoot and they exited the room together, but not touching. Stranger still, when they got to the room, they separated, Declan moved to where Levi stood, while Gabby took her place beside Bristow. Physical distance and distraction were what she needed to get through this briefing.

  “Your room okay?” Gabby asked Bristow.

  “Yeah,” he answered. “I can sleep anywhere. You should check out the cot in the on-call room.” He looked her up and down. “You? Breathing back to normal?”

  “Yup.”

  Garrison, who was on the phone, ended the call and turned back to them.

  “Where’s Kelso?” Gabby asked.

  “He’s keeping an eye on Emma’s dad.”

  “Has he gone to the police?”

  The CIA officer snorted a derisive laugh. “He wouldn’t.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “He lured Theo and Emma to a deserted area near the stairs where Ortega’s men were waiting.”

  “What? Why put his own daughter at risk?”

  “My analyst broke into his text stream. Emma was being threatened. He’d defended Ortega’s associates in a couple of low-profile cases. Deal with the devil you get burned and all that. Now Ortega double-crossed the lawyer and took Emma, too, probably to keep the lawyer on the hook.”

  “The nerve—accusing me of his daughter’s kidnapping!”

  “According to Kelso, he said if it weren’t for Theo, Emma wouldn’t be in this deep shit.”

  Gabby’s hackles rose. “Son of a bitch.”

  “Do we have a location for Raul Ortega?” Migs cut in while she was still stewing in her motherly outrage.

  “A property in Baker. I’ll have more information on the occupants and guards. Possible location of the kids.”

  “Have there been any demands at all?” Gabby asked.

  “No—” Garrison started.

  “Yes,” Declan countered, holding up his phone, his jawline tense. “Just got this from the same number that sent me the live feed of the raid in Inglewood. He knows we have Ariana … wants to swap her for the two kids.”

  “No,” Migs growled.

  “Where is she?” Gabby asked.

  “I said no,” Migs repeated. “We’ll find another way.”

  “Shouldn’t that be her decision?” she challenged.

  “He won’t let go of Theo. Mark my words,” Migs said.

  “Migs is right,” Declan said. “He will need Theo as insurance. The most he will do is let Emma go.” He glanced at Garrison. “But I still say we use Ariana as bait.”

  Garrison gave Migs a look, like he was expecting the decision to come from him, which was bullshit.

  Gabby fumed.

  “I’m only considering this because they’re kids, and Ariana wouldn’t want their lives on her conscience,” Migs said tersely. “I’ll ask her. But if she says no, I can’t force her. If she says yes, I’m with her at all times. Deal?”

  “Let me talk to her,” Gabby offered.

  “No. She doesn’t fucking know you from fucking Adam,” Migs snapped.

  Declan moved fast and he was in Migs’s face in a split second. “Don’t fucking talk to her that way again.”
>
  “Hey.” Levi got between the two men. “Knock it off.” He turned to Migs. “You sure you should be the one staying close to Ariana?”

  “You’re one to talk, Levi. You’re the one who lost Theo.”

  It was rare for Gabby to see Levi lose his cool. In fact, she never had. But his face was mottled in fury and now she had to step in.

  “Stop it!” She inserted herself between the trio. Declan and Levi appeared ready to pound Migs to a pulp, but Gabby saw a man who was afraid for the woman he cared for—deeply, apparently. “Stop behaving like an asshole,” she told him. “You’re afraid for Ariana, we get that. You care about her. Oh, don’t bother protesting—you wouldn’t be getting your testicles in a twist if that wasn’t the case.” Somewhere behind her, someone snorted. “But for Declan and me, Theo is our son. And I know you could argue we didn’t know this until a few weeks ago, but he’s always been my brother. He’s also Theo Cole. He’s larger than life and lovable even when he’s a pain in the ass.”

  “Pain in the ass is right,” Declan muttered.

  “And technically, this is Theo’s house. He’s offering you and Ariana sanctuary. LAPD is looking for her, and my job is on the line keeping your whereabouts from them.”

  “She’s innocent of her brother’s crimes.”

  “We know that,” Gabby said. “Still want her for questioning. And I’m sure you don’t want her exposed until she’s safe from her brother’s organization.”

  “Sounds like a threat.”

  “Take it however you please.” Gabby gave him an arctic smile and stepped back.

  “Are you all done arguing?” Garrison asked dryly. “Has no one even thought that a swap might be the easiest for us?” He looked at Declan. “Did he say where he wants to do this?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Tell him you’re considering it.”

  Declan started typing into his phone.

  “And if he doesn’t bring the kids, we know where they are,” Levi said. “We just need to make sure we have a team on the property ready to infiltrate in case Ortega double-crosses us.”