Stone (The Elite Forces Series Book 3)

by Kathy Coopmans

  “I don’t understand any of this, Kaleb. How could he do this? He not only threw us away like we meant nothing to him, he threw away his own child. What kind of person does that kind of stuff? I...oh God. How are we going to tell Mom? She’s still hurting. This is going to break her.” I sob into his chest more. I let go for so many reasons.

  I cry for the boy, my brother, her, me, all of us. I let it out until I don’t think I can cry anymore, but then I do. I cry again, until finally I’m pulled away from Kaleb, looking into his glassy eyes as well.

  “Sis. We have to stop. No more of this. I know it feels like there’s no ending in sight here when it comes to the shit he’s done. The one good thing he did in his life was help create that little boy, then walk away from him. Ty was a piece of shit, but he was our brother, and now, even though we lost him a long time ago, we can do right by his son. We have to show that boy he has another family. It’s a shocker to both of us, but we need to get a grip and deal with what we came down here to do. Then we focus on Mom.” He stops talking only to walk a few steps away from me and start again.

  “I know what we have to do. We have to center our attention on that nephew of ours. His piece of shit dad may not have wanted anything to do with him, but that kid is part of us, Emmy. We deserve to know him as much as he deserves us. Now, go get cleaned up in your room. Once we talk to her, I’m sure she’ll understand we aren’t like him.” I shudder when I tear my gaze from his. His words of how selfish and what a deadbeat of a man our brother was only make me angrier at Ty for all of this. What Kaleb is saying is true, and now we need to make sure this all ends right here and now.

  “Okay. Are you sure you’ll be alright? I mean,” I gesture around their suite when I realize both Jade and Beau are gone. I’m assuming they gave us the space we needed to come to terms with this life-changing little boy who has stunned our systems in an indescribable way. “They took off,” I finish.

  “I’m going to hop in the shower to clear my head before I go find them. Jade was finishing up a phone call for me when you busted in here. I’m sure they went to the bar by the pool or some shit. I’m good. You?” He dips his head down to my level.

  “I will be. Are you going to ask her to let us see him?” I know I acted crazy when I expressed to Beau I wanted to bring him back to The States with us. If I lived here and had a son, there would be no way in hell I would allow my young child to visit strangers in a foreign country, no matter if I were with him or not. It’s going to be hard enough for her to explain to him who we are.

  “She’s hiding something,” I blurt out.

  “She is. Something tells me we aren’t going to like it either. I have a feeling whatever it is, she’s still living it. That woman is being abused and threatened, and I have every reason to believe she’s living in a defenseless corner. I can imagine her backed up against the wall, because whoever the hell is causing her to be scared is terrorizing her with the only weakness she has.” His words are bitter-tasting as I inhale them all, letting them sink to the depths of my soul.

  “The boy. She’s being harassed to keep her mouth shut, or they will do something to him.” I gasp as those words fall out of my mouth. This is bad. Worse than I can imagine.

  “I’m sure. But don’t you worry that pretty little head of yours, little sister. We’ll get to the bottom of all of this. Now, go. I got some shit to do. Ring me when you’re ready. We’ll find those two and derive a plan before we meet with Samantha. I’ll get a pile of answers to questions she has no idea are coming.”

  “You need to be careful with her, Kaleb. No blowing up at her. No raising your voice. She’s fragile.” I know my brother; he may have a big heart, but when it comes to getting answers, he won’t let a damn thing get in his way.

  “Maybe you should talk to her then. I mean, isn’t psychoanalyzing a person right up your alley?” He raises a brow as well as his voice at me.

  “No. I’m not going to school to be a shrink. Although maybe I should so I can pull your head out of your ass.”

  “Seriously. I think it’s a great idea if she talks with you, Emmy. We all know she’s hiding something. Whatever it is, she’s scared out of her mind over it. I have a feeling that Ty was smack in the middle of her fears,” Jade walks in and pipes in calmly with her words, yet restlessly with her meaning.

  “I’ll stay quiet until she says something I don’t like. You good with this, Stone?” Beau has been quiet for most of the afternoon. I’m not sure what’s going through his head.

  The closer we got to this meeting, the more restless he became, which is completely understandable. He even went as far as to pack his bags already. For what, I’m not sure. It’s as if he’s switched off the light in his head and went completely dark on me. I’ve left him alone with his thoughts, knowing this has to be hard for him. He’s possibly one step closer to finding out answers he needs to be able to find closure, which I pray he finds no matter the outcome of this meeting.

  “I’m good with it. Don’t any of you think for one minute that if she knows a thing about what happened to Mallory, how we handle it isn’t up to anyone of you. This is my damn call.” I keep my mouth purposefully shut, even though I desperately want to tell both of these overbearing assholes to go back to the rooms or shut the fuck up.

  I don’t say any of that though, because we all turn at the same time to the click of high heels across the pool deck. She appears to be a little calmer than this morning, except her eyes are still scanning the area like a madwoman. She’s nervous, slightly investigating her surroundings, almost like she’s being watched or scared she might be.

  The closer she gets to us, the more nervous I am. You can do this, Emmy. I make an effort to give myself the mental courage to do so.

  “Hello,” she bites out nervously. “Would you care if we go to one of your rooms and talk? There are too many people out here. You never know who might be listening in.” She scans the area one more time before looking back at the four of us.

  “Sure, wherever you’re more comfortable,” I answer politely.

  “Well, I’d truly be more comfortable if you’d all leave and never come back,” she snaps.

  “Never going to happen, sweetheart. Whether you give us answers to why we’re here or not, especially now that we know about the boy.” I toss Kaleb one hell of a dirty look. I should’ve known he wouldn’t keep his mouth shut. She says nothing as we follow her through the same area we came in, weaving through the beautiful scenery that doesn’t seem beautiful anymore, not with the heaviness weighing on our hearts.

  Once we reach our room, I slide in the keycard, push the door open, then silently close it once we’re all inside.

  “Let me tell you one thing before you start shooting at me with your questions. My son’s name is not boy. It’s Gabriel. I hate the word boy. So please, don’t address him like that again.” I can see she is extremely upset about this, not only by the way she narrows her eyes at Kaleb, but by how thick her Spanish accent became. This morning, there was only a hint of it.

  “Yes, Gabriel Capo Lewis. He’s named after both of your parents. Gabriel after your father, who is American. His middle name is your mother’s maiden name. She is from here. Lewis must be a surname.” Jade shocks us all as she begins to spit out all of that information. I try to soften the conversation and not come at her like these barbarians are.

  “I love that name. You must care very much for your parents to name your son after them.” I take a seat and pat the spot next to me for her. “Gabriel would be my nephew. It makes me sad I’ve missed so much of his life. I’m not like my brother. This guy here isn’t either. We tried so hard to make him see what he was doing was wrong; we just couldn’t get through to him. He’s dead now, and we feel so guilty for not knowing he had a son.”

  Out of my peripheral I watch the other three sit. When there’s no response from Kaleb, I continue. “He can’t hurt you ever again, and if we had known, we would’ve made sure you were both safe
. Do you think you might be able to help us with our friend’s murder? We want to end the torture and find some closure.” I work to pull the questions as to why we need her help in the first place.

  “Let me start by saying I’m sorry about your friend. I truly don’t know anything about anyone dying, but I…I may know someone who does.”

  “Who?” Beau bellows out, causing us both to jump.

  “Oh God, where do I start?” Samantha whispers, her eyes on the verge of shedding tears.

  “The beginning.” Beau leans forward in his chair. His eyes are blazing toward us. I try to block her from seeing how mean he looks.

  She blows out a long breath and swipes at her eyes. “Several years ago, I met Ty in a bar. I was nineteen years old, working my way up the ladder for my parents, learning everything I could. Well, anyway. I fell for him. I thought he fell for me too. For almost an entire year, he never missed a weekend with me. I decided to surprise him at home on his birthday with the news I had found out that day. I had no idea how he was going to take it. I just knew I had to tell him.” She pauses with a light chuckle.

  “He was fucking another woman while she cried and screamed horribly. I stood there not knowing what to do, until finally, I backed up to leave. I managed to get home without him knowing it. For weeks, I hid at another one of my dad’s resorts. I threw my phone away, begged my parents to let me work there. I did it all to stay away from him. I was scared for my baby. That’s the news I wanted to tell him. I had no idea at the time what I walked in on, but I knew it wasn’t good. I wanted nothing more to do with him.” She pauses to catch her breath. Not one of us wavers to interrupt her.

  “He found me. I was barely showing when I told him. It didn’t stop him from beating me. He broke my leg, my arm, and my collarbone. I screamed, cried, and begged him I wouldn’t tell a soul what I saw if he left me alone. He left me alone alright, with a promise that if I ever told a soul, he would take my baby. I haven’t told anyone until now.”

  I don’t even realize I have tears running down my face until the wetness hits my bare legs. I look to Jade, who’s bawling right with me. Kaleb’s expression has barely changed; he’s either assessing her for the truth, or he’s waiting for more.

  And Beau. I know he’s waiting. He’s been waiting for a clue since the second she started talking.

  “Why are you talking about it today?”

  “Because he’s dead and can’t hurt me anymore.”

  “Can you tell us who you think killed Mallory?” Beau stands, his tall frame towering over the both of us.

  “I believe it was Amato Esteban. He was the man your brother was working for. He’s one of Mexico’s biggest drug lords.” I study her features, the way she wrings her hands as she talks and keeps glancing to the floor as she continually refuses to look Kaleb in the eye.

  “There’s more, isn’t there? What are you not telling us?” I stand next to Beau. My voice is louder than I want it to be, but this has gone on long enough.

  “It’s not that easy.” She stands face-to-face with me.

  “Bullshit. Are you being threatened again? Is that what it is? This Amato is threatening my nephew, isn’t he? He has you doing stuff for him, am I right?” I’m shaking now. I have no idea what she has gone or is going through, but my God, maybe she likes being yelled at or berated. I don’t know. I can hear Kaleb texting someone and can only assume he’s sending word to one of the guys to dig up as much information on this guy as he can.

  “I can’t tell you anything. You don’t know these men. They will take him from me, and he will be turned into one of them.”

  “That’s enough! We will do everything to protect you. You don’t have to worry about that anymore. You’re still not giving us the answer we need. Why would he kill her?” This time it’s my brother who hollers.

  Her eyes close, her lips tremble.

  “HOW. DO. YOU. KNOW?” Kaleb yells.

  “He told me, alright!” she cries out. “He said you sealed your own fate when you came here. He’s going to kill you all.”

  “Really? Well, where is he, if he knows we’re here? Call him up, tell him to get his fucking ass here.” Beau is livid, and I see a new side of him surfacing the more she talks.

  “I can’t.”

  “And why is that?” Beau asks.

  “I’m supposed to use Gabriel to get you to go to him.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  HARRIS

  What in the fuck. This is turning into a disaster. All I want to do is find Mallory’s killer and make sure this little boy is safe, and now I’m paranoid about keeping the girls safe. Every single hair on my body is standing at attention. I want to lose my shit, but I can’t. I have to remain calm and collected to get us through this.

  “What do you mean, he’s using Gabriel?” She jumps at the sound of my voice. I don’t blame her. I’m angry, and it’s hard to hide that.

  “I’m supposed to make you come to me so he can get to you all. He wants blood for what you did.” All the possibilities of what could happen flash through my mind and terrify me entirely. He could literally take everything that means anything to me if he gets to these girls. Jade is my best friend, and I can’t stand the thought of her getting hurt. Emmy has quickly made her way into my life, and another loss would ruin me for good.

  “We have to beat him at his own game then. We’ll go in loaded and ready to counter anything he tries. We’ll make sure you’re safe before we leave, even if that means taking you back to The States, where I can guarantee your son’s safety.” Kaleb keeps talking, and I watch her take his words in.

  “I have to make sure Gabriel is safe.”

  “You have my fucking word. We just need you to help us get this guy so we can all get the fuck out of here.” Kaleb looks at me with just as much hysteria as I feel. If I thought I had a lot to lose in this, he beats me hands down. Losing his sister or his woman would be the end of Kaleb, plus now he has a nephew.

  I step closer to him, so he’s the only one who can hear me. “We’ll get through this. We don’t have any other fucking choice, man. Let’s regroup and come up with a plan of attack. And don’t even think about taking the girls in on this one. I’m going in guns fuckin’ blazing, and I don’t want anything in my way. We can lock them in our suites and get them once we’re done.”

  “We have to move them. I don’t trust one fucking thing the woman says. She may be setting a trap in both directions. If he knows we’re here, we’re fucked. Like goddamn sitting ducks waiting for hell to rain on us again. Did I fucking say I hate Mexico? Because I do fucking hate this place.” Kaleb is just as pissed as I am, and I know what he’s saying is true. We have to take every step with precaution and make sure we do this right. I don’t want anyone hurt in this.

  “Where’s your son? You’re going to need him with you. We’ll move you until we get back so we know you’re safe.” I’ll move her with the girls, and taking the boy will only verify they’ll all be safe. She’s not going to want to draw the evil toward her kid.

  “I can’t involve him.”

  “You already did. We have to know he’s safe before we go in and take care of shit. You don’t want him on the other side of what we’re about to do.” She finally looks at me, and I can see the fear in her eyes. She’s fucking terrified, and she should be.

  “He has him.” Fuck. How in the fuck am I going to go in there and shoot up shit when I know a kid is in there? A Maverick kid at that. “Goddamit. How am I supposed to believe you? You come in here telling us everything we want to hear and acting like you’re protecting us. How do I know this isn’t part of your fucking plan?”

  “I guess you’ll have to trust me.” Jade stands as soon as Samantha responds, and I know what’s about to go down now.

  “I don’t have to do a fucking thing. You see, we’re here to get some information. You’ve already told us the name of who you think is the killer. Why do we need to do anything else? We can get the fuck out of here
and leave you to deal with your own mess.” Jade’s icy glare is forcing Samantha back against the wall.

  “Because I can take you to him. I can help you end all of this, and if you don’t, you’ll always be looking over your shoulder waiting for the next attack on your perfect little team.” Samantha’s response makes Jade snap. She has her arm into her throat the second she finishes the sentence.

  “I’ll fucking end this all for you right now. If you’re sending us into some fucked-up trap, just know that I’ll be the one torturing you on the opposite side. You’ll wish to whatever God you believe in that you had never met me. You see, I don’t give a fuck about Ty’s kid. He was always a piece of shit to me. These other three I’m with have ties to this mission. I’m just here to make sure shit gets done. I won’t leave any fucking loose ends, and that means you, if that’s what it takes.” Samantha begins to tremble even more. Emmy stands and places her hand on Jade’s shoulder, only pissing Jade off even further.

  “Get the fuck off of me. I’m not doing this Mexico shit again. She stays with me. If anything goes wrong, I’ll personally be her hell.” I can see the same crazy in Jade’s eyes I saw when Fire was kidnapped. She’s scared, and she’s making sure she has leverage in this mission. I get what she’s doing. It’s a scare tactic. It also allows Samantha to think Emmy is a friend to her because she stood up to Jade. Fucking brilliant, girls.

  It’s all a mind game at this point. We have to make her not turn on us. If she does, we’ll have to decide how to handle it from there.

  “Let’s move. Get everything from the suites that’s important. The rest we hand off to someone on the beach.”

  “He already knows where we are. He’s expecting me to bring you to him. If we do anything different, he kills Gabriel.” The silence in the room is deafening. We all stand there knowing what we have to do, yet no one wants to acknowledge it.