Saving Grace

by Shauna Allen

  Close. I was so close . . .

  His grip encased my wrist like steel, trapping the hand with his phone. He drew back and stared me down, death in his eyes. “You think I’m stupid, you little whore?” He shoved me to my back, straddling my hips. “You think I can’t just take what I fucking want without you pawing all over me like a bitch in heat?”

  His cell phone clattered to the wooden deck as his grip on me tightened, cutting off circulation and he shoved my hand above my head. His other hand circled my throat, much like Juan had done just that morning, only Miguel’s grip was tighter, bringing white spots to my vision as I struggled for air.

  Then, just as I was about to succumb to the darkness threatening to overcome me, it began to rain and the grip on my neck released.

  I sucked in a greedy gulp of air as Miguel fell on top of me, and that’s when I realized the hot, sticky wetness wasn’t rain. It was blood and brain matter.

  Miguel’s blood and brain matter.

  Fifteen

  Lucas

  It felt like it took forever to get to the Marina, though it was only a few miles away. But we had to be methodical. We had no idea if they were expecting us, if this was a trap meant to lure us in. Tex had stayed behind at the safehouse to continue to work comms and any further intel that may trickle in, but so far, the yacht had remained steady with no major movement.

  We made entry quickly and cleared the perimeter of the half-dozen hostiles Esteban had guarding the place. It was child’s play. Looked like they had no idea we were coming. Weird. Maybe they really were getting sloppy. That might’ve meant abducting Grace was a moment of opportunity and done with less planning, which worked to our advantage.

  As we neared Beso de Muerte, Tito signaled us silently into our positions. We had the element of surprise in our favor, and decided that coming in hot was our best option, as well as keeping our unit tight, rather than spreading ourselves too thin, since Tex had determined we had limited numbers of aggressors to deal with.

  It was a solid plan until I heard a scuffle on the deck of the yacht.

  I raised my fist, indicating for everyone to pause, and lifted my rifle scope to sort out the cause of the commotion.

  Emotion crowded my throat when I made out Grace’s silhouette in the moonlight. On the ground. A cartel punk manhandling her.

  “Tito,” I whispered, that one word warning him of my intent.

  He lifted his own rifle and took in the scene. “Fuck. Engage.”

  I wasted no time and squeezed the trigger, popping off one head shot between the eyes, dropping the piece of shit right there.

  “Go,” Tito whispered. “We’re right behind you.”

  I bolted in the darkness down the dock and climbed aboard the yacht. One tango attempted to engage, but one double-tap to the head and chest dropped him without a fight and I kept on moving toward the deck.

  Behind me, gunfire began, first in short bursts, then in longer runs, as men began to appear from below deck and engage the team when they boarded. Shouts sounded in the night, including one female scream, which I assumed was Grace’s friend, but I didn’t waste time figuring it out as I sprinted to my woman.

  I was on a mission at this point and it had nothing to do with being a Marine and everything to do with being a man. I was fully prepared to lay down my life for that woman in this moment, and do it willingly, if I could just get her out of there alive. What I could not, would not, accept was allowing her to live one more moment trapped in a life she didn’t want . . . not when she’d sacrificed so much to get away from it.

  My feet pounded on the deck, my heart pounded in my chest, my mind pounded against my skull.

  “Grace!”

  As I made my way onto the deck, I scanned the area, my gut turning to ice when I found nothing but the lifeless body of the man I’d shot.

  “Lucas.”

  I spun at her soft voice.

  She was sitting in the corner, her knees to her chest, shaking violently, covered in blood.

  “Baby.” I rushed over and yanked her up into my arms, crushing her to my chest.

  “I didn’t think you’d come.”

  “Of course, I was coming. Nothing on earth was going to keep me from getting to you.” I pressed a kiss to her temple, the only clean part on her. “I’m just sorry it took me so long.”

  She flinched as another burst of gunfire and shouts sounded and footsteps pounded below deck. She raised her head. “Brianne! We need to get Bri!”

  “The guys are going to get her. We need to get you out of here.”

  “No. I’m not leaving without her.”

  “Baby—”

  Another scream, a primal scream, broke the night, just as a high-speed boat motor revved. More shots were exchanged. Bubba and Kid appeared, their weapons aimed into the night.

  “Fuck!” Bubba roared.

  “What?” I demanded.

  He spun around and dropped his weapon. “They’re gone.”

  “Who’s gone?”

  “The big guy and the girl.”

  “What?” Grace screeched, making a mad dash toward the railing.

  I ran after her in an attempt to shield her with my body, but Tito appeared with Maverick in tow.

  “It’s all clear,” he said.

  Grace spun around. “You have to go after them!” she yelled. “You have to get her back. Please!”

  “Baby.” I drew her into my arms. “We’ll never be able to catch them in that speedboat. But I promise you, we will find her. I swear it.”

  She began to weep in my embrace. “I told her about you. I told her you’d come.”

  “I did come for you, and I’ll find her, too, okay?”

  The guys moved away to give us a moment and I consoled her the best I could, whispering a million promises to take care of her and to find her best friend. She eventually calmed a bit and pulled away to wipe her face.

  “I know you will. I trust you.”

  “I know. I’m just sorry I didn’t always trust you.”

  Her eyes slipped to mine. “You didn’t?”

  “No. Can you forgive me?”

  “If you find Brianne, we’ll call it even.”

  “Deal.”

  “So . . . what now?” she asked.

  “Whatever you want.”

  Her dark eyes met mine in the night as she seemed to come to terms with the fact that we had to regroup on the mission to find her friend. “Anything?”

  “Sure.”

  “Well . . . dinner and a shower would be nice.”

  “Done.”

  She gave me that sexy, half-smile of hers. “I wasn’t done.”

  “Oh. By all means, what else?”

  “I was hoping to talk to your government about asylum.”

  I caressed her hand, determined to help her in any way I could so she would be safe. Forever. “I think that’s a smart idea.”

  Her midnight gaze sought mine, digging deep into my heart. My soul. “Then, there’s this man . . .”

  My heart jumped to my mouth. “What man?”

  “Well . . . he left me this note once. Asked me if I felt lucky.”

  “And do you?”

  “I don’t know. If I can find a way to move past everything I’ve been through and into a future with him, then yes, I would be the luckiest woman in the world. But I don’t know if that’s possible.”

  “Why not?”

  Her eyes filled with soft emotion and a vulnerability I’d never seen from her before. “Because I have no idea how he feels about me. I may be nothing more than a job to him, but he’s become everything to me.”

  “Baby . . .”

  She clutched me close as emotion choked off the rest of my words. “He makes me feel safe. He makes me happy. He makes me feel. Period. And I would love nothing more than a future here in America with him—because I’ve fallen for him.”

  I forked a hand through her thick, black hair and cupped her skull as the need to show her just
how special she was overcame me. “Jesus, Grace. I’ve fallen for you, too.”

  I didn’t wait for a reply. I sealed the deal with a kiss and promised her that future she wanted with everything I had to give—anytime, anyplace, and with my entire heart.

  Epilogue

  Lucas

  I took Grace’s hand and led her back inside the yacht to find the rest of the team and let them know I was taking her home for that dinner, shower, and future I’d promised her . . . in that order. Personally, I couldn’t wait. I never would’ve thought that I would’ve found my forever on a mission, but I’d been handed the gift of a lifetime and I was more grateful than I could say.

  We sidestepped the bodies of dead cartel members that littered the ground, including Juan Esteban. I watched Grace’s face closely for any sign of a meltdown, but she seemed to handle it well. If anything, she seemed relieved that he was dead. Given what I knew about the asshole, so was I.

  I didn’t know all of the cartel business or numbers, but I had a decent idea from all of our research and intel, and I was fairly certain our recent hits on them had put a damper on their dealings and their standing in the criminal world. That was just fine with me. Now that Grace was a part of my life, taking down the cartel that hurt her would become my personal mission. That, and getting back her best friend. Because, somewhere along this journey her pain had become my pain and her happiness had become my happiness, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  She glanced up at me as we entered a room full of computers. “This is where they held us.”

  I squeezed her hand. “They can’t hurt you now, baby.”

  “I know. I just . . .”

  “I know.” I tugged her close, my arm around her shoulders. “Just tell me what you remember. Any small detail might help.”

  She sucked in a breath and laid out the details of her kidnapping, much of which I’d already put together on my end, how she’d ended up on the boat, and reuniting with Brianne.

  “She looked terrible,” she said with tears in her eyes. “She had a black eye and bruised knuckles. She was skinny and so scared. They were making her work at that computer over there, and if she tried to do anything else, they threatened her. She said something about protecting me, which didn’t make sense. I guess they were telling her they would hurt me if she didn’t work, just like they were threatening me with her life.”

  Rage boiled inside of me. “Work? What did they have her doing?”

  She shrugged. “Brianne was always good at computers. Better than me. But I don’t know what she was doing. Something with the gun sales, I’m sure.”

  “And she was sitting where?”

  Grace pointed to a computer station with a flipped over chair, where a struggle had obviously taken place.

  I walked over and glanced at the screen. Blank. I rolled the mouse, making the screen come back to life, showing the last thing Brianne had been working on.

  “Holy fucking shit.”

  No.

  Fucking.

  Way.

  “What?” Grace rushed over to my side as I yelled for the team to get their asses in there.

  There was no denying what was staring me in the face in black and white pixels.

  A satellite image homed in on the beach safehouse.

  The login name?

  El Lobo Blanco.

  ~ ~

  Tex

  Two weeks later . . .

  I popped a top on a beer and kicked back, finally able to relax. Melody and the girls played on the beach close by, and life was finally beginning to feel normal again after all the bullshit of the past few weeks, thanks to the fucking Mexican drug cartel and Marco Esteban.

  I’d sorted out what intel I could that we’d gotten from Grace Trevino, though everything had gone pretty much radio silence since the night of the yacht shootout when her friend, Brianne, AKA El Lobo Blanco, had disappeared in the night with her handler. It still blew my mind that this entire time we’d been played by someone who was being coerced into doing it. Imagine the damage she could inflict if she actually used her skills willingly. But, I had faith Tito and his team would find her soon, and as soon as Wolf and the guys returned from South America, we would be on the case with them.

  In the meantime, I was more than happy to get in some R and R with the family. Hell, it felt like I’d been working more since I’d been medically discharged than when I was still active duty.

  “Daddy!” Hope screeched as a wave hit her foot.

  I waved, and Melody scooped her up and they ran into the water.

  “Hey.”

  I glanced up and shielded my eyes from the sun. “Hey, Maverick.”

  My cousin’s boyfriend indicated the sand next to me. “Mind if I sit?”

  “Be my guest. How’d you find me?”

  “Melody told me you guys would be here.”

  “Ah.” I sat back and sipped my beer. “Want one?”

  He waved off my offer. “Actually, I, uh . . . I was hoping to talk to you about something important.”

  I glanced over at the nerves in his voice. “What’s up?” God, please don’t let it be work.

  “It’s about Rebekah.”

  “What about her? She okay?” As a long-lost cousin I never knew about, we’d only recently found out about each other, but she was family and I loved her fiercely.

  “Yeah. She’s good. Great actually.”

  “Then what?”

  “Well, here’s the thing . . . you’re basically her only family now that her grandpa’s gone. She loves you and respects you. So, do I.”

  “What are you getting at, Mav?”

  He grabbed a handful of sand and let it fall between his fingers. “I’d like your blessing to propose to her.”

  I paused, beer halfway to my lips. “Propose?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You want to marry her?”

  “More than anything.”

  “Well . . . I’m not sure I’m the one to give that kind of blessing, bro.”

  “Of course, you are. You’re her family. You’ll be my family. It would mean a lot.”

  “You’re a good man, Maverick. You obviously love her. I know she’s crazy about you. If you want to propose, you have my blessing, man.”

  His grin was huge. “Thanks, Tex.”

  “You can call me John.”

  “If it’s all the same, I’d rather not.”

  “Whatever.” I laughed, my attention catching on my phone as it buzzed in my pocket. I’d forgotten to turn it off when we got to the beach. “Sorry . . .” I pulled it out, but froze when I read what was on my screen. “The hell?”

  Maverick must’ve sensed something was off. “What’s wrong?”

  I glanced up, my gaze automatically tracking to my family to check their safety. “It’s El Lobo Blanco. She’s back in contact.”

  He paled. “What’s she saying now?”

  I read it again to be sure I hadn’t gotten it wrong. Nope. “She says that the cartel has sold dirty bombs to Shadeek and they’re planning an attack on the American Embassy in Zimbabwe.”

  “Is that a threat or a warning?”

  “I can’t tell,” I admitted.

  Had Brianne flipped the script and become an informant? Or was this truly a threat from the cartel, meant to taunt us? I’d need more intel . . .

  But my phone buzzed with one last incoming text, letting me know the truth.

  I turned my phone so Maverick could read her simple three-worded message.

  PLEASE HELP ME.

  Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed Lucky and Grace’s story, as well as all of the other stories I’ve brought you so far in the hunt for El Lobo Blanco! If you’ve missed any of them, you can get a complete listing of all of them on my website here: http://www.shaunaallen.com/kindle-worlds/

  Up next is Kid’s story in Protecting Carissa!

  Now that we know who the elusive White Wolf is, the teams need to save her before it’s too late, fin
d out what secrets she holds, and if she’s truly as innocent as she seems. I hope you’ll join me as the saga continues!

  ~ ~

  Other Books by Shauna Allen

  You can find links to all of my books at my website here: http://www.shaunaallen.com/

  The Family Creed Series

  The Executioner

  The Rainmaker

  The Gunman

  The Prodigal

  The Silencer

  The Dove

  Jack ‘Em Up Series

  Burnout (Blake & Delilah: The Beginning)

  Crank (Blake & Delilah)

  Torque (Jesse & Rachel)

  Hitched (A Jack ‘Em Up Wedding novella – Jesse & Rachel)

  Throttle (Trace & Tori)

  Rev (Micah & Jewel)

  Inked Series

  Jed

  Noble

  Tristan

  Charlie

  Kindle Worlds

  Awakening Aubrey

  Defending Danielle

  Rescuing Rebekah

  Saving Scarlett

  Saving Grace

  Standalones

  Elvis is a Keeper

  Circle of Redemption

  Books written as SC Montgomery

  Crossing the Line Series

  Lines in the Sand

  Two Blue Lines

  Blurred Lines

  Between the Lines (Coming Soon)

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  Shauna Allen website: www.shaunaallen.com

  SC Montgomery website: www.scmontgomery.com

  For an up-to-date listing of all the books in Susan Stoker’s Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle World including buy links, please visit: http://www.stokeraces.com/kindle-worlds.html