by Jen Talty
“That’s where you got the blueprints of the warehouse?” Fielding took a slight step back, but still held his ground. “What makes you think we sent anyone an email?”
“Because my fiancé is the best ethical hacker in the world, so she knows her shit,” Logan said with a protective tone.
“Why the hell would you do that without telling us?” Nick shook his head.
Leandra’s mind turned over the events of the last forty-eight hours. Alicia had been at the house when Leandra had arrived and immediately Leandra had assumed she and Ramos were lovers. Alicia had been nice enough, but made it clear, she didn’t like Leandra’s presence. “Her demeanor changed toward me from last night to this morning.”
“That’s because we told her who you were as soon as Nick contacted us,” Fielding said, scratching his head.
“How did she change?” Nick asked, tilting her chin toward him with his thumb.
“Standoffish to ‘I want to kill that bitch’. I assumed it was because of how badly Ramos wanted up my skirt right in front of her.”
“Why would that bother my agent?” Fielding asked.
“It looked to me like they were fucking.” Leandra enjoyed the way Fielding’s eyes widened from her bluntness.
“I doubt that. Just playing her part undercover,” Fielding said, but he obviously took Leandra’s words to heart. “We never told her to send you anything. We have a secure method of communication.”
“Fuck,” Leandra said.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Nick asked, staring at her with knowing eyes.
“If you’re thinking that Alicia has been turned, then yeah.” She grabbed Nick by the arm, yanking him toward Dylan, who stood next to the hood of a car, where the blueprints had been laid out. “And either this is all bullshit information and they’ve moved the merchandise or—”
“It’s an ambush,” Nick said.
“Well, you know what they say about that?” Dylan asked, smiling.
“You attack it head on,” both Logan and Nick said with a little more excitement than she would have thought appropriate.
“First off,” Fielding said as he stepped between Leandra and Dylan. “You’re not attacking anything and second off, our agent hasn’t flipped.”
“You don’t know that,” Leandra said, her blood pumping through her body with a sense of urgency. “Regardless, if our covers have been compromised, we need to get in there and fast, or all those young people are going to be lost forever.” Not to mention, she may never find out where Skyler had been sold to, breaking her promise to the young girl’s parents.
“And you don’t know she has.” Fielding puffed out his chest.
Dylan tapped his ear piece. “I need a visual on Ramos and I also need an accounting of activity at the warehouse. And where the fuck are the blueprints from the city?”
“Stand down,” Fielding shouted. “I will have all of you arrested for interfering with an investigation.”
“Good luck with that,” Dylan said, rolling up the blueprints. “You’re either on board with us, and do things our way, or you can sit back, watch, and maybe learn a thing or two.”
“You arrogant little prick,” Fielding said.
“That I am,” Dylan said. “Leandra, are you ready to roll?”
“I was born ready.”
“That’s my girl,” Nick said, looping his arms over her shoulder and kissing her cheek.
His warm lips burned her already flushed skin. She turned, giving him her best glare.
He just smiled and traced the hickey on her neck with his forefingers.
“All right Boy Wonder, let’s go.” Leandra laughed as Nick’s expression turned from a smile to a frown.
“I’m Batman. Dylan over there is Boy Wonder,” Nick said.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fielding, who was talking on his phone and waving his hands wildly while he tossed out a few curses. “He’s not going to let us walk out of here.”
“He’s not going to have a choice,” Logan said, holding up his phone. “Our boss just got the FBI to hire the Omega Team to run a search and rescue mission and we’ve been authorized to bring in Dylan and his Delta Force team while they are on a few days leave. Feilding’s hands are tied, though we’re going to have to work with him since he’s the one with the authority to bring Ramos in.”
Fielding tapped his phone before shoving it in his pocket. “You better not fuck up this arrest for me.” He pointed to Leandra.
She smiled sweetly. “You stay out of my way, I’ll stay out of yours.”
“We’ll stick with the original plan, but…” Fielding planted his hands on his hips, pushing his suit coat out. “If things go bad, this is on you, not me.”
“Let’s get this party started,” Logan said.
“Ready, hon?” Nick tugged at her arm.
“I’m not your hon,” she said.
“I think that hickey says you are.” Dylan slapped her shoulder as he breezed by.
“Welcome to the family,” Logan said with a smile.
“You people are really weird,” she muttered before turning her attention to Nick, who stood beside her with his arm still looped over her shoulder. “Next time I’m going to cover your neck in hickeys and see how you like it.”
“Is that a promise?” He winked.
She jabbed his gut. “Let’s go, hon, we’ve got work to do.”
Chapter 6
NICK LEANED AGAINST the tractor trailer parked in the back lot behind Ramos’s restoration and refurbishing warehouse, which is just one of the many businesses Ramos used to legitimize himself. More than half of the parking lot lights had burned out. Nick folded his arms across his chest, scanning the area, mentally picturing the exact location of every man he and his brothers had assembled.
They were the elite of the elite and capable of the impossible.
But if this was a set up, then Ramos would be expecting a raid.
“If this is what he uses as The Holding Tank, the outside perimeter isn’t very secure with one night guard at the gate and the few on the roof.” Logan sat on the wheel hood. Of all the Sarich boys, he’d been the most even-keeled, which made him the most like their father. His passing had affected all of them deeply, but Logan took on the role of protector of his little brothers. Even though Nick had been essentially an adult when his father died, and Logan less than two years older than him, Logan had been the one that held the family together.
He still did.
“I’ve detected four cameras so far on the outside.”
“Mia’s working on hacking into Ramos’s system to see what she can find out and get Dylan eyes on the inside, but since we don’t have wires, we have no idea where we stand on that and she’s not answering my text.”
“She’ll let you know when she cracks it. Now we just need Ramos to show up.” Based on what he’d learned about Ramos and his operation, Nick didn’t feel confident that Ramos believed Nick and Leandra to be exactly who they pretended to be, which meant this plan wouldn’t go off without a hitch.
Though, Nick had never had an op go completely as planned.
The sound of the truck door closing echoed across the night sky.
Nick turned his head to see Leandra stepping onto the running boards before letting her feet hit the pavement.
“He’s late,” she said as she stood with her hands on her hips, looking at the building.
“He’s probably watching us.” Nick reached out, grabbing hold of her biceps, and pulled her to his chest. “My only concern right now is if he had more armed security in places we didn’t know about.” He looped his arms around her sexy waist, letting his hand glide across the top of her ass.
“I’m sure Dylan’s got it covered,” Logan said.
“What are you doing?” she whispered, pressing her hands against his chest.
“Acting like a married couple.” He tilted his head, leaning in for a kiss.
“We’re not married. We
’re not anything.” Her words might have indicated he should back off, but her body leaned against his as her fingers gently massaged his shoulders. Her tongue darted out of her mouth and licked her plump lips.
“Just killing time until Ramos shows his ugly face.” He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, before slipping his tongue between her lips, twirling it against hers in a slow dance that ignited a flame deep in his gut. A fierce wave of protectiveness rolled over him like a hurricane slamming into the coast. He pulled back, taking in a deep breath, then letting it out slowly as he got lost in her dark, smoldering eyes. “Stay close to me no matter what happens.”
She held his gaze for a long moment. “I’m a big girl. I can handle this.”
“That’s not the point.” Other than his brothers, she was the only person he wanted covering his back. “We need to protect each other in the event this turns into a shit storm.”
She smiled.
And in that moment, he knew without a doubt, she’d captured his heart and he was never getting it back.
“We’ve got company,” Logan said.
Nick kissed her sweet lips with a loud smack before lacing his fingers through hers, turning to face a black sedan rolling to a stop ten feet in front of them.
Ramos stepped from the back seat, leaving the door open, standing behind it. “You’ll need to pull the rig to the loading dock.”
“I’ll do that,” Logan said.
“Who the fuck are you?” Ramos scowled.
“I’m the guy with a million dollars…in cash,” Logan shot back as he pulled open the tractor trailer door. “And if I really like what I see, I’ve got another two-hundred thousand as a down payment for another shipment in a month.”
“Thought you said you had two buyers?” Ramos said. His tone laced with frustration.
“I bought the other buyer out,” Logan said.
“So, you’re going to resell on the open market as an auctioneer?” Ramos rested his arm over the car door as he looked around.
Logan laughed. “I’ve got overseas buyers lined up and like I said, I’ll give you cash up front to get me more, if my customers and I are satisfied.”
“Fair enough. But I want to see the money before you load anyone in your truck.” Ramos waved his hand. “You two ride with me.”
Nick nodded, tugging at Leandra’s hand.
“Looks like the little lady might have delivered on her promise,” Ramos said, smacking his lips.
“Not might have delivered. I did deliver,” Leandra said as she slipped into the backseat of Ramos’s vehicle. “And you owe us the rest of our finder’s fee.”
Nick fisted his hands as Leandra ended up between him and Ramos.
“What’s your cut on the other end of this sale?” Ramos asked, daring to pat Leandra’s leg.
“Keep your—” Nick started but Leandra cut him off.
“What, if any, business we have with Logan is none of your concern. We hooked you up with someone who could move your merchandise now, someone you can do long-term business with, and you’re getting paid a hefty sum of money.”
When she rested her hand on Ramos’s thigh, it took enormous control for Nick not to reach across the seat and strangle Ramos. Nick could picture the man’s face turning bright red while Nick’s fingers closed off Ramos’s throat.
She leaned closer to Ramos. “If you ever touch me again.” She slid her hand higher, closer to his groin. “I’ll take you by the nuts and twist them so hard you will need surgery to put them back in the right place, only my husband will kill you before anyone has the chance to take you to the hospital.”
Nick relaxed his fingers, biting back a smile, watching Ramos squirm in his seat. She must have some grip on his leg a little too close to where it counts.
“Is that so,” Ramos said with a shaky voice.
“We’re not the kind of people you want to fuck with.” She removed her hand and leaned against Nick. “Our contacts are far and wide and we can have you taken out like that.” She snapped her fingers.
“Guess we know who wears the pants in your family,” Ramos said under his breath as the driver put the car in gear, easing toward the loading dock.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Nick said, pride swelling in his gut.
The revving of the diesel engine roared across the quiet night. Nick scanned the building and surrounding area. He knew the exact location of each of the team members, but couldn’t see them. What he didn’t know was if Fielding was actually going to follow the plan and wait until he got word from Dylan before charging in.
That would be bad on two accounts.
First, if there were hostages in the building, it would put them at risk. Ramos wasn’t necessarily the brightest criminal, but he wasn’t stupid and probably had the holding area booby-trapped.
Second, if the hostages had been moved and Fielding and his agents charged, not only could the sky light up from gunfire, but he risked losing the trafficking charge, which brought with it a dozen other felony charges, potentially putting Ramos away for life.
Where the casino charge Ramos could possibly fight, getting the charge and sentence reduced, not really shutting him down.
“How long has this group been held here?” Leandra asked.
“The longest resident would be two weeks. As I told you, there are fifty in all ranging in age from twelve to twenty. The majority being females,” Ramos said as the car rolled to a stop in front of a set of steel doors next to the loading dock.
Nick stepped from the car. His lungs stung from the scent of gas coming from the semi his brother backed up to the loading bay. The tractor trailer beeped in a continuous pattern until the truck screeched to a halt and Logan jumped from the cab.
“Where’s the money?” Ramos barked.
The metal doors to the building rattled and two men, heavily armed, stepped outside, followed by Alicia, who made eye contact, but quickly turned away.
The jury was out on what side of the Ho Chi Minh Trail she sat on.
“Here is half.” Logan tossed a bag, which landed with a thud about five feet from the truck. “You’ll get the rest when everyone is loaded.”
“I want to see the rest of it,” Ramos said, a response that didn’t surprise Nick in the least.
Logan turned on his heels, climbed back up in the cab, and pulled down another bag. “You want to look at it, you’ve got to come here.”
“Alicia, get the cash and check out the rest,” Ramos said with a clipped tone. “Let’s settle our business. My men created a diversion for Agent Fielding, but we’ve only got thirty minutes before he’s got eyes back on this building.”
Nick’s heart skipped a beat as he stared directly at Alicia, who looked everywhere but at him.
Fielding had been adamant that his men had been undetected, but at this point Nick figured that was only if Alicia was still one of the good guys. “How many eyes? And where have they been planted?” Nick asked, looking around again. Four office buildings stood several stories higher than the warehouse to the east. It would be easy for anyone on the top floor to keep an eye on the other side of the warehouse. To the west was the highway, but Fielding could have put a man up on one of the ramps. North and south were a little more complicated, but there were enough small businesses that could house a stakeout.
“A food truck across from Pendleton Office’s and a tow truck from a garage down the other side of the street,” Ramos said.
“What’s the diversion?” Nick asked. Those had been the two stake-outs Fielding had copped to, but Nick suspected Fielding held back some intel. Damn Feds. Of all the organizations he’d worked with over the years, they’d been the least cooperative.
“It’s covered, that’s all you need to know.” Ramos pointed toward Logan. “Open your loading doors and my guys will hook you up to the dock.” Ramos waved them toward the front door. “Pardon the pat down, but if you’re carrying, we’re going to take your weapon. You can have it on the way out.�
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“No need.” Nick handed over his Smith and Wesson as did his brother.
Leandra bent over, lifting up her pant leg, and pulling her small hand gun from its belt.
“All-righty then.” Ramos held his hand out in front. “Welcome to the Holding Tank.”
Nick held Leandra’s hand, probably a little too hard based on her sideways glance. While he had more power and strength, she definitely out smarted him in most areas…except tactical, which was her only weakness, and if this plan went south, she, unfortunately, was their weakest link.
They followed the armed men through a short corridor and then into the main storage area.
“Isn’t Alicia coming with us?” Leandra asked.
“She’s going to count the money,” Ramos said.
Nick strained to focus on the building. The only lighting provided was by a couple of flashlights. Various desks, sofas, and other home décor were set up in work stations. Ramos had built a reputation for being the king of restoration and was used by many of the rich and famous to make what was old, new again, creating unique pieces from any period of time.
No way did Ramos know anything about this business.
Just a front.
Nick noted the staircase at the far end of the building. According to the blueprints, the second floor was where all the offices were located. He also noticed how new the inside of the building looked even though there hadn’t been any permits or changes recorded by the county.
Which meant the plans they were working off were most likely wrong.
Ramos led them to a locked door in the corner of the west end of the warehouse. The room looked to be about twenty feet by thirty feet.
“Where is the merchandise?” Logan asked with short growl.
Nick understood the sentiment as he didn’t want to step into what appeared to be a room with only one way out.
“Below us.” Once the door clicked closed behind the group, Ramos flicked on an overhead, florescent light. “When I took this warehouse over, I spent a little over a year adding a lower level. I originally used it for my casinos.” Ramos stepped past a small desk and a couple of chairs, the only things in the room, to what appeared to be a closet, only behind the metal door was an old-fashioned warehouse elevator, complete with a metal cage.