by Jen Talty
Leandra squeezed his hand as she glanced at him with pursed lips.
The hair on the back of Nick’s neck stood straight up.
They had all agreed that everything seemed too easy, but Ramos was under fire and he knew Fielding had enough to arrest him.
But if Alicia had flipped? Fielding had jack shit, except whatever bad intel she gave him.
Ramos picked up a walkie-talkie from the desk. “Sending them down.”
“We’re ready for them,” a voice crackled.
“You three go on down. I’ll meet you outside.” Ramos stepped back as his goons stepped forward, guns drawn.
“What the fuck is going on?” Leandra asked.
Nick tugged at her hand, but she didn’t budge.
“Nothing’s going on.” Ramos held his hands up. “Merchandise is below. My men will guide you to the loading area. We’ll complete our business outside.”
Nick knew Ramos was full of shit, but what were his choices? Get shot here or down below? He figured the couple minutes in the elevator would be enough time to devise a plan.
Logan must have thought the same thing as he slowly backed up.
Ramos slid the door closed with a shitty grin.
“Mother-fucker,” Nick whispered, glancing around quickly. All four sides were lined with a metal grate, with only three concrete walls and one steel door that made it impossible to see out. However, he could see the shaft above, which indicated the elevator went up to the top floor as well.
“Ambush,” Logan said.
“I bet they are going to use our truck to get the hostages out and drive right by Fielding, thinking it’s us.” Nick sucked in a deep breath.
“Probably the plan,” Logan said, holding up a set of keys. “Though it might be hard for them to get anywhere without these.”
A small piece of hope, but that was all they needed.
Nick shoved Leandra behind him while he stepped in front of Logan.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Logan punched his shoulder. “You’re not a human shield.”
“Back the fuck up. You’ve got a kid on the way and you’re—” he pointed to Leandra. “—well, my mother would kill me if I didn’t try to protect you.”
“Except you’ll already be dead by the time she gets the chance.” Leandra stepped to his side.
The motor kicked in and the elevator rattled.
Logan lifted his pant leg and pulled out a couple hand guns. “Here. Hopefully we’re not too out gunned.”
“Sorry hon, but my brother and I are highly trained professionals, so please step behind me again,” Nick said.
“Right, because I’ve never fired a damn weapon before.” She laughed and bent over. “Are you the only asshole who didn’t think to pack a second weapon?” She held up a pistol. “Not as impressive as your Smith and Wesson, but it will do the trick.”
“I’m not an asshole,” Nick muttered, retrieving both his spare weapons. “When you run out of ammo, you better be standing behind me.”
“If you run out first, you get behind me.” She cocked her head with her lips pursed. “Got it, hon.”
Nick resisted the urge to kiss them untill they were bruised, but only because they didn’t have time. If they survived this, he’d be putting hickey’s all over her body.
Logan laughed. “You two are made for each other.”
The elevator came to a halt and the motor shut down. Nick held his weapons out and swallowed. This wasn’t his first ambush. Hopefully it wouldn’t be his last.
He took a few steps to the side. “Open the door, but stay behind it.”
Leandra nodded. Curling her fingers around the handle, she pulled back.
Nothing happened.
A loud thud from above echoed in the elevator. Nick looked up, and directly overhead was a green, oval object.
“Grenade,” he said.
Without being asked, Leandra stepped away from the door, taking Logan’s weapons as he yanked down on the lever, moving the door only slightly, but leaving enough room for Nick to curl his fingers around the edge, heaving it open.
“Move,” he shouted as he grabbed Leandra and leapt from the elevator.
Bam!
The deafening explosion rang in Nick’s ears as his body catapulted across the corridor. He held Leandra tight, covering her body with his as pieces of metal blew by. His back slammed against a wall so hard it rattled his teeth.
He groaned, feeling his skin tear.
“Hon?” He cupped Leandra’s face, lifting her head. “Leandra?” His voice muffled from the ringing in his head.
Her eyelids fluttered. “That was not fun.”
He let out a soft chuckle, running his hands up and down her body, checking for possible injuries.
“Logan?” he called. A trickle of fear filled Nick’s gut. Logan had been the last one out of the elevator shaft. “Logan?” he called louder, pushing himself to a standing position, pain ripping through his lower back.
He helped Leandra to her feet. “Anything hurt?”
“My head,” she muttered, rubbing her temples. “Both my knees hurt, but since I’m standing probably nothing too bad.
“Okay.” Nick kissed her cheek. “I need to find my brother.”
“I’m right here,” Logan said, coming into view, holding his shoulder, which looked as though someone had yanked it out of its socket. “Thank God for the long delay on that Grenade.” Blood ran down his arm.
“You’re bleeding,” Nick said.
“In a few places, but nothing that’s gonna require stitches, like your back.”
Nick twisted, lifting his shirt. “Fuck,” he muttered.
“That looks nasty,” Leandra said as she gathered up some of her shirt, wiping the blood away. “We need to stop the bleeding.”
“We need to get the fuck out of here.” Nick tore off his shirt, ripping it apart, and tying it around his body, covering the wound.
“Before that, someone needs to put my mother fucking shoulder back in its proper place,” Logan ground out.
“I haven’t done this in years.” Nick pressed his hand on the back of Logan’s shoulder, reaching around with the other. “You ready?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he slammed Logan’s shoulder.
“Fuuuucccck…you asshole.” Logan grabbed his shoulder and rubbed vigorously, before rotating it a few times.
“You’re welcome. Now let’s call in the cavalry.”
“My phone is broken.” Logan held up the shattered object. “How about yours?”
Nick pulled out his phone and stared at it. “Works, but no service.”
Leandra held her phone up, moving it around, before shoving in her back pocket. “Mine too.” She pressed one hand on his stomach, the other over the wound on his back applying pressure.
Logan stood in front of the blown-out elevator door. “We can climb up, no problem.”
“Not before we take a look around. Maybe the hostages are still here. At the very least, maybe we can find some records that will help me find my client’s daughter,” Leandra said.
Nick exchanged a long glance with Logan. “Dylan had to have seen or heard the blast.”
Logan nodded.
Nick took Leandra by the shoulders. “We have to stick together and if things get dicey again, we’re out of here, okay, hon?”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you call the guys you work with in the field, hon?”
“Of course not.” He laughed, tracing the mark he’d left on her neck. “And I don’t give them hickeys either.”
Yep. It was official.
He’d lost his ever lovin’ mind.
Chapter 7
LEANDRA’S HEAD FELT LIKE the grenade went off inside it, not in the elevator. Her knees stung from the scrapes that had ripped her flesh as she and Nick slid across the floor, slashing open her jeans.
Her entire body ached.
But not as much as her heart did.
A thud on the ceiling caught her attenti
on. “Please, no more grenades.”
Another thud.
Then three more.
“We’ve got company,” Nick said, before whistling three times.
Whoever was above them, whistled back.
“Baby Dyl to the rescue,” Nick said, pointing to a door at the end of the corridor. “Let’s check that out.”
She let out a long sigh of relief as she made her way down the hallway. She stood behind Nick, since he pushed his arm out and tucked her back there, while Logan opened the door and did a quick scan before giving them the ‘all clear.’
Stepping into the room, her eyes immediately focused on the prison-like cells that occupied the room.
She gasped, sucking in air that tasted like three-day old piss left in an unflushed toilet.
Coughing, she took a few steps forward, reaching out to one of the cells, letting her fingers glide across the cold metal bars. Tears stung the corner of her eyes. Bare cots lay on the cold, tiled floor. A single dirty, thin blanket in each cell.
That was it.
“We have to find them,” she whispered as she counted the cells.
Thirty-two.
A powerful arm skimmed across her lower back. The strength it offered rolled into her skin, entering her blood-stream, racing to her heart.
She sucked in as much of that strength as she could.
“Ramos couldn’t have moved them far.” Nick pulled her against his body. “We’ll find them.”
She turned her head. “And Skyler. Or at the very least, find out what happened to her. Her family needs closure no matter the outcome.”
Nick nodded.
The door behind them rattled. Instinctively, she gripped her weapon, pulling it from the back of her pants and aimed it.
Three whistles.
Nick grabbed her wrist, lowering her arms. “That’s my brother and his team.”
The door opened and Dylan and five other men, all dressed in dark clothing, all carrying rifles, strolled through the door as if they owned the place.
“Glad to see you’re still standing,” Dylan said with a smile. “Heard the blast and felt it, too.”
“What took you so long to get here?” Nick said with a sarcastic tone.
“Ran into Ramos and his goons loading the hostages into the rig and thought we should deal with that before finding out if he’d successfully blown up your ugly asses.” Dylan turned his attention toward Leandra. “And by that, I certain don’t mean yours, because your ass isn’t ugly at all.”
“Don’t be commenting on her ass, or I’ll have to beat the crap out of you,” Nick said.
She rolled her eyes, then reached out and grabbed the fabric around Nick’s waist and tugged.
He groaned.
She pointed to Dylan. “And my ass is out of your league.”
Dylan’s expression turned serious. “Ramos is in custody and all the hostages are safe. We’re going to transport them to a private hospital for medical attention and contact all their families.”
“Thank you.” She glanced around the room again. “I want to talk to Ramos.” Her fingers itched to curl around his nuts and twist so hard they snapped.
“I doubt Fielding will let you,” Dylan said, stepping to the side, giving her access to the door. “But I’d love to see you in action.”
“Back the fuck up little brother,” Nick said, taking three large steps.
“What did I tell you?” Logan laughed.
“He’s so far gone, it’s pathetic,” Dylan said.
“Mother-fuckers,” Nick said under his breath.
Leandra opened her mouth to yell at all the brothers, but nothing came out. She cleared her throat. “I’m going to go talk to Ramos. You all are going to find me a paper trail that helps us find the others that Ramos has sold into a living hell.” She pointed at each one of them. “Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Logan and Dylan said in unison.
“I’m going with you,” Nick said.
She glared at him with her best scowl.
He pointed to his side, blood tricking from the soaked fabric. “I’m gonna bleed out if I don’t find something to cauterize this hole, or stitch it up.”
“Fine.” She noted the sweat beading on his forehead. “You can come with me,” she said, trying to keep her tone more frustrated than concerned. She didn’t want him or his damn brothers thinking she cared that much. “Put pressure on that wound, please.”
“I’ve got a military grade first aid kit in the van,” Dylan said.
“Good to know.” She nodded.
They made their way back up the blown elevator shaft in silence. Once on the main floor, she looked down at the gaping hole and all the rubble. The reality of how close she’d come to death hit her senses like gale-force winds.
But the idea she could have lost Nick, twisted her emotions so tight in her gut, it felt like a tornado had touched down and all her insides were about to be tossed outside.
She glanced at Nick. His skin had taken on a white-grey tone.
“Come on.” She wrapped her arms around his middle, putting more pressure, feeling the tacky blood stick to her fingers. “Let’s get you stitched up.”
He leaned against her, his arm draped over her shoulder. “I’m sorry about the hon, thing. I’ll be more conscious of it in the future.”
“What future?” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but now that it was out there, she might as well deal with it. Her heartbeat slowed as she wondered what it would be like to walk away from Nick Sarich the moment she completed her job. The thought felt like fingers reaching into her chest and squeezing her heart untill it stopped beating all together. “We both know whatever this is, it isn’t real.”
“I almost wish that were true.” His lips pressed against her temple with the gentle touch of a feather. “For the first time in years, I find myself wanting to be with someone more than once or twice and I’m not just talking about mind-blowing sex.”
“I don’t want to want somebody.” She glanced in his direction, catching his gaze. “Not even you.”
“I know,” he said, pushing open the door with his hip. At least ten FBI vehicles had positioned themselves around the tractor trailer. Dozens of agents, wearing FBI jackets, filled the parking lot. “I understand.”
“Thank you, for everything.” Lame response, but it was all she had at the moment.
“Save your thanks for when we find Skyler.” He groaned as he pointed toward a grouping of agents around one particular vehicle. “Let’s talk to Ramos, then find that first aid kit.”
“Other way around,” she said.
“No. If we don’t do it now, we might lose our opportunity. I’m not going to drop dead in the next fifteen minutes.”
She took his hand, and pushed it hard against his side. “Keep the pressure on, okay?”
“Will do.” He leaned up against a car not far from where Fielding stood over Ramos, who had been handcuffed and sat in the back of one of the SUV’s.
Alicia wasn’t too far away, also handcuffed.
Leandra had never met anyone like Nick before. He was a complicated man, with so many different aspects to his personality. Loyal to the bone. Passionate about helping others. Fiercely protective of those he cared about.
And he did care about her.
Lying to herself about her own feelings toward him had become impossible.
But those feelings were connected to a shared loss. A commonality so deep, it bound them together in a way no one else could understand.
At least she knew they’d walk away friends.
“Go get the information we need,” he said.
A rush of adrenaline tickled her fingertips, building speed across her body like a raging river. She turned toward Ramos, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Logan and Dylan moving quickly across the parking lot, waving her over.
She patted Nick on the chest before meeting his brother’s half way.
“What’s up?” she aske
d, planting her hands on her hips, glancing over her shoulder at Ramos, who had the audacity to smile.
“We found something.” Logan handed her a file. “Certain types of girls seemed to have been flagged for one specific buyer.”
“Girl’s like Skyler.”
Logan nodded. “In the file are pictures of all the girls. Sixteen girls to be exact.”
“Do we have the buyer’s name?” she asked.
“Just a code name.” Dylan tapped the file. “Hollywood.”
She swallowed. “That could mean the buyer is in Hollywood, or looks like a Hollywood type.”
“There are other files, categorizing the hostages, so we’ll need Fielding to get his team down there,” Logan said.
“Thanks.” She turned on her heels and marched over to where Fielding stood, just a few feet from Ramos.
Fielding held up his hand. “Oh, no, you don’t.”
“Oh, yes, I do.” She took one step past Fielding before he grabbed her arm. “Let go of me,” she said in a dark tone behind gritted teeth.
“You’re not going near him.”
“I need to ask him about this.” She shoved the file at Fielding. “The girl I was hired to find is in that file. I need to know who the buyer is.”
Fielding stepped closer, encroaching on her personal space. “You’re a low-life PI and you have no authority to talk with anyone at this crime scene and unless you want me to slap a set of handcuffs on you—”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Nick’s voice boomed across the night sky. He stood between his two brothers, who helped him stand. “You’re going to give her five minutes to find out what she wants, and then we’re going to deliver that buyer to you on a silver platter, along with credit for this take-down.”
She wanted to slap Nick for jumping in when she was perfectly capable of handling this situation, only it felt too damn nice to know someone had her back. She knew he hadn’t stepped up because he didn’t think she could handle it.
No. She knew him well enough to understand he only jumped in because he knew something she didn’t.