Strike Back (Hawk Elite Security Book 1)

by Beth Rhodes

  “Where did they go?” she asked.

  Roberto shrugged. “To the airport.”

  Stacy narrowed her eyes. She had a funny feeling she’d been left behind. Determined, and a little pissed off, she retrieved her phone from her back pocket. What would she say?

  No, better to take action. They were still waiting for sign of Michael at the resort. Except that Michael was Cortez and now Cortez knew they knew. He’d posted bail. He would have had to leave a current address, something to show he wasn’t going to leave the country before a hearing and charges were made.

  A trip to the police station was looking like a good idea. Follow the paper trail. Follow the money. She’d just do her own digging. “Roberto, I’m going into town.”

  “No, no, no, señora.” Roberto stood quickly and blocked her way to the door. “Señor Hawkins was very clear. He would be back very soon, and you should wait for him here.”

  She lifted a brow, done with being shoved into the corner. “Now, Roberto. You may come with me, or you can watch me leave, but either way, I am getting out of here.”

  “Please, wait just a few more minutes. I am certain your husband is just moments away.”

  A scowl propelled her to the door, and she swung it open.

  And she came face to face with Hawk and his team. Tan was at his side, Jamie just behind them. Bobby, Malcolm, Craig, and Ranger. The three younger guys came in last, loud and ready to roll. They each had a rucksack on their back except for Malcolm, who had a messenger back over his right shoulder and who wheeled a suitcase behind him.

  “You’re mad,” Hawk said as he came through and stood in front of her

  “No,” she denied.

  He kissed her soundly, making her smile.

  “Okay, maybe a little.”

  “Tan got in early and brought a few surprises with him.” He gestured a thumb over his shoulder at the four team members who were already making themselves at home and crossing to the kitchen. “Almost the whole family, together again.”

  The irritation at being left behind slipped away with the feeling of complete that filled her. Hawk was in his element. She would always be his better half, yet he needed the guys, too. Especially in those moments when he doubted himself. “What did you learn?”

  “We found him.”

  “You stopped in town?”

  “Yes, he’d already been and gone. Malcolm found a piece of property on the north side of town. Recently purchased by one Michael Hernandez.”

  “So, what do we do? Confront him?”

  “First, we recon,” Tancredo answered, walking toward her with an opened can of her La Croix. “See what the big deal is. Could just be a decoy or, more likely, was the place they’d planned to complete their revenge.”

  “That’s just creepy.” Stacy hugged herself.

  “Malcolm will set up his computer magic here and get communications up and running. Satellite feeds will give us a secondary visual.”

  “So, the hunted will become the hunter,” she murmured. “We could wait for him to make his next move.”

  “No,” Hawk answered. “We surprised Daniel with the fact that his father’s men killed his mother. He’s the wild card. Even when Cortez went to pick him up, the police say there were no kind words between the two.”

  “We follow them now. We make sure we get to Cortez before Daniel does something stupid.”

  “Like kill his father?”

  Hawk shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Let’s do this then.” She pulled her bag over her shoulder and across her torso. “It’s our turn to ask questions.”

  ***

  Well, she turned him on when she said shit like that, and she was right. They were turning the tables, and hopefully ending this thing before it went too far and more people died. Cortez had a bone to pick with Hawk Elite. He’d very well have to do it without touching Hawk’s wife. That was for damn sure.

  And though he wanted to leave her behind with Malcolm, he couldn’t. Not just because he respected her and thought she would be safe, but because she, along with Jamie, was the only one who knew his vision could go at any minute. He needed her beside him.

  They’d stopped Daniel last night, working as a team.

  If they could do it again with Cortez…

  They’d be able to hand him over to Interpol with a fucking bow tied around his neck. He was done terrorizing, selling his drugs, and killing around the globe. This stopped now.

  They took the dirt road that veered west on the north side of town and circled into a clearing a mere klick from the deserted house. This wasn’t exactly cover, though. And he knew they would have to go in soon.

  Jamie opened the gate on the back of the vehicle and set up his AK and the M16.

  “Expecting trouble?” Stacy asked.

  “I always expect trouble. It’s why I’m still alive.”

  Hawk glanced over at them from behind his binoculars. Just like old times. Focusing back in on the house, he watched as a curtain on the south corner fluttered closed. “Time’s up, I think,” he whispered.

  “Just the one vehicle that drove from the police station.” Malcolm added through the earbuds.

  “Ranger, what are you seeing?”

  Ranger’s voice came through his earbud. “Still quiet in the structure. Two of the guys are moving around, concentrating between three spots. One has been quiet, sitting quietly in the corner the entire time. I’ve got a source of heat coming from the back. Probably the kitchen. Watch your back, boss.”

  “I’m taking point. Stacy, you hang back.”

  She nodded her consent, relieving him and making him watch her for that extra moment in which he had to wonder why.

  “Because I’m a team player.” She read his mind and answered matter-of-factly, making him grin. “And I know when I’m needed somewhere and when I’m just going to be a big fat target. I won’t let Cortez use me that way.”

  He pulled his sidearm from the back of the truck and tucked it into the holster at his back. Then he went to her, stood in front of her, and kissed her—fast and hard.

  “Let’s go visit our neighbors, guys.”

  “Hooah,” Tancredo and Jamie spoke at the same time, and in his ear, Ranger and Craig sounded off.

  Stacy touched her earpiece.

  He stood tall as he walked, knowing that whatever Cortez had planned, it wasn’t to shoot him head on at this point. No. He’d been clear in his toying with Stacy, that he wanted Nathan to suffer.

  They were about ten feet out, and Hawk called out, “Come out, Cortez!”

  Tan had his back, always looking around, always scanning the tree line.

  And then the front door opened and Daniel stepped out. “Gentlemen,” he said, as if he was some seasoned fucking professional.

  Hawk slowed and put up a hand. Tan stopped as well.

  Daniel grinned and waved toward the truck at his back. The small friendly gesture sent every red flag flying in Hawk’s brain. “Where’s you dad?”

  The door swung back open, and inside sat two wooden barrels.

  “Shit,” Tancredo said quietly into his ear piece. “C4 explosives, wired to the barrels. An IED with who the fuck knows, ready to blow.

  “I can shoot him now,” Jamie responded.

  Hawk shook his head, knowing Jamie had eyes on him and Daniel the whole time. “Keep your cool,” he said, speaking clearly enough to engage both Jamie and the hot head in front of him.

  Daniel began to laugh. “It’s my lucky day that you have come here.” The thrill left his voice. “Now, everyone who took part in that day, in the killing of my mother and my baby sister, will be dead.”

  “You’ve got your dad in there? You the big man on campus, now?”

  “You will pay!”

  Hawk took one small step back in retreat.

  “And she will pay!” Daniel’s arm swung out, brandishing a Colt and firing. Hawk dove and rolled. And two sharp sounds of report were followed closely by Daniel�
�s body hitting the ground, not five feet away from him. Jamie had taken down the threat.

  “You okay, Tan?”

  Tan was brushing himself off as he climbed the steps to the door. He pushed it, causing it to creak. Hawk came up behind him and saw the incendiary device with what looked to be a good ten pounds of C4, blinking the time down from eight seconds.

  “Fuck,” Tancredo breathed and they both ran.

  “Eight seconds!” he hollered, fear tight in his throat. It could blow sky high or out wide.

  Tan pulled ahead.

  Hawk had wanted to save the bastard…and then make him pay. And the irony behind that thought had him stumbling when he hit a rut in the yard, his knee hit the dirt, probably saving his life when an instant later, the world exploded around him. Tan took the brunt of the repercussion and flew through the air, landing on the ground and rolling over.

  Heat crawled up Hawk’s back and singed the grass surrounding him. He covered his head and hid his face.

  Seconds later, the only thing burning was the small house behind him.

  The team was slowly coming out from the safety of the truck. Thank God Stacy was back there. Tan lay, panting. Alive, and coming to a stand. And the sound of sirens filled the air, blue lights flashed the arrival of the local police.

  Behind him, the dried-up, old house was a ball of flames. The man who had been in there was dead, had to be dead. Hawk waited another minute as the heat receded, his breath huffed in and out, his pulse pounded in his head. He’d be deaf for a few days. He couldn’t even hear the fire crackling at his back. The house had blown then consumed itself in fire, before putting itself out.

  He slammed his fist against the ground. “Damn it.”

  So close, so damn close to getting to face Cortez and put his mind at rest.

  Jamie was there then, pulling him to his feet, and Stacy as well, was touching him all over, checking for injury. Jamie’s mouth was moving. “Are you okay?”

  Hawk nodded. “I can’t hear a damn thing.”

  Hawk took Stacy into his arms, held her tight as she gripped his shirt. “You okay?” he asked.

  Jamie grinned at him from behind her and covered his ears, mocking him. “Yeah, yeah,” he said in what he hoped was a quieter voice. “I’m yelling.”

  He brushed grass off his clothes and took a few hesitant steps towards the group of police cars and his men at the perimeter of the yard. He wasn’t going anywhere until he had proof. Proof that Cortez had been in that house, and that he couldn’t hurt his family ever again.

  He’d wanted so badly to stop the threat and to give Cortez a piece of his mind, to remind him that he hadn’t been the one to start this. Essentially, to give him the fucking bird.

  And for one heartfelt moment, Hawk considered that Cortez was lucky he was dead—too lucky. He let the false silence calm him as he approached the vehicles. Fire trucks arrived and doused the smoldering structure. Jamie was looking intently, studying.

  “I want everything the locals get on this. And I want our team doing their work, as well. I want double checks and triple checks. I want any DNA you can find.”

  The explosion had been fast and furious, killing their chances of getting any solid evidence.

  This was not exactly the happy ending Hawk wanted.

  Chapter Twenty

  A man came into the small room where Stacy sat at the far corner of a little square table. Hawk stood near a water cooler, talking quietly with Jamie. He’d refused to go to Punta Gorda Hospital. Roberto, at the resort had a friend in town, a female doctor with a private practice who would be waiting whenever they returned.

  Stacy was starting to wonder if they would ever get around to returning. A quick look at her watch showed they’d just crossed into the fifteenth hour. Bobby sat across from her. She knew just outside of town, Malcolm had moved all of his gear to The Shack and was keeping contact with headquarters up in Raleigh. Everyone had a part. Now that this thing with Miguel Cortez was over, Stacy was looking forward to getting home.

  She sighed and stood, crumpling the cup in her hand. “Time to go, Hawk. We’re not going to hear anymore today.”

  Hawk looked her way, rubbed a hand over his head, and gripped his neck. She could tell he was ready to give in as well. But then a man came in. The short, heavy-set man wore a lab coat and red Converse high-tops under a pair of black and white checkered pants.

  “Excuse the attire. I was called in on my day off, which I spend in my family’s restaurant.” The man waved a hand, which held an evidence bag. “I’m Dave. Dave Holmes. I work as an investigator, detective, occasional bouncer, depending on the situation.”

  “You’re from the United States?” Stacy asked, surprised by his accent and his obviously casual appearance.

  “That’s right. Straight out of Detroit with my family thirty years ago.” He turned to Hawk. “We’re still sifting through debris and ash. One of the guys found these. Do you recognize them?”

  Stacy held her breath. Please let this be the evidence they needed. Proof. Please let this be over. She understood her husband’s uncertainty, because he would always wonder. And as much as Stacy wanted this chapter to be over, she wanted it to end full circle. But no one had visual confirmation of Cortez.

  Hawk frowned, looked her way, and his eyes fell to her hands, which shook as she self-consciously crossed her arms.

  He approached, and she couldn’t help be nervous. “What is it?” she asked.

  His face was closed off, his eyes either unseeing or guarded. She just couldn’t tell anymore. He handed her the evidence bag on the table.

  Through the expectancy vibrating in the room, she was afraid to look. All eyes were on her, all anxiously waiting for her to see and…

  She looked. What the hell? Her ring, a small band lined with sapphires and accented with little marquis diamonds, and one other, a plain band. “How?”

  She wanted to rip open the bag to take back what was hers. In spite of the twisted and bent metals, she recognized her ring.

  No doubt, so did Hawk.

  “The other one is Michael’s. He wore it on his left pinky. Always. It belonged to his wife.” She had to clear her throat. “I found mine missing after the break-in. And,” she addressed Hawk, making sure he could see her before she continued, “I forgot about it. So much has happened. I think, at first, I just assumed I’d left it somewhere. The dish in the kitchen or…I don’t know. I meant to look for it. I forgot—” her voice broke. “I’m sorry.”

  Hawk put a hand of comfort on her shoulder.

  The element of guilt inside her threatened this last bit of good news. “Guess it will be a while before I decide to befriend anyone.”

  Sarcasm helped. She knew the guilt was unnecessary, that she’d been duped, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept.

  Hawk squeezed that hand on her shoulder then leaned in and kissed her head. “I got your back, babe,” he answered, making her laugh. “Besides, he would have gotten to us one way or another.”

  “You were both lucky,” Holmes took the bag back. “I need to process this before I can give it back.”

  Stacy nodded. “Thank you.” She hesitated. “If you don’t mind. Where did you find it?”

  “They were both on the body, Mrs. Hawkins.”

  Her stomach roiled a little and she nodded when Hawk took her hand. “Okay.”

  Through the window, the sun was beginning to set. Colors lit the sky—purples, pinks, and blues. Their time in Belize was over. Gone with the setting of the sun as a flash of panic struck her, urged her to get out of this place that she’d loved for so long.

  She turned back to Hawk. “Please, I want to go home.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Stacy and Hawk spent the flight from Belize in each other’s arms. She’d slept, her head in the crook of his arm. The murmur of his voice speaking with their teammates had lulled her into a deep sleep. The brush of his fingers against her shoulder and the sound of his heartbe
at against her ear reassuring her they had survived.

  John picked them up in the company van with the announcement of a summer storm on the forecast. Nonetheless, the sky was almost completely blue, only one tiny, little edge of clouds coming in from the northeast.

  She thought she could sleep for the next three days straight. Instead, her eyes wouldn’t close, her mind wouldn’t be still. Home. Every sight sank into her.

  Safety.

  West of town, down the familiar country road and onto the dirt drive of their sprawling home. The old farmhouse stood like a sentinel, waiting and watching. She’d always thought maybe she wanted to upgrade or build something new. Seeing the white-washed exterior, the black shutters, the narrow front porch that ran the length of the house changed her mind.

  “It looks good, doesn’t it?” Hawk took her hand, feeling the empty spot on her left ring finger and kissing it. That last pang of regret sliced through her. David Holmes had told them he would mail it to them. And she wondered if she would be able to wear it again.

  She squeezed his hand as the van came to a stop on the circular drive.

  It was quiet, almost too quiet.

  In a few days, the kids would arrive home. The house would be filled with noise.

  Then, life would be back to normal.

  Tan exited the van and helped unload their luggage from the back. “One, two, three,” he reached in one more time and groaned as if in effort. “Four,” he teased her.

  Not exactly an unusual occurrence. “Still packing heavy, I see.”

  “I was on vacation,” she argued with a smile.

  Hawk slung his duffel over his shoulder, leaned in to kiss her soundly on the mouth. When his lips remained, tempting her, heat rose on her neck. “Unless…” he paused, quietly whispering to her. “I’d say we still have plenty of vacation time left.”

  Tan laughed as he hopped into the front seat. “I think that’s our cue, guys.”

  Climbing the old narrow set of stairs to the second floor, Stacy tossed her bags into the corner of their room, debating whether she wanted to just throw it all away. Some of the clothes in there, she’d bought specifically for this trip. A few of the lingerie pieces hadn’t even been worn.