by Lea Hart
Worst case, the walls were reinforced with sheets of steel, Kevlar, or bullet-resistant fiberglass. If they encountered it, the team was ready. If there was an escape shaft, they hadn’t detected it, but that didn’t mean a thing. His time in the sandbox had taught him all about tunnels, so he never completely counted out the possibility of them existing. The assumption was that the room was constructed with a wood frame structure. Nothing in the plans indicated that there had been substantial structural reinforcement, so what was in front of them was probably easy.
In the end, it didn’t matter because nothing was going to stand between him and Stazi.
One of the most important things they had in their favor was that Firtash didn’t want to see her harmed. By all accounts, there was no reason to believe they were going to walk into a situation where she had a gun to her head and they were going to have to make a kill shot to separate her from her captor.
Truth was, in their world, this was as easy as ops got, but that didn’t mean things couldn’t go sideways in a blink of an eye. Either way, he was prepared.
***
“Alarm system disabled,” Lucky said into their mics.
“Two minutes to final pass of drone,” Brandon added.
Hank confirmed the security of his lead line while Brandon made a final check of the heat signatures in the home. The drone would fly completely around the home, capturing both photographic images and thermal images. They would then be fed to the team’s tablets.
While he waited for the images to show up, he looked up into the inky-black sky and thought about the conversation he’d had with Stazi as they’d driven to work. It was one of those mundane conversations that couples had about plans for the weekend and what they were going to do for dinner.
Nothing earth-shattering. But heartbreaking if he couldn’t manage a thousand more. Every day they were together strengthened the fabric of their relationship and bound them together. And he wanted it to keep happening until they couldn’t imagine a day apart. That’s how intimately he wanted their lives interwoven.
A humid breeze brushed across his face and for a second he swore he picked up the scent of Stazi. Lowering his head, he closed his eyes and let the memory of her lemony scent surround him. “I’m coming, Staz. Hold on for a bit longer,” Hearing a low beep in his mic, he looked down at his tablet and saw the images that Brandon’s drone was capturing. They had three large heat signatures on the first floor and none on the second or third. Which fit with their assumption that Dmitry had taken Stazi into the safe room. Heat-signatures often didn’t read through the walls of a safe room, so it wasn’t an immediate concern that nothing was detected.
He studied each image as it came up and saw nothing that was going to change their plan. “Let’s do this,” Hank commanded quietly.
“Roger that,” Jason and Maddox replied simultaneously.
They were all going to rappel in and enter the home roughly at the same time, so the occupants wouldn’t have time to warn one another of the invasion. Letting the slack out of his rope, Hank stood on the ledge and pushed away. Making it within a foot of his insertion point, he repeated the process and swung his body wide so he could land on the roof of Firtash’s home. Missing the first time, he swung back to the wall, did it again, and arced wider, allowing him to create enough velocity that he swung perfectly and landed quietly on the roof. After untying the rope from his waist, he coiled it and set it next to the skylight. All he had to do now was free-climb a couple of feet down to the atrium and find a way in.
Looking over the side of the home, he confirmed he was in the right place and shimmied off the roof and slowly down the side until his feet hit the glass roof. He moved carefully along the steel frame and searched for the best place to cut an opening.
The wind picked up and he felt it cool his sweat-soaked body. He heard a crack and knew he had to find a way in before his two-hundred-plus weight cracked the glass. Dropping his night-vision goggles, he saw that the lower panels were open and said a silent thank-you to whoever was responsible. He flattened himself against the roof, slowly slid down the angle, and caught his feet in the open window. Once he had a foothold, he moved himself as carefully as he could inside and dropped to his feet.
After tightening his kit, he lifted his goggles off and noticed some ambient light coming from the hallway. He opened the sliding glass door that separated the home from the greenhouse and walked inside. There were sounds of a skirmish and Hank knew his men were taking care of Firtash’s bodyguards. He drew his gun and moved down the stairs toward the second floor. They were all to meet there and then figure out a way to either open the panic room or get Dmitry to release Stazi on his own.
Because they didn’t know his current mental state, they couldn’t predict how he was going to act when he discovered they were there to take Stazi. He hit the bottom of the stairs and saw Maddox and Jason standing back-to-back. “Clear?” Hank asked quietly.
“No one on the second floor,” Jason responded. “We’re assuming the entrance to the safe room is behind a set of bookcases in the master bedroom. Based on the drawing of the home, it’s the only place that it could be.”
“Are you picking up any signals?” Hank asked into his mic.
“Nothing,” Lucky responded. “I have one of my people hacking into the database of the phone company to see if we can come up with a number for the landline that we believe is inside the room. The records of the home indicate a fifth number listed for the address and we’re assuming it’s for the phone inside the safe room.”
“Let’s also assume he’s got video and knows we’re here,” Hank said as he ran his hand along the bookcases.
“Once we see what kind of door we’re dealing with, I’ll know what I have to blow it open with,” Maddox said as he began taking things out of his vest.
“We may have to torch the lock if we’re dealing with a Kevlar lining. The last thing we want to do is have the blast move inside the room,” Justin said as he kept watch.
Hank felt a handle and pressed it. The case moved. Slipping his hands in between the shelves, he moved his arms in opposite directions and pushed the case apart to reveal the door of the safe room. “Any luck on the number?” Hank said into his mic.
“Getting close,” Lucky responded. “Hold on for a minute. We’re almost there.”
Running his hand along the steel door, Hank spoke quietly. “Almost there, honey. We’ll have you out before you know it.”
He checked his watch and shook his head. “Let’s go in. It’s been long enough and we need to get her out of there.”
“Go ahead,” Lucky said into her mic. “We tried the fifth number that was listed for the house and no one answered.”
“Brandon, send the drone up for another pass over the street and house. We don’t want any surprises while we get her out of here.”
“Sending it up,” Brandon confirmed. “I have the front door secured and we have no movement on the streets.”
“Roger that,” Hank responded. “Maddox, you want to do it, or should I?”
“I’ll do it, boss. You want your hands free so you can get her out of there as soon as you can.”
“Roger that,” Hank responded.
Maddox took his C4 putty out and started pressing a strip along the edge of the door. “This should be enough of a blast to open the door, but not enough to break all the glass windows on the other side of the house.”
“Yeah, let’s not have CPD crawling up our asses while we’re trying to exfil,” Jason said as he checked the images coming from the drone.
Applying a fuse, Maddox gave both men a smile. “Stand clear.”
Hank took a step back along with Jason and waited while Maddox lit the fuse. All three men stood a foot away from the door and waited for the blast. The next thirty seconds were going to tell them if they’d gotten their intel correct and Stazi was, in fact, behind the doors.
The sound of the blast filled the room as the men bent
their heads down. When the smoke cleared, they stepped up and discovered the door was blown off its hinges enough that they could pry it open. Working together, they pulled the door away from the frame and stepped inside the room.
Pushing ahead of his men, Hank walked toward Stazi, who was lying in the corner of the room. “Honey, we came to take you home.” As he got closer, he saw that her eyes were closed and she wasn’t moving. “Fuck,” he huffed out. Instantly on his knees, he placed his finger on her neck and prayed he was going to find a pulse. He held his breath and waited to feel her blood pulse. “Thank God.” It was there, faint and steady. “They must’ve drugged her; Jason, come and take a look.” The guy was a hell of a medic and having him double check her stats would make him feel better.
Jason lifted Stazi’s eyelids one at a time. “Yeah, they gave her something.” He raised her arm and counted quietly. “Let’s get her checked out and make sure her heart is okay. I don’t like the skipped beats.”
Hank lifted her gently and held her close against his chest. Looking down into her face, he felt his own heart skip several times. Where the hell was Firtash and why did he lock Stazi in this room by herself after he drugged her up? “Let Brandon know we’re coming through the front door and heading to the hospital.”
“Roger that,” Jason replied.
“What the hell?” Maddox said as he kicked a carpet away from the floor. He bent down, pushed his hand against a large square of flooring, and watched it slide open. “Firtash must’ve left through here. It’s a staircase leading to a tunnel.”
“You guys check it out while Brandon drives us over to the hospital,” Hank said as he moved out of the room. As much as he wanted to find Firtash and question him, he had something far more important to do and that was making sure Stazi was going to be okay.
As he walked down the stairs to meet Brandon at the front door, he formed a plan for what he was going to do to Firtash the moment he got his hands on him.
All the danger that Stazi had been in lay squarely in his hands and that wasn’t something he was going to let go because, despite all the precautions he’d put in place, she was still harmed. Kissing her head, he inhaled her scent and felt his emotions clog his throat. Tightening his hold, he strode through the front door and decided he was going to make whoever was responsible for harming Stazi pay.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Tuesday Afternoon
Hank sat at the kitchen table with his laptop open and read the same sentence for the fifth time. Realizing his concentration was shot, he pushed back from the table and rubbed his hand over his face. He and Stazi had come home from the hospital a couple of hours ago and Stazi was still napping.
He’d gotten up an hour ago because he wanted to see where the Feds were on locating Firtash and Belikov. According to Lucky, Sam and his team had apprehended several brigadiers at Firtash’s warehouse with over fifty million dollars of heroin. It was a decent size bust and would certainly put a dent into the ongoing drug business the Bratva engaged in around the city.
Which was good news, certainly, but not what he cared about most. He wanted Belikov held responsible for snatching Stazi off the street along with whoever helped him. They were still in the process of putting the pieces of her abduction together and hoped to have a full picture by the end of the day.
Unfortunately, Stazi might not be able to help them out much because she’d been given a dose of ketamine along with the secobarbital to knock her out. The ER doctor had told him it was a dissociative anesthetic that often caused amnesia. It also produced a trance-like state that made it near impossible for people to move once they were under the influence.
Knowing that Stazi was so vulnerable when she was in Dmitry’s hands made a rage burn through his gut that was hard to control. Fortunately, no one had taken advantage of her and they’d gotten to her in time.
Hearing footsteps, Hank looked up and saw Stazi coming down the stairs. “Honey, what are you doing up?”
“My rumbling stomach woke me.”
He stood and held out his hand. “What can I make you?”
“Can I have a grilled cheese sandwich?”
“Coming up.” When she got close enough, he took her in his arms and wrapped her up tightly in a hug. “I’m so fucking happy you’re okay.” Her soft hair rubbed against his cheek and his chest swelled with emotion. “The last twenty-four hours have been the longest of my life and I don’t plan on ever letting you out of my sight again.”
“Thank you for coming to get me. For a while, I thought I was going to be stuck there forever.”
“After I’ve fed you, I want you to tell me as much as you can remember.” He felt her hands tighten on his waist as she moved closer. “I promise you that once you get it out, you’ll feel better.”
“I don’t know if that’s true.” Lifting her head, she looked into his eyes. “I was hoping we could go upstairs after lunch and have a lot of mind-numbing sex and put off reality for a while longer.”
“I bet we can do both.” He gave her a wink and grabbed a handful of her firm ass. “Food, sex, and then we talk.”
“Fine.”
He released his hold and motioned to the couch. “Go relax while I make lunch.” The mock salute she gave him made him laugh, and he tapped her bottom and pointed to the living room. “Go rest.”
“Yes, sir.”
He walked into the kitchen and realized having Stazi home safe and sound gave him a similar feeling of satisfaction that he’d experienced when he returned after his first deployment in Afghanistan with all his men. Stazi was his responsibility just like the men who’d been under his command and knowing that she was safe was all that he cared about.
When the threats had started besieging Stazi, he made her safety his responsibility, and when she’d gone missing, he’d felt a crushing fear he never experienced on the battlefield. Something that was going to take him a while to process, despite the fact that extracting her from Firtash’s home had been a cakewalk. All of it made him wonder why anyone had bothered to take her in the first place. It didn’t make any sense and once they put all the pieces together, he hoped to have all his questions answered.
The team was going to get together tomorrow and download, and he hoped that Sam was going to be able to share what they discovered about Belikov’s involvement.
Looking across the kitchen, he saw Stazi’s small feet propped on the end of the couch and felt a wave of gratitude that the op had gone as well as it had. Going against the Bratva hadn’t cost them a scratch and that made him extraordinarily uncomfortable because it should’ve. Belikov had Stazi under surveillance for weeks and attempted to break into her apartment, and to leave her unattended in a poorly guarded house just didn’t add up.
He didn’t want to borrow trouble, but there was something in his gut that told him they were not done with Dmitry and Sergey.
And his gut had never been wrong.
***
Stazi took one step and felt her back hit the wall. “I thought we were going upstairs.”
“I can’t wait any longer,” he said in a half whisper before he prized her mouth open and slid his tongue against hers. “I have to make sure you’re okay.”
“Oh, Hank, make me forget the last twenty-four hours. Take me to the place where it’s just you and me.” He answered her by stepping forward and pressing his weight against her. As he ground his hips, his erection thrust against her stomach.
“Always.”
As she threaded her hands through his hair, he yanked her panties down.
“I promise to never let anything bad happen to you again,” he said against her neck. “Never.”
The moment his fingers slid across her folds, her hips bucked off the wall. “Yes…yes, yes!” She chanted as he pushed two long fingers inside. “I want all of you.”
“That’s what you’re about to get.” He opened his shorts and his cock sprang free. He rounded the crown with his hand. “You’re so tight. I want
inside you.”
“Yes, deep inside.”
He dropped his lips onto hers, grabbed her ass, and lifted her against the wall. “I’ll go slow.”
Nodding, she then gasped as he filled her. This was what she needed to wipe away the fear and anger that had filled her since she’d been snatched off the street. Being entwined with Hank, having him buried so deep inside her body that she felt as though she was going to burst.
All she wanted was to feel him against her walls, driving his hard flesh inside her, chasing away all the tears that were threatening to erupt. She needed him as close as she could have him.
Adjusting her hips, he slipped in a little deeper. “More,” she cried out and he slowly lowered her onto him until she was so full that all she could see, feel, and hear was Hank. Knowing any movement could set off her orgasm, she pressed her palm against his chest. Wanting to stay in this perfect state, she concentrated on the way her skin looked against his, the feel of his fingers digging into her and how he smelled like home. This moment was perfect because everything was right in the world and the desire between them was pure, blunt, and untethered. “Now,” she said against his neck.
“Now,” he repeated.
He drove into her and she threw her head back as his thrusts pushed her to the edge of her climax.
“I love your expression right before you…” He jabbed himself up like he couldn’t help himself and it set her orgasm free. It rippled across her body in waves, getting stronger and stronger as she dissolved, and her heart spun in her chest.
Seeing his desire for her prolonged her climax. Just as it began to ebb away, he grunted and his fingers dug deeper as he poured himself into her.
His breaths were hot and fast against her neck, and he growled as he shifted them away from the wall and began walking up the stairs. “Where are you taking me?”
“To bed.”