Midnight Rendezvous (Fortress Security Book 3)

by Rebecca Deel

“It’s a good thing you’re on our side, bro,” Rio said. “You’d make a world-class terrorist.”

  “Alex, you and Quinn have your positions staked out?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Watch our backs. One at the front of the house, the other at the back. Hopefully, we’ll be able to slip in and out without engaging Montgomery’s men, but I’m not holding my breath on that one. Rio, you’re with Remy and Lily in case Christine needs medical help.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “What about you?” Remy asked. “Where will you be?”

  Josh glanced up. “Running interference as will Nate until we need his fireworks display.”

  “You’re sure we’ll need it?” Lily asked.

  “I just hope we have enough hardware on us to pull this off.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Lily finished checking her equipment for the second time and zipped her Go bag. Everything was in order. When Josh gave the word, all she had to do was strap on her pack.

  Durango’s leader was an interesting guy. He kept his team running in well-oiled precision, but they all had a great rapport with each other. Josh seemed to know when his team members needed humor to break the tension. Reminded her of a few of the teams she’d worked with in the Army, though they hadn’t been spec ops like this Delta unit. Just from what she’d heard while enlisted, those boys were scary good. Their obvious skill and professionalism made Lily feel even better about their chances of success tonight.

  She stood, glanced around. Durango unit was running surveillance on the compound as the daylight waned into twilight, watching for signs of change in the guards’ routine. Remy sat across the clearing, back pressed against a tree, staring off into the distance.

  Picking up her pack, Lily crossed the open space, propped her bag against a nearby rock, and dropped down beside him. “Hey.”

  The Cajun stirred, turned, focused his gaze on her. “Hey, yourself.”

  “You okay?”

  “With you by my side, how could I not be?”

  Her eyes narrowed at his evasion. “Don’t do that, Remy.”

  “What?”

  “Deflect. I take it Christine looked pretty bad?”

  He grimaced. “I’ve never seen her like that. She looks fragile, as if a good wind would blow her away. Growing up, Christine was never sick. She used to say she had the best immune system in the parish. While the rest of us were down with the flu and puking our guts out, she was brimming with good health. Guess seeing her like this shook me more than I realized. Wish James had told me she was so frail. I would have been better prepared.”

  Sometimes even a warning ahead of time wasn’t enough to negate the shock. Lily covered his hand with hers, squeezed. “We’ll get her out tonight. By tomorrow afternoon at the latest, she’ll be back in the States and have the best medical care available. We’re giving her a chance to live. It’s up to her to fight to stay alive, Remy.”

  “The trip to the plane could be rough, sweetness.” His voice thickened. “The way she looks, I’m not sure if she’ll be able to handle it.”

  “She has to. She has no choice.” Another squeeze of her hand. “We’ll help her, Remy. Once we get her to the SUVs, all she has to do is hang on for the ride.” Unless something went wrong and they had to run for safety on foot. That would, indeed, be a serious problem if she was as weak as Remy seemed to think. They’d deal with it if that’s the way things came down. If it was necessary, one of the men could carry her.

  “Things never go according to plan.”

  “Nope. We adjust the plan and move forward. Nothing new. We do it all the time.” You could spend hours planning an op and still unexpected things popped up, making it necessary to adjust on the fly. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn’t. If the tactic didn’t work, you pivoted and tried a different one until you found something that did.

  “Christine’s not equipped to handle this.”

  “If she wants to live, she doesn’t have a choice. Look, we don’t know how strong she is. Let’s not anticipate problems where there might not be any. We’ll have Rio with us.” She paused. “He’s a good medic, right?”

  “The best, from what I’ve heard. There are stories floating around Fortress about a really hairy op where he was forced to practically do field surgery to save a buddy’s life.”

  “The friend make it?”

  “Nate looks pretty healthy to me.”

  Lily blinked. “Wow. Sounds like we have the right man to help Christine, doesn’t it?”

  He smiled. “I suppose helping a woman who might be weak will be a walk in the park compared to that.”

  The ice that had been forming in her belly began to melt. She’d never seen Remy like this and didn’t like it one bit. He was always upbeat about everything, saw their missions as a challenge to be conquered. The man with coal-black hair and dark eyes oozed confidence during every other mission they’d worked together. She wanted that man back.

  He reached over, cupped her nape with his palm, and tugged her against his chest. With his other hand, he threaded his fingers through her hair. “Why did you pull your hair tie out earlier?”

  “Distraction. Can’t be too many women in the area with blond hair.”

  “Don’t use your body as a distraction again,” he murmured.

  She blinked. “It worked, Remy.”

  “Too bad. I can’t handle it, honey.”

  “It’s never been a problem before.”

  “Yeah? You’re mine now, Lily. I don’t share.” His eyes glittered as they stared down into hers.

  “Possessive, much?”

  “When it comes to the woman I love, you bet I am.”

  Lily froze. “Remy?” she whispered. He couldn’t mean that. Could he?

  “I love you, Lily Stanton.” The back of his fingers caressed her cheek. “Didn’t you know?”

  She shook her head, wanting to hold on to hope with both hands but afraid it would disappear before it became a solid reality. No one had ever loved her aside from her recently discovered birth mother. Elaine’s love was so new that Lily couldn’t count that. “Why?” Everyone else had abandoned her. Could she trust that he wouldn’t be like all the others?

  His expression softened. “How could I not? You’re everything I ever wanted in a mate.”

  “What about Christine?”

  Remy tapped her nose in a light reprimand. “Those emotions are pale in comparison to what I feel for you. I didn’t love Christine, honey.”

  “But she hurt you by dumping you for James.”

  “She hurt my pride. Looking back on it now, we wouldn’t have made it for the long haul, Lily. The emotion I felt for her was shallow, driven by teenage hormones.” He bent his head, kissed her long and deep. When he drew back, he said, “I love you. There will never be anyone else for me. I want to share my life and my family with you. I want to raise children with you when we’re ready. I know this is sudden, but I didn’t want to go into this op without you knowing how I feel. Christine and I have a history and that’s all. She’s the past. You are my future.”

  “I don’t know what to say.” She wanted to tell him she loved him, too, but couldn’t force the words out. What if he changed his mind? What if he fell out of love with her? If she gave her heart to Remy, it would kill her if he rejected her, too.

  “You don’t have to say anything. I’m not asking you for a declaration of undying love this second.”

  “What if you change your mind?” The words slipped out before she could stop them, heart beating frantically at the vulnerability she’d just revealed.

  “Never going to happen.” He captured her chin with his hand. “I will always love you. The only way I’ll walk away from you is if you tell me you don’t love me, can never love me. And even then, I’ll use every skill, every ounce of persuasion to try and change your mind. I will never abandon you, Lily.”

  Tears blurred her vision. How did he know? She hadn’t told anyone. Yet he
figured out her greatest weakness and addressed it head on. Words still wouldn’t form, so she did the only thing she could.

  Lily closed the inches between them and kissed him. While the kiss started sweet and gentle, it quickly morphed into hot and demanding. When she lifted her mouth from Remy’s, his color was high and his eyes were glittering.

  “Trust me,” he said with a voice that had gone hoarse. “What we have is a hundred times more potent than anything I felt with Christine.”

  A brush of fabric alerted them to the approach of at least one member of Durango. Lily started to move away but found her wrist shackled by Remy’s hard hand. “They already know. No need to hide how we feel as long as it doesn’t interfere with the job.”

  She recognized a challenge when she heard one. Was it meant for her or as a warning to their teammates? She decided it didn’t matter as she had no intention of hiding their relationship, Lily relaxed against his side once more, her hand clasping his.

  Rio strode into the clearing. “Josh said to gear up. It’s time to get into position.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Remy strapped his pack on his back and donned the Fortress comm system that would keep him and Lily in touch with the Durango unit. He glanced over his shoulder. Lily was tucking her golden hair into a black watch cap she’d tugged on her head. Smart. Her beautiful hair shone like a beacon when light hit it. Not a good thing when you were working a covert night mission.

  When she was set, Lily nodded.

  “You better come out of this without a scratch, honey, or your mother will kill me,” Remy murmured.

  “Same goes for you. I don’t want to face Marie if you’re injured.”

  Remy activated his mike. “Josh, we’re on the move.”

  “Copy. Come in from the west. Watch your step. There are some loose rocks on that side, but it’s the best approach. More cover.”

  “Copy that.” He smiled at Lily. “Let’s do this.”

  Keeping to the shadows, he and Lily followed Rio deeper into the thick stand of trees. They skirted a slow-moving stream and climbed over fallen logs as the thickening clouds scudded across the night sky, hiding the moon’s beams. Excellent. There was a full moon tonight. The deeper the darkness when Nate took out the electricity, the safer for everyone involved in the rescue operation.

  Up ahead, Rio held up his fist and dropped into a crouch. Remy and Lily stopped in their tracks and crouched, weapons in hand and alert. A few yards past the tree line, male voices drew near. Remy listened. A couple of Montgomery’s guards from the heated discussion going between them.

  “I’m telling you Montgomery’s going to close down his operation,” said one man.

  “Why? People who come here for the medicine leave happy and satisfied with the doctor and the food and lodging. They think it’s like going to a spa or something,” commented the second man. “He wouldn’t give that up. It’s easy money.”

  “You got another reason to explain releasing four of five patients in one day? He’s never done that before.”

  “Just a coincidence they finished the treatments on the same day.”

  “Use your head, Trace. They didn’t arrive at the same time. How could they finish together? The treatments take at least fourteen days. One of the women who left today only arrived four days ago. I’m telling you, he’s closing up shop.”

  “I hate to lose this gig. Easy money, easy work. Do you know why he’s leaving?”

  The corner of Remy’s lips curled. They should be worried about losing their lives more than losing a paycheck. If they tried to stop Fortress from taking Christine, the guards wouldn’t survive the night. Fortress had a lot of surprises planned for these bozos if they interfered.

  “A couple of mercenaries are coming after the last patient, the Wilder woman.”

  “So what? We got twenty-five fully armed men on this compound. What are two men gonna do against all of us?”

  “One of the mercs is a woman, a real looker from what I heard.”

  A snort carried on the night breeze. “Even less of a threat, then.”

  Huh. So they thought only two people were searching for the Wilder woman and the guards believed they wouldn’t have any problem since one of the pair was a woman. Only proved these two guards weren’t geniuses. Just because Lily was a woman didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of taking them down. Durango was going to be a surprise if they had to engage Montgomery’s staff. He sighed. Chances were very high that was going to be the outcome. Too many guards to not encounter plenty of resistance. Remy just hoped they could get Christine out of the line of fire before the firestorm hit.

  The guards’ voices faded as they continued on with their circuit of the grounds. As soon as they were out of range, Remy activated his mike. “Josh, just overheard a couple of guards talking. They have twenty-five men in the compound.”

  “Copy. Alex confirms your principal is back in her assigned room.”

  “Roger that.” Remy, Rio, and Lily stood and resumed their stealthy approach to the west side of the compound. More than an hour passed before they reached the coordinates Josh had given them. As the hour crept closer to midnight, the guards slowed their circuits to once every twenty minutes. They became less observant the later the hour.

  Still no dogs, which made Remy happy. He liked dogs and didn’t want to harm one unless it was unavoidable. He glanced at Rio’s mike bag. Maybe the medic carried something that would put canines to sleep for a little while. Wouldn’t surprise him in the least. Rio Kincaid seemed to be prepared for just about anything.

  Josh broke radio silence. “Nate, go.”

  Anticipation built in Remy. The demolition man’s job was to set charges around the various buildings and cut off the resting guards from those on duty.

  The minutes crawled by. Midnight came and went and still no signal from Josh. How long could it take to set up C-4? Just before one, Josh whispered into the comm, “Remy, go.”

  “Copy.”

  He rose, followed quickly by Lily and Rio. In the gloom of the tree line, Remy stopped, scanned the area. Nothing. No roaming guards, no dogs. His gaze focused on the guard by the door they’d decided was the closest access to Christine and the place they’d encounter the least resistance. The guy had his cell phone out. Lit his face like a flashlight. Remy watched him a minute, decided he was playing a game on his phone. All the better if he was distracted. Signaling Lily and Rio to wait, he silently made his way from cover to cover until he was at the corner of the house, fifteen feet from the guard. “Set,” he whispered into his mike.

  On cue, a branch snapped somewhere in the trees, the sound echoing in the stillness of the night. The guard’s head whipped around to the right. His hand slid to the gun on his side holster as he took a couple steps in that direction. He stopped, listened. Another branch snapped. While he was staring intently into the darkness, Remy moved in behind him, clamped one hand over his mouth while his other arm choked the man out.

  Rio appeared at his side, hypodermic in his hand. He plunged the needle into the guard’s arm. “He’ll be out for several hours.” He nodded toward the thick foliage. “Dump him in there. No one will find him until we’re gone.”

  While Remy and Rio dragged the unconscious man deep into the bushes, Lily, weapon in hand, quartered the area, scanning for unexpected trouble.

  “Fifteen minutes,” Josh murmured through their ear pieces. “No movement.”

  Remy nodded at Rio and touched Lily on the shoulder. He checked the door. Locked. He motioned to Lily. Seconds later, the door swung open. Leading with his weapon, Remy went right. Lily slid in right behind him, going left. “Clear,” she whispered.

  He signaled Rio inside the kitchen. To the left was the back stairwell. With silent steps, Remy crossed the kitchen and peered up the stairs. No light and no people. Perfect. He eased into the darkness, climbed with a noiseless tread. At the top of the stairs, a door closed off the stairwell from the second floor hall. Hugging the
wall without allowing his clothes to brush against the hard surface and alert anyone nearby of his presence, he covered the remaining feet to the door. Footsteps approached. He signaled Lily and Rio to flatten themselves against the wall, then glided behind the door.

  The knob turned. A big man stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him. Remy knocked him out with the hilt of his Ka-Bar. He eased the man into the corner, made sure his legs weren’t blocking the doorway in case they needed to make a fast getaway.

  “Thirteen minutes,” Josh murmured.

  Tension knotted Remy’s stomach. They needed to get moving or they’d have to wait for the guards to make their next rounds. They couldn’t make a run for it with Christine, not unless they had no choice.

  He turned the knob, opened the door just enough to check if the hallway was clear. No guards, though the area was better lit than Remy was comfortable with. He cleared the doorway and walked down the hall toward Christine’s room with Lily and Rio behind him. Halfway down, he held up a fist. Great. More footsteps. A small hand touched his arm. He glanced down at Lily. She motioned to the open door behind her.

  The three operatives moved into the darkened room, pulled the door almost shut and waited. A dark shadow passed the room and opened the door to the room beside the one they were hiding in. A soft click told Remy the man had shut the door. He waited a minute to see if the guard would come back out or if he’d settled in for a while. No movement.

  “Twelve minutes.”

  Remy eased back into the hall, followed by Lily and Rio. The medic drew the door to the same position as it had been a minute before. If the guard poked his head out of his room, the door would look the same as when he’d passed it earlier.

  Silent steps brought them to Christine’s door. He slowly turned the knob, met resistance. Clenching his jaw, he glanced at Lily. Immediately, she crouched and picked the lock with deft twists of her slender fingers. When she stood, Remy slipped into the darkened room, Lily and Rio in his wake. In the dim glow shining through the window from an outside light, he crossed the room and stood beside Christine’s bed.