Nowhere to Hide (Delos Series Book 1)

by Lindsay McKenna

  The driver was ready to roar away, waiting for Tanner, who was the last in. He sat in the passenger side seat and spoke in low tones into his mic as the van lurched forward.

  Cav curled his arm around Lia’s shoulders. Even though she was buckled into her safety belt, Lia desperately needed his touch. She could tell by the stern look on the men’s faces that they were prepared for an attack on the van.

  She wasn’t surprised, knowing Medina, and that he was hell-bent on revenge against her. This was how he operated. Now, he had zeroed in on her.

  She slid her hand across Cav’s thigh, feeling the hard, curved muscles beneath his jeans. He wrapped his hand around her upper arm and slowly moved it up and down in a soothing motion.

  Soon they were far south of La Fortuna. Lia’s one regret was that she hadn’t had a chance to say good-bye to the children she loved and their parents. They had all become so close over the years. Shakily wiping tears away, she felt Cav hug her and hold her for a moment. He was always tuned into her, and she knew he felt her pain almost as deeply as she did.

  He smiled down at her encouragingly. “You’ll see. Things will calm down for you once we get you on that plane for the States.”

  She whispered, “Cav, I hate to leave like this, but I know it’s best. Do you think Medina will try to kill the three teachers, or take out his anger by hurting the people of La Fortuna?”

  Cav shrugged. “I don’t know. But Robert Culver just released ten new security operators for this mission. They’re already on their way down here to San José to join up with our team.” His mouth tightened. “If Medina thinks he’s going to harm anyone at La Fortuna, he and his men will run into a black ops army that’s a helluva lot more professional than his ragtag group. And the Costa Rican government has approved this maneuver. They’re sending fifteen police in five vans north to La Fortuna, right now.”

  Lia looked somewhat reassured, at least for now, and he leaned over to press a kiss on her forehead. “So don’t worry about them, okay? Robert is working directly with the government here, and the police are already devising a plan to get Medina at his villa in the capitol.”

  “I’m so glad,” she whispered, true relief in her voice. “I’ve caused everyone so much trouble, so much grief.”

  “Hey, this isn’t your fault,” Cav returned sharply. “You were a pawn in a bigger game Medina was playing. If I’d been in your shoes, I’d have driven Lupe to the airport to escape, too.” He squeezed her shoulder. “You, Maria and Sophia all did the right thing for Lupe, for the right reasons.”

  “And now,” Tanner broke in to address Lia, “We’re taking that dirt-bag down, with or without Costa Rican help. The team, General Culver just unleashed, is entirely composed of Delta Force operators from the Army.” His mouth curved into a ruthless smile. “They’re on top secret orders to come here. Those operators are going to be looking forward to this mission, believe me.”

  Her eyes widened. “But…that’s military! You’re civilians.”

  Tanner gave her a grim smile, his eyes glittering. “This government has an agreement in place where the U.S. can bring in military if the government asks for it. And they’ve asked.”

  New relief moved through Lia, and she actually sagged against Cav, closing her eyes. “Thank God…”

  Tanner said, “Look, stop worrying about everyone else, Lia. Let’s just take care of you. Everyone on this Op agrees that you need to leave the country. Until the Costa Rican government can clean up Medina’s mess, get him in custody—and I hope like hell kill a whole bunch of his soldiers—you are his target.”

  Opening her eyes, she nodded. “I got it, Tanner. That’s why I’m here.”

  “Good.”

  “It’s best this way,” Cav agreed softly. “Robert and Dilara have moved heaven and hell to keep you safe. They aren’t going to have people like you hunted down like this.”

  “It must have taken a lot of resources and time for them to do that,” Lia said thoughtfully.

  “It did, but because of Robert is respected by military communities worldwide, he can ask for and receive things most officers could never get. He’s the right man in the right place for this kind of thing.”

  Lia rubbed at her tired eyes. “Everything is moving so fast…”

  “Yeah, but that’s the mark of an effective military operation.” Cav didn’t add that the billions of dollars generated from the Artemis and Delos shipping lines didn’t hurt, either. He was sure that Robert and Dilara were throwing a lot of cash into this operation, but they’d never admit it, especially to Lia, who was feeling guilty enough that all this was her fault.

  Damn, thought Cav, he was falling so deeply in love with this woman, and he was so proud that she was a fighter. He could see she didn’t want to leave La Fortuna and would have stayed if he hadn’t made it clear that she was directly in Medina’s gun sights. And she was, right now.

  Cav, like the rest of the operators, was on constant guard, alert for anything that looked remotely out of place as the van sped down the freeway toward San José.

  At the airport, police commander Miguel Chavez met them. He escorted her, brandishing his power and security clearance, down into the bowels of the airport. They finally entered a small room with no windows, where Cav waited with Lia while two more operators stood at armed guard outside the room.

  Cav had gotten Lia a bottle of cold water, which she had gripped between her hands as she sat on the metal chair in the small room.

  “How are you doing?” he asked, crouching in front of her, his hands resting on her thighs.

  Lia was numb, and could only say, “Okay.”

  “You’re such a beautiful fibber,” he murmured tenderly, moving his hands slowly up and down her thighs. He saw that his touch settled her down, her shoulders dropping the tension she was holding in them. “In another forty minutes, you’ll be boarded first. There will be two air marshals on that flight, Lia, to protect you. You’ll be fine.”

  She turned and faced him. “I worry about you, Cav, and about all these guys. You’re going to get into the fight to get Medina as soon as you get me on board that plane, aren’t you?” She saw him give her a rueful smile, like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

  “Busted.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t go, Cav,” she blurted out, unable to hide her emotions now. “I know I don’t have a right to ask you that.”

  “Yes,” he growled, “You have every right, Lia.”

  It was painful for her to look at him, so she looked away. “I know we barely know one another, but there’s something good between us, Cav. I can feel it. When you kissed me, I felt as if I’d never been kissed before. And you did it so well…” She saw his eyes turn dark with emotion, and his hands stilled on her thighs as she absorbed their strength and warmth. She had never wanted him more.

  “Listen,” he growled, then softened his tone as he cupped her face. “This is one of the few times I want to be on an operation, Lia. I want Medina so damn bad I can taste it. That bastard is as good as dead. He just doesn’t know it yet. And I hope like hell I’m the man who puts the bullet into that sick bastard’s brain. I want to know that he’ll never, ever bother you or any other woman again. This man needs to be taken out.”

  She felt a chill from his icy declaration. Here was Cav, her warrior, fully unveiled. Shaken, Lia whispered, “Then please be very, very careful, Cav. I can’t lose you,” and she reached out to him, touching his face and feeling a day’s worth of beard beneath her fingertips.

  Just as quickly, Cav’s feral look was replaced by the gentle, strong man she was falling in love with. She knew he wanted to kiss her as he moved his thumb lightly across her lips.

  “When this is over, I’m coming home to you, Lia. I’m sure Robert has another assignment for me, but I’m going to reject it. I want time with you…”

  Nothing had ever sounded so good to her. She leaned forward, seeking and finding his lips, releasing a low moan of
need as his mouth took hers with unbelievable gentleness. Lia wanted so much more from this man!

  She, too, wanted a chance to for them to know each other without being under threat. His mouth slid against her lips now, and she hungrily pressed hers against his, wanting so much more from him, wanting to give equally back to him.

  Cav held her, savoring her natural sweetness, her taste, her fragrance. Her fingers open and closed against his shoulders as she eagerly kissed him in return.

  His heart was pounding in his chest, his erection painful with need. Time was what they both needed. Time for her to heal, and time for them to explore what they would do next.

  *

  “How are you feeling, Lia?” Dilara came into Lia’s condo. It was on the fifth floor overlooking the beautiful city of Alexandria, Virginia.

  Lia laid out tuna sandwiches, sweet pickles and Fritos on the small kitchen table for them. “I’m okay,” she said, giving her boss her best smile. That wasn’t entirely true. She had been home for two days and hadn’t heard a word from Cav. She was going crazy inside with worry about him. “Have you heard anything from Tanner and his group? Do they have Medina in custody?” she asked Dilara.

  Closing the door to the small, homey condo, Dilara said, “That’s why I came over here. It’s not something I wanted to discuss with you over the telephone.”

  Lia froze. “Is Cav all right?” The words tore with such intensity from her lips that Dilara’s calm expression turned to one of sympathy.

  Dilara came over and placed her hands on Lia’s shoulders. “Medina is dead. Cav is fine. One of Tanner’s men got wounded, but nothing critical, thank God. Cav’s fine, Lia. Sit down a minute, okay?”

  Relieved, Lia sat before her knees collapsed beneath her. Dilara sat down and held Lia’s hand.

  “Tanner just called me, and I had my driver bring me over here to see you in person,” she said, patting Lia’s hand. “Cav had a flesh wound on his arm, but he’s fine. The doctor patched him up.”

  Lia sat very still. She kept searching Dilara’s face, still anxious. “He’s really all right?”

  “Yes, darling, he’s fine. Tanner is taking the team north and they’re going to be working with the Delta Force group. Next, they’re going after Medina’s jungle locations where they’re growing marijuana and cocaine. The team is going to take out the drug soldiers who are enslaving the local farmers and forcing them to grow coca plants for cocaine. The Costa Rican police are there, too. They found all the places in the Cloud Forest where Medina was holding farmers and their families as slaves and hostages.”

  There was grim satisfaction in her husky voice. “They’re dismantling his entire northern highlands operation. Once they get done, those farmers and their families will be free. All of Medina’s soldiers who kept them hostage, working like slaves on their own land, will be rounded up and captured.”

  Pressing her hand to her heart, Lia whispered, “That’s wonderful. Does that mean that La Fortuna will be safe now? My kids? Their parents? The new school teachers?”

  Smiling, Dilara nodded. “Yes, indeed! All will be safe and sound once they finish with this massive operation. But it’s going to take a few months before the area is actually back in the hands of the local farmers. Tanner was telling my husband that it’s going to take at least two months, maybe a little longer. Medina had his spidery hands into everything. It’s unbelievable.”

  “Oh,” Lia muttered, “La Araña, The Spider, was very well known in La Fortuna. We also knew how extensive his control was over local people and farmers.”

  Dilara shook her head. “I only wish, Lia, you had told me.”

  “I didn’t think,” she admitted. “I mean, Medina left us alone. Well…until Lupe escaped and we helped her leave the country.”

  Dilara released her hand. “I understand. We’re a charity. We’re there to help, not to be law enforcers.”

  “We had learned to co-exist with Medina’s operation,” Lia explained haltingly. “I’ve been giving this whole situation a lot of thought, Dilara. If I, or someone connected with the local charity, had given you an insider’s view of the politics, the good, bad and ugly of the area, you would have been more aware of the total situation. But we just accepted it.”

  “Because of what we’ve learned from this experience, Robert and I are going to change how we work with all our charities,” Dilara picked up her eel-skin briefcase, opening it on her lap and handing over a small manual to Lia. “I know we talked to you about it when we first flew into San Jose, at the hotel. It was an idea we had, but it was just that. Now, we’ve moved on it and it’s real. While you’re here with us, I would like to use not only your military background, but your four years at our Home School at La Fortuna. Robert has put this together with some of the best military strategists in the U.S. He’s also worked with high officials from the CIA.” She patted the manual. “This is top secret, for your eyes only, Lia. I want you to go through it, page by page, and make comments as you see fit. This manual is an amalgam of the best military minds in the world, but now, we need people in the trenches, like you, to look at it. Think outside the box, and once you’re done, let me know. We’ll then convene in our boardroom with Robert, and discuss any changes or ideas you might have to improve on what’s already there. Okay?”

  Stunned, Lia nodded, placing her hands over the bright red cover of the manual. “What is this, anyway? A game plan? A working concept?”

  Dilara sat back, her mouth pursed. “We as a family have concluded that in today’s environment, threats are escalating on every continent where we have a charity. Therefore, they’ll need us to provide security so they can survive and thrive. In response to today’s growing threat environment, Robert created Artemis as an internal Delos Charity security company we can call on at a moment’s notice.” She pointed at the manual. “You know that Tal, Matt and Alexa, our children, are all in the military.”

  Lia nodded. “Yes, I was aware that Tal is a Marine Corps captain who heads up a sniper group at Bagram presently. Alexa is a captain in the U.S. Air Force and flies an A-10 in Afghanistan, and Matt is a Delta Force operator out of Bagram. Is that correct?”

  “Correct. We are asking our children to come home, to leave the military so they can run Artemis Security. I want Tal, the oldest, to become CEO. Matt has a lot of experience in KNR, kidnapping and ransom. We want him to head up that department. Alexa wants to head up the Women’s Division. Each of them has a world of experience in the military, and has a wide network of people they can work with. Robert’s brothers, John and Pete Culver, are working with us, too. John is an admiral in the U.S. Navy, so that gives us access to that force if necessary. Pete is a Marine Corps general, and can bring Marines into a situation, if approved by the State Department.”

  Lia’s eyes widened. “Wow,” she murmured, “you’re setting up a clandestine security operation under the umbrella of Delos. And while you’re creating a security corporation within Delos, you’ll still have the U.S. military available, too?”

  Holding up her hands, Dilara said, “In a word, yes, but Robert is working with John and Pete, plus many other Pentagon high level contacts, to bring this together and make it work. The State Department recognizes that all non-government charitable organizations are under attack globally. They understand the need for what we’re creating and are willing to underwrite what we’re doing for political reasons. This country cannot be seen sending in troops to a charity under siege. But we can use black ops, paid civilian security operators and stealth, quietly moving behind-the-scenes to get to that charity and give its people and buildings protection. There are many other countries who are looking to what we’re doing, wanting to use it as a template if it works. We’re going to have a lot of eyes watching what we do and whether we’re successful at it or not.”

  “That makes a lot of sense,” Lia said. “You’ve more or less done that with Medina down in Costa Rica.”

  She grimaced. “Yes, but let me tell you,
we learned a lot from that experience. Robert had to scramble to get Army help, and if he hadn’t had the respect, clout and power he does within the military, he couldn’t have done it. I told him that if we’d had our own security teams of men and women who were once military, we could have inserted our own team into that situation faster and more efficiently. Robert agreed with me, which is what got us both thinking about creating Artemis Security.”

  “And your children would be perfect fit for it,” Lia said, her excitement rising. “They all have at least six or seven years of combat experience, don’t they?”

  “Correct.” Dilara sighed. “I must tell you, Lia, as a mother I’m so happy that our children are on board with this. Tal and Alexa can hand in their commission and quit at any time. Matt can’t get free until next March when his present enlistment runs out. But it’s going to take us nine months to a year to put this concept on the ground. There’s so much to it, and that’s why I wanted your eyes on it. You know what it’s like to be in a charity overseas. Costa Rica is usually very safe, the best in South or Central America, but they still have issues that could jeopardize people at our charities down there. If that’s the case there is no country where we have a Delos charity that can be considered completely is safe. We must do something about this now.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “And to have to lose Maria and Sophia to Medina just breaks my heart.”

  Lia reached out and touched her arm as Dilara wiped her eyes. “If we’d had Artemis Security online, if we’d been receiving weekly reports on the political environment surrounding each charity location, we would have known where there might be issues.”

  “And what would you have done if I had written such a report on Medina?” Lia wondered.

  “Artemis Security would have looked at the situation, talked to you, talked to the government involved, and then assessed the threat level. They could have sent down a security contractor or more than one to protect all of you. We could have alerted the government. If they wanted to get involved, we would have coordinated something with them. If not, then we’d go in with a handpicked individual or team to keep our charity and our people safe. We recognize that not every government has a military or the money, manpower or guts to respond to a threat situation to one of our charities. By creating Artemis Security, we can.”