Armed Response

by Janie Crouch

  “Someone easy to set up.”

  Derek smiled. “Not as easy as he and Freihof thought.”

  “Freihof got away.” Frustration still ate at her. She’d been so close to taking him down.

  “But with Saul out of the picture we’ve crippled Freihof in a lot of ways, including the broken nose you gave him. Plus, Ren McClement says there’s been some new developments. We’ll be hearing more about that soon, I’m sure.”

  “Good.”

  “And Daryl Eakin is dead. I know you know that.”

  Lillian hadn’t told Derek many specifics about what had happened in the past with Daryl, but Derek knew it hadn’t been good.

  She nodded. “I got a second chance to fight my own personal monster, and this time I won. Not everybody gets that sort of second chance.”

  Derek pointed at Jace. “That man loves you. He would fight your monsters for you.”

  “I know, but—”

  She stopped her sentence as Jace’s voice interrupted her from the bed, husky and low. “No. I wouldn’t fight your monsters. You can do that yourself. But I’ll stand with you as you fight them. Every single time.”

  Lillian leaped over to him, cupping his cheeks. “That’s even better.” She smiled, kissing him as she stared into those blue eyes. “Hi. You found your way back to me.”

  “I always will. No matter how long it takes, I always will.”

  They would always find their way back to each other.

  * * *

  LILLIAN SLEPT IN the hospital bed with Jace that night.

  Maybe he’d been slow to initially come out of the coma, but once he started Jace made much faster progress than was expected. Within a few hours he was sitting up with no dizziness and not long afterward was even taking steps by himself.

  Different members of Omega Sector had come by all day to check on them and Derek. To shake Jace’s hand and hug Lillian tight. To thank them for a job well done. Even Philip came by, finally stitched up from the wounds Saul had given him. He even smiled and spoke without making anyone mad.

  The traitor who had resided inside their family was now gone. Freihof would fall next.

  The last visitor was someone Lillian hadn’t ever talked to directly in person, but knew about. Ren McClement. Omega’s most revered and somewhat notorious agent. In his midforties with brown hair and dark eyes that looked like they never missed a thing.

  Rumors were that McClement’s specialty was undercover ops. Long-term assignments. The ones no one with family or friends would take. McClement answered to very few people and always got his man, no matter what the cost.

  The only thing that people agreed on about Ren McClement was that no one really knew him.

  Except Jace. Evidently Jace knew him, given how the two embraced with a strong hug before Ren ruffled Jace’s hair.

  “Nearly dead wasn’t what I was expecting when I brought you on for this mission, Eakin,” Ren said as he sat down in the chair on the other side of Jace’s bed from Lillian and nodded at her. “Agent Muir.”

  “Lillian, please.”

  She enjoyed watching the two men banter with each other for the next couple of hours. Despite insults thrown on both sides, the respect the men had for each other all but permeated the air. Both of them made a point to draw her into the conversation as much as possible.

  “I’m glad you two are okay,” Ren said. “Your dead brother showing up was...unexpected.”

  Jace’s eyes met hers. “Yeah, for all of us.” He turned to Ren. “I’m sorry Freihof got away.”

  “Well, speaking of dead people being alive, we’ve had a pretty big development when it comes to Freihof.”

  “How so?” Lillian asked. She wanted Freihof behind bars so badly she could taste it.

  “Evidently Natalie Freihof, Damien’s beloved wife whose death is the very reason he’s been taking his revenge on Omega Sector, is actually alive.”

  “What?” Jace and Lillian both said it at the same time.

  “Yep. We’re not sure if she’s working with Freihof or not, but we’re going to find out. I personally am going to find out.”

  Ren’s dark eyes were so cold Lillian felt a little sympathy for the woman she’d never met.

  “Whether she’s working with him or not, his obsession with her is the key to drawing him out and trapping him. One way or another she’ll help us bring Freihof down. I’ll see to it.”

  Collateral damage sometimes happened in battles like this. But Freihof had to be stopped. If this dead wife could help, Lillian wouldn’t argue against it.

  “But this is all on me now,” Ren said. “You two are just supposed to heal. Jace, I’m sure Steve Drackett’s going to be in here any minute now asking you to join the Omega team permanently.”

  Jace smiled. “Nope, not for me. All I want is to get to my ranch and get it started. I’m out of this game for good.”

  Ren smiled. “Since your ranch just happens to be forty miles from Omega HQ, I’m sure Steve may still call on your services from time to time.”

  “I’m thankful for many reasons that my ranch is only forty miles from Omega.” Jace turned to Lillian, heat clear in his eyes. “But none of them have a damn thing to do with Steve Drackett.”

  In the evening after everyone was gone, Lillian settled down in the uncomfortable lounge chair next to Jace, ready to try to get some rest.

  She heard the bed shift and the next minute Jace’s arms were scooping under her and tucking her in beside him. He lifted her as if he hadn’t been stabbed and in a medically induced coma just a few hours earlier.

  “Pretty sure heavy lifting isn’t a good plan, Eakin,” she said, but snuggled into his chest.

  “First, not even under the most absurd of circumstance could you be considered heavy lifting. Second, you sleep next to me. Every night from here on out.”

  She didn’t try to move away. There wasn’t anywhere she wanted to be besides right next to him. But she couldn’t just let his words slide. She had to make sure he knew what he was in for.

  “I’m still broken,” she whispered. “I know I made it back from the darkness and fought Daryl, but that doesn’t end the nightmare for me. There are parts of me that...might never work correctly again. I’m permanently broken, Jace.”

  She felt his hand slide over her hair. “I’ve worked with the most elite soldiers in the world and can say that you are stronger and more capable than anybody I’ve ever known.”

  “Daryl almost won. I didn’t even fight. If you hadn’t found a way to call me back...”

  His lips rested against her temple. “But you did fight. You fought your way out of the darkness and then you fought Daryl and won. You kept Freihof from killing me and thousands of innocent people.”

  “My PTSD can get pretty bad. I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into. Before you start saying things like forever.”

  “Then I’m glad I’m about to have a ranch full of animals specifically for people like you.”

  “I thought you were supposed to be helping soldiers.”

  “It’s for people who need time to put themselves back together. That includes you.”

  She wrapped her arm around his waist and threw a leg over his hips. “I can’t promise I’m ever going to be normal. That I’ll ever be like other women.”

  His thumb reached down and tilted her chin up so he could kiss her. “Thank God. I wouldn’t want you any other way than what you are.”

  “Then you better hurry up and heal so I can get you home and back into a real bed.”

  “I don’t care what bed we’re in as long as every day that I wake up, you’re in it with me. We have twelve years to make up for. And everything else we’ll work through.”

  “I can’t leave my job with Omega.”

  He laughed. “I wouldn’t dare eve
n try to suggest it. It’s more than just your job. They’re your family.”

  “You are, too. You always have been.”

  “And I always will be.”

  * * * * *

  Look for the next book in USA TODAY bestselling author

  Janie Crouch’s Omega Sector: Under Siege miniseries,

  In The Lawman’s Protection,

  available next month.

  And don’t miss the previous books in the series:

  Daddy Defender

  Protector’s Instinct

  Cease Fire

  Major Crimes

  Available now from Mills & Boon Intrigue!

  Keep reading an excerpt from Cowboy’s Secret Son by Robin Perini.

  Cowboy’s Secret Son

  by Robin Perini

  Prologue

  Five years ago

  The Texas night sky broke open with the boom of thunder and sizzle of lightning, splitting the heavens with a malicious hand. Oblivious to the violent rainstorm, Jared King stood on the end of the pier at Last Chance Lake, a large duffel at his side. Peering through the curtain of water streaming off his Stetson, he searched for any sign of his wife. Was this just another cruel twist in the kidnapper’s perverse game?

  Where was she? Where was Alyssa?

  His phone rang, piercing the roar of the torrent. He grabbed the cell and tapped the screen. “King,” he snapped.

  A spine-chilling and all-too-familiar chuckle sounded through the line. “You look upset, Jared.”

  His chin shot up and he spun in a 360. The guy was watching.

  Jared squinted into the darkness, searching for any indicator to the kidnapper’s location, shunting the full-blown terror that had gripped his heart and soul in a dark place.

  Why had he ever left her alone?

  When she’d taken the chance of marrying him and coming to live in the middle of nowhere, he’d promised to take care of her. Always. And look what had happened.

  She’d been taken by a madman.

  Another quick flash illuminated the large lake and his heart picked up the pace, thudding at the clip of a galloping stampede. Was that a boat near the swimming platform at the center of the lake?

  Was it them? It couldn’t be the sheriff. He’d agreed to stay out of sight until Alyssa was safe. Jared refused to take chances with her safety.

  Before Jared could focus, the world went dark again. He could see nothing. The entire lake had morphed into an endless black hole.

  “Where is she?” he asked, desperate to keep his voice steady.

  “Do you have the money?” the kidnapper countered in a guttural whisper.

  Jared snapped on his flashlight and lifted the duffel, sweeping the beam along the large bag.

  “Good. I bet that emptied out your bank account. Did you follow my instructions?”

  His unwavering focus probed the storm. If only he could catch a glimpse of the kidnapper or Alyssa. “I told you I would.” Jared ground his teeth at the taunting tone, but inside a niggle of something not quite right set off alarm bells. “Where is my wife?”

  “You sound nervous. You should be.” A low laugh filtered through the phone. “I told you not to lie to me. You failed. You didn’t follow all of my instructions,” the man said, his voice unidentifiable. “You contacted the law. I warned you I’d be watching.”

  Jared stilled. Oh God. How had the kidnapper found out? He clutched the duffel’s strap with a death grip. Jared had called Carder, Texas, sheriff Kevin Redmond when Alyssa had first been kidnapped. He’d had no choice. He couldn’t raise the cash the man wanted. Not after sinking everything into that new quarter horse stud last week. With no time to liquidate, he’d needed help. He and the sheriff had been careful, though. They’d never met in person.

  Obviously they hadn’t been careful enough.

  What had he done?

  Jared’s knuckles whitened around the phone. “Please—”

  “Too late for apologies. You broke the rules. Now you pay the price.”

  “Wait!”

  “Just remember, this is all your fault.”

  The line went dead.

  “You hear that, Kevin?” Jared whispered into the small microphone hidden beneath his shirt, fighting against the panic squeezing his heart.

  “He could be bluffing,” the sheriff said, through the earpiece.

  But Jared recognized the uncertainty lacing Kevin’s voice.

  A motor roared to life from the middle of the lake.

  “That’s got to be him,” Jared shouted. “He’s on the water.”

  “N-no! Please!” a woman’s pleading cry sounded from somewhere in the inky darkness.

  “Alyssa?” Jared shouted.

  “What the hell—?” Kevin cursed.

  A splash sounded. The motor kicked into gear.

  “Sounds like he’s heading to the far side.” Jared squinted, trying to make out any movement in the night. “I can’t see a damn thing. Alyssa!”

  She’d called out to him. She had to be close.

  “I’ll head him off.” Another motor rumbled. The sheriff’s boat. “Keep the comm open,” Kevin yelled over the engine.

  Jared had no chance of beating the boat to the other side of the lake in his truck, but he had to try. He shined his high-powered flashlight across the water to catch the direction of the boat’s wake. Maybe, just maybe.

  The beam swept past the old wooden platform and he jerked it back. He froze. Two pale hands gripped a post, blond hair shining against the water.

  Alyssa.

  “I see her,” he shouted.

  He tugged off his boots, dove into the icy water, and sprinted toward her. He made it to the structure in record time and stopped, treading water in the twenty-five-foot-deep man-made lake. He spun around, desperately searching for her, barely acknowledging the engine from Kevin’s boat closing in.

  She was gone.

  “Alyssa!”

  Jared dove beneath the surface, but with no moonlight shining down, he couldn’t even see his hands in front of him, he could only feel. Frantic, he whirled in the water, reaching out, searching for something, anything to hold on to, to bring her to safety.

  Something long and thin brushed his side. He clutched at it. His fingers clasped the rough surface of bark. A branch. He shoved it away.

  His lungs ached. Just a few seconds more and he’d find her. He could feel it.

  The water burned his eyes. His mind grew fuzzy. Damn it. He had no choice. He needed air. If he drowned, he couldn’t save his wife.

  He kicked to the surface, sucked in a large breath, and submerged beneath the water, but all he could feel was cold, dark and empty. He had no idea which direction to search.

  A circle of light illuminated the darkness above him. The sheriff. Thank God.

  An odd blue-green aura lightened the water around him. At least Jared could make out shapes and shadows.

  A flash of white caught his attention. Nearly out of air again, he swam toward the unusual object.

  His heart skipped a beat. Gauzy white material floated past him in a ghostly blur. He lunged at it but grasped nothing but fabric.

  It must have come off her.

  He swept his arms right and left, each movement more and more desperate. She had to be here. He bumped into something and clutched at it. Another branch?

  No. Not rough wood, but soft skin. A hand. An arm.

  He grabbed at Alyssa and tugged. She wouldn’t budge. He pulled again.

  Still nothing.

  Panic rose in his throat. Lungs nearly bursting, he propelled himself lower, running his hands over her torso and legs until he grasped a thick braid of rope. Sliding his hands down the line, he followed the trail to a large tire.

  The bastard had weighted her down. />
  Jared shoved his hand into his pocket and gripped his knife with numbing fingers. Holding it with a death grip, he snapped it open and sawed through the hemp.

  In his head, the seconds ticked by. He couldn’t see. He needed to breathe. The knife slipped and sliced across his thumb. He hardly felt the sting.

  After what seemed an eternity, the last fibers of rope gave way. Alyssa didn’t move.

  He clutched her close. Kicking with everything he had, he catapulted toward the light above.

  Jared broke the surface a few feet from the sheriff’s boat. He sucked in more air. “Help her.”

  Kevin Redmond leaned over the edge of a small boat. “Got her.” He pulled Alyssa in.

  Jared crawled on board.

  “Guy took off in a truck,” the sheriff said. “I lost him.”

  Didn’t matter. Jared would kill the guy later. With shaking hands, he turned his wife over. Her eyes were wide-open, sightless, the white gown draped across her gently swelled belly.

  “Don’t die on me, Alyssa!”

  Jared leaned down and rested his cheek against her mouth, his finger on her neck, but no breath escaped, no pulse throbbed under her skin. Rain pelted them. He ignored it. He pressed his hands against her chest, rhythmically, frantically trying to revive her.

  He’d heard her call out just moments ago.

  “We’ll get her to the hospital,” Kevin shouted. “Keep at it.”

  The boat skidded across the surface of the lake toward the pier.

  A crack echoed through the night when her ribs gave way. Wincing, Jared hesitated for a bare second but kept going.

  He pressed his lips to hers and pushed one breath, two breaths into her lungs.

  The boat stopped. An ambulance would never make it way out here in time.

  “Get the truck started,” Jared didn’t even look up until he heard his beat-up Chevy purr. The headlights shined at them.

  He gazed into his wife’s face, ghostly white. His body went numb. This wasn’t happening.

  “Fight, Alyssa. Please, fight.” He pressed his lips to her cold, wet mouth and puffed in once, twice, praying she’d cough up water.