Extreme Honor

by Piper J. Drake

  But Cruz couldn’t think about that now. The primary objective was Lyn. Locate. Extract.

  He’d worry about the rest after.

  The solider who’d accompanied Zuccolin was drawing his weapon.

  “Stop moving,” Cruz growled. He immediately stepped to one side of the door, away from the hinges, to have his back to the near wall plus a foot or two of extra buffer space. There were a few crates in case he needed to dive for cover. “You’re going to want to get the safety back on that and put it on the ground. Now.”

  A procedure they were both familiar with and in the other soldier’s place, Cruz would be fighting a nasty internal battle. But the other soldier valued his life and complied quickly.

  Lyn was tied to a chair overturned in the middle of the room, and to the other side of her had to be the person he’d heard her talking with earlier. An older man and an officer, with his hands out to his sides. No immediate threat.

  Still, Cruz was only one man and he had two potential hostiles in the room with a completely immobilized Lyn.

  “Lyn?” He kept his gaze on the nameless soldier with the officer at the edge of his periphery.

  “Hi.”

  Relief flooded through him and he blinked quickly to keep his sight clear. “Good to hear your voice.”

  “I’m pretty happy to see you, too.” Her words were wobbly but she was talking and making a good attempt at upbeat.

  “Can you get up on your own?”

  There was a creak as she wiggled on her side. “No.”

  Her frustration was much better than the possible alternatives. If she’d been hysterical or panicking, or even devoid of hope, he might not be able to get them moving. But his girl had fight in her and he could work with that.

  He skirted the room, keeping the wall to his back and getting closer to her. “Hang out for another second.”

  The nameless soldier’s eyes gave away his intent. Cruz charged and crashed into the man shoulder to shoulder as the other man tried to reach down for his gun. The other man stumbled and Cruz followed through with a knee to the head. His opponent fell to the floor unconscious.

  Cruz let his momentum carry him forward and gathered his feet under him for a smooth controlled turn, expecting the old man to have taken advantage of his back being turned.

  “Son, why didn’t you just shoot him?”

  Cruz trained his handgun on the officer, the last man standing.

  The officer held his hands up, still empty. “Well, don’t start shooting now.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Captain Jones…”

  “Her father…”

  Both the officer and Lyn spoke at the same time.

  Well, shit.

  “My step-father,” Lyn clarified. “Which doesn’t matter considering the circumstances.”

  “You are not in a position to fully understand the current situation.” The other man’s voice definitely sounded patronizing in a familiar way.

  “Trust me, I’d be very happy to survey things from a higher viewpoint. All I’ve got now without craning my neck is a bunch of shoes and an unconscious man. At least, I think he’s unconscious. Hard to tell from here.” For her part, she obviously wasn’t letting on whether her stepfather was a threat or not.

  When in doubt, everyone is a threat. Cruz did not lower his weapon.

  Despite his exchange with Lyn, her stepfather was watching Cruz.

  Cruz tipped his head in her direction. “Help her up.”

  Her stepfather complied with slow, deliberate movements. The man could’ve yanked her chair up or followed the order in a number of ways that could hurt her. It was a calculated risk to let the man touch her at all.

  But Cruz was going on a hunch.

  Her stepfather cradled her head as he helped set her upright and broke the duct tape binding her to the chair. Odd gentleness for a kidnapper.

  “She wasn’t supposed to end up here.” Her stepfather stepped away from her again to a safe distance. “Only the canine was supposed to have been retrieved.”

  “Is Atlas hurt badly?” Lyn was yanking off the remainder of the duct tape and rubbing her arms. It’d probably been tight enough to cut off some circulation.

  Cruz ignored her question. “And what were you going to do once she showed up?”

  Captain Jones pressed his lips together. “To be honest, I was weighing my options. However, you arrived. All the others are…unconscious?”

  “Indisposed.” Cruz had managed to take out any of the other guards with Atlas’s help, leaving them zip tied and unconscious.

  “How many men?”

  Interesting question. Still, Cruz had a feeling Lyn’s stepfather was a man of many layers. Time to give him the chance to peel back a few. “One outside. Two at the top of the stairs. The sergeant outside the door and our friend here.”

  A sharp bark and a growl had Cruz down on one knee, turning his weapon to the door. A man stumbled through the doorframe with seventy-five pounds of Belgian Malinois on his back.

  Cruz charged forward a second time, engaging with the newcomer. The other man had no chance and was shortly on the floor, unconscious.

  “Atlas!” Lyn sounded so happy. God, he was glad she could still be happy.

  Atlas stood panting, his left shoulder laid open by a bullet graze and trickling blood down his foreleg. But the big dog was looking at Cruz, waiting to be released from his last command given out in the hallway. Bewaken. Guard.

  Cruz jerked his head in Lyn’s direction. “Okay.”

  Atlas broke his stance immediately and bounded over to Lyn, licking tears off her face. She flinched and Atlas whined softly.

  Cruz got a good look at the side of her face and anger burned through him until the edges of his peripheral vision started to darken. There was a horribly spectacular bruise developing across her cheekbone up to her temple. It had to be painful if even Atlas’s gentle touch hurt her.

  “I’ll be making sure the man who hit her will never do it again,” Captain Jones said quietly, calm, cold. Very cold.

  “You want to tell us what you’re doing here, Captain?” Cruz asked. He still hadn’t holstered his weapon. The captain hadn’t asked him to, either. That made Cruz more certain there was a lot more going on here.

  Captain Jones nodded. “I’ll be making a phone call shortly to have them taken into custody. The two of you should leave.”

  “Not the question I asked.”

  “As I said to Lyn earlier, the less you know, the better,” Captain Jones countered.

  Cruz shook his head.

  The two of them glared at each other.

  Captain Jones sighed. “This is a covert investigation. I became aware of this group a short while ago when I was approached with the opportunity to join as a business partner. However, my concern was the recruitment plan. Several soldiers seemed to be a part of the planning process under duress.”

  “You could say that.” Cruz didn’t bother keeping the growl out of his voice. He wasn’t active duty anymore; insubordination wasn’t an issue.

  “Your friend, Calhoun, had put in for a transfer. It was denied. When he died and his dog was sent back here, I was asked to intercept. Instead, I made sure the dog got to where Calhoun wanted him to go.” Captain Jones shrugged. “It’s easier to flush out the true intents of people if you let them act on their plans for a certain amount of time. I sent Lyn so I’d know when you were getting too involved. I’ve needed time to identify all the people involved, not just those most directly visible. If you forced my partner to move too quickly, it would have been unfortunate.”

  “For you?” Lyn was on her knees, her arms wrapped loosely around Atlas’s shoulders. Her bravado was good but she needed the comfort of Atlas’s strength to hold on to for the moment.

  Cruz desperately wanted to go to her, hold her, and check every inch of her for any other hurt.

  “Organizations like this are like patches of weeds.” Captain Jones’s voice took on a p
atronizing tone. The man really let Lyn get under his skin. “It takes time to determine how far the roots have spread and determine the best way to cut them out. Otherwise, they just pop back up someplace else. When I conduct an investigation of this magnitude, I don’t just pull up the visible weeds. I root up every runner and eliminate the issue.”

  Bastards like these people would always be around. Cruz didn’t envy the Captain a job like that.

  “I still need to learn more about my…business partner and his potential investors.” Captain Jones took out his phone.

  “You mean you’re still working with this man, whoever he is.” Lyn didn’t bother to hide her disgust.

  “His business plan has serious ethical issues.” Captain Jones raised an eyebrow at her. “Currently, there’s no proof tying him to all of this besides my word. The best I would be able to manage with any accusation at this time would be a dishonorable discharge. He’d still be free to move forward with his plans, albeit under a certain amount of scrutiny from the US government. That, however, is insufficient.”

  “There are people being hurt—dying—while you gather your evidence to make sure this guy has no loopholes to slither through.” Cruz thought about Calhoun.

  A sad look flashed past Captain Jones’s eyes and was gone. “Some are surviving because of my intervention as well. The video your dog had implicates many men who only agreed under duress. It would be unfortunate to catch them in the same net we use to snare my business partner.”

  Harris had a family. How many others did? How many wives, kids, relatives would be hurt if men like Harris were caught up in legal action?

  “I see what you mean.” Cruz paused, then tossed a bit of information out. “We have a mutual acquaintance, Evans. He’s got a copy of the highlights right now. Probably plans to bring it back to you or your partner in exchange for bailing him out.”

  Captain Jones nodded. “His ability to identify the entire group here puts this portion of the operation at risk. A good reason to cut losses here and leave.”

  Cruz had been planning to give Evans enough rope to hang himself. This wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind, but it’d do. The investigation Captain Jones was conducting was serious business, every bit as dangerous as the situations Calhoun and the other men were facing. And then some. If Jones’s business partner suspected him, Lyn’s stepfather was a dead man.

  Captain Jones regarded Cruz with a steady gaze. Cruz gave the man a nod in grudging admiration. This undertaking wasn’t easy. And he might never be sure he had every person involved.

  “Take her out of here, Mr. Cruz. Do a better job of keeping her safe.” Captain Jones’s voice cracked. “I will continue my mission. It won’t be much longer and then the men who didn’t want to be part of this in the first place will be able to breathe. You’ve done me a favor with the group here. It will be fairly easy to see to it these men face charges while I go back to my business partner and tell him how unfortunate it was that they were incompetent enough to be compromised.”

  Cruz nodded. What else was there to say? He needed to get Lyn safely out of here and then he could absorb the new information.

  “Lyn knows nothing. I’m sure my business partner will keep an eye on her and agree. Especially when he’s told the asset was killed here.”

  “You are not touching Atlas.” Lyn shot to her feet.

  “Sergeant Zuccolin shot the dog dead. We both saw it.” Captain Jones stared at Cruz.

  Cruz nodded. “I run a kennel. I could’ve brought more than one dog.”

  The other man nodded.

  Lyn held her peace.

  It would be better for all of them if no one was looking for Atlas anymore. And now that Atlas had chosen his handlers, easier for him, too.

  “Take the dog with you.” Captain Jones’s tone was definitely gentler. “He’s seen enough and based on your reports, it’s likely his rehabilitation will require further work. It would be best for everyone if he disappeared.”

  Lyn bit her lip, obviously caught without words.

  Well, that was a first.

  Captain Jones looked at Cruz. “My condolences for the loss of your friend. This is the best I can offer you in his memory, for now.”

  It would have to be enough.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Minor concussion, if that. Some bad bruising.” Forte packed up his med kit. “Pretty sure you’ll be all right with some real rest. You sure you two don’t want to go to the emergency room?”

  Cruz looked at Lyn, who shook her head.

  “I just want to stay here.” Lyn had curled up on the couch with Atlas, sitting as close as the big dog could manage on the floor.

  “Whatever you need.” Cruz turned to Forte. “Thanks, man.”

  “Okay, but if she develops a headache or nausea or starts acting odd at all, she really does need to see a doctor. Call up to the main house if you need anything.” Forte left.

  Cruz sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the emergency room? Forte is EMT certified but he’s not a doctor.”

  Lyn shook her head slowly. She was in obvious discomfort and the bruise on the side of her face was blooming into an even more impressive sight as the hours went by. Anger burned Cruz every time he looked at her face.

  It was a good thing the man who’d hit her would be in prison.

  “It feels a hundred percent better just being here.” She gave him a smile. “And no headache, just some throbbing when I turn my head too fast.”

  “Then quit shaking your head.” He gave her a kiss to take the sting away from his retort. She was a trooper, no doubt about it. “You hungry at all?”

  She wrinkled her nose.

  “I’m not saying I’m going to put a full cheesesteak in front of you piled with fried mushrooms and onions.” David chuckled. He could go for one of those himself, though. “I was thinking maybe I’d exercise my actual cooking skills and make you a cup of soup.”

  She stared at him and then blinked slowly. “You mean put powder into a mug and add hot water.”

  The idea of grilling for her, though—of putting a whole meal he’d made in front of her—that bore some consideration. He’d never thought it’d be worth the effort before, but for her it’d be more than fun. It’d be fantastic.

  He grinned. Best to start simple and try not to burn anything on the property to ash. “Boiling water is cooking 101. We all learn to do it.”

  She huffed out a laugh. “I can’t argue with that and some soup does sound pretty good. But do we have any of it here?”

  Simple question but there was a tremor beneath her words. She wasn’t quite ready to be left alone yet. Even with Atlas lying on his very own dog bed here in the main living room, she wasn’t ready.

  Totally reasonable and he didn’t plan to let her out of his sight. In addition to her comfort, he’d been looking her over from head to toe every few minutes, reassuring himself she was hale and whole and safely with him. “I’ll call and see if Forte can find it in the kitchen. I planned to ask him to include me in the late night order for cheesesteaks anyway.”

  The look she gave him was skeptical. “You could’ve told him that before he left.”

  He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what you were eating yet.”

  She swatted him on the shoulder. It did his heart good to get her feisty.

  It took less than a minute to text Forte with what he wanted.

  “I thought you were going to call.” Lyn crawled over from her nest in the pillows and blankets on the couch.

  He gathered her into his lap while he waited for Forte to respond. “Sometimes I call up to the main house, but generally I don’t like to blow up someone’s phone with ringing. Heck, when we need to get Rojas late at night we always text anyway because it’s past Boom’s bedtime. Mostly, it’s Forte who calls everyone.”

  “Hmm.” She snuggled against him.

  He wrapped his arms around her and finally let himself relax. This. This kind of time spen
t with her meant so much and he’d almost lost her. And he was possibly going to ruin it by sending her away anyway. But she had to go; she had her life, the one she’d built for herself.

  After all that’d happened, she’d be wanting to get back to it and he didn’t know if there would be room for him once she took up her old life again.

  Chickenshit that he was, he couldn’t make himself ask her.

  “Penny for your thoughts.”

  He realized she’d been watching him as he’d run around in circles in his own head.

  “You scared me today.” First thing he could think to say. And it was the truth, too, because looking at her, all he could do was hold her closer.

  She bit her lip. “I hurt you first, then we both ended up scared out of our minds.” She paused, swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

  At some point in the past, it might have bothered him for someone to read him so well, to have seen far enough into him to the vulnerability of fear. But this was Lyn.

  He shook his head. “No apologies. You have a good head on your shoulders and you did so many things right today.”

  “Hello? I got myself kidnapped and dented in the face.”

  He tightened his jaw and relaxed it deliberately. Good thing Zuccolin had been taken into custody and would be held accountable for what he’d done to her. Her stepfather had assured them both that all of the men involved, including her two initial attackers and Evans, had been arrested by military police and would be awaiting court-martial. Jones’s mysterious business partner had withdrawn his considerable influence so there would be no easy breaks for those men.

  Leaning close, he pressed his lips gently to her good temple. “You foiled the bad guys and saved Atlas.”

  “So he could go get you to come save me.” A pause, then her tone turned bitter. “As far as my stepfather is concerned, I am still the clumsy idiot blundering around messing up his well-laid plans.”

  All of the history between her and her stepfather was not going to be healed in one day. “I’m glad he was doing the right thing back there. At first, I was thinking the worst.”