by Linzi Baxter
All the men in the room reached for their side arms. The air in the room became thick with tension. Not wanting to wait for Brock to give a step-by-step of the incoming, I reached for the laptop in front of Zane and switched Brock off. After a couple of keystrokes, I was in a private browser and had a connection that wasn’t traceable.
The hotel never changed the default password on the camera system. I got the hotel feed on the first try. The spare laptop on the table came alive with Brocks pissed-off face on the screen.
“Not cool, Sophie. I was about to give you guys the feed.”
“Already have it, and I’m pulling up the satellites as we speak. We didn’t need your ugly mug on the big screen. Zane and Antonio need to see the feed and get us out of here safely.”
Zane leaned over my shoulder. His muscular scent was intoxicating. “Can you pull up the schematics of the building?”
Before he could finish asking for the plans, I was into the hotel's primary server. I did a quick search, and the schematics for the building were on display. Antonio and Zane worked on studying the plans while I worked on tracing the incoming.
Two large SUVs pulled up in front of the hotel, and six large men dressed in military gear jumped out.
“Guys, we need to go.” I yelled to the room or anyone that would listen.
Zane ran his hand through his hair and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Antonio and John, take Kat, Sophie, and Antonio Jr. down the back stairwell and through here.” He pointed to a back alleyway. “I will distract the men at the front stairwell. After you get them to the airport and on the plane, meet me here.” He scribbled an address on a sheet of paper.
“No.” I wasn’t letting him go after six big military men with no backup. Kat was protesting too.
Antonio grabbed his son and walked toward the door. “Kat, so help me, I need you to work with me and get your ass moving. We will make sure the codes are not sold, but first, we need to get out of here alive!”
The amount of danger before us must have made Kat realize it wasn’t time to fight with Antonio. She grabbed her things and followed John and Antonio.
But Zane needed to learn. He had given me my sister back, and I would do anything to help protect him now. “Give me the spare gun. I’m coming with you.”
He didn’t have time to argue with me, and Antonio and John had already left. He was stuck with my help.
Zane grabbed his Glock from his ankle holster and handed it to me.
Grabbing the last of the things, we headed for the stairwell. The stairwell at night was creepy. Every little sound echoed. The thought of six ex-military assassins heading our way made this stairwell even more disturbing.
We made it down two flights before a door below us opened. The heavy stomping of men coming up the stairs was loud.
Zane leaned over the railing and aimed his gun. With a quick pull of the trigger, one man screamed. The men all fired up. Bullets flew everywhere. The sound of their guns echoed through the stairwell, causing my ears to ring. When the shots stopped, we heard the running of boots up the stairs.
The steps were getting closer. Zane motioned for us to exit out the door. We slipped out the door and closed it enough that only a crack was left. When the men were almost even with us, Zane swung the door back open, and three quick shots felled three men. Four down, two to go.
The sound of retreating steps had me puzzled. “Why are they heading away?”
Zane creeped to the door open and took another look into the stairwell. “Those are hired thugs. They are not trained killers. Follow closely and stay behind me.”
When we reached the first platform with the three men laying on the floor, Zane felt for the first guy’s pulse then looked in the man’s back pockets.
“Why are we not getting out of here? Can you stop feeling the guy up?”
“I’m looking for his ID to figure out who sent these men.” That made sense. I was glad the super spy was thinking. The copper smell of blood was messing with my nose and my ears still rung from the gunfire.
Five minutes later, we made it to the hotel parking garage.
The black Range Rover we picked up Kat in a couple hours ago was only a few parking spots away. The problem was that there was a thug dressed in military gear standing in our way. His shoulder-length hair was greasy. He was twitching so bad that the gun in his hand was shaking. Track marks ran up and down the crackhead’s arm.
I gripped my gun and pointed it at the man standing between us and our freedom. Close by, a car backfired, causing the crackhead to pull the trigger. The bullet was heading straight for me. Before I had time to move, Zane threw his body in front of me.
I heard the bullet hit flesh, and a groan escaped Zane’s throat.
At the thought of losing the man I might be falling for, I raised the gun and unloaded the clip into the crackhead. I felt no remorse, only the hollow feeling of losing someone else I cared about.
14
Zane
Seeing the man standing in front us with a gun pointed at Sophie was one of my worst nightmares. This was the reason I hadn’t wanted her along. I was so focused on getting Sophie to safety, that one thug had surprised me.
When the unkempt man squeezed his trigger, the only thing I wanted to do was save Sophie. I didn’t care what it cost. I leapt in front of her, hoping to take the bullet and save her life. Luckily, the bullet only grazed my arm. A grunt escaped me. No matter how many times I got shot, it never got easier. I was convinced that the older I got, the more the fucking bullets hurt.
At the sound of my grunt, Sophie emptied her clip into the man who shot me. Sophie killed him, and he was one less man to worry about. There had been one other man in the stairwell, and at the sound of the shooting, he came out from the other side of the garage. I didn’t give him time to raise his gun. I shifted on the ground and raised my Sig. With one clean shot, a stream of blood ran down his forehead. Headshot. The six men were no longer a threat. I needed to get Sophie to safety before more men came.
“You're alive.”
The sound of surprise made me chuckle. How could she think one low-life thug-for-hire would take me out?
“Of course. You ready to head out? Or, do you need to empty another clip in that guy?”
Sophie's face went from confusion to shock.
“I killed someone for real. What am I going to do?”
We didn’t have time for her to freak out. “Yes, you killed someone for real. Not sure there is any other way to kill someone. You emptied the clip into him. We need to head out, meet the team at the airport, and get you to safety.
I couldn’t help but groan when I went to push myself up. The bullet had grazed my arm, but it would be okay.
“I heard the bullet hit you. Where were you shot? We need to get you to the hospital. And there is another way to kill people. I have killed people electronically many times. It produces way less blood.”
Sophie was not only deadly with a gun. That woman was deadly with a computer. There was no way I would go to the hospital, though. Sophie has a one-way plane trip waiting for her.
I unlocked the SUV. “Get in.”
I heard the shuffling behind me and knew she was following my orders. Sophie was fuming with anger beside me. I didn’t have time to figure out what had her so mad. We needed to get her and Kat to safety.
Once we were on the interstate heading toward the airstrip, I reached into my bag and grabbed a burner phone. Brock answered on the first ring. I clicked the speakerphone button.
“You guys make it out? You left a nice pile of bodies in the stairwell. I’ve erased the footage of you from the stairwell. The clean-up crew is on its way to take care of the bodies. Did you get any information on the men, or did you just shoot them all and walk away?”
Sophie shifted in her seat. “Brock, we need to get Zane to the hospital, and he’s not listening to me. He's shot.” I could hear the concern in Sophie’s voice.
If Sophie had been shot, I
would have headed to the hospital. I understood where she was coming from. But, she was more important than the graze I got from the bullet. Once I knew she was in the air and on her way to safety, I’d have Antonio patch me up. We had to work on our game plan after the women were safe.
“How bad?”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “It was a graze. I’ll be fine.”
Brock understood the importance of getting Sophie and Kat to safety. John was flying back with the women. Brock’s team and Asher would escort them from the airport back to Blackwood Security. Kat and Sophie would stay there until Antonio and I killed Yermushin.
“What is the ETA on Antonio?”
I could hear Brock’s fingers clicking across a keyboard. Over the short time I’d known Brock, he had impressed me with his skills. I wasn’t surprised, since Sam Blackwood had given him Blackwood Security. The last time I had spoken to Sam, he had been dealing with issues in Shialia and didn’t have time to give Blackwood the attention it needed. So, he and his future wife gifted the company to Brock. What most people didn’t know was that Brock had owned half of the company as a silent partner.
“They are only five minutes ahead of you.”
I glanced over at Sophie. She was gazing out the window. Her shoulders were still tight with tension. I wanted to make this a little easier.
“Thanks, Brock. Do Bridget and Jessica know Sophie is coming back to Blackwood today?”
At the mention of her friends, she looked at the screen, waiting for Brock’s reply. When he let her know they would be there, it seemed to help with the tension.
The streets were clear in the middle of the night, and we made it to the airfield in no time. I pulled onto the airstrip and noticed the other Range Rover parked next to the Boeing 727. The nice part of this op was that we had so many billionaires’ planes at our disposal. The Boeing 727 was Blackwood Security’s private jet. The jet had a mission control room built in that most security firms would drool over.
The second the car came to a stop, Sophie jumped out. I had to jog to catch up to her. If she thought this was the end of what we had started, she had another thing coming. The more time I spent with her, the further I was falling for her. I still didn’t know if it was lust or love. Either way, we would spend time together to figure it out.
I gently grabbed Sophie’s arm to stop her so we could talk before she left.
“Sophie, stop.”
She spun around at the sound of my words. “What? You got what you wanted.”
Damn, if it wouldn’t be harder to break this woman's outer shell than it was to shoot an apple from two and a half miles away.
“I’m far from getting what I want. I want your body spread across a bed with my tongue between your legs, begging me to make you come.”
“Our fling is over. I got my sister. You will take down the director and save the world. It seems like you don’t need my help at all.”
That was where she was having a problem? She didn’t want to be cut out of the op? The problem was that she was a computer hacker, and when she had faced down danger, she drained a complete clip on the target and saved no bullets for the other man coming after us.
Antonio and I needed trained field agents to take down Yermushin before he sold the codes to North Korea. The more time I spent with her, the more I wanted her around. If it weren’t nuclear codes being sold, I would be on the plane with her, heading home and coming up with a new plan to take down the director.
“That’s why you're upset? You want to come on the op?”
Sophie turned and looked over to where her sister and Antonio were in a heated discussion. At least I wasn’t the only one with a pissed-off woman.
Her voice almost came out as a whisper. “I want to take him down. He stole so much from me. I know I should head back to spend time with a sister I haven’t seen in years, but I want to take vengeance and kill him, and not in a one-clip way. I want to tie him up and torture him for years.”
Her declaration of wanting to kill the director made my blood rush to my pants. When I shifted to get more comfortable, Sophie noticed, and a knowing smirk came across her face.
“If it was a simple kill mission, I would set you up as a sniper and let you take him out. But we have to deal with Yermushin first and stop him from giving away the codes. I don’t think the Director will be there. When we finish this mission, I will make sure you get your vengeance.”
At my declaration, Sophie threw her arms around me. “You mean it? You won’t kill him or hand him over to your brother on a silver platter?”
It would cause my brother issues if I didn’t hand him over. But, I would give Zack enough information to know the Director was dirty and make it look like he fled the country. That way, we could handle the Director the way we wanted for hurting the people whose lives we cared about.
“Yes.”
Sophie pressed her soft lips to my mouth. My body hummed with energy. I wanted to lay her down in the middle of the tarmac and have my way with her. I slipped my tongue into her mouth. It was pure pleasure to hear her moan against me. Needing to continue with the mission, I pulled back.
When I broke the kiss, we were both panting, and Sophie's eyes were filled with desire and hunger. I wasn’t the only one ready to throw down on the tarmac.
Needing to taste her again, I went in for another kiss, but I was interrupted by coughing.
Not caring if I was holding us up, I pressed in against Sophie, and the kiss was even hotter than the last one.
“Hey, they need to leave!” Antonio shouted.
I pulled back slowly, enjoying the look of need on Sophie's face. “I’ll be at Blackwood Security tomorrow night, and we will continue where we left off.”
Sophie turned and walked toward the airplane. Her tight-fitting jeans accented her perfect ass, which had a little extra sway. I knew what she was doing, and it was working. Before she made it to the plane, she turned around and reminded me that I had promised not to take him out.
Once Sophie and the rest of them were on the plane, and I saw the wheels leave the airstrip, I let out a breath I hadn’t even known I was holding. Brock would phone me the second the plane landed in Ft. Lauderdale and everyone was safely locked away at Blackwood Security.
I wasn’t the only one happy they were on their way to safety. When I looked over at Antonio, he seemed to have relaxed a little.
“Ready to go save the world from an attack they have no clue is coming?”
Antonio reached up and scratched his head. “Isn’t that what we always do? People live their lives, not realizing how many times they have come close to being wiped out.”
15
Sophie
The smell of bacon and laughter brought me out of my sleep. The last couple of days floated through my mind, with Zane at the center of all my thoughts. Zane was tantalizing and made me want things I wouldn’t ever be able to have. He deserved a woman that could give him the world.
The laughter was getting louder, and I knew it was time to get up and face everyone. I had wanted to stay up and talk with Kat, but it was hard. When we had made it onto the plane, she laid down with Antonio Jr.. He needed his sleep, and we had both been through an emotional roller coaster. The adrenaline was wearing off, and I fell asleep in my chair before the fasten seat belt sign came off.
Mia, one of the operatives that worked for Brock, woke me up when we landed. I hadn’t even woken when the plane hit the airstrip. John had been carrying Kat off the plane, and Asher had had Antonio Jr. in his arms. I should have known he would have been there. Asher was Antonio’s twin and would have done everything to protect Antonio’s wife and child.
I could hear the pitter-patter of footsteps running down the hall. We were staying in one of the apartments above Blackwood Security. The footsteps stopped outside my door, and two crystal-blue eyes peered over the side of the bed. When I rolled over, Antonio Jr. had the largest grin on his face. “Aunty, are you going to get up soon?
”
I loved being called “Aunty.” I reached over and pulled him into my arms. The sound of his laughter when I tickled him sounded like angles. My door opened again, and Kat stood there with her hands on her hips. Her long red hair was wet. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a white T-shirt. The smile that spread across her face was pure happiness.
“I told you to let your Aunty sleep.”
“I did, Mom. I waited for a whole fifteen more minutes.”
Kat walked over and grabbed Antonio from my arms. “I meant until she woke up.”
“She's up now, Mom.”
How could I argue with his logic? “I’m up. Let me take a quick shower, and I’ll come out for breakfast.”
Kat took the little man out of the room. He was protesting the whole way, saying I didn’t need to take a shower.
The shower felt amazing and helped me wake up. When I made it out to the kitchen, the apartment was full of people. It brought tears to my eyes, realizing the support team I had behind me and the friends I had made the past few years. I caught sight of Brock out of the corner of my eye. I wanted to ask him if had talked to Zane and how the mission was going.
Brock must have been able to tell I was struggling with asking about Zane because he volunteered the information without my needing to ask.
“They made it to the safe house last night. Antonio patched Zane up. We sent out another team to assist them this morning.”
I needed to stop thinking about the man. Maybe I would if I spent today going over the data I had compiled over the years and tried to figure out what had triggered Sanchez to blow his cover.
“Brock, can I use one of the stations in your office today.” If I were working next to Brock, I would be able to hear any updates about the case and find out anything I needed.
Brock looked like he was struggling with the answer. “Don’t you want to spend the day with Kat?”
The guilt rushed over me. Putting revenge to the side is hard. I wanted to take Sanchez down. I was being selfish, wanting to work instead of spending time with Kat. At the sound of her name, Kat joined the conversation.