by Becca Van
“No.” Dalton removed his gloves and put them in the trash. “I’ve only ever had to do patch jobs, not full-on surgery. I was shaking in my boots.”
“Thank you.” Cal’s voice was hoarse.
Dalton gave them a tired smile and rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re welcome. God, I wish we could fly her out of here.”
“Me, too.” Fletch went over and offered his hand to Dalton. “You saved our woman’s life. If there’s ever anything…”
“Nah,” Dalton smiled. “You guys were in this with me every step of the way. You helped me save her.”
“You stay with her, Law,” Cal said. “I’m going to talk to Whit. I’ve had enough of this shit. I’m not willing to be a sitting duck anymore.”
“If you’re going to do what I think you’re planning, Tony will have your guts on a platter,” Dalton said.
“I don’t give a shit,” Cal snapped and walked out.
“Good,” Dalt muttered. “We can’t wait anymore.”
Chapter Ten
Fletcher had never been so scared in his life than when he’d seen and heard Tabby’s heart stop beating. Now that Dalton said she was on the road to recovery, he was full of rage at the men who had hurt the love of his life. He nodded at Dalton and followed Cal out of the infirmary.
Cal looked just as angry as Fletcher felt, and he hoped his brother didn’t snap at their other team leaders when he found them. He entered the kitchen just after Cal and placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder when he spotted Whit and Hay cleaning up the glass from the floor.
“Take a deep breath, hold it, and count to ten before you open your mouth,” Fletch said and wondered where the calm voice was coming from, because inside he was a seething mass of rage.
Cal did as he said and then exhaled loudly. Whit must have heard him because he looked up. “How is Tabby?”
“She nearly died.” Cal’s voice cracked, and he ground his teeth and clenched his hands into fists.
“Fuck!” Whit walked over and placed his hand on Cal’s other shoulder. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Dalton thinks so,” Fletcher answered.
“Thank God.” The women’s voices drew his attention, and Law tried to smile at them when he saw they were all crying.
“We can’t go on like this, Whit. How many more of us are going to have to get hurt? I’m not waiting anymore. I need to act.”
Whit nodded, and just as he opened his mouth, his cell phone rang. He held up a finger as he answered it.
“Tony, thank God, we need…”
“You do?”
“Good.”
“When can we…” Whit glanced at his watch and then looked at Cal and Fletcher. “Thirty minutes it is.” Whit disconnected the call. “Fletcher, go and get all the men in here now.”
Fletcher didn’t bother answering but went rushing through the house, telling everyone to convene in the kitchen at Whit’s request. When he’d spoken to everyone but Law and Dalton, he went to the infirmary and told them, too. He walked over to the bed and was pleased to see some color back in Tabby’s cheeks.
“Law and I will be staying here. I’ve already sent a mental picture of us by Tabby’s beside to Whit, and he’s okay with that,” Dalton said.
Fletch nodded, leaned down, and kissed Tabby on the forehead before heading out. He stood to the back of the room and waited as Whit cleared his throat.
“Tony just called and has the list of everyone involved in the Japanese underworld criminal ring. Aguri Akashi’s life was threatened, and after going to the police, the interrogators applied the screws and those two dirty politicians are singing like canaries. They’ve handed over the list so they can evade the death penalty. Those two assholes had names and photos of everyone involved and handed their files over without a qualm. Tanaka Mori is the head of the sex slave ring here in the states, and Billy Kimura, also known as Kobayashi Inoue, is his right-hand man. There is another cell in the south of the country, and that is headed by Nakamura Abe. The authorities have all known addresses and aliases and APBs have been sent out countrywide on all their registered vehicles.
“Tony has sent a copy of the list to the FBI and CIA, and has been working with them for the last two hours setting up a massive sting operation. The feds and CIA have also called in the Marines, SWAT, and local law enforcement to help.” Whit paused to glance at his watch.
“In exactly twenty-five minutes we are going to have Marines as backup and we’re going to take these fuckers down. I want everyone to check their weapons and load up with all the ammunition you can carry.
“Dalton and Law are going to be looking after Tabby. Thorpe, I want you to stay here and protect the other women.”
Thorpe nodded.
“Are there any questions?”
“No,” everyone replied simultaneously.
“Good, then let’s get ready.”
Fletch turned on his heels and headed for the meeting room. He pushed the notch in the skirting board and grabbed all the ammunition he could and a few hand grenades just in case. He slid knives into each of his boots, filled the various pockets on his pants with bullet clips, and pushed another pistol with a suppressor attached into the front waistband of his pants. There was no way in hell he was going out there unprepared. He now had two pistols, one in the front and one in the back of his pants, and his automatic rifle, as well as three hand grenades and four knives. He had already had two strapped to his thighs, and now he had another two in his boots.
He didn’t care if it took hours, but every last one of those fuckers was going down, even if he had to give his last breath to achieve his goal.
Those bastards had hurt his woman, and he wasn’t giving up until they were all dead.
* * * *
Tabby frowned when she heard beeping and wished whoever was making the noise would stop it. The sound was making her already-pounding head ache even more. She tried to moisten her lips with the tip of her tongue, but even her tongue was dry and felt like she’d been eating sand.
She shifted her legs and gasped as pain shot up and down her right thigh.
“Shh, baby, don’t move.”
Was that Law? She tried to get her eyes to open, but they wouldn’t cooperate. When she felt something cold and moist on her lips, she opened her mouth and sighed with relief when it was pushed onto her tongue. Ice had never tasted so good.
“Can you open your eyes for me, Tabby?”
Tabby slowly pried her eyes open and blinked a few times to clear her vision. The simple action took way too much effort. She wondered why she was so tired and so weak, but she was too exhausted to think straight.
“Good girl.” Dalton smiled down at her, and she only blinked for a moment but must have drifted off to sleep again.
When she surfaced again, it was easier to open her eyes and her head wasn’t aching anymore. Although she still felt as weak as a newborn kitten. She turned her head to see Law sitting in a chair with his head resting on the bed beside her hips. When she flexed her fingers, she realized that her hand was in his. He bolted upright and blinked then turned to look at her.
“Hey, baby, how are you feeling?”
“Law.” Tabby’s voice sounded hoarse, and when she swallowed her throat felt dry.
“Let me get you some water, baby.” Law reached over to the top of a cabinet beside the bed and poured some water into a cup. He ripped the paper off a straw, put it into the cup, and then held the straw to her lips. “Don’t drink too much too fast or you’ll make yourself sick.”
Tabby took her first sip and swished it around her mouth before swallowing. She took a few more sips before shaking her head, and Law removed the straw.
“What happened? Where am I?”
“You don’t remember?”
Tabby turned her head and looked at Dalton blankly. She frowned as she tried to think back and then shook her head.
“You were shot, Tabby.” Law squeezed her hand gently.
“I was?” she asked. Memory slammed into her, and she jerked upright. The sudden and abrupt action made her head swim as pain shot through her leg, and her vision faded.
Warm, strong arms wrapped around her shoulders and eased her back down to the bed. “Don’t do that again, baby. God, you could have ripped your stitches.”
“I’m okay,” Tabby whispered, and even though she was, her whole body was aching and she still felt really weak.
“Let me take your vitals and check your wound.”
Tabby opened her eyes and was happy that she could see again. She held still while Dalton listened to her heart and checked her temperature, and blood pressure. After he’d finished doing that, he lifted the blanket away from her thigh and removed the bandage and gauze. She wanted to see her leg but couldn’t get up the energy to move.
“The stitches are good, and there’s no sign of infection. You’ll need to rest a lot and drink plenty of fluids, but you should start to feel a little more energetic in about a week.”
“Why am I so tired, and why does my chest hurt?”
“You lost a lot of blood, Tabby. You also flat lined on the table. I had to use the defibrillator to kick start your heart again.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. It was touch and go there for a while, young lady, so you do everything I tell you to speed you on the road to recovery.”
“Okay,” Tabby answered. “Thank you.”
“Your men helped me keep you alive, too, and don’t thank me. I was just doing my job.”
Tabby smiled at Dalton and then turned to face Law. She squeezed his hand as her eyes began to drift closed again.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
* * * *
Cal heard the helicopter long before it came into sight. He and Fletcher were making their way around the ranch and taking out men one by one. Between the two of them, they had already taken out five men. Those fuckers hadn’t known what hit them. He and his brother had managed to sneak up on them and break their necks with a quick twist before they had even taken another breath.
The other members of the team kept in contact by sending them mental pictures every time another of the assholes hit the ground. He and Law were on a mission. He felt no guilt with each man he took down and knew he wouldn’t feel any remorse after this was over. Every one of these bastards deserved everything they got. One of these pricks had hurt his woman, and she had nearly died. As far as Cal was concerned, none of them deserved to live. They had terrorized women, and God knew how many other women they had managed to kidnap and ship out of the country.
Cal and Fletcher had managed to get into the trees without getting their heads blown off after taking down the assholes behind the barn. He opened his shield and felt the evil intent of the men still hiding in the bushes. Fletcher nodded at him to let him know that he could feel their emotions, too, so they separated and moved through the thick vegetation and large trees without making a sound. They had no idea how many of the assholes were hiding out here, but they were about to find out.
Cal stopped behind a thick tree trunk and squatted close to the ground. He took a peek and saw another five fuckers hiding in amongst and behind trees, and all their backs were turned toward him. He flashed a picture to Fletcher’s mind and received one back from his brother. Fletch was about a hundred yards to his left. He had five different assholes in his sight. He looked down at the grenades clipped to his belt and knew if he lobbed one toward the middle of the bastards that a couple would die and the others would get some serious injuries, but that would be too easy.
He was still full of rage that they had hurt Tabby, but taking them out one by one wasn’t an option either. What to do? He could use the pistol that had the silencer on it and take out two before the others even turned around, but then he would have three guns pointing and firing in his direction. But he needed to purge the fury from his system before he faced his Tabby cat again.
He sent another image to Fletch and got the same image back. It seemed his brother was in total agreement. Cal removed the Glock with the silencer on it from his back and pointed to the asshole furthest away from him. He aimed at the fucker’s head and fired. Before the bastard even hit the ground, he aimed and fired at the next guy.
Just as he ducked back behind the tree trunk, rapid gunfire erupted. Bits of bark and wood flew past his body, and he dropped to the ground on his belly and shimmied his way around the trunk until he could see the other crims.
Shit! They were closer than he expected them to be, and he knew they had to have been running in his direction. Cal shot two more and watched dispassionately as they fell to the ground dead. Just as he sprang to his feet, the barrel of an automatic rifle pushed into the side of his head.
He stared into the brown, soulless eyes of the smaller man before him and loosened his limbs as the fucker smiled at him. He could hear a barrage of shots in the distance and knew the Marines had arrived and were helping his team members take the other bastards down.
The man holding the gun to his head smiled wider, and that’s when Cal realized he was looking into the eyes of Billy Kimura.
“You lose, asshole.”
Cal didn’t bother answering. He gave the fucker his coldest smile and called on all his enhanced abilities. With lightning fast reflexes, Cal moved his arms up, pushed the barrel of the gun away from his head, and twisted.
Cal flipped the rifle end over and pointed the gun at Kobayashi Inoue.
“I think you’re the loser, Kobayashi,” Cal said and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.
Kobayashi leapt forward, and Cal flung the empty rifle aside. This is what he wanted. To take one of them out using hand-to-hand combat. Kobayashi was nearly as big as Cal, but he didn’t have his strength, speed or stamina. He let Kobayashi come at him and blocked blow after blow, using his arms and legs in defense of the kicks and punches.
Cal was toying with the fucker, but the bastard had no clue. He ducked and feinted, and when Kobayashi started to tire, Cal gave him a cold smile and started fighting back. He didn’t hold back when he let fly. He put all his strength into his kicks and punches and relished every scream and grunt that came out of the fucker’s mouth. When Kobayashi fell to the ground, Cal stepped back and looked him over. He’d broken both the bastard’s arms, as well as his legs, and from the looks of his jaw, that was broken, too. Cal wanted to step up to him and grab his head in his hands and snap his neck, but then the bastard wouldn’t have to suffer.
He was just about to turn away when he saw the fucker move his broken arm. Kobayashi grunted with pain but kept moving until he reached his belt. Cal saw the knife but let him pull it from the sheath and away from his body. Kobayashi tried to lift his arm, Cal suspected to throw it at him, but his arm flopped back to the ground.
Cal gave a bark of cold laughter, bent down, and slowly drew one of the knives from his boot. He flipped it over and caught the handle and then flung it at him. Kobayashi screamed and writhed in pain. Cal’s aim had been true. His knife landed in exactly the same spot that Tabby had been shot. He walked over, placed his booted foot on the fucker’s thigh, and pulled the blade out. Blood spurted and Cal jumped back. It looked like he’d done a better job than they had. Cal knew by the way Kobayashi’s blood was pouring out of his thigh that he’d done more than just nicking an artery. He’d probably severed it.
He wiped his blade on Kobayashi’s jeans and walked away, knowing that he would be dead within minutes, then went to find Fletcher.
* * * *
Fletch took out three men with his 9mm Glock and silencer and then ducked back behind the tree. Bullets whizzed past his hiding spot, and the gunfire got louder and louder. The assholes were getting closer, and if he didn’t do something he was going to end up getting shot. He dropped to his belly and shot the fourth bastard just as he rounded the tree.
He sprang to his feet, spun around, and grabbed the barrel of the rifle just before it was aimed at his head. Fletch snatch
ed the rifle from the prick’s hands and flung it away. He ducked as a punch flew at his face and kicked a leg out, sweeping the asshole’s legs out from beneath him. The perp was a big guy and went down hard. Fletch saw his hand reach for his boot and draw a knife out as he got back on his feet.
He stood back with his arms crossed over his chest and portrayed a boredom he was far from feeling. The bastard took a step toward him, and Fletch lowered his arms and made a “come and get me” motion with his hand. When the prick lunged, Fletch sidestepped then kicked him in the ass. The fucker stumbled forward and, when he’d regained his balance, turned to face him. Pure hatred radiated from the asshole’s eyes, and Fletch smiled coldly.
When he came charging at him, Fletch raised his fist at the last moment and heard a sickening crunch when the fucker’s nose met his hand. He went down like a sack of spuds, twitched a few times, and then laid still. His eyes were wide open and he was staring sightlessly at the sky.
Fletch knelt down to feel for a pulse and found nothing. “Fucking asshole. You were supposed to connect my fist with your jaw, not your nose.”
“I think your aim was a little off, brother.”
Fletch looked over his shoulder at Cal. “Nah, he tried to duck at the last minute.”
“Let’s go see if there are any more to take out.”
“From all the gunfire I heard before, I don’t think so. I can’t hear anything but silence now,” Fletch replied.
“Damn, I wanted to take out at least another five.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
“Let’s go see our woman.” Cal turned and started toward the house.
Chapter Eleven
Tabby couldn’t believe she had slept through all the action. Cal, Law, and Fletch had been at her side the next time she’d awoken, and they had all smiled at her. She’d been able to stay awake as they told her everything that had gone down, but she suspected her men were leaving a lot of details out. Not that she really wanted to know all the gory details, but these men were humble and never bragged about their job.