She didn’t want to bargain with the devil, but this was not the time to be stubborn. Gage needed her. “What?”
“When this is all said and done, when Gage is home safely, you and I are going to sit down and hash things out. We’ve spent too many years together to let our relationship fall apart the way it has.”
The need to scream at him surged up her throat. She had to grit her teeth and swallow hard to hold it in. “Fine. You want to talk, we’ll talk. Just know that it’s not going to be some polite chat. You were part of the project that ruined my life. You hid that from me for years. Lied to me. That’s the kind of thing that deserves some raised voices. Possibly broken bones. You’re going to sign a waiver stating you’re okay with that.”
“I understand. You can yell at me all you like so long as we work through our differences. I love you, Bella. You’re the only family I have left.”
“I’m not your family. Never have been. Family doesn’t do the things you did to me. But if you want to pretend like a few nice words are going to clear the air, then fine. Whatever you have to tell yourself. I don’t care anymore. All I want is to find Gage and kill Stynger.”
His face fell with disappointment, but he hid it fast. “I want that, too. I’ve already called in a team to meet us at the Edge. A helicopter is waiting for us.”
* * *
As soon as Victor arrived at the Edge to board the chopper heading out on some secret assignment and saw Bella, he knew why Payton had insisted he come along. She was out of control, and not a single one of her employees had the guts to stand up to her when she got like this. Except him.
She was pacing like a caged beast on the building’s rooftop, her black hair flying around in the wash of the helicopter’s blades. It was dark, but the roof was bathed in more than enough light to see her clearly. She was dressed in clinging black. A small arsenal of weapons and armor was strapped to her lean body, disguising the sleek curves he knew lay beneath. Each step she took vibrated with the need for violence, but it was her eyes that pulled him in.
She looked up as he approached, and the fear he saw on her face—the worry and pain—broke his heart. She covered her emotions as he neared, pulling on that mask of badass indifference she frequently wore, but he knew the truth.
Bella was hurting. Afraid. Gage was still missing, and it was tearing her up inside.
Victor was drawn to her, wishing he could pull her into his arms and offer her some kind of comfort. But with the pilot looking on and Payton lurking nearby, Victor knew his efforts would be both unwanted and futile. He’d already pissed her off once tonight. He really had no desire to do so again.
“Took you long enough,” she yelled over the sound of the chopper.
He didn’t bother wasting his breath with excuses. He’d grabbed his gear the instant Payton had called. The only way he could have arrived faster was if someone had invented teleporters.
“Is this about Gage?” He couldn’t imagine anything else that would have caused such an emotional reaction in her. Unless someone else she loved had been hurt.
She nodded, but said nothing. She got on board and strapped in. He followed her lead. Once their headsets were in place, the chopper took off.
“Fill me in,” he said.
Payton was the one who spoke first. “We’re intercepting a transport.”
“Is Gage on it?”
“We don’t know,” Bella said. “I sure as hell hope so.”
“Do we have more men en route?” asked Victor.
“No,” Bella said, eyeing Payton with suspicion. “We still don’t know who is behind our recent breach in security. The fewer people who know about this, the better. This may be our only shot at rescuing him.”
Payton rolled his eyes. “I was the one who told you about the chatter, remember? I’m the one who set up the flight so we could reach the transport before it’s too late.”
Her lip curled with mistrust. “For all I know, you’re sending us right into a trap.”
“If that had been the case, I wouldn’t have insisted on coming along. Or that we wait for Victor to arrive before takeoff. You’re the one who wanted to rush in alone without any details.”
“Maybe if you’d shared them with me, rather than keeping secrets like you always do, I could have made a more informed decision.”
Victor needed to stop this argument before it escalated and someone got thrown out of the chopper door. “Can we focus on what we know? What are we walking into?”
“Norwood has electronic eyes on the truck—a twenty-six-foot trailer,” Payton said. “My hope is that Gage is inside, but the truck could be on the receiving end, picking him up. We’ll wait until it stops, then make our move. Chatter says the rendezvous is at oh four hundred.”
Victor glanced at his watch. “Location?”
“We’re not entirely clear on that. That’s why Norwood is playing eyes in the sky with a satellite feed.”
“How long until we intercept the truck?” asked Bella as she began checking her weapons.
The pilot chimed in. “Forty minutes. Sit back and relax.”
No way was that happening. Each second stretched out, the tension so high it vibrated the air between Payton and Bella. Victor waited until the man was distracted with the pilot, then reached over and put his hand on her knee.
He knew it was inappropriate. He knew he was risking pulling back a stump where his hand used to be. He just didn’t care. All he could think about was how stiff she was beside him, how worried and afraid she looked.
As tough as Bella wanted the world to think she was—as tough as she had made herself—she was still breakable. Everyone had a breaking point, and he didn’t want to see her reach hers. A little bit of comfort could go a long way. Assuming she took it as such.
She looked at his hand for a few seconds, then up at him. He had expected to see anger on her face, but instead, he saw something else. Lines of strain and fatigue fanned out from her eyes. Their usual bright gray color was a bit dull. There was a weariness about her that lasted for the space of three heartbeats before dissipating.
She covered his hand with hers, gave him one tight squeeze, then lifted his hand away. As soon as she did, the cracks in her usual facade closed up and that invulnerable badass he knew so well returned.
The dark landscape flew by. Victor had been on many a flight like this one before, headed into an unknown situation. He wasn’t nervous, but there was a faint hum of excitement just below his skin.
His senses were running hot, taking in every detail. He could smell Bella’s skin, along with leather, a metallic hint of rust and the damp nighttime air.
She stared out the window, giving him the opportunity to look at the side of her face. He loved the curve of her cheek and the little swirl of her dainty ears—not that he’d ever call them dainty to her face. Her glossy hair was tied back in a ponytail, the ends dangling down her back in a complete windblown mess. He wanted to run his fingers through it and undo the damage the chopper’s blades had done, feeling the cool strands slide along his skin. They’d be warm near her scalp, and he wondered how she’d react if he grabbed a fistful of her hair and held her head in place while he kissed her.
No doubt his balls would be relocated into his throat by her knee, but it was almost worth the risk on the off chance that she wouldn’t try to unman him when he touched her.
He didn’t know how long he stared at her, but the sight was intriguing enough that time slid by faster than it usually did on the way to a mission.
“The truck is up ahead,” said the pilot.
“Veer north so we’re not noticed,” Payton said.
“No,” Bella said. “If Gage is on that truck, then I want to stop it in its tracks before it reaches reinforcements.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Payton. “Jump on top of it?”
> “Why the hell not? We brought rappelling gear for a reason. Seems a shame not to use it.”
“You’re injured and not in any shape for that kind of maneuver,” Payton said.
“I am,” Victor said. “What do we have to breach the trailer’s shell?”
Payton shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not going to happen. We head north.”
The chopper turned north.
Bella leaned forward in her seat to address the pilot. “If you don’t turn this chopper back around, you’re fired.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” said the pilot. “I work for Norwood, not you. He specifically said to follow Mr. Bainbridge’s orders.”
Bella reached for the latch on her harness. Victor grabbed her hands before she could do something stupid like parachute out of the chopper over farm country with no idea where she was or where she was going.
“The truck is too far away already,” Victor said. “You can’t reach it on foot. We stay put until we can do some good.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she snarled.
“Then don’t be an idiot. This is Gage we’re after. He needs us. We do this the right way.”
“Right would have been keeping that truck in sight.” She glared at the back of Payton’s head. “I swear that if we lose that transport, I will make you pay.”
“We won’t lose it. Norwood has it on satellite. It’s not going anywhere we can’t find it.”
She took a deep breath. Then another. After two more, Victor felt like she was steady enough to face their next move. “What’s the plan?”
Payton turned in his seat enough to look at them. “We wait to see where they stop, then we move in.”
“Why not act now?” Victor asked. “We could get ahead of it. Set up a roadblock.”
“No. This is bigger than Gage. If there are more of Stynger’s men at the rendezvous, then we owe it to them to find them, too. The more people we save, the better.”
Bella let out a long breath. “He’s right. Someone loves those men the way I love Gage. We go after all of them, but once we hit the ground, it’s my show. Agreed?”
Victor was too busy wincing at her mention of loving Gage to follow the rest of what she said. He didn’t know why it should bother him that she felt that deeply for a man who was as good as they come, but it did.
Payton nodded. “Agreed.”
“And when we’re done and Gage is safe,” Bella said, “you’re going to turn in your resignation. Norwood can work with me or Victor directly from now on. Or he can fuck off.”
“We’re old friends, Bella. He trusts me.”
“He also trusts Victor or he wouldn’t have put him in this position. Your resignation isn’t optional. I can’t work with you. Not after what you’ve done.”
Payton nodded slowly. “Fine. Once Gage is home safe, I’ll give you what you want.”
“Promise. I don’t know if you’re the man of your word I always believed you to be, but if you are, then prove it. Promise me.”
Payton bowed his head in defeat and regret. “I promise. Once Gage is safe I’ll resign.”
The pilot waved to the left. “Satellite shows the truck turning off onto a gravel road. It leads to only one structure. A house. No heat signatures inside. Looks like the truck is early.”
“That’s the meeting point,” Payton said. “Head that way, but stay low.”
Bella was planning something. He could see it in the way she began to look around the chopper with that calm, determined expression she wore right before going into a dangerous situation.
“What are you up to?” he asked.
She grabbed a rappelling harness and began strapping it on. “Getting a closer look.”
No way was anyone stopping her now, and he sure as hell wasn’t letting her go down there alone.
Victor grabbed a second harness. He attached the line onto the helicopter’s frame and slid his gear on his back.
“There’s the house,” Payton said.
“Don’t get too close,” warned Bella. “We’ll go in on foot and radio you when we’re in position.”
Payton saw she was ready to jump. And if he saw her determination the way Victor did, it was clear that no one was going to stop her short of knocking her out.
“Take us down,” Payton ordered the pilot. “Be ready to take off once they’re on the ground.”
“You’re going to have to get close,” Victor said. “We can’t risk you getting injured further.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said.
The chopper was still several yards too far off ground when Bella slid the door open and stepped out into the night sky.
Chapter Twelve
Bella moved over the ground as fast as she dared. Tall grass and weeds parted under her feet, leaving a clear path. She was still at least a mile from the house and Gage, but pushed herself to go faster, despite the cuts on her legs. Victor was right behind her, keeping up with her brutal pace the way he always did.
She admired the hell out of him for that. And truth be told, she was so very grateful that he had her back. He’d proven himself capable over and over again, and of all the badass men she’d worked with, his ass was the baddest. And the firmest and most lickable.
She was nearly to the top of a rise when he grabbed her around the middle and pulled her to the ground in a soft tackle. Rather than question his motives, she trusted him to have one and stayed put where she landed on the ground, waiting for an explanation.
While she waited, she couldn’t help but notice how good his weight felt on top of her. He didn’t crush her, but there was no doubt that she had a solid piece of prime male flesh pinning her down.
Her body reacted with a hot wave of want that started in her womb and slid down all the way to her toes. As it passed, it took with it all the lingering pain of her injuries.
Thank God for those lovely endorphins.
Victor put his gloved finger to his mouth, indicating the need for silence. Then he pointed over the hill and began crawling on his belly to the top of the rise.
Bella did the same, ignoring the tickle of weeds and grass on her face the same way she ignored how much she missed having his body atop hers.
The moon was bright overhead, giving her plenty of light to see by. As soon as her path was clear, she saw why Victor had gone all linebacker on her.
In the valley below sat the small farmhouse. Its roof was sagging under the weight of years of neglect and exposure to the elements. The columns holding up the front porch had rotted out and now lay toppled against the warped boards leading to the front door. Weeds grew up all around, without even a path of tire tracks to show someone had been here recently.
In the distance was a barn that had given up and collapsed completely. The gravel driveway had been all but reclaimed by nature, giving the incoming truck only the narrowest path to follow.
The truck stopped. The back opened. A metal ramp was shoved out the back. Down it came two men holding a third, who had a heavy pair of metal restraints around both his wrists and ankles. There was a hood over his head. He was built like Gage, and was wearing the same clothes and worn cowboy boots he’d had on the day he’d let Stynger take him.
It was Gage. He was safe, but those fuckers had him.
Not for long.
Bella’s hand was on her tranq gun before she had time to think. Victor’s hand settled on the small of her back, silently telling her to hold. Wait. Be patient.
None of those were her forte. All she wanted to do was rush in, kill the bad guys and take back her friend—the one she’d let walk into the belly of the beast, hoping to give it a fatal case of indigestion.
Victor’s voice brushed past her ear in a soft tickle. “He’s alive. That’s enough for now. We need to plan our next move so he stays that way.”
She knew he was right. Forced herself to take several deep breaths rather than attack the men escorting Gage.
He was alive, and until this very moment, she hadn’t realized just how worried she’d been that she’d never see him that way again.
Tears of relief stung her eyes, but she swallowed them down and cleared her vision.
Victor’s hand swept over her shoulder, an offering of comfort. She soaked it in, pretending like she couldn’t feel it through her armored vest and gear.
She activated her mic. “We have eyes on him. Two guards.”
Payton’s voice came through her headset after a pause. “We have four on thermals. Three in the house. One in the truck. Another vehicle is closing in on your position. ETA three minutes.”
She started to push to her feet to close in and rescue Gage before reinforcements arrived, but Victor’s hand held her down.
He kept his voice low. “That’s not enough time to get there and free him.”
“It is if we hurry.”
“He’ll get caught in the cross fire. And while most of our ammo is nonlethal, theirs isn’t. He’s not wearing a vest.”
Bella cursed under her breath and stopped trying to squirm out from under Victor’s hand. No matter what she did, she couldn’t risk getting Gage shot. They were nowhere near a medical facility, and she’d seen more than one man bleed out before they could reach aid.
That wasn’t going to happen to Gage, no matter how much she wanted to rush down there.
“What do you suggest?” she asked.
“We wait until the handoff is complete. Once we’re down to only one set of guards, we move in.”
“What if we lose him?”
“We won’t. Norwood’s got our back. I trust him with my life.”
“What about helping as many of Stynger’s victims as we can?”
“We will. We’ll keep eyes on the second set of guards and take them as soon as Gage is secured.”
She heard the rumble of another truck crunching gravel, and moved in to investigate. There was a driver in the first truck, still sitting behind the wheel with the engine running. The second truck’s trailer doors opened and two more men jumped out. They were both heavily armed and carried themselves like they knew how to use the firepower they were toting around.
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