After pulling open a hidden cupboard in the stucco wall in his living room, he showed them the weapons he’d amassed.
Gina’s eyes widened, and she gave him a look that said she wondered why in hell he thought he needed an arsenal. He shrugged and grinned. “Hard habit to give up—always being prepared for the worst,” he whispered to her.
While Trevor and Chase chose their weapons, he pulled out a duffel filled with black clothing and camo sticks. Chase and Trevor didn’t blink an eye, but Gina shook her head as she sifted through the items and chose a long-sleeved black tee. She headed to the bathroom to change. When she came out, the sleeves were rolled up, and she’d tucked the excess length into her dark jeans. She’d also done a creditable job of applying the black camo paint.
She went to the table filled with weapons and picked one up.
“Are you sure you can handle that weapon?” he asked.
She nodded and proved she at least knew which end of the weapon meant business when she planted the butt against her shoulder and sighted down the barrel. “I’ve got this.”
He blew out a stream of air. “What was your MOS in the Army?” She’d never told him, and he wished now that he’d grilled her over her experience.
“Doesn’t matter. They train everyone in basic combat skills. I qualified as an expert marksman. That’s all you need to know.” She began filling a magazine with rounds.
He was sure she’d been a cook or some fat general’s driver.
Gina slammed the magazine into her weapon. “I’m ready to go.”
Carson loaded up his weapons and slipped some little surprises into his pockets.
“You think Mr. Neal will stay put in the hotel room until we get back to him?” Trevor asked.
Gina shrugged. “We can only hope.”
“Huh.” Carson held open the door for her to pass outside. “I read him the riot act about getting in the way of anything we’re doing to rescue Maggie. He understands we’re up against some pretty bad dudes.”
As they made their way to the SUV, they continued talking about Mr. Neal, but then the conversation segued.
“Speaking of which,” Trevor said. “What the hell made you tie the knot in the first place?”
Which led Chase to talk about all of Maggie’s good qualities, but never admitting the one deciding factor Carson wasn’t sure his friend was ready to admit. He’d fallen for the girl.
Chase’s cellphone buzzed. He dug it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. The way he stiffened in a second caught all of their attention.
They listened to a one-way conversation that sounded a lot like they might get some much-needed back-up here in Cabo from whomever this Hank fellow was that Chase was talking to.
Gina sidled close to Carson, and he surreptitiously reached for her hand. He felt a little bemused, holding a fellow warrior’s hand before a battle. Damn, he had to keep her safe.
As soon as Chase hung up, Trevor asked, “Was that Hank?”
Chase nodded. “I can’t believe he made it here in just a few hours.”
“Here in Cabo?”
“Yup, with five of his best men.”
This Hank sounded like a standup guy. The fact he’d come all this way to help a new hire was impressive.
Trevor clapped his hands. “Gang, we have backup. This mission just got better.”
Chase rubbed a hand across his face. “We still don’t have a bead on Maggie. She might not even be in Delgado’s home. He could have taken her to some other cartel compound.”
Carson glanced out at the sea. The sun was setting. Right about now, he ought to be sitting in front of his firepit, ready to cook a fish or two. “From what my sources tell me, Delgado likes to run his operation out of his house. He has it set up the way he likes and has a high wall around it to slow down or keep out the riff-raff.
Gina tugged her hand from inside his. “Speaking of which, we’ll have to scale that wall. I never was good at vertical leaps, and I’m barely five and a half feet tall.”
“We’ve scaled walls in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Trevor said.
A line formed between her brows.
While Carson didn’t want her anywhere near this op, he didn’t like her looking unsure. “We’ve got this. And we’ll get you over it. No worries.”
“Good,” she said, looking down, probably because her cheeks were turning pink. “Then maybe we’d better get going so we can get into place before sundown.”
* * *
Gina sat in the back seat of the SUV beside Trevor as they headed out of the city and into the hills beyond Cabo. The sun was beginning to slip behind the horizon.
She sat on the edge of her seat, looking out the front windshield, although there really wasn’t much to see other than road and hills.
Nerves had her tapping her heel on the floorboards. What had she been thinking inserting herself into this crazy op like she could actually add some value? She’d probably trip over her own two feet and bring the wrath of Delgado’s minions down upon them all.
She forced her heels to the floorboard and drew calming breaths. She wasn’t a Calamity Jane. Her friend was inside that compound, she hoped, and she’d see this through.
During their drive, they had some good news. The man leading the team to help them rescue Maggie called to tell them their plane had landed, and they’d be there soon.
They weren’t just four now. They were nine. And the rest of them were all combat-trained. They’d attempt to sneak in, grab Maggie, make their way back out, and hope like hell they didn’t draw every one of Delgado’s men, because the numbers still didn’t add up in their favor.
About a mile from the compound, Carson parked the SUV in brush. They’d hoof it the rest of the way.
They moved quickly, quietly, Chase in the lead, followed by Trevor, then Gina with Carson taking up the rear. The pace was swift. Sweat trickled down her face as they made their way through rocky hills and ravines, but always moving higher. The glimpses she got of the ocean in the distance were magnificent.
At the top of the next rise, Chase held up a closed fist. They huddled together as they stared across at the next hill. Delgado’s tall, pale fortress looked enormous, impenetrable.
Again, anxiety stirred butterflies the size of chicken hawks in her belly.
Carson peered through a small set of binoculars. “I spot a guard on the rooftop.” He passed the binoculars to Chase.
“Two men on the gate, and one roaming the outer wall on this side. For all we know, there might be another on the other side and the rear.”
“We can take the guy on the wall and go over the top,” Trevor said.
“By the time we get close to the wall,” Gina said quietly, “it’ll be dark enough to provide cover for our approach.”
Again, Chase’s cellphone buzzed. “Hey, Hank.”
Gina watched the compound, noting the men moving around the base of the wall and on the rooftop. As she catalogued their positions, counted their number, she grew more calm.
Chase hung up. “The cavalry is on the way. They hitched a ride in the back of a delivery truck destined for the Delgado compound.”
The group celebrated with back slaps. Gina smiled, thinking things were falling into place. They couldn’t fail because god or karma was on their side.
Knowing they had to get to the compound in time to take care of the guards on the gate so they couldn’t inspect the back of the delivery truck, they decided they needed a distraction to pull people to the opposite side of the compound.
“I brought some C-4 with me,” Carson said. “We can set up a pretty decent distraction on the back side of the compound. Enough to take their minds off what’s out front.”
So, Carson was assigned to set charges. Make noise. She waited to see what her assignment would be.
“Blow the charge, and we’ll go over the wall during the confusion. Once we’re inside, we’ll find Maggie,” Chase said.
Oh, hell. She’d have to scale
that wall. She wished she brought a stepstool.
“That’s a tall order for three SEALs and a soldier,” Trevor said.
Chase shrugged. “Sometimes, less is better. We have less chance of being discovered when there are only two of us on the inside.”
Wait, what? “Two? No way. What about me?” she asked.
Chase replied smooth as butter, “You need to be Carson’s backup while he’s setting charges. Once he triggers the explosion, you two can slip around the front and take out the guards on the gate. Since we don’t have radios, we’ll communicate via cellphone texts and coordinate our efforts that way. But first, we need to get to the base of the compound. Set your phones to silent if you haven’t already.”
Still sounded like they meant to keep her out of the heat of the battle, but she wasn’t unhappy about keeping close to Carson’s ass.
He gave her a wink, and she wondered if the men had communicated telepathically—all tuned into the same frequency to make sure the “little solider girl” didn’t get hurt. She shook her head, thinking she must be bipolar, because she was happy and pissed as hell at the same time.
Chase raised the binoculars again. “We need to get moving. Hank and his team are on the way up now and will be here soon. We need to be ready for when they arrive. I anticipate no more than ten minutes.”
Her heart tripped then settled into a thudding rhythm that pounded at her temples.
“Let’s do this,” Trevor said.
Carson flashed a grin. “God, I missed this.”
He was certifiably insane. She’d have to remember that about him.
“Just don’t do anything to put yourself or others at any more risk than we’ll already have,” Chase said. “Our number one goal is to get Maggie out alive.”
And for her not to have a heart attack, or worse, make a fool out of herself in front of these amazing men before this night ended.
Chapter 6
Carson moved forward, hyper-aware of Gina’s presence behind him.
He was relieved she was with him instead of infiltrating the compound with Trevor and Chase. They had the higher probability of taking fire. He’d find a way to keep her safe, and he had no doubt she’d do her best to keep him safe as well.
Although he hadn’t wanted her anywhere near Delgado’s men, he admired her tenacity and courage. Gina had guts. Sure, he’d heard the tapping in the backseat of his car and knew she’d been doing it out of nervousness. He didn’t blame her. His rituals had been part of his way to shore up his own courage before entering a fight. She was entitled to feel fear, and she had every right be here to help her friend.
They made their way down a steep gully then climbed one last hill, digging the toes of their boots into crumbling white dirt to find purchase. When they reached the plateau the compound sat on, they kept close to the wall and made their way to the back. At the corner, he held out his arm to hold her back as he peered around it.
With the way clear, he moved to the middle of the rear wall and took out the cardboard-covered packages he’d stuffed into his pockets.
“I can’t believe you kept C-4 that close to your balls!” she hissed.
He shot her a grin. “It’s just Playdoh without the juice,” he said. He removed the boxes, unwrapped the explosives, and molded the two blocks together with his hands. Then he turned and pushed it against the side of the wall, making sure it adhered. Next, he pulled the electronics package from his other pocket, inserted the wires into the lump of C-4, and set it.
“Here, hold this,” he said, handing her the remote.
“Gah!” she said, accepting it, but keeping her palm held out flat.
“Don’t you let that drop.”
“Are you done?”
He liked the bitchy edge in her voice. She wasn’t going to show her fear to him and would probably deny it if he asked her straight out if she was scared. Which made her brave in his book.
Once he was satisfied, he turned and walked away, trusting she’d follow as he slid sideways on his feet partway down the hill. He turned to watch her coming, her hand barely cupped around the remote, and frowning so ferociously he had to hide a smile.
“Here,” he said, indicating the ground beside him.
She plopped to the ground and reached out her hand.
He didn’t take the remote. Instead, he dug into his pocket for his phone and quickly texted that that C-4 was in place. A second later, Chase gave him a thumbs up symbol.
He plucked the remote from Gina’s hand, knelt beside her, then pressed the switch and dove over her, covering her body with his.
Dirt and chunks of concrete rained all around them.
In the distance, the sound of gunfire erupted.
He pushed up and glanced down at Gina whose wide eyes stared back in the gathering darkness. “You okay?” he whispered.
She nodded.
“You can stay here. I’ll come back for you.”
She frowned. “Let’s go get Maggie.”
* * *
The op, from Gina’s point of view, was anticlimactic following the blast. They entered the compound, but didn’t encounter any of Delgado’s men, because they were all hiding in the house or engaged in a gun battle at the front of the compound. That battle was over by the time she and Carson made their way forward, covering each other as they exposed themselves moving between buildings.
At last, they entered the courtyard just as Maggie ran into Chase’s arms. A team of operatives was busy applying zip ties to Delgado’s men where they rested on their knees or their bellies. Introductions were being made all around as Chase stood, unwilling to let Maggie out of his embrace. Her friend looked quite happy to be there.
Chase waved them over. “Hank, this is Gina, Maggie’s friend. She’s prior Army. Carson is one of us. Prior Navy SEAL.
“Thought I recognized you,” Hank said and held out his hand to Carson. “We served a deployment together.”
As the men talked, Gina glanced around, her mind boggled by all the glorious man-candy standing in the courtyard. Every one of Hank’s team was well-built. She sighed. If she hadn’t already kind of set her sights on one particular Navy SEAL, she’d have thought it was Christmas.
Hank cleared his throat. “Are you ready to leave paradise and come to Montana?”
Chase glanced down at Maggie. “I just got here. As long as Delgado isn’t gunning for me, I’d like to finish my vacation before I start to work.”
Maggie looked like she was quite all right with his plan.
Gina leaned toward her friend. “You need to get in touch with your father as soon as possible. I’ll bet he’s contacted the Mexican government, the U.S. consulate, and the French Foreign Legion by now.”
Maggie nodded then returned to the conversation around them. The couple committed to staying a while longer, planning to enjoy the hotel suite together, to get in some dancing—and to get to know each other better. And somehow, Carson had promised to “take care of” Delgado. The cartel leader wasn’t going to cause them anymore problems.
Carson caught her hand, and she glanced back at him. His gaze was locked on her, and one side of his mouth was quirked up. He tugged her away from the group. “So, your friend’s staying…”
Gina smiled. “Yeah. Looks like it.”
His gaze cut to Delgado’s men, who were being loaded onto the delivery truck.
Gina frowned.
“They’re going to drive them about a hundred miles away and let them walk back. There’s no use turning them over to the Federales. They’d be back here before morning.”
“And Delgado?”
His eyes narrowed. “I’ll put the guys who are driving them out into the desert in touch with someone who’s not so fond of our friend. I doubt he’ll ever be seen again. Maggie and Chase are safe.”
Gina didn’t want to know any more about how Delgado would be “taken care of.” “I’m okay with that.”
He gave a nod and walked back to the group. She wat
ched him with the other men, completely at home, accepted, trusted. She wondered how that felt. She’d spent months doing work that was a lot less dangerous but still hadn’t managed to shrug off the disasters of her first few weeks at the agency.
With the last of the prisoner’s loaded, Hank’s team climbed into the front of the cab and positioned a couple of men in the back. The truck pulled away.
Carson returned to her. “Ready for a nice stroll? The others are commandeering one of Delgado’s cars to get back to Cabo.”
She shook her head, smiling. “You did have to park a mile away.”
He bent his elbow, and she slipped her hand inside the crook. So, she wore dirty clothes and black camo paint. The breeze was cool and carried the scent of the sea. Besides, she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her SEAL.
* * *
Carson drove them back to his place, figuring the hotel room would be pretty noisy with Maggie and her father arguing again over where she belonged and with which husband, and lucky for him, Gina didn’t voice an objection to his direction.
He parked outside his place and realized for the first time, he’d never meant for it to be his home. Although it was clean, newly painted, and close enough to spit at the water, his satisfaction over being here had waned.
“I should have asked,” he said, turning in his seat. “Would you like to stay with me?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think I’m missing some excitement back at the hotel,” she said, but when she looked his way, her grin flashed white in the moonlight filtering through the windshield.
“I promise I have more than beer in the fridge.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Oh, I think you are,” he said, arching a brow.
Always game, Gina unbuckled her seat belt, unzipped her jeans, and pushed them down her legs. Then she turned, moved to her knees, and stepped over the console and right onto his lap.
S*x on the Beach Page 5