by Kat Martin
Reese turned around, wrapped her in his arms, and silenced her with a kiss. In a matter of heartbeats, it went from a way to make her forget the danger to something hot and desperate. Kenzie wanted the kiss to go on and on, wanted the heat building inside her to push away her terrible fear. She whimpered when Reese pulled away.
“We’re getting him out,” Reese said, keeping her in the circle of his arms. “And none of us are going to die.”
Her eyes welled. “You can’t know that.”
“Not for sure. Nothing is ever completely certain. But my brothers are both former military. Brandon was a special ops soldier, Chase an army MP. They know what they’re doing.” He tipped her chin up and softly kissed her lips. “And I’m fairly capable myself.”
It was true. She knew he practiced martial arts. She had watched him fight the big burly Sea Titan mechanic, seen the way he’d handled Eddie Fontaine. Reese was in amazing physical condition. He was tough and he was smart.
“You never talk about your past,” she said. “You know all about me and my family. About Lee. What happened in the past to make you the way you are?”
His features closed up and his mouth thinned. “You mean cold and insensitive? I know that’s what people say.”
Her heart melted. She reached up and cupped his cheek, felt the roughness along his jaw that made him look like the hard man she knew he could be. “You aren’t cold and insensitive. You’re the most caring man I’ve ever met. For some reason you just don’t want people to know.”
Reese sighed. He sat down on the sofa and drew her down beside him. “I know I keep most people at a distance. It’s good business practice, but it’s also a defense mechanism. It’s just easier not to let anyone in.” He flicked her a sideways glance. “No way for me to get hurt.”
Kenzie frowned. “But you always seem so self-assured.”
“I know I’m good at what I do. I’ve got plenty of confidence when it comes to business. It’s relationships that give me trouble.”
She processed that. They were in a relationship of sorts, but it was mostly brought on by circumstance. Or was it? She wanted to believe it was more. “What about me? Surely you aren’t afraid I’ll hurt you.”
His beautiful blue eyes fixed on her face. “You could,” he said softly, surprising her.
She glanced away, afraid of the emotion rising inside her. She didn’t want to get hurt, either. “You’re close to your brothers,” she said, shifting the conversation in a safer direction.
“I owe my brothers everything. When I was a kid I was always in trouble. I got involved in a teenage gang, ended up in juvenile detention. If it hadn’t been for my mom and my brothers, I’d probably be dead by now.”
Her heart squeezed. “They helped you turn your life around.”
Something moved across his features. Clearly there was something more. “They were a big part of it. But something else happened. Something I’ve never told anyone...not even Chase and Bran.”
Kenzie stayed silent, afraid if she spoke he wouldn’t go on. But her gaze held his, urging him to continue, telling him without words he could trust her.
His glance cut away. “I’d just gotten out of detention. Still finding my way, I guess. One of my buddies talked me into going out drinking with him. We were both underage, but that just made it more exciting. We got reeling drunk. I knew Billy shouldn’t be driving, but he was more afraid of his dad than having an accident. It was three o’clock in the morning when the front tire blew on his dad’s Buick sedan. Billy swerved and hit a tree at sixty miles an hour.”
“Oh, Reese.”
“Billy died instantly. I wasn’t even hurt.” He sighed into the quiet. “I checked to be sure he was dead, but his head was split open. There was no doubt. I climbed out of the car and walked away. No one ever knew I was even there. Billy’s death was the real reason I changed.”
Kenzie slid her arms around his neck and held him. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Reese blew out a shaky breath. “I shouldn’t have been drinking in the first place.”
“The tire blew. That wasn’t your fault.”
“I know. I tried to stop Billy from driving, but he wouldn’t listen. In the end, his death made me realize how tenuous life can be. And it made me want to make the most out of mine.”
Kenzie’s thoughts went to the danger he and his brothers would be facing. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Reese. Asking you to go in after Griff—”
Reese caught her chin and softly kissed her. “You aren’t asking me to do anything. Your son is in danger. We can’t bring in the police or they’ll kill him. We’re doing what we have to do.”
Noises sounded in the hall. There was a two-and-one rap on the door the instant before it opened and Chase and Brandon strode back into the living room. She noticed they both kept their gun hands free, and each carried a big plastic bag he tossed up onto the sofa.
“Let’s get dressed and do a little recon,” Chase said. “DeMarco’s given you until tomorrow morning. We need to have Griff safe before the deadline.”
Reese started pulling stuff out of the bag. He dragged out a pair of camouflage cargo pants and a long-sleeved camo T-shirt. Kenzie didn’t have to be a soldier to know the swamp wasn’t a friendly place for exposed skin.
He grabbed a couple more items and disappeared into the bedroom. Kenzie followed, giving Chase and Bran privacy to change. She was wearing her skinny jeans with a navy blue T-shirt and black sneakers, her hair pulled into a ponytail. It would have to do.
When she and Reese returned to the living room, Kenzie stood transfixed as she watched the men in action, moving with the same ease of purpose she had noticed in Reese.
Brandon crossed to the hall closet, reached in, and pulled out a couple of canvas bags the men had apparently brought with them. One was big and bulky, another long and narrow with a zipper that ran full length. Bran tossed it up onto the sofa, unzipped it, and pulled out an assault rifle.
“AR-15,” he announced. “Converted to full auto.” He handed it to Chase, then pulled what looked like another assault rifle out of the bag. “Pneu-Dart G2 X-Caliber. Gas-based remote delivery projector. Otherwise known as a tranq gun.”
His blue eyes flashed to Chase, then to her. “I figured my brother wouldn’t be happy if I just ended the bastards.”
Chase’s mouth edged up. “No. At least not unless we have to.”
Bran turned to Reese. “You’re the man when it comes to handguns. You’re carrying your Nighthawk, right?”
“That’s right.” Reese’s mouth curved into a sexy smile. “You got a good look at it when I walked in this morning.”
Brandon grinned.
Reese slid the gun out of the holster at his waist, checked the load, then slid it back in with an ease Kenzie still found unsettling. “Where did you learn to handle a gun the way you do?”
“High school. Not that I’m proud of it.”
“Maybe not,” Chase said. “But at fifty feet, you’re the best pistol shot I’ve ever seen.” Chase fetched a canvas bag from behind the sofa, pulled it open, and tossed Reese a second weapon.
“Beretta nine mil,” he said. “That .380 I loaned you makes a good ankle gun, but for what we’re getting into, you need a backup weapon with some muscle.”
Reese nodded. “Thanks.” He checked the pistol, made sure the magazine was full, then shoved it into his waistband at the back of his cargo pants.
Chase held up a square black plastic case. “Satellite phone.” He smiled. “‘Don’t leave home without one,’” he said, parroting the American Express ad. “And last but not least, there’s a little toy out in the SUV your brother was determined to buy.”
“What is it?” Reese asked.
Bran flashed a cocky smile. “A drone.”
Reese actually grinned. “I like it.”
“All right, fine,” Chase said, sounding like a typical big brother. “If you two are ready to try out your new toys, let’s go see what’s out there.”
THIRTY-FOUR
The afternoon was nearly gone when Reese drove out of Shreveport in the black Ford pickup, Kenzie riding nervously in the seat beside him. Chase drove in the SUV with Brandon. Better to have two vehicles in case something went wrong.
Which undoubtedly it would. That was just the way the world worked. They had discussed asking Hawk to help, but his sights were set on Jeremy Bolt. They needed him to bring Bolt in, needed a way to prove Bolt had killed Lee Haines.
None of them wanted to return Griff to a home where his mother faced years in prison.
As they left the city, Reese turned onto US 71 and drove southeast about forty minutes toward the area known as Loggy Bayou. They passed through rural farm country before turning down a dirt road leading east into the bayou.
Reese glanced over at Kenzie. With no cell service, she was using maps she had previously downloaded to find the safest route in and out, giving him directions along a lane on the opposite side of the stream that wound through the woods beside the cabin. Which meant they could travel the road without running into one of the kidnappers heading back to the city. Plus the terrain along the riverbank was highly overgrown, shielding the vehicles as they got closer to their objective.
Behind him, Chase had dropped back a little so one vehicle could provide cover for the other. Reese wished Kenzie had stayed at the hotel, but he hadn’t even suggested it.
No way was she staying behind while he went after her son. “I can help you,” she’d said. “I can do what I do best—take care of the detail work. That will free all of you up to go in after Griff.”
She was right. The maps she was using were invaluable. She was also monitoring the sat phone Brandon had brought with him. Once they got there, they would be using handheld two-way radios, which Kenzie would monitor to make sure everyone stayed connected. Though Reese worried about her, she was a real asset. He had to stay focused on that.
“The cabin’s about half a mile ahead,” Kenzie said.
Reese slowed as she relayed the message to Chase. At a quarter of a mile, he pulled off the dirt road and backed into a thick copse of trees while Chase backed the SUV out of sight a little farther away.
Reese spotted them walking toward the pickup, gear bags slung over their shoulders. Bran was carrying the drone, which he set up on the tailgate of the truck.
“DJI Mavic 2 Pro.” Bran held the small device in the palm of his hand. “This one works with a 1000TVL mini FPV camera. We can control it from the pilot’s viewpoint and at the same time record the surround as a video file.”
“So I guess you don’t need cell service or Wi-Fi to run the thing,” Reese said.
Bran just grinned. “That’s the beauty of it. Kenzie’s already downloaded the files necessary to view the drone’s progress on her iPad.”
“And it’s nice and quiet,” Chase added. “With any luck, it’ll give us the intel we need and won’t be spotted.”
“We’ll make a run with the drone,” Bran said. “Then spread out and walk the creek, traverse the area, and find the best place to cross. We’ll send the drone out one more time before it gets dark. Once we’ve got the intel, we map out a plan. Soon as we have what we need, we go in.”
Now that the mission was actually under way, Bran had taken charge. He was a former Delta Operator, one of the most elite soldiers in the world. Going into a hostage situation was something he had done a dozen times, probably a lot more. Reese was grateful to have his brother along.
Bran launched the drone, then steered it in the direction of the cabin, careful to keep it at a high altitude. Reese watched the progress on the iPad screen as the drone flew over the clearing in front of the cabin. Three cars appeared, parked haphazardly along the creek—an old Jeep Wrangler, a dirty four-door sedan, and an older Chevy SUV.
The drone flight continued, circling the swampy area from high above. The first man who came into view was rangy, with a mustache and dark brown hair. The second guy was average height, with a stocky build and wearing wraparound sunglasses, his hair hidden beneath a Dallas Cowboys ball cap. The third guy was big and muscular, with mocha skin and long black hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
None of them looked like they belonged in a suit. This was the hired muscle. They probably only worked for DeMarco when he needed extra manpower. Which meant his regular crew was likely inside the cabin.
Not good.
“Griff has to be inside,” Reese said. “These three guys wouldn’t be here unless DeMarco was expecting trouble.”
“Hard to tell exactly how many we’re dealing with,” Bran said.
“Nolan Webb’s got to be in with Griff,” Chase said. “Tabby’s keeping an eye on his cell number. She’d call if she’d pinged him in a different location.”
“Could be more than just him,” Reese said.
Chase shifted his attention back to the screen. “We’ll know more after our second drone run. Be interesting to see if anyone leaves or anyone new shows up.”
“Roger that,” Bran said.
Reese, who wasn’t very good at waiting, clenched his jaw. Every instinct for trouble that he had honed in his bad-boy days said Griff was in the cabin. He wanted to go in and bring him out.
But his brothers were right. They needed as much information as they could get before they acted. As CEO of a company involved in hundred-million-dollar business deals, he understood that better than most.
“Let’s gear up and check out the area,” Bran said. “Reese, you head north. Chase, you go south. We need to find the best place to cross.” He eyed his two brothers. “I’m not carrying any anti-venom, so try not to get bitten by a snake.”
* * *
Kenzie sat down to wait on a fallen log beneath the high branches of a yellow pine tree. She had spotted an abandoned campsite, a circle of downed logs around a long-dead firepit, and the men had decided to use it as their base of operations. The drone had safely landed to conserve the battery. It would fly once more when the men returned.
Kenzie prayed her son was actually inside the cabin and that Reese and his brothers would be able to bring him out safely. At the thought of Griff being hurt or killed, cold fear slid through her. Or Reese. Dear God, what if she lost them both?
Kenzie clamped down on the notion. The men were risking their lives to save her son. She had to believe in them, have faith that they would succeed.
Half an hour slipped past. She had no idea what was happening in the cabin. Or the swamp. The .38 revolver she’d carried in her purse now rode in a holster at her waist. Reese wanted her armed in case of trouble.
Kenzie agreed. When the men went in after Griff, they might need help. She intended to be ready.
A faint noise sounded and she rose as Chase walked back into the makeshift camp, his heavy leather boots sloshing through a puddle as he came toward her. Because this was only a reconnaissance mission, they had maintained radio silence. After the rescue mission was under way, she would be able to monitor communications and know what was going on.
Only a few seconds had passed when the bushes parted and Brandon appeared like a ghost out of thin air. He and Chase glanced around the camp.
“Any sign of Reese?” Chase asked.
Unease slid through her. “No.”
“He’s only a few minutes late,” Chase said, checking his heavy wristwatch. “Not time to worry yet.”
“I’ll go look for him.” Bran disappeared back into the foliage and Kenzie’s nerves inched up.
“You don’t think something’s happened to him?”
Chase shook his head, dark blond hair glinting in the late afternoon sunlight. “He’s determined to bring the boy out. My guess, he’s doing a li
ttle extra recon. Reese never was good at following orders.”
No, he was used to being in charge, doing things his own way. Kenzie fought the urge to follow Brandon in search of him, but she wasn’t a soldier and her movements might be spotted by the men on the other side of the creek.
Fifteen minutes later, Reese walked into the camp, followed by Bran.
“What happened out there?” Chase asked.
“I got close enough to the cabin to see at least two men inside.”
Chase grunted. “Next time stick with the plan. We need to work together if we’re going to pull this off.”
Reese cast him a mutinous glare. “I saw an opening and took it.” Then he sighed. “You’re right. Sorry.”
Bran slapped him on the shoulder. “You don’t win battles by second-guessing yourself. You followed your instincts and brought us some valuable intel. Now we know we’re facing at least five men.” He grinned. “Just makes it a little more interesting is all.”
Kenzie almost smiled. She liked Reese’s brothers. And she trusted them—the way she trusted Reese.
She looked over to see him walking toward her, his familiar long strides filled with purpose. Still, it was hard to imagine the man dressed head to foot in camo, his lean face covered in black grease paint, was Reese, CEO of a powerful Dallas corporation.
Or Reese the tender lover. This man was a woman’s secret fantasy, a true alpha male. It occurred to her that if things were different and Griff were safely home, she’d like to get to know this Reese, the formidable man he kept locked away.
Arousal slipped through her. What sort of lover would he be if his deeper passions were unleashed?
Kenzie shook the untimely thought away.
“Let’s review,” Bran said, pulling her back to the moment as he seated himself on one of the logs, clearly in military mode. They all sat down around the empty campfire, Kenzie next to Reese.
“Sit rep,” Bran prodded. “Reese?”
“From what I could tell, it looks like the road coming in from the north dead-ends at the cabin. That’s the way they came in and their only way out.”