by Anna Blakely
Headed by former Delta Force operator, Jake McQueen, it consisted of two teams: Alpha and Bravo. Both teams worked black ops missions for Homeland Security, as well as taking on the occasional private sector client.
Zade thought about the guys he worked with now. As these things went, they’d only been a team for a relatively short period of time, but they were brothers. He’d recently let down one of those brothers in spectacular fashion.
His thoughts turned to Matt and everything he’d been through lately. A twinge of familiar guilt struck. The man nearly lost the woman of his dreams because Zade had failed to protect her.
He knew Matt didn’t blame him for what had happened to Katherine—Matt’s childhood sweetheart and the love of his life—but Zade couldn’t help but feel responsible.
The woman had been taken on his watch. She’d been held captive and damn near died because he hadn’t been able to do the one thing he’d been assigned to do.
With a tightened gut, Zade thought back to his nightmare. No, not a nightmare. A memory.
Once again, he saw Katherine being pulled from the car as he remained trapped. Useless. The exact opposite of what a R.I.S.C. operative should be.
Whether it be as bodyguards, rescuing hostages, or taking out the enemy to ensure the safety of the United States and its citizens, Zade and the others were the best at what they did. At least he’d always thought he was.
Goddamn it, King. Cut that shit out.
From behind the wheel, Zade blew out a breath and shook his head because that tiny voice was right. If he allowed self-doubt to crawl its way back inside, he would be of no use.
To his team, or himself.
With that in mind, he pulled into the parking garage next to the building where his office was located. After parking the truck in his reserved spot and taking a few deep, cleansing breaths, he pulled the key from the ignition. Grabbing his bag from the passenger seat, he slid its wide strap over his shoulder and got out.
Securing the vehicle, he began making his way through the concrete structure to the sidewalk out front. Ignoring the slight, intermittent ache pulling at his now-healed collar bone, Zade put on his game face and went to work.
Their office was on the top floor of the building, overlooking downtown Dallas. Once in a while, they’d meet up at Jake’s very private and secure ranch located about an hour from the city. Since Jake’s wife, Olivia, had recently given birth to their first child, he was keeping most R.I.S.C. business away from there, for the time being.
“Good morning, Zade,” Gracelynn Carter—Nate’s wife and the company’s PR rep and office manager greeted him as he walked through the door. “How’s the shoulder?”
“Great.” Zade smiled back at the pretty blonde. He’d be even better if everyone would quit asking about his shoulder.
“That’s fantastic. Trevor and the others are already in the conference room. Agent Ryker got held up, but he just called to say he’s on his way in now.”
“Sounds good.”
“Oh, and Lexi sent some goodies with Trevor, so I hope you didn’t stop for breakfast.”
Okay, so that did put a little perk in his sour mood. Lexi was married to Alpha team medic, Trevor Matthews and owned The Gardens—one of the city’s hottest restaurants. In addition to being super sweet, the tiny bit of a thing was also one hell of a cook and an amazing baker.
“Awesome. Thanks, Gracie.”
“No problem.”
With a slight tip of his head, Zade gave the sweet woman a parting smile and made his way down the long hallway. When he entered the conference room, he found exactly what he expected.
Trevor Matthews—Alpha Team’s medic and Jake’s second in command—was sitting to his left, at the head of the long, oval table. He’d temporarily taken Jake’s place as the man in charge so Jake could take some paternity leave.
Gabe was in his usual seat across from where Zade stood. The former SEAL greeted him with a head nod and continued drinking his coffee and talking with Trevor about whatever they were already discussing when he’d walked in.
Standing by the table in the back were Kole, Nate, and Matt. The three men talked and laughed as they filled their plates and cups with pastries and coffee. Nate, in particular, looked more than a little happy, and Zade didn’t have to wonder about the reason why.
A few weeks ago, right before the op where Zade had gotten shot, Nate and Gracie had eloped in Vegas. Zade was still getting used to the fact that Nate was now a married man, but he was damn happy for his friend. Especially after everything he and Gracie had been through.
In a situation somewhat similar to Matt and Katherine’s, Gracie had been under Nate’s protection when Nate had been shot and left for dead, and she’d been kidnapped. Thankfully the computer genius recovered from his wound and was able to play an active role in saving Gracie from the asshole holding her hostage.
Zade thought about the pain he’d witnessed his friends suffer as a result of the pure terror they’d felt thinking their women would be lost to them forever. Both men had gone through hell, which made Zade wonder if it was even worth it.
The image of Gabby’s smiling face entered into his mind’s eye. Despite her deception and sudden disappearance, his gut tightened at the thought of something like what happened to his teammates’ women happening to her.
Maybe I’m better off not getting romantically involved with someone.
“Hey, look who finally decided to join us,” Kole, the team’s other sniper, smarted off.
Zade rolled his eyes. “The meeting hasn’t even started yet, dickhead.”
“Hey, man. Good to see ya.” Nate tipped his chin and motioned toward the platter that was already half-empty. “Lexi sent these, so you’d better get ’em while you can.”
“Glad I got here when I did.” He grabbed a plate. “Another couple minutes, you greedy bastards would’ve taken them all.”
Standing on the other side of Nate, Kole shook his head. “We would’ve saved you one.”
“Gee, thanks Jameson,” Zade feigned his appreciation. “That’s mighty generous of you.”
Balancing his loaded plate, Kole came over to him. Squeezing one of Zade’s broad shoulders, the guy grinned. “Anything for you, brother.” Almost as an afterthought, Kole quickly removed his hand and apologized. “Shit. Sorry, man.”
He resisted the urge to growl. “Wrong shoulder, dumbass. And I’m fine.” To reiterate this fact, he forcefully slapped against the area where he’d been shot. “See? Good as new.”
“Damn.” Kole frowned while scratching his short, sandy blond hair. “Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning?”
“No one. I’m just sick of everyone treating me like I’m gonna fucking break or something. I’ve been back for a damn month. In that time, we’ve worked two ops. Pretty sure I did my damn job without incident either time, yet you dickheads are still treating me with kid gloves.”
“We’re just worried about you, Zade,” Matt chimed in. The man’s brown eyes illuminated with guilt, pissing Zade off even more.
“And that’s another thing,” he bit out sharply as he pointed his finger toward the other man. “Quit with that shit, right now.”
A set of dark brows arched as the former pararescueman blinked. “The fuck did I do?”
“You’ve had that same guilty-as-sin look on your face ever since all that shit went down.” A constant reminder of Zade’s failure. “I told you that day in the hospital it wasn’t your fault. So stop acting like you let me down.”
If anything, he’d been the one to drop the ball.
Rather than say anything more, Matt wisely turned away and walked to his seat.
With an expectant look, Zade dared the other two men to say more, but like Matt, they remained silent and took their places around the table, as well.
Shit. Zade closed his eyes and let out a silent breath, feeling like a complete ass for the way he’d reacted. Mainly because he knew Matt was right. His teammates
were only showing their concern, and instead of being grateful that they cared, he’d bitten their damn heads off.
With a plan to apologize later, Zade used the plastic tongs Lexi had provided to pick up two raspberry Danishes and a cinnamon roll before filling one of the disposable cups to the rim with what he prayed was strong coffee. Avoiding eye contact with the others, he walked around the front end of the room, behind where Trevor was sitting, to take his usual spot next to Gabe.
The big guy leaned in. “Rough morning?” he spoke low enough only Zade could hear.
“Rough night,” Zade admitted.
His team leader gave him a sideways glance. An assessing glance. “Had a lot of those lately?”
Knowing the man was studying him too closely, Zade shrugged it off with what he hoped to be a plausible explanation. “My hospital stay threw my sleep cycle off. You know it’s impossible to sleep in one of those places. Nurses constantly coming in to check vitals and shit. Body’s still trying to get back into a routine, that’s all.”
With a slow swig of his coffee, Gabe finally nodded. “It becomes more, you let me know, yeah?”
Zade looked at the other man. “It won’t, but thanks, anyway.”
With the rim of his cup at his lips again, Zade’s team leader muttered, “I’m sure you’re right.”
Frustration rolled through him, but rather than pop off, Zade shoved a large bite of pastry into his mouth. He took his time chewing to deter himself from saying anything more. The last thing he wanted to do was piss off Dawson and get benched for this next job.
Thankfully, Homeland Agent Jason Ryker chose that same moment to enter the conference room. Followed by…Ghost?
What the hell?
Keane “Ghost” Bryson was the leader of a Delta Force team they’d worked with on two separate occasions. Those guys had been instrumental during the mission to save Gracie, and also when they’d traveled to Iran to rescue Kat.
By now, Ghost and his teammates almost felt as though they were an extension of Bravo. However that still didn’t prepare Zade for the man’s sudden appearance on their turf. And from the looks on their faces, the rest of Bravo were just as surprised.
“Ghost!” Kole stood and held out his hand. Parroting Zade’s thoughts, he said, “What the hell are you doing here?”
Their unexpected guest shook Kole’s hand. “Jameson.”
Trevor also stood to greet the other man. “Damn good to see you again, brother.”
As former Delta Force themselves, both Trevor and Jake had actually worked alongside Ghost even before R.I.S.C.’s existence.
Matt joined in on the greetings. “Hey, man. I know we’ve emailed, but I never got a chance to thank you face to face for helping us get Kat out of Iran.” Instead of a simple handshake, the two men embraced in a quick half-hug.
And another rush of guilt slammed into Zade.
“No need to thank me again, Turner.” The six-one Captain shook his head. “You’d do the same for one of us.”
Matt gave the man a curt nod. “I know if Kat were here, she’d want to thank you, as well.”
A corner of Ghost’s lips turned upward. “How is the doc?”
Though she wasn’t a medical doctor, Matt had dubbed Kat with the nickname ‘Doc’ when the two had been reacquainted. She was a brilliant-as-hell scientist who’d since been hired to run an entire lab funded by the government for the sole purpose of aiding the U.S. Military.
“Kat’s great.” Matt smiled. “Construction on the lab is in full swing. For now, she’s been working out of a temporary space until it’s completed.”
“Good for her. Still can’t believe the shit she helped create. Can’t wait until it’s available to all U.S. black ops, not solely the military.”
“She’s pushing for it, trust me.”
Zade watched his teammate’s face light up the way it always did when he talked about his woman. A narrow slice of jealousy ripped through Zade’s system.
Despite all they’d been through, Nate and Matt—and nearly all the guy’s on Alpha Team—had found a way to make a relationship work. Real relationships. Marriage. Kids. The works.
I want that, too.
After only three days with Gabby, Zade had found himself wanting it all with her. Now he had no idea if he’d ever even see her again.
From beside him, Gabe spoke up next, greeting Ghost from his seat. Zade and Nate followed, Agent Ryker purposely clearing his throat the second they were finished.
“Now that we’ve made the rounds, I’d like to get started.” Dressed in his typical black suit and tie, the dark-haired man waited at the front beside Ghost while Kole and Matt found their seats again.
From what Zade understood, Jason Ryker had been R.I.S.C.’s Homeland handler almost since its conception. As head of his own covert department at the agency, Ryker routinely turned to them for assistance with particularly sensitive or difficult missions. Ones the government couldn’t officially become involved with.
Zade’s gut tightened, knowing this time would be no different.
“What’s the matter, Ghost?” Nate smirked. “Your team need our help this time?”
A round of low chuckles filled the room. Ghost smiled back at Nate. “As much as it burns my ass to admit it…Yes. We do.”
The laughter died down quickly. The guy’s answer making them all sit a little taller.
“Really?” Kole sounded as surprised as Zade felt.
The entire team shared a look before bringing their unified focus back to the front of the room. “What’s going on, Trevor?” Zade looked to their interim boss.
With a somber expression, the dark-haired man began to explain. “As you know, the human trafficking business is at an all-time high around the globe. My most recent data shows young men and boys make up about thirty percent of the sex-trafficking victims, leaving young women, mostly mid-to-upper teens, to make up the other seventy. As with the males, these young women and girls are being brought here from other countries, either by force or under some sort of false enticement.”
“I’ve done a lot of reading on this sort of thing,” Nate spoke up. “These assholes use fake dating sites or social media profiles to lure these girls in. Some even going so far as to buy one-way plane tickets for the victims. These guys troll around for those most vulnerable and then swoop in like some sort of twisted Casanova. The girls think the guy they’ve been ‘talking to’ is their white knight, when really they’re the Devil in disguise.”
“You’re exactly right, Carter,” Ryker agreed. “And equally as bad are the men who pose as headhunters for fraudulent modeling agencies. They know exactly what to say to entice them into either coming into our country for job interviews or, if they’re already here, these predators will oftentimes go to them.”
Locking eyes with the Homeland agent, Gabe leaned his elbow onto the table’s smooth surface. “So what’s our involvement with this? Are we looking at a rescue, infiltration…what?”
“Neither, actually,” Ghost answered for the other man. “This is a takedown mission. A big one. From what we know, the target we’re after uses young, attractive, American men to lure young women into their trap. By the time these girls realize what’s really happening, they’re already on their way out of the country and in Mexico. My team’s been asked to be on-call for when this op moves over the border into Mexico. And trust me. It will.”
“Okay…” Zade’s voice trailed off as he waited for an expanded explanation.
What he got from Ryker was, “The sex-trafficking operation we’re looking at is larger than any we’ve shut down in the past.”
Zade’s gut tightened. Though he didn’t know specifics, Zade had heard stories about the ones Homeland had gone after in previous years. None of those cases had been a walk in the park for the agents and operatives involved, and now they were being asked to work with Delta to take down one that was bigger than those?
Hot damn.
The thought of ending someth
ing so horrific and dehumanizing as a sex-trafficking ring was enough to put a kick back in Zade’s sluggish steps. Nothing made him more enraged than the thought of some bastard preying on the weak or vulnerable. Especially if the victims were female.
It wasn’t that Zade thought women were weaker than men. He’d served with enough kick-ass female Marines to know better. Plus, respecting women had been engrained in him as a child, and again later in the Corp.
Between what his parents had taught him growing up and the three core values the Marines lived by: honor, courage, and commitment, Zade’s personal code of conduct had never allowed him to stand by while a woman was being hurt. Verbally or otherwise.
Did that mean he was excited at the thought of tearing down an ungodly organization like the one Ryker had described? Hell yeah, he was.
“So who are we looking at for this?” Zade directed the question to either man.
When Ryker gave Trevor a nod, the GQ-looking operative used a small remote to activate the room’s interactive board on the wall behind him. Both Ryker and Ghost stepped to the side to avoid blocking anyone’s view.
A man appeared on the screen, his image somewhat blurred. He was wearing sunglasses, his face partially obstructed by his sideways stance, and it was clear the photo had been taken without the guy’s knowledge.
“This is Hector Andino. As of right now, he’s the biggest player in skin trade. Has been for the past two years. In addition to at least a hundred females from other countries, we believe Andino is also responsible for the disappearance of over fifty American women and girls over the past year.”
“Not to sound condescending”—Gabe began—“but if you know Andino’s your guy, why hasn’t he been caught?”
“Same reason Javier Cetro got away with his shit for so long. We start to get close and the bastard takes off. Shuts down his operation, relocates, and lays low until he feels safe to start up again.”
“Cetro…” Zade let the name fall off his tongue. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
A shadow fell over Trevor’s face. “He was the bastard who took Liv a while back.”