Above the Law (26 page)

Dale swatted at a fly circling her head as they trudged through the woods. The last time she’d been here they’d had all the power of the task force at their disposal: heat sensors, snipers, flashbangs, and over a dozen agents, armed and ready. Today they were two agents and a lawyer. They didn’t know for sure how many men they were up against, and they didn’t know for sure where they were on the property.

Diego’s admonition to wait wasn’t completely without merit. The SWAT team would have the resources they didn’t, but common sense told her the longer they waited, the greater the risk. Lindsey’s life hung in the balance.

She didn’t know why Lindsey had been taken. It was possible Sergio’s men had spotted Lindsey at Sophia’s ranch that morning and concocted a way to use her journalistic skills to their advantage, but thugs didn’t reward utility. They’d discard her as soon as they were done.

Maybe they should wait, but right now they had the element of surprise, and she wasn’t willing to give that up in exchange for a few extra agents who had no personal stake in Lindsey’s safety.

They were close enough now that she could see the house ahead and the barn on the other side. A dark blue van was parked in front of the barn, and there were no other cars in sight. Mary motioned for them to huddle behind a large pecan tree. “Here’s where we part ways. You two wait here while I go into the house and see if I can get a visual. I’ll send you a text when I’ve got eyes on the inside.”

“We’ll go with you,” Dale said, although she was anxious to get to the barn. “If there’s anyone in there, we can help you clear it.”

“No,” Mary said. “If I run into trouble and have to fire, whoever’s in that barn will be out here the minute they hear gunshots. You need to be in place and ready.”

“I should be the one to go in the house,” Peyton said. “I don’t have a lot of experience storming a crime scene, but I can scope things out and report in.”

Mary held up an M24 rifle. “Did someone say scope? Trust me, I’m the one you want in that attic.”

“We need to get moving,” Dale said. She was done with talk and ready for action. Her mind was racing with crazy ideas about what Sergio and his goons might be doing to Lindsey, and all the planning in the world wasn’t going to make her safe if her rescuers got caught. They needed to execute.

Mary hunched low and ran toward the house. Dale watched while she worked the combination on the lockbox, thankful it hadn’t changed since they’d been here last. They waited three minutes, and then she and Peyton started moving along the edge of the house toward the barn. They were only a few feet away when Mary’s text came through.

L and 2 perps in the barn. I’ve got a clear shot for one. The other one is right next to L.

Dale typed back.
Position?

Dead center of the room. L’s at a table.

Wait for my signal.
Dale sighed as she typed the words. It could be worse. The good thing was she knew the layout of the barn and, if Mary could take out one of the men, that substantially improved their chances of getting Lindsey out alive.

She showed the texts to Peyton and they quickly hatched a plan. Peyton would bang on the shuttered window on the south side of the barn and then double back to the door. The second Peyton started making noise, Mary would take her shot and Dale would duck inside the door and take care of the other guy.

Lots of contingencies, but Dale knew in her heart they had to take the chance if they wanted to get Lindsey out alive. She motioned to Peyton and braced for the sound that would signal the start of their plan.

*

“I did what you asked,” Lindsey said. “Now what?”

Her question was met with silence. The lack of communication was almost more disconcerting than the guns, although they’d relaxed somewhat in that regard. The man who’d filmed her statement still carried his weapon, but the man standing next to her had propped his against the wall. More than once, she considered making a break for it. She visualized vaulting out of her chair and knocking the unarmed captor over, and then making long, fast strides to his gun. Six steps, maybe five if she pushed.

As if he could read her mind, he pulled out another zip tie and said, “Stand up. Hands behind you.”

This was her chance, but it was a huge risk. The other guy would likely mow her down before she was halfway there. If she thought there was any possibility they would ever let her go, she would make a different decision, but she knew deep down if she wanted a chance, she had to make one herself.

She stood slowly, with her hands gripping the edge of the table. She’d need all the momentum she could get. She was almost completely upright when she started to swing around, her fist clenched.

A loud crash followed by a louder boom rang in her ears. She looked across the room, toward the source of the noise, and the switch in her forward momentum almost made her lose her footing. The guy who’d filmed her statement was sprawled on the floor. She was struggling to process what happened when she heard a crash behind her and looked back to see the other guy had knocked over the chair in his dash for his weapon.

She took off after him and dove for his leg to slow his progress. He hit the floor, and she scrambled to keep from landing on top of him. The gun was so close. She had to get to it first. She pushed off the floor and started forward again, but iron hands gripped her from behind and held her in place. She watched in horror as the man on the floor inched his fingers toward the gun and she was powerless to stop him.

She heard someone yell, right behind her, “Don’t even think about it,” and the man on the ground looked at her and froze.

Lindsey recognized the voice, but wondered if the stress was causing her to hallucinate. She struggled against the grip of her captor, but the arms only held her tighter and the same voice whispered, soft and gentle, “Be still. I’ve got you.”

She watched as a woman she didn’t recognize ran over to the man on the floor and placed him in handcuffs. The second he was secure, the strong arms that held her spun her around and she was face-to-face with Dale.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY

The roar of the explosion rocked the vehicle and rousted Lindsey from sleep. They’d been driving all night, and despite her attempts to stay awake, she’d finally given in to exhaustion and grabbed a nap while sitting upright in the back of the Humvee.

Now she was wide-awake, but disoriented about time and place and what the hell had just happened. She started to get up, but strong hands pushed her back against the seat, and a voice yelled for her to stay put.

She obeyed the order for about a minute, but then she had to investigate the piercing screams and barked orders outside. She jumped out of the vehicle and walked around to the front. Armed soldiers were running around, their activity frenzied but focused, and Lindsey quickly identified the source of their distress.

The first Humvee in the caravan was in pieces, a fiery mass of wreckage. The second one was partly crushed, and the ground outside was strewn with dead and dying soldiers, some whole, some torn in pieces, scattered around the scene.

She’d seen horrible things. Starving and disease-ravaged children, beheadings, the aftermath of torture, but this was different from anything she’d ever experienced. She’d shared meals with these men and women, listened to their dreams, their gripes, their hopes and fears, day in and day out for the last few weeks. She’d been in the fourth vehicle in the caravan. One, two, three steps removed from a fiery death at the hands of an anonymous killer.

She struggled against the sluggish realization of just how close she’d come to meeting the same fate and got to work. She had a story to tell.

“Ma’am, my name is Glen, and I’m a paramedic. May I look at your arms?”

Lindsey blinked back to the present. She wasn’t on a dirt road in the Afghan countryside. She was sitting on a stretcher. She looked around. Hay on the floor. Boarded walls. She was in a barn. Black masks, gunfire, and the video—it all came flooding back. “Dale?”

“I’m right here.” A hand gripped hers. Dale was crouched on the ground next to her. She was still dressed in a suit, but she looked rumpled and her face was creased with concern.

The paramedic released her other hand, and Lindsey pushed against the stretcher, but Dale held her in place. “Hang on, tiger.” Dale addressed the man. “How is she?”

“She might have a mild case of shock. I’ll bandage her wrists. She’ll be fine, but she should get some rest. We can take her in just to be sure. Your call.”

“No hospital,” Lindsey said.

Dale nodded. “I’ll make sure she’s taken care of. Can you give us a minute?”

“Sure,” he said, “I’ll go get the kit.”

Lindsey offered silent thanks that Dale had sent him away, but it wasn’t as if his leaving gave them any privacy. The barn was teeming with agents, but she only cared about one. She put her hands on either side of Dale’s face. “What about you? Are you okay?”

Dale smiled. “I am now. It’s been a crazy day.”

It had been a crazy day starting with her trip to Sophia Valencia’s ranch that morning. Who knew she’d wind up back in the country twice in the same day? Lindsey’s reporter brain kicked into overdrive. “Where are we? How did you find me so fast? Who were those men? They had me make a statement about Arturo and Sergio Vargas. It’s on one of their phones. Make sure you get it.”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Ryan. We’ll take care of it.”

Lindsey looked up at the woman who’d joined them. She was the one who’d handcuffed one of her captors. The woman extended her hand. “Peyton Davis. I’m a big fan. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need Agent Nelson for a minute.”

Lindsey watched as they walked a few feet away and huddled in conversation. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but exhaustion was beginning to settle in, and she found it harder and harder to care about anything other than finding a safe place to sleep off the nightmare she’d just endured. When Dale returned to her side and asked her if she needed anything, she knew exactly what she wanted.

“Take me home.”

*

Dale unlocked the door to her apartment, held it open, and watched while Lindsey walked through and looked around. “You pretty much saw the whole thing last time you were here.”

Lindsey leaned back against the kitchen counter. “I have a confession to make.”

“Is that so?”

“I followed you that night. To Peyton’s ranch. Alice and I kinda staked the place out.”

“I know. I found out last night.” Dale waited for Lindsey to put the pieces together. It didn’t take long.

“So, that’s why you were so angry?”

“Yes. You have no idea what you were getting in the middle of.”

“I might now.”

Dale nodded. “Good point.” She took a deep breath. “If it’s time for confessions, you should know I planted a tracking device in your suit jacket at the event today.”

“So that’s how you managed to get to me so quickly?”

“Yes. Plus, I had a little help from my friends.”

Dale owed Peyton and Mary everything. Not only had they been her backup today, but when SRT finally arrived, Peyton had stepped up at the scene and taken control of the investigation, overruling the team commander’s insistence that Lindsey leave with them to be debriefed. They’d settled on an interview in the morning, and Dale had whisked Lindsey away before anyone changed their minds.

She’d started driving to Lindsey’s hotel, but Lindsey overruled that choice, calling Elaina on the drive back to let her know she was okay and that she’d see her and the rest of her team in the morning. Now they were here in her apartment and Dale was unsure what would happen next.

“Would you like me to make you something to eat?” She opened the refrigerator. “I have some eggs, and—” She stopped when Lindsey cleared her throat. “What?”

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to lie down for a little while.” Lindsey glanced around the room. “Okay if I take the couch?”

“No.” Dale stuttered the reply, surprised at how nervous she was at the prospect of offering something more. “I mean, you should take the bed, my bed.” She held out a hand. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

Lindsey didn’t hesitate, and her grip was tight, firm, and solid. “Only if you’ll stay with me.”

And there it was. The tipping point. She shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Lindsey had wanted to come back here, but she’d told herself Lindsey just needed a secure place to hide away until she was ready to face questions about her ordeal.

But she’d known better. The easy way Lindsey leaned into her arms and the simmer in her eyes told her the arousal she’d felt since the moment they’d met was a two-way street. Now was the moment to back out if she wasn’t ready, but ready or not, Dale didn’t want to miss out on the possibility of something more.

The bedroom was only a few steps away. Dale pushed Lindsey gently back against the bed and helped her undress. With each slow, sluggish movement, she could sense Lindsey’s growing exhaustion, and she knew that whatever she wanted had to take a backseat to Lindsey’s well-being. She tucked her into the covers and said, “Hey, how about a little nap?”

“Perfect, yes,” Lindsey murmured. Her eyes fluttered shut, and Dale stood at the side of the bed and stared. Lindsey’s auburn hair was fanned out on her pillow and her face was relaxed, her expression worry-free. She started to walk away, but Lindsey reached out and grabbed her leg, her words a soft whisper. “Stay. You promised.”

Dale kicked off her boots and crawled into bed, curling Lindsey against her chest. She was ready for more, but more could wait. Right now, she’d enjoy this—the overwhelmingly satisfying feeling of wanting and being wanted in return.

*

When Lindsey woke, she was wrapped in a Dale cocoon. Dale’s hands were resting on her naked stomach and her skin pulsed against the light and simple pressure. Craving more contact, she pressed back into Dale’s arms. Her efforts were met with a deep moan and her clit pounded with arousal at the sound.