Arms of Serenity (Rock Services) (19 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Becca strained to listen to anything that would give her an idea of where she was. The last sound she
had heard was a door closing after a well-spoken and possibly deranged man had untied her legs. He had stroked her hair telling her that she would soon understand her purpose and how he envied where she would be going. And that she should try not to be frightened when she stood and beheld the face of the truth. She didn’t know what any of it meant, but frightened didn’t begin to cover how she was feeling—she was absolutely terrified.

Becca hadn’t recognized the man’s voice. She didn’t know who he was or what he wanted with her. The one thing she did know was that it was Tommy who had brought her there.

Why would he do this? Becca had been friends with Tommy for years. She had just assumed that his previous actions were a misunderstanding or some type of momentary lapse in his judgment. She couldn’t believe that he had changed that much from the frightened boy in school who had needed her help when the other kids were picking on him. He had even come to her rescue once when a group of boys had decided to break in to their father’s liquor cabinets and had surrounded her at the local corner market demanding she’d go for a ride with them. Tommy had happened along and stepped in before things had gotten out of hand. It had been the first time she had seen him stand up to anyone, and in some odd way, she had been proud of him. They might not have been the closest of friends, but they’d seemed to look out for each other nonetheless.

Sure a lot of time had passed since then, and they weren’t in high school anymore. Tommy now had a long list of prior convictions
, including jail time.  But anyone can make a mistake or in his case multiple mistakes. None of it meant that the Tommy she knew didn’t exist anymore. And it certainly didn’t mean he would actually hurt her, right?

Becca shook her head.
Tommy had flashed a gun, shoved her in a car, and kidnapped her. Currently, she was sitting in a room, God knows where, tied up, blindfolded and gagged. What other proof did she seriously need to finally realize that Tommy was capable of anything? It might have taken being abducted, but she finally got it. Tommy was dangerous, and that meant it was distinct possibility that her life was in danger.

If she got a chance she would run. Becca knew an attempt was basically futile and probably suicidal, but she had to at least try and wouldn’t give up without some type of fight.
She tried to get her hands free from whatever they had used to restrain them, and when that didn’t work, she tried standing up. The effort caused her muscles to groan in protest. She ached from sitting for so long in the same position and from kicking at anything her feet could connect with while Tommy drove her here.

Becca was physically and mentally exhausted. S
he had screamed into the gag until her throat was raw and cried until her blindfold was wet against her face. Fear was a great motivator, though. All of the possibilities of what they could be planning on doing to her kept her alert and refusing to give in to the exhaustion. She cocked her head, straining to listen, again. Anything might help. If she could hear a voice or noise, then maybe she could figure out where she was or what was going to happen next.

Nothing.

The silen
ce that surrounded her was deafening, and she fought back a new set of tears. None of this would be happening if she had just gone up to the apartment to get Nick before opening the shop. But she had wanted to let him sleep, and Tommy hadn’t shown himself around her or the bakery since that day. How could she have possibly known that the minute she turned the key, Tommy would come out of nowhere and push his way inside? She should have listened to Nick’s warning and been more careful. His instincts had been right all along.

What would Nick
do when he realized she was missing? Would he call the police? Was he out driving around looking for her? Whatever all of this was leading to, it couldn’t be good, and her one regret was never telling Nick how she felt about him.

Over the last few days,
Nick had tried over and over again to show her how much he loved her and reassure her that somehow they would make it work. But no matter what he did or said, Becca just couldn’t allow herself to give in to the unknown. That single possibility of him leaving was enough for her to start pulling away and revert back to the frightened girl who refused to take a chance on love.

How could she have been so foolish?
She had wasted so much time worrying about what was going to happen and fearing her happiness being taken away, when she should have been thankful for what she had been given. Nick was everything she didn’t even know she had been hoping for and so much more.  In her eyes, he was perfect, and she had been stupid enough to overlook the amazing gift he had been offering—his love.

Becca wouldn’t make that mistake again.
She knew now that she wanted to make it work, wanted the dream of waking up next to him each morning, and wanted that fairy-tale ending.  She loved him more than she could have imagined possible. And she silently promised herself that if she made it out of this she wouldn’t hesitate to tell him just that.

Chapter Seventeen

Nick pulled the Jeep over and checked the time.
He had made it well under the three hour deadline. Around the corner, the members of Rock would be waiting and ready. The question was—was
he
ready?

After Todd had gathered everyone, they conference
-called and strategized while Nick broke every speed limit getting there. They had formed a tentative plan and agreed on a rendezvous point a few blocks to the north of where Morris had Becca.

Even Klingerman was on board to help.
He would provide intel and resources, but wouldn’t offer any additional manpower. Depending on how this played out, he couldn’t risk involving anyone within the CIA. Nick couldn’t blame him for wanting to keep his distance.

By this time, Todd should have enough information to have finalized the plan for the mission.
Nick ran his hand down his face. The word mission caused a knot to form in his chest. His last one had ended in the loss of someone he cared about and a member of his team.

Now, he was faced with rescuing the only woman he had ever loved.
Self-doubt filled him. What if he couldn’t save her? What if something he did or said cost her her life? Nick knew Morris wasn’t going to let her go when he walked in there. There was no way this wasn’t going to end in bloodshed.

Nick grabbed his cell phone and opened the picture Morris had sent with Becca’s phone.
She was sitting on a chair with her hands and legs tied, and they had her blindfolded and gagged. The bastard had even put a caption with the picture that read, “Miss you. Wish you were here.”

Becca still had on her apron she wore in the kitchen
, and Nick could see the stains where she absently wiped her hands when she was baking. He had joked with her that he was going to get her one of those aprons that looked like the body of a large chested woman wearing a bikini. That comment had earned him some flour in the face and a quick chase around the kitchen ending with him catching her for a heated kiss.

Running the pad of his thumb over the display of the phone, he could almost feel her soft full lips and smooth skin.
He desperately wanted to reach through to stroke her jaw and cradle her cheek while whispering that she wasn’t alone. His chest ached at the thought of how frightened she must be, and he wished he could somehow reassure her that he was near.  

Swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, Nick put his cell in his pocket and banged on the steering wheel in frustration.

“Fuck.”
He banged the wheel again and again. “What the fuck did I do? How could I let this happen?” He ran his hand through his hair. He needed to pull it together and fast.

Stepping out of the Jeep, he reached in and grabbed his gear.
He turned in the direction of where she was being held and whispered, “I’m coming, Angel.”

Nick scanned the area and made his way around the corner.
He knocked on the van, jumping in when Todd opened the door. The inside was a typical CIA surveillance van. Shane was at the console, Evan and Todd seated on a bench. Nick nodded at everyone.

“Klingerman came through.”

Shane turned from watching the camera feeds.
“He wants to get Morris as much as we do. We’re going to rescue her, Boomer.”

Shane had been Nick’s Communications Sergeant on his Special Forces team.
The man was an expert when it came to any type of technology and an even better soldier. Nick knew he would do whatever it took to get Becca out of there.

“Thanks
, man.”

Nick turned to Todd and Evan.
Evan was an ex-Navy Seal and the first to join Rock. He might be new to the team, but Nick trusted him. In his opinion, if any of the members were willing to risk their lives to save Becca, he would trust every one of them whether he knew them or not.

“In case I don’t get a chance to say it,
thank you to you two also.”

Todd spread out the drawing of the warehouse.
“Man, you can thank us later when we have your woman back. Right now, let’s focus on getting her.”

Nick nodded and leaned forward to listen to Todd go over the plan.
“Sara and Sean are positioned on a rooftop here to take out the two guards at the loading dock. Colin and Davis are here for the ones at the front. Four total, heavily armed.”

Nick looked at the drawings.
“Are there any other points of entry?”

Todd shook his head.
“Other than the windows, no.”

“What about inside?
How many and what’s stored in there?”

“We’ve counted four.
No one has come in and out for the last hour. All we know for sure is that there are rows of heavy equipment down the east side. The building was used as a textile factory. There are rooms in the back area, but we don’t know what could still be in there. We already ruled out explosives.”

Nick nodded.
Any type of blast could cause the whole place to blow depending on the type and amount of chemicals that might be lying around in there. “Agreed. What’s the sequence?”

“Five minutes after you go in, Colin and Davis will get up close and personal with the two guards in the front.
They will be able to overtake them undetected here and here.”

Nick watched Todd point to covered areas along the sides of the building.
In the daylight, it would be tricky to go unnoticed but not impossible. If Todd thought they could take out the two front guards without being detected, then Nick believed him.

“When they confirm their targets are down, Sara and Sean will take out the guards in the back.
That’s when all hell will break. Colin and Davis will come through the front as Evan and I are coming in through the back. You have five minutes to scrap the mission until we come knocking.”

“I’m going to have to go in clean.
No weapons, wires, devices, anything. Cyber, you have eyes on me?”

Shane turned around again.
“Yeah, I have camera feeds that give me a line of sight up to here.” He pointed to an area on the map within the building and then drew a circle toward the front entrance. “You need to stay within this boundary or I lose you. Toward the walls and back are blind. To be sure, stay as close to the front as you can and about fifty feet to either side.”

“Have you gotten a visual on Becca?”
Nick hoped Shane had seen where they were keeping her and that he could confirm she was still alive. He didn’t think Becca would be harmed until he was inside. If Nick had read Morris correctly, the sadistic prick wanted him to watch as they tortured and killed her. But Morris was dangerous, and that meant be prepared for anything.

“Sorry
, Boomer. Wherever they have her, I haven’t been able to see her.”

That’s not what Nick wanted to hear.
He nodded as Shane went back to the console and then checked his watch. They had fifteen minutes. He caught Todd’s attention and tilted his head in the direction of the door. He gave another thank you to Evan and Shane then hopped out of the van.

Todd closed the door and turned to look at Nick. “Are you ready for this?”

“Yeah.”

Nick nodded
as he inwardly shook his head. Who was he kidding? Even he didn’t believe himself.

“Bullshit.
I know you, man, and right now your head isn’t anywhere near where it needs to be. You need to shake whatever is going in there and focus on the objective.”

“I did this.
It’s my fault she’s in there.”

“Dammit
, Nick. You feel guilty? You think you’re to blame for that bastard having her? Then fine, it’s your fault. So what if it is? None of that means shit right now. You know what does? What the fuck you are going to do about it? Are you going to go in there and make this right? Or are you going to just stand there with your head up your ass feeling sorry for yourself?”

Nick let Todd’s words sink in.
He was right. Nothing up until that moment mattered. He was going to save her, and then he was going to do what he had to ensure that she would never be in danger again.

With his determination and focus back, Nick slapped Todd on his shoulder.
“Let’s roll.”