Delta Recon (SEAL Team Phantom Series, Book 2) (20 page)

Kai’s dark gaze took in the scene. “Commander Lee said he was good.”

Tay gave a nod, then walked over to where Jaqui stood talking to her cousin. Wariness had her standing stiff, and he knew it was because of the danger they were in.

“I know it’s for our protection, but I’d rather go home. Shep has guns. Lots of guns and knows how to use them.” Nettie mentioned her boyfriend who clearly was a real southern boy.

“Nettie, do we look like we don’t have guns, and know how to use them?” Jaqui stood with her blonde hair falling in a braid down her back with black cargo pants on and a black T-shirt. She definitely looked the part of a badass fighter. The rest of the team sported similar outfits, making them stand out in the middle of the ER with their guns and military stances.

Nettie chewed her lip. “Mo is sorry for what she said, Jaq. You should go in and see her.”

“I don’t have time. Listen, just do whatever you’re told and make sure your sister does the same. I’ll text you to get an update.” Jaqui held her hand up as Nettie opened her mouth. “Seriously, Annette, I don’t have the time to deal with this right now. See those men.” She nodded to the men in full camo. “They are your personal guards who will transport you and Mo to a safe house. Do exactly what they tell you. Don’t fuck around with either of you two’s safety.”

Tay could see Nettie wanted to argue, and was done with watching Jaqui hold back the tears. “We need to go. Reece, how did you know there were intruders in the back entrance?”

“I have alarms set up. When it went off, I made my way back toward the hidden entrance and waited. It didn’t take a genius to realize they were carting off an unwilling woman,” Reece grunted.

Kai stepped forward. “How were you planning to take on three armed men?”

The grin Reece gave them would have made a lesser man shiver. “Your background check was only surface, boys. You might want to have a little deeper look, Taylor Rouland, or have your girl do it. I’m pretty sure one of you will find out more than the others.”

With that Reece walked away.

“Well shit. I hate puzzles.” Tay stared after the retreating form of the big guy.

“I believe he’s trying to tell us he’s on our side, and we just don’t know where he fits in. Maybe he’s with an alphabet, and we missed that connection.” Kai had his hands on his hips, his frown made others give them a wide berth.

“That’s just fucking great. So, we have one or more of the alphabet already in place, plus more coming in. How do we know who’s friendly and who’s not?” Tay arched a brow.

****

J
aqui was wondering the same damn thing. However, knowing the man who had been guarding Mo’s supposed boyfriend was actually working for the government, made her feel better about leaving her cousins. Although, she still wanted to slap Mo silly, she also understood why her cousin had slapped her. Not that she was ready to make nice and pretend it didn’t happen.

“I’m going to visit with my mom and dad. I’ll meet you back at the entrance in an hour.” Jaqui turned away before either Tay or Kai could say a word.

Knowing the hospital was virtually crawling with military personnel she still didn’t let her guard down until reaching her mom’s room. The officer outside the door verified her name, satisfying a deep seeded need for her parents’ security.

Not knowing what to expect, she was pleasantly surprised to find her mom sitting up, looking much healthier than the last time she’d seen her. “Mom, you look so much better. How’re you feeling?” She rushed to her side, stopping before she kissed the pale cheek.

“Much better. Come here, you.” Laci Wallace held out her arm that wasn’t broken.

Trying not to hurt her mother, Jaqui leaned down and hugged her. “When do you get to blow this popcorn stand?”

“Don’t try to distract me with words. Explain.” Her mom pointed at Jaqui’s attire.

Shit! Lying wouldn’t work. “We had a situation.” That much was true. “Don’t ask any more, mom. You know I would tell you if I could.”

The door opened, and Jaqui felt all the blood drain from her face.

“I wouldn’t try anything stupid, chica, unless of course you wish to see your family die in front of you.” Jose Medellin moved aside as two other men came in with automatic weapons trained on her aunt and mother.

“What do you want?” She gasped when one of the men came up to her mother’s bed.

“You will come with me without a fight, without alerting anyone, and nobody will be hurt. I will leave my man here until we are clear. Once I give him the signal, he will leave without anyone being the wiser. If I do not make that call, he will put a bullet in each of their heads.” His bald statement was said with such a lack of inflection, it was as if he was reciting the weather.

She swallowed down the bile threatening to come up. “I’ll do whatever you ask. Just leave my family alone.”

“Ah, I knew you were a smart one. Let’s go before your lover and his friends come looking.” His free hand raised, palm up expecting her to take it. Even though her skin was crawling she took it. The gun at her back was immediately taken and shoved into the back of Jose’s dress slacks. “You won’t be needing that.”

“If either of these two make a move to alert the authorities, kill them,” Jose ordered before pulling her toward the door.

Jose’s unyielding and stoic features held no warmth, and she knew he meant every word. “Do as he says mom, Aunt Laci. Everything will be fine.” The lie tripped off her tongue.

Laci nodded. Her mother looked horrified, which only made Jaqui want to rip Jose’s balls off and shove them down his throat one by one. She kept her own features placid, knowing they needed to move out before Tay came looking for her.

“We need to move out before my boyfriend comes looking,” she said.

Jose laughed. “Oh, I think I have them a little distracted.”

His words made her heart clench, but he pulled her out the door. She risked a glance back toward her mom’s bed noticing the cell phone under the hand with the cast. The slight light she saw had her breath catching in her throat.

“Let’s go,” Jose ordered.

She barely kept from stumbling as she got a glimpse at the young man who was outside the door. No longer was it the one who’d marked her off, but a new one who was clearly on the cartel’s payroll. The glassy eyed look unmistakable.

“Do you not want to know where I am taking you?” Jose asked breaking into her morose thought.

Pretending a nonchalance she didn’t feel, Jaqui kept quiet.

“Ah, such a pity. I thought you’d be a more spirited one. I bet I will get you to...loosen up though.” He stared at her with unblinking black eyes.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Good luck, Jose.”

His shocked expression almost made her smile. The hand holding her upper arm bit into the flesh to the point she wanted to cry out. They passed a man in scrubs, his worried expression had her giving him a slight shake of her head. He looked away and pretended to speak into his cell about a patient he’d just seen.

Jose was smiling widely by the time they stepped out of the hospital. A few feet from the curb sat a silver Mercedes with blacked out windows. “Not much further, and then your friends and family will never see you again. I bet you wish you’d have done things differently, hmm?”

She scowled at him. “Like what? Die in Columbia? Or how about gutted you instead of allowing you to have hit a defenseless woman. Oh, you’re such a big man aren’t you Medellin. I am sure the only way you can truly get it up is if you have a woman or man, subdued. Hell, maybe not even then,” she sneered. “Let’s not even talk about the fact you’re such a fucking pussy you can’t take a woman on without her either being drugged or tied up. Yeah, you are such a big man.” The last word she spat.

Her words did exactly what she’d wanted, making the man come to a stop, his body vibrating with anger. “You think to question my masculinity.” He beat his fist against his chest. “I squash men three times your size. I have women falling at my feet to be with me. I want nothing more than to show the world I do not allow prisoners to escape. You will be an example of what happens to those who do.” His breathing was harsh, spittle flew from his mouth with each word, and his voice had risen so loud they’d drawn a small crowd.

Jaqui knew her window of opportunity would be small, and the fact the doctor would have alerted security as they’d been coming from her mother’s room. She was gambling a lot, but knowing if she got in the car with Jose and his men, she’d never see anyone she loved again. Hell, she feared he’d splatter her brains all over the leather seats without blinking an eye.

Standing in the hot Vegas sun, she watched him lift his arm. Time stood still. At this close a range there was no way he’d miss. A red dot appeared on his forehead, making her smile.

“You might want to freeze, Jose,” she smirked.

“Why would I do that?” His arm with the gun pointed at her chest.

“I see a nice red dot on your forehead. You can shoot me, but you’ll die as well.” She shrugged while her heart threatened to burst out of her chest.

“Well, I guess I’ll take you with me,” he said then pulled the trigger.

A heavy weight landed on her at the same moment, knocking her to the ground. She expected pain, or darkness. When she opened her eyes she saw Tay lying on top of her while her ears rang.

“Answer me damn it,” Tay yelled in a harsh voice.

“I’m fine. I think.” She spoke around the lump in her throat, then buried her face in his neck. She could feel his heart beating erratically against her palm.

“Jaqui Wallace, I swear to all that is holy you are going to be the death of me. You are the joy in my world. My life was lifeless before you. If I never see you with a gun pointed at you for the rest of my life, it will be too soon.” His bent and covered her mouth with his.

She curled her arms around him, pulling him closer until he was almost flush with her on the hard pavement.

“You two might want to cut that shit out, you’re gathering a crowd. This might be Vegas and all, but I’m pretty sure what you two want to do is highly illegal even here.” Kai’s amused voice made her gasp against Tay’s lips.

“Love you too, Kai.” Tay pushed up, then held his hand out for Jaqui.

A white sheet covered a body. “Oh, shit. Is he dead?” She looked between Kai and Tay.

“It was either him or you.” Kai didn’t look remorseful at all.

Jaqui eyed the body of the man who’d threatened her family. “Shit, he left a man with my mom and aunt.”

Kai patted her shoulder. “No worries. We’ve taken him into custody as well.”

“I need to see them.” She shook off imaginary dust, feeling a few aches from her fall to the ground.

“I’ll go with you. Do you need me here?” Tay questioned Kai.

“Go ahead. We’ve got this under control.” Kai and several teams had amassed to keep onlookers from the scene.

In the second Jose had fired, Kai had shot him dead. Jaqui felt nothing for the man or his death. Luckily for them he’d had a silencer on his gun as did Kai. The entire scene played out with civilians none the wiser. “Could you imagine being so naïve?” She asked as Tay escorted her back through the corridors.

“I think it could be great. Imagine walking around without a care in the world.” Tay sounded amused.

––––––––

A
fter checking on her parents, the last thing she wanted to do was go back to their home or a casino. She wanted to spend a little quiet time where she and Tay had never been, with just the two of them, however Kai and the rest of the team wanted to celebrate.

Now, sitting at the bar with a bunch of drunk SEALs, she found herself laughing at their antics. Tay sat straddling a chair, his arms draped over the back as he watched her with heat as she took another shot. A full body shiver shook her. “What the hell was that one?” She licked her bottom lip, enjoying the tart flavor left behind.

“That was what is affectionately called a Purple Hooter.” Kai tapped his finger on the table.

Oz signaled the waitress over. “We need six Scooby Snacks.”

Jaqui smiled. “Dude, I am not eating a freaking dog biscuit.”

“Oh, girl. This drink is so good you’ll want to have like ten of them.” Oz folded his arms over his massive chest.

She eyed the men sitting around the table. “What is in that?” She looked at the green concoction and then the guys.

“Coconut Rum, Crème de Bananas, Melon Liqueur, Pineapple Juice and Half & Half.” Coyle licked his lips.

“That sounds like Kool-Aid for kids. Jaqui likey.” She grabbed the larger than average shot glass.

A male groan sounded beside her, but she ignored it as she gulped the delicious liquor.

“Holy shit, that is delicious. Can I get a glass of that?” She licked her lips.

“Okay, enough. It’s time to go.” Tay stood and waved at the guys. “Come on, half pint.” Tay lifted her out of the seat.

“But, Tay, I was having fun.” Jaqui giggled. “You know, like from that scene from one of those eighties movies where the guy carried his woman out of the factory.

“Sweetheart, that was Richard Gere, and he was not a Navy SEAL.” Tay flagged down a cab outside the club without letting her down.

“You can put me down.” She snuggled closer.

He rubbed his head over the top of hers. “Not yet.”

In truth, she was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. “Did I use my outside voice again?”

Tay winced. “Your outside voice is quite loud, sunshine.” He instructed the driver which hotel they were staying at.

He pulled Jaqui closer and began a soothing rub over her arms. “You and I need to have a talk when you’re sober.”

She rested her head on his chest, enjoying his warmth and simple touch, yet his words alarmed her. “Yeah, we do.”

Tay froze mid-stroke. “That sounds scary.”

“You, the big bad SEAL who can face off against terrorists, but is scared of one wee little female,” she scoffed.

He looked down, and a hundred words were conveyed in his eyes. “Before you I had my team, but now with you, I have so much more to lose.”

The cab came to a stop and Tay gave him more than enough to cover the trip.