Hard Target: Elite Ops - Book One (13 page)

Love seats that would be at least two feet too short to sleep on comfortably were the only available seating. Inwardly, Leland groaned. He needed to get his ankle elevated or he’d be paying for it tomorrow.

“I’ll make do,” he muttered.

Nick showed them to the guest room and left them to figure out sleeping arrangements themselves. A queen mattress covered with a fluffy comforter and several pillows beckoned. Anna stared at the bed but was seemingly rooted to the spot.

“You need to rest,” he said.

“You do, too,” she argued. “You can’t possibly sleep on a love seat. You’re limping already. I can’t imagine what trying to stretch out on one of those mini-sofas down the hall would do to you.”

He was surprised she’d noticed or cared, but he was grateful. The pain was ratcheting up to the point where even his back was screaming. Being so off balance in the boot had done that.

“Besides, I’m too scared to close my eyes,” she added.

“You’re safe here.”

“But my son’s not. I’m frightened of what I’ll see if I fall asleep. Zach crying, hurting, getting sicker without me there to take care of him.”

He didn’t have an answer for that, so he pulled back the covers. “Get into bed, Anna.” He cupped her shoulders in his hands and gently pushed her to a sitting position.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she mumbled under her breath.

“You’re not alone. We’re going to have a team of people helping get Zach back. Now lie down.”
I’m here.

She crawled under the covers, looking defenseless and broken as she lay there staring up at him.

“Will you stay with me for a while?” she asked. “Not like before,” she hurried to add. “I just . . . I don’t think I’ll be able to get to sleep by myself.”

From the way her expression changed, he could tell that had cost her to ask. Her face went from vulnerable to closed in an instant. There were all kinds of reasons it was a bad idea for him to stay, but he wasn’t about to argue. He didn’t want to.

He longed to hold her like he’d promised he would earlier, if she asked. He tried to tell himself he was only doing this because he needed to lie flat and get his ankle elevated, not because he wanted to feel her in his arms again.

He grabbed a couple of anti-inflammatories from his backpack and swallowed them dry, staring at the Vicodin bottle for a moment before shaking out three tablets instead of the four he wanted. He hated relying in any way on this medicine, but he was hurting so much he’d never sleep tonight without it. He wasn’t addicted . . . yet. But he was getting dependent. He wondered again how it was affecting his discernment.

Still, they were safe here. He could afford to take the painkiller and allow the drug’s narcotic lethargy to seep over him. This might be the last time he could let his guard down for a while.

He went to the other side of the bed and took off the heavy orthopedic boot before climbing on top of the comforter and grabbing a couple of pillows to prop up his entire leg. Once he got situated, he turned his head to look at Anna.

“Come here.” He took her hand and pulled her closer, threading his fingers through hers.

She curled into his side like it was the most natural thing in the world. The warmth of her body soaked into him from hip to knee, even through the down comforter. She took a shuddering breath as he put his arm around her.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he said.

“How?”

“I don’t know yet. But we will find Zach. You just have to take it one step at a time.”

“You sound so sure.”

“This guy, Nick, and his people. They’re good, trained by the best man I know.”

He felt her nod, then yawn beside him. She snuggled in closer and he lay perfectly still, listening to her breathing become deeper. His body responded to having a woman pressed against his side, and the pain medication hit his system.

It wasn’t long before he drifted off himself.

Chapter Fourteen

F
IVE HOURS LATER
Leland woke with his arm possessively slung around Anna’s waist. He’d turned on his side during the night but somehow kept his ankle propped up on the pillow. Thankfully she was still fast asleep.

Light filtered in through the curtains and dappled the bedspread. Anna’s hair spread across his chest. Her head was tucked under his chin. In the lazy warmth of the covers, he took a deep breath and concentrated on how she felt in his arms: the impossibly soft skin, the flowery scent of her shampoo.

An unfamiliar feeling of contentment stole over him. He tilted his head down to take another breath and couldn’t help but notice the curve of her breasts in the lacey black top.

Was this what it would be like to wake up with someone every day? To have that sense of belonging to another? The appeal of the idea surprised him. What was it about this woman? She was a mess, but he was undeniably attracted to her.

His palm still rested against her bare stomach where her camisole had ridden up in the night. His groin tightened at the thought of what else could be appealing in waking up with a warm woman in his arms. The next moment he was untangling his legs from the covers and chiding himself for indulging in fantasies that didn’t belong here.

He felt only slightly guilty for regretting what hadn’t happened. Happily avoiding what would have been an awkward non-morning-after experience if she’d woken in his arms just now, he watched Anna sleep a few moments longer. Her mouth was bruised, her bottom lip swollen from the punch she’d gotten yesterday at Max’s hands.

Leland’s stomach lurched. He wouldn’t be able to do what he had to if he dwelled on that thought. He pried himself out of bed and fastened himself back into his boot.

Sitting on Nick’s deck, he called the cop who’d arrested Max Mercado yesterday and asked a favor. Afterward he grabbed a shower in the other bathroom down the hall so as not to wake Anna, changing into clean jeans and a knit polo shirt.

His back and ankle were achy, but it was nothing like the eye-crossing pain of last night. He took four anti-inflammatories and decided to forgo the Vicodin completely.

When Leland stepped into the kitchen, Nick was on the phone and wearing gym clothes. Waving Leland to the coffee pot, Nick hung up and spun around on a barstool.

“Morning. You look like you’re on your way somewhere.”

Leland took a mug from the cabinet. “I’m going downtown. I need to talk to the husband, Max Mercado, while he’s still a guest of the county jail.”

“Husband?” Nick took a swallow of his own coffee. “The man must be fairly broad-minded.”

Estranged husband.
Leland smiled nonchalantly. “From what I can tell, no, not so much. He’s a real piece of work. But I need to know if he had anything to do with their boy’s disappearance.”

“Well, you were right about the note. It’s completely clean except for the blood. That part’s a little unusual. It’s AB negative.”

Leland poured himself some coffee and nodded. “That would be Zach. His blood type is very rare from what I understand.”

“So what’s your plan?”

“See Mercado. Figure out what he knows about this.”

“Think you can get to the jail in time?” asked Nick. “This guy can post his own bond, can’t he?”

“Oh yeah, he can definitely afford it, but he hasn’t been booked yet.” Leland took a big sip of the rich brew. “Busy night downtown. The arresting officer is losing some paperwork for a few hours so they can hold him a little longer. I’ve got some questions for The Tequila King.”

Starting with did Max know about his son’s kidnapping? Anyone could lie over the phone, but in person it would be hard to fake the shock of hearing about your own child’s abduction.

“I won’t be long. I know we’ve got to get to the bank before flying out. If Anna wakes up, tell her I’ll be back before noon and we’ll go pick up the ransom money.”

“That may make us tight on time getting out of here,” said Nick, refilling his own cup.

Leland watched in amazement as the man put four heaping scoops of sugar in his coffee but no milk. “Have her call ahead and give the bank a heads up about what she wants beforehand. They can get started on getting the cash together for her. That would save us some time.”

“Will do. I spoke to Gavin again this morning and he said to put myself at your disposal. If you want, I can take her to pick up the money.” Nick stirred his sweet coffee brew while Leland considered the offer.

For about ten seconds. He refused to name the possessive feelings that Anna hanging with
GQ
Nick brought up inside him. He didn’t want to think about how her skin felt under his palm or how her hair had smelled against his chest this morning either. But he did anyway.

“Why don’t I go with you both when I get back? I’d feel better if we had two people watching Anna and the cash.” And that was the truth, albeit not all of it, given the situation last night with the cartel’s men.

“$750,000 is a lot of money. How do you want to carry it? Backpack or duffel?” asked Nick.

“I imagine you’re the expert on ransom delivery. You decide.”

Nick nodded.

“How was Kat when you spoke with Gavin?” asked Leland.

“Resting. Marissa Hudson, Gavin’s business partner, has seen them more than I have lately. She’ll be in later this morning. Marissa thinks Kat’s getting closer to the end.”

“I got that impression last night when I spoke with Gavin as well.” Leland took another sip and drained his coffee cup. “Cancer sucks.”

“Yes, it does.”

There was a long silence.

“How’d you end up working with AEGIS? Gavin said you were a SEAL?”

Nick’s dark laugh belied the smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I knew Gavin when he was DEA. We worked together.”

Leland raised an eyebrow, hoping for some kind of explanation. A SEAL working with the DEA?

Nick shrugged. “It was a delicate situation.”

Gavin had said Nick was a former SEAL, though he’d never mentioned working with Nick before he left DEA. Several things dawned on Leland at once and the entire situation suddenly made a lot more sense. He also quit asking questions.

When would a Navy SEAL and the DEA do business together? When the SEAL was a spook.

Gavin would never have mentioned that Nick, the former SEAL, was also part of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service. No guessing which letters in the alphabet soup of covert groups he worked for within the NCS, because it all boiled down to one thing.

Nick was Black Ops, or he had been until recently.

L
ELAND TOOK
A
NNA’S
car and made it to the jail in thirty-five minutes. The officer from last night had done a huge favor for Leland and cleared the way for him to see Mercado in an interview room with no recorders or cameras. Max would have jumped up when Leland walked in but for the handcuffs holding him to his seat. The Tequila King looked a little worse for wear after spending the night in jail. The Lew Sterrett Justice Center had a reputation as being one of the worst county jails in the country and that was quite a claim to fame.

“What are you doing here?” demanded Max. “I thought I was going to see my lawyer.”

“You’ll see him eventually. I have a couple of questions while you wait.”

“Fuck you.”

“Not on your best day, Max. I don’t swing that way. But where you’re going, there are plenty of guys who do.”

Max’s face turned red with anger, but his attitude hadn’t budged since Leland met him the evening before. “I’m not answering anything without my lawyer,” he insisted.

“Okay. Then why don’t you just listen?”

“I’m not going to prison for what happened yesterday. You know it and I know it.”

“That’s true, asshat. Assault won’t necessarily land you in prison, although kidnapping will.” Leland sat down at the interview table.

“What are you talking about?” asked Max.

“Your son was kidnapped last night from the hotel where your wife was staying.”

“No! Zach? Kidnapped?” Max tried to stand but the handcuffs held him down, the smugness immediately replaced by a wild look in his eyes. “Where’s Anna?”

“She’s safe.”

“She wasn’t taken?” asked Max.

The phrasing of that question struck Leland as odd. “Did you have anything to do with this?” he asked.

Max looked down before meeting Leland’s gaze. “Of course not. With his meds, his heart? That would kill him.”

“Yes, it could,” agreed Leland. “Do you know anything about it?”

“No, I swear to God.” Max’s cuffs clanked together against the metal chair. “What do the kidnappers want?”

Leland leaned back and stared at him. He wasn’t sure if Max was lying or not, but the man certainly wasn’t telling the whole truth. That was for damn sure. Still, Max hadn’t faked his shock at Zach’s kidnapping. If he had, the man deserved an Academy Award.

“They want cash,” Leland said. “Delivered by your wife to a specific cantina in Baxtla, Estado de Veracruz-Llave. That’s the dead center of cartel country. An unusual request, no? One might think they didn’t want her to survive the trip.”

Max shook his head. “I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Hmm. I think it’s unusual because yesterday you seemed determined to get your wife and son to Mexico.”

“No! This is not my doing.”

Leland still couldn’t figure out if the man was lying. Most perps swore up and down that they were innocent, even when they were guilty as sin. He wondered if he should have brought Anna with him to watch through the glass. She might have been able to tell if her husband was being truthful or not.

Still, Leland didn’t regret leaving her sleeping. She needed rest. If she was going to deliver the money in Mexico, the coming days would be brutal.

“Okay, Max, a couple more questions and I’ll let you get back to your bridge game. Do you have any dealings with the Vega or Rivera cartels in Mexico?”

“What do you mean?” Max wouldn’t meet his stare.

“It’s a simple question. Do you now or have you in the past ever had dealings with either of those cartels. Perhaps for your business?”

Max gazed at the glass wall behind Leland with something akin to fear in his eyes.