Operation: Endeavor (When The Mission Ends) (37 page)

“Okay, I’ll get them to check it out.” Bart got on the phone and called his men to relay the information.

By this time, Jake and Cassie arrived back at the store. Jake handed Colton the book out of his jacket. Colton barely glanced at it and immediately went to the bookshelves to find another book the same size. He brought them both back to Bart. “This is what they’re after. There’s information in here somewhere vital to the operations of the MM. Take it and get this cover onto this other book so that I have something to trade for Penelope. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it might and we need to be ready. Your people have one hour to get it done and back here to me.”

Pen just needed to hang on a little bit longer. They were going to get her out of this safely. He had to believe that. The alternative wasn’t acceptable.

* * *

An hour later and a plan began to come together. Surveillance showed someone was definitely holed up at the old farmhouse. The assumption was they were Mexican Mafia. The Department of Homeland Security with cooperation from the Texas Rangers planned to raid the house. Because the eldest of the Martin boys, Andrew, was a Texas Ranger, they were using the Martin ranch as their command post and were all congregating there now.

Unfortunately for Penelope’s friends, they only allowed Colton to join them. None of them had been happy about that, particularly Chris and Jake, but he’d promised to call as soon as he had Penelope safely in his arms.

Colton now found himself in the midst of a team, not his own. Not knowing their individual strengths and weaknesses, but having to trust them with his life and more importantly, Penelope’s. The thought terrified him.

As he looked around the room, he tried to take measure of each man, including Andrew Martin. He’d been the only Martin family member Colton didn’t get to meet the day he and Penelope came out riding. Colton could see the anger simmering underneath the man’s calm veneer. He was not happy that trouble like this had found its way onto his family’s ranch. Colton could tell that he was worried about Penelope. Unfortunately, his brother, Thomas, had also mysteriously disappeared, but he remained cool and collected despite everything. In fact, all the Martin men were handling the pressure of the evening remarkably well.

Curiously, the only man from the Martin ranch who seemed negatively affected by the evening’s events was their ranch-hand, Ethan. From across the room, Colton could see the man sweating profusely. He shifted from side to side as his gaze darted around watching the agents in the room. When he met Colton’s gaze, he stopped fidgeting and looked away. The kid was obviously nervous. He probably should mention it to Bart. He was wound so tight, it would be way too easy for him to end up dead.

There were approximately twenty agents in the room from both the Texas Rangers and DHS. All of them were wearing body armor and various types of weaponry. Because of their intimate knowledge of the homestead and the surrounding terrain, Michael Martin and his boys were also included in the planning although they were given strict orders to stay in the back, away from the action.

A command post had been set up to monitor and control their communications. Each person wore an earpiece so they were all informed about what was going down with up to the second information coming to them from the crew monitoring the situation with a drone from above.

They were moving in to assault the old homestead with a mix of off-road vehicles, 4-wheelers and horses although the last half mile would be done entirely on foot so they didn’t alert anyone they were coming.

Colton’s special status in regards to this situation meant he’d be tied to Bart’s side for the raid. He wasn’t happy that he wasn’t going to be the one to reach Penelope first. But he knew the importance of remaining detached during a mission, something he was just not capable of doing at this point, so he respected Bart’s decision. He just didn’t have to like it.

He glanced down at his watch again and tried to tamp down the surge of impatience. While these guys went over and over the details of the plan, they were getting closer and closer to the MM deadline. At this rate, Penelope wouldn’t even be at the homestead by the time they got there. And knowing the brutal violence of the MM, if the raid went down after Penelope left, they would be signing her death warrant. No matter what information was in the book, they would see the raid as a sign of her betrayal. That would be a final act and she would die a torturous death.

Finally, he couldn’t stand it any longer. He turned to Bart. “We need to go.”

“Relax, Colton. We’re almost ready.”

Colton clenched his jaw in an effort to not argue. If he did, he’d increase his chances of not being there at all when Penelope needed him. He would do anything at this point to make sure she stayed safe. He was the only one on this team that he knew he could count on to make her life the priority.

After an interminable amount of time, they were finally on the move. They drove within a half mile of the homestead and then moved in on foot quickly through the rough terrain. The night concealed their approach as they moved swiftly toward the house.

Interspersed chatter of the forward teams crackled through his earpiece as they slowly picked off the ten men standing guard around the house. “One down. Two down. Three down.” Until finally all ten were down without any apparent problems. Now they were just waiting for the final ‘Go’ command.

Sweat dripped down his spine under the heavy body armor while he looked at the house, glowing white against the darkened sky. He was crouched behind a tree with Bart standing next to him. Pen was in there somewhere. He was so close. It was taking every ounce of his self-control to hold his position.

Through his earpiece he heard, “Team One ready?”

“Check.”

“Team Two ready?”

“Check.”

They planned to storm the house as two different teams, one through the front and one through the back of the house. Both teams surrounded the perimeter and were waiting for the signal to go in.

“On my go. In three…two…”

Suddenly six men flew out the front door of the house brandishing automatic weapons. Something had gone wrong and tipped them off. In the middle of them were Penelope and another man he couldn’t identify in the dark. Both had a gun pointed at their heads. The man didn’t appear to be in the best of shape since two men were dragging him along. Penelope appeared pale and tense.

At the same time, Colton heard, “Hold your positions. Hold your positions,” through his earpiece. Every muscle in his body clenched with the need to rush forward, but Bart held him back, whispering in his ear, “Settle, son. Don’t get yourself and your pretty lady killed. We have snipers on them. Let them do their job.”

That’s right… the snipers. He tried to remember how many they had. Two… for six guys. Colton didn’t like the odds of Penelope not getting hurt while the snipers took out six guys. He could see Penelope searching the dark. She knew they were there. He willed her to walk calmly along with the men so she didn’t set them off. They were headed toward a black Suburban about twenty feet out from the house. What they didn’t realize is that there were three men crouched behind that vehicle. From his position, Colton could see them clearly. In about ten feet, the shit was going to hit the fan.

Through his earpiece, he heard the command to the snipers, “Delta 1, Delta 2 take out the shooters. Now.”

He started running as fast as he could when the call went out and gunfire erupted. Fear for Penelope made him push his body to the limit. The air moved as the bullets whizzed by him. He had to get to her to protect her. His movements felt like they were flowing through molasses as he pushed his body to move even faster. Finally, after what felt like hours, he reached her.

He tackled her and held her within the cage of his body, taking the brunt of their fall on his side. He rolled with her, cradling her head with his hands and wrapping his legs around hers, to shield her away from the shooting while protecting her body as much as possible.

Chaos and gunfire exploded everywhere. He could feel the rush of bodies and bullets around him, but his only focus was Penelope. They’d managed to put some space between them and the members of the MM. He could feel Penelope’s tight muscles and frantic heartbeat underneath his hands on her back. He leaned down to talk quietly in her ear, “Sweetheart, we need to get under cover. When I lift you up, I need you to run as fast as possible over to those trees.”

He felt her affirmative nod against his chest. He quickly stood, pulling her up in front of him so he could shield her body as they ran.

Once they reached the tree line, he ducked down tucking her in front of him with his back to the gunfire, so the bulk of his body protected hers from the continued danger. He immediately checked her body for damage. Up close, he could see the dried blood on her shirt and his heart stuttered in panic. “Are you okay? Tell me where you’re hurt.”

“Colt?” She reached up to touch his face, the handcuffs clanking as she moved.

He looked into her beautiful eyes and smiled. He hadn’t known if he’d ever get this opportunity again. Relief flooded his body. “Yeah, it’s me. Now answer me. Are you okay? Did they hurt you? God, did I hurt you with that tackle?” He continued feeling up and down her arms and torso.

She touched his lips with her fingertips to calm him. “Shh, I’m okay.” She gave him a soft smile. “You saved me. That was a pretty impressive tackle back there. Are you okay?”

“As long as you’re not hurt, I’m perfect.”

“Yes, you are and I love you.” She stroked the side of his face and tears fell off her lashes. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before. And then I didn’t stay safe when I promised you I would.”

All that mattered was she was safe and in his arms. Now. That’s all that mattered. He reached down and threaded his fingers through her hair and promptly shut her up by kissing her. “It doesn’t matter. You’re safe now,” he mumbled into her hair. Even after the events of the day, he could still smell the honeysuckle on her. He took a deep breath, taking in her scent and was surprised when he started feeling woozy. That wasn’t right. He shook his head to clear it and the world tilted.

“Colton!” He heard her scream. His final thought was the gunfire had ended so she should be safe now. Then the world went black.

* * *

Relief was replaced by panic as she watched Colton collapse onto the ground. The shooting had stopped, so she started screaming. “Help! Someone please help!” She searched frantically over his body trying to find where he was hurt. It was when she reached up to brush the side of his head that she discovered the blood which seemed to pour out of the side of his head. She started sobbing. “Colton! Colton, can you hear me?”

Suddenly someone was there to help. “Do you know where he’s hurt?”

She looked up to find Scott Martin taking Colton’s pulse. Oh thank God. Scott was a paramedic with the volunteer fire department. He’d be able to help. “His head is bleeding. He was fine, kissing me and then he just collapsed.”

Scott reached around to the side of Colton’s head to find the wound. Someone tried to pull her away, and she brushed away the hands. “No, I’m not leaving him.”

“Penny, let Scott work on him and we’ll get someone to take these cuffs off you.” She looked up, confused to find Michael Martin there. He looked at her with kindness. Oh no, he didn’t know about Thomas. She felt her legs weaken. He reached up to steady her. “Come on. You’ll be able to help him more once the cuffs are off and you need to get checked out, too.”

She didn’t want to leave Colton. There was so much blood coming from his head. What if he died? She shook her head. “I’m not leaving him. I don’t care about the handcuffs. I’m not leaving his side.”

Michael chuckled low. “Okay, okay, let me go find Andrew. He should have a key that will work on these.”

“Michael,” she grasped hold of his sleeve urgently and swallowed hard to hold back the emotion, “don’t go into the house. Thomas…” She started crying as Michael looked back at the house. Grief filled his eyes as he looked from the house back to her. She could see the knowledge in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Just don’t go in there.”

He pulled himself up and nodded solemnly. “It’s okay. We’ll get it all sorted. Let me go find Andrew and we’ll get those cuffs taken care of. Stay here and watch over your man.” She continued to clutch at his sleeve and he slowly peeled her fingers. “Don’t worry. I’m just going to go find Andrew.”

As he walked off, Penelope turned back to Colton. Scott obviously heard their exchange because he met her eyes briefly and there were tears in his eyes that had nothing to do with Colton.

Another man joined Scott to help administer medical aid to Colton. Sometime in the last few minutes, the yard had been lit up by spotlights so Penelope could see exactly what they were doing. She could also see how deathly pale Colton appeared. She rushed back over so she was close to him. She was out of their way, but ran her hands up and down his leg so maybe he could feel her presence. They stripped off his shirt. She was surprised to see that he wore body armor underneath it. But it was even more shocking to see the purple bruising underneath that along with a plethora of bleeding scrapes and scratches.

Scott immediately started palpitating his abdomen and shot her a worried look.