Page 16

CHAPTER 15

Slade stood in the apartment’s entrance, his heart feeling as though it were slowly being ripped in two. The place was trashed with clear signs of one hell of a struggle. Toppled lamps, shattered glass, and splatters of blood marring the formerly pristine space.

I left her here.

His gut churned with nausea as he battled against the rush of bile racing toward his throat. Not only had he left her there, but he’d also ordered her to stay.

And now…

She and Rafe are gone.

His boss and the man’s daughter. A woman Slade had fallen in love with in the blink of an eye. But even as he thought it, he knew that wasn’t true. Part of him had loved her ever since the team’s very first mission. He’d fallen in love with a voice that had been filled with equal amounts of sugar and sass.

Shadow was always there, doing everything she could to keep him and the rest of his team safe. She worked tirelessly from behind the scenes to help them rescue the innocent while also ridding the world of evil.

Only evil had won this round of life’s twisted game. And if Slade and the others didn’t figure out where she and her father were, they were going to lose them both forever.

“She’s still alive.” Apollo rumbled as he came to Slade’s side. “If Reiner wanted them dead, we’d be staring at their bodies instead of an empty apartment.”

He blinked as the other man’s point sank deep, doing his damnedest not to let Apollo and the others see how close he was to breaking.

She’s gone. They’re both fucking gone!

And they had no idea where they were.

“We have to figure out where they were taken,” he finally spoke his first words since arriving on scene. “We need to access the building’s security cams, and?—”

“I hate to be a Debbie Downer,” Bones interrupted. “But isn’t that the kind of stuff Shadow usually does? I mean, unless one of you guys knows how to do that sort of thing. ’Cause I sure the hell don’t.”

“He’s right.” Falcon was the next to join in on the conversation. “None of us have the kind of technical skills required to do what’s needed to find them. We need help. Big time help.”

And Slade knew exactly who to call.

“Rawlins.” The man’s name came out as a deep grumble.

As the other men in the room started to turn his way, he was already pulling out his phone. Slade tapped the number he was damn glad that he’d saved, putting the call on speaker so everyone could hear.

The man who’d helped him when he’d first been ordered to find an MIA Shadow answered after the third ring.

“Rawlins.”

“It’s Garrison,” Slade identified himself. “We need your help.”

The man’s tone was almost deadly when he responded with a curt, “Tell me.”

Slade stuck to the highlights of what they knew up to that point, and then he all but begged the man when he asked, “Can you help us?”

“Help you find Owens and Shadow? I’m insulted that you thought you had to ask.”

Relief filled his veins, and he wanted to reach through the phone and hug the brilliant man. But since that wasn’t possible…

“We need you to hack into the security system at our current location. There are cameras in the hallway, so I’m hoping we’ll get lucky and get a look at whoever it was that did this.”

“Thought you already knew it was that Reiner guy.”

“Oh, he’s definitely involved,” Bones chimed in. “But the guy’s like five-five, if that. No way he got the upper hand on Owens and Shadow unless he had some help.”

The sound of keys being struck at a high rate of speed filled the phone’s speaker as Slade and the others waited. “Okay, I’ve got the feed up now. And yep, you’re right. There were two assholes working together. They were dressed like fucking firefighters, if you can believe that.”

“Firefighters?” Apollo frowned. “Was there a call about a fire in the building?”

A few more clicks, and Rawlins was back. “Nope. But the building security recorded two firemen being let into the building. According to the guard’s notes, the firefighters claimed someone called in a possible gas leak from your location, and they’d been sent to check it out.”

“Can you get facial rec?”

“Not from the camera by the apartment door, but maybe… Well hello there, Andrew Reiner. And who’s that you brought with you?” The tech genius worked his magic while the men of Tac-Ops waited. “Damn. I can’t make out the other guy’s face enough for an ID, but you’ve got Reiner dead to rights. Bring him in alive, I bet he’d flip faster than an IHOP pancake during the breakfast rush.”

Bones snickered, and Falcon’s lips twitched with a grin, but Slade was in no mood to smile.

“Okay, so we know half of the who,” he pointed out to Rawlins and his team. “But how do we figure out where?”

“You know how they found the safe house in the first place?”

“No clue.”

A slight pause ensued before the man on the phone spoke up again. “Hate to ask, but any way you picked up a tail after leaving the hospital following the explosion?”

“No,” Slade’s response was immediate. “There’s no fucking way.”

“You sure?” Bones looked at him, regret filling the other man’s eyes. “Don’t come at me, brother, but we have to look at every possibility. Even ones that seem unlikely.”

“It’s not just unlikely, it didn’t happen. And this isn’t my ego on some big fucking trip. I’m telling you, there was no tail. You’ve all seen me drive whenever we’re protecting total strangers. You really think I’d put Shadow at risk by not watching my rearview the entire fucking time?”

The longer he spoke, the more pissed off he became. And then he felt like shit because he knew his brothers were only trying to help. But dammit, they were wasting time asking if he’d been followed.

Time that Shadow and Rafe didn’t have.

“Okay, so if you weren’t followed, then how?—”

“A tracker.”

All eyes turned to Apollo who was staring back at Slade with a solemn expression.

“You think one of us was compromised?” He clarified, making sure he’d heard the other man correctly.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. Especially given the pictures we found at Reiner’s place.”

“Ooh, that’s a good point.” Bones nodded excitedly. “If you weren’t followed, then you had to have been tracked. And since you drove the SUV from our building straight here, it couldn’t have been on the car.”

“It had to be on your persons,” Rawlins agreed. “One of you had to have come into contact with someone you didn’t know.”

Digger met his teammate’s stares as the answer finally began to sink in. “Shadow.” He swallowed. “She was the only one checked out by the staff.”

“Was there ever a time she was out of your sight?” Rawlins asked. “A time when she was alone with someone on the hospital payroll, or even another patient or visitor nearby?”

“The CT,” Slade shared. “It was the only time I wasn’t with her.”

“Give me the name of the hospital and the time frame, and I’ll see what I can find.”

He recited the information for the other man as he typed. It took Rawlins less than a minute to uncover the evidence needed to prove Shadow had been unknowingly tracked.

“Oh, yeah.” The man on the phone sounded hopeful as he continued to work. “Okay, so I’ve got Andrew Rawlins inside the E.R., and he’s wearing a set of scrubs.”

What the hell?

“You’re sure it’s him?”

“Positive. And when I go back to right when Shadow was being wheeled out of the room…bingo. Yep, there it is.”

“There what is?”

“The asshole pretended to accidentally bump into the bottom corner of Shadow’s gurney as the tech was wheeling her out. But when I played it in slo-mo, I caught the guy’s sleight of hand. Looks like he placed something along the sole of one of her shoes.”

“Which shoes?” Falcon asked next.

“White sneakers,” Rawlins answered instantly. A few more clicks and then, “The same white sneakers she was wearing when the wanna-be firefighters carried her and Rafe out the floor’s emergency exit.”

Carried her out…

Ah, God. If they were carried out then at the very least Shadow and her father were unconscious when they were taken. Because they were hurt, or was the cause something less frightening?

Slade’s gaze inadvertently slid to a spot of blood on the tiled floor.

“Rawlins, this is Falcon. Is there any way to tap into whatever system they used to track her here? If she’s still wearing the shoes, there’s a chance the device is still active, and if that’s the case?—”

“I should be able to figure out exactly where she and Owens were taken,” Rawlins finished for the team’s lead sniper. “It’ll be tricky, and might take me a few minutes. But if I can do a quick search for any anomalistic changes in signals in or around the building at the time you arrived and compare those with the signals at the time of her and Owens’ abductions…”

The man who’d already proven himself an invaluable asset took the next couple of minutes to do what he did best. Slade and his teammates waited anxiously for the results, knowing if this didn’t work, they’d be back to square one.

If this doesn’t work, Shadow and Rafe are both as good as dead.

But just as the gut-wrenching thought came to his mind, Rawlins renewed their hope that there might still be time. Time not only to find their teammate and boss, but to save two people they’d all come to love.

“I got her. The signal isn’t great, but it will at least get you to the building where she and Owens are being held.”

The entire group of Tac-Ops operatives grew excited with visible hope.

“Where?” Slade growled, needing to get to his woman before it was too late.

“Old warehouse at the edge of NoDa.” Rawlins referred to North Davidson, a neighborhood in Charlotte.

“That’s like ten minutes from here,” Bones exclaimed. “Max.”

“Let’s go.” Slade spun on his heels and headed for the door.

He didn’t have to look back to know his teammates were there. Because they were more than a team. They were family. And when it came to protecting their own, there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do.

Minutes later, they were in the SUV and racing to the woman Slade loved. Rather than get behind the wheel, he let Apollo drive while he focused on his phone.

With the warehouse’s address programmed into the vehicle’s GPS, and his fellow SEAL brother at the helm, Slade focused on the phone still held tightly in his hand as he studied the blueprints Rawlins sent just before they’d left.

The abandoned warehouse was large, and at first he felt defeated. But then he forced the emotion he was feeling aside and called upon his training. Once that happened, it didn’t take long for him to deduce the best, safest way for him and his team to enter the building.

“We’ll enter through the north.” He spoke loud enough so that his teammates and Rawlins could hear. “There’s a door there we should be able to breach.”

“You bring the goods?” Bones asked, presumably referring to his go-to breaching device.

“No.” Slade shook his head. “Not unless we’ve got one in here.”

They hadn’t taken the time to stop and load up on weapons. None of them wore any sort of protective vest or gear.

“Looks like we’re going old-school, boys.” Bones didn’t sound the least bit disappointed.

Slade just prayed it would be enough.

The drive that should have taken ten took six, thanks to Apollo’s expert moves behind the wheel. There wasn’t time for as much stealth as they normally would have used. But they did leave the car’s doors open to help with what noise control they could.

The soles of their boots ground against worn asphalt and weeds. Slade was first at the door, and he didn’t wait to reach for the round, rusty knob. To his surprise, it turned with relative ease.

With a single pull, the door opened fully. Slade covered up top, while Apollo crouched down to cover low.

Falcon and Bones entered first, their pistols up and at the ready. Apollo went next, followed immediately by Slade. And when the entire team was in, they stopped to regroup.

Before exiting the SUV, Slade had put an earbud in his left ear and slid his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. Rawlins was still on the phone, taking Shadow’s place as the team’s overwatch. And though he’d give anything to hear her voice, Slade was damn glad the other man was there.

“The signal’s still showing strong in the northeast corner of the building,” the deep voice in his ear sounded. “You should see a hallway due east and to your right.”

Slade turned that way, looking through the low-lit space. Past a large, concrete pillar he saw nothing at first but a darkened corner.

“You see it?”

Not yet.

He took a few steps closer in that direction. Not far, but enough to give him a better view.

“I see it,” Slade whispered back, using hand movements to signal to the team they should move.

Just as they had on the countless missions before, the four men moved as one past the giant pillar and beyond. When they reached the hallway’s edge, Slade swung his weapon around the corner in case there were any threats.

But there was nothing but more shadows and the occasional ray of light that shone in from opened doorways along the narrow space. What that told him was that there were several rooms needing to be cleared.

Pulling in a deep breath, he let it out slowly, and with his weapon at the ready, he motioned to his men. Slade took the lead with the others in line behind him. Apollo’s hand was on Slade’s left shoulder, while Bones’ hand was on Apollo’s. Falcon brought up the rear, his hand on Bones’ shoulder.

Together, they quickly began clearing the rooms.

The first one was empty, as were the second and third. Slade tried like hell not to think about how long this section of the building was, or how many rooms they’d have to check before finding the only one they needed.

At least eight that I can see. Maybe more.

He pushed the useless thoughts away and took a step toward the next doorway. He swung his weapon inside and then?—

Bang!

His heart stopped as he and the others recognized the sound for exactly what it was. Someone had just shot a fucking gun, and it had come from somewhere down the hall.

Shadow!

Slade took off in a dead sprint, no longer giving a damn about being quiet. The others followed with a pace matching his own.

From a room several yards away, he could hear what sounded like a loud, almost animalistic growl. His heart thundered inside his chest as he willed his legs and feet to move faster than ever before. When they got to the room where Shadow and her father were being held, the scene before him left his heart filled with a combination of relief, fury, and overwhelming dread.

She’s alive!

Slade wanted to bawl like a damn baby when he saw Shadow standing on her own two feet. Then he wanted to find the son of a bitch who’d beat her with what looked to be an inch of her life.

Her hands and forearms were covered in blood, but when he saw the man lying on the floor behind her, he understood why.

No!

Owens was on his back a few feet from Shadow. His eyes were closed, and the front of his shirt was soaked with the man’s blood.

It was obvious he’d been shot, but the slight rising and falling of his chest was a good sign. He was alive, at least.

For now.

Slade’s gaze went back to Shadow, who had yet to see him. She was too busy holding a knife toward the man behind her and her father’s abductions.

Michael Stanton stood facing her from a few feet away. His face was bloody, and it was obvious his nose had been broken.

“On your knees, Stanton,” Slade ordered, despite the urge to pull his own trigger.

The world would be a much better place without the son of a bitch in it.

At the sound of his voice, Shadow blinked and turned his way. The emotion he saw there nearly dropped him to his knees.

“Slade?”

“Yeah, princess. It’s me.” He gave her a curt nod to let her know she was going to be okay.

Those were the same words he’d given to her that night in the motel, and then again at the cabin when she’d woken from a very bad dream.

The star of that nightmare had been the man slowly bringing himself to his knees. But it was over. Stanton was finished, and he would never hurt anyone else ever?—

“Wait.” Shadow came to his side. She reached up and took the gun from his hand.

With Bones and Falcon giving medical aid to Owens, Apollo stood close by while Slade willingly surrendered his weapon.

He watched carefully as she lifted the pistol, pointing its barrel in the dead center of Stanton’s head.

“He killed my mother while she slept.” Her voice sounded small, almost childlike. To Stanton, she said, “You were her partner. You were supposed to be her friend. ”

“She was going to t-turn me in.” Stanton began stuttering like the chickenshit that he was. “Y-Your mother grew soft. You m-made her soft.”

“No!” Shadow took a broad step toward him. “You do not get to put my mother’s death…my mother’s murder…on me. You did this. All of it. This is all on you!”

“I only did what I had to. I was just trying to survive!”

“Bullshit.” Shadow’s voice returned to a slow, lethal tone. “The choices you made weren’t out of necessity. They came from greed and your own cowardice. And look at where it got you.” She laughed humorlessly as she glanced around the room.

“You think I’m the only person in the CIA to ever use their contacts and skills to their own advantage? I’m not!” Spittle flew from Stanton’s mouth.

“I don’t care about any other dirty agents, asshole.” Shadow shook her head slowly. “Frankly, I don’t even care about you. You’re a traitor to your country. For that alone, you deserve to die. But for the cold-blooded murder of my mother…a woman who trusted you to have her back…a woman who brought you into her home…for that, you deserve to suffer.”

“Suffer?” The idiot huffed out another sardonic breath. “Please. You’re not going to shoot me. You’re soft, like your mother. You don’t have the ba?—”

Shadow pulled the trigger, the deafening sound making him and every man on his team jump from the unexpected blast. Stanton howled in pain, his left hand grabbing hold of his right.

His dominant hand. His shooting hand. And from the looks of it, a hand the asshole would never use again.

Slade looked to Shadow who turned and handed him back his gun. If he wasn’t already in love with the incredible woman, that would have done it right there.

“Feel better?” He couldn’t help but flash her a grin.

He expected a nod, or a teeny tiny smile. But the strongest woman he’d ever met gave a slow shake of her head as a river of tears poured from her eyes.

“Ah, baby.” Slade pulled her into his arms but let go when she gasped in pain. “What is it?” he looked down at her, trying to figure out where else she’d been hurt.

“My ribs.” She put a hand to her side right side, clearly having trouble pulling in a full, deep breath. “Pretty sure at least one of my ribs are broken.”

Son of a…

“Uh…Digger?” Rawlins’ voice sounded in Slade’s ear.

Shit. “I’m here.”

“What do you need?”

“Three ambulances,” Slade answered without hesitation. “Owens is alive, but he took one to the gut.”

“Three?” Rawlins paused. “I thought I heard two gunshots.”

“You did,” Slade confirmed. “Stanton shot Owens, and then Shadow shot Stanton.”

“Holy shit. He dead?”

“Unfortunately, no. But I don’t think he’ll be shaking many hands on the campaign trail anytime soon.”

And from the look on the pathetic man’s face, even the disgraced senator knew that his time in politics—and as a free man—had just come to an end.

“Atta girl.” The other man sounded pleased. “Who needs the third ride?”

Slade turned to the woman who was clearly overrun with shock. “Shadow.”

“She hit?”

“No, but she took one hell of a beating.” To her, he had to know, “Did Stanton do that?”

“He hit me once.” She nodded. “But the rest was from one of the two guys who broke into the apartment and took us.”

“One was Reiner,” Slade informed her. “Not sure about the other yet. But don’t worry,” Slade vowed. “We’ll get them both.”

And anyone else involved in Stanton’s fucked up plan.

“Police and ambulance are on their way,” Rawlins let him know in a rush.

Relaying the info to the team, Slade told the others, “Cops and medical are on their way.”

With that handled, his focus returned to the woman next to him. She was still in shock and shaking like a damn leaf.

While Apollo used some plastic ties he’d had in the car to secure Stanton, who was still writhing in pain, Slade helped Shadow walk back over to her dad.

“H-How b-bad?” she asked for her father’s prognosis.

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Bones stated the obvious. “But I think he’s going to be okay. It’s impossible to know for sure until the medics get him to the hospital, but from what I can see, it doesn’t look like the bullet hit anything vital.”

“Oh, thank God.”

Shadow nearly collapsed in relief, but Slade was right there, more than ready to catch her.

“I love you, Alice,” he whispered in her ear as he held her in his arms with kid gloves.

She leaned back just enough that her watery blue eyes could meet his. “What did you just say?”

Her widened gaze was filled with shock, but this time it had nothing to do with the horrors she’d faced.

“I said I love you. And I hope like hell you can somehow find a way to love me back.”

“I don’t have to find a way, Slade.” She reached up and cupped one side of his face. “Because I already do.”

“Say it.” He knew they were being watched and didn’t care. “I need to hear the words.”

“I love you, too, Slade Matthew Garrison. I’m pretty sure a part of me always has.”

“Awwww…” Rawlin’s voice interrupted the most precious moment of his life.

Reaching up, Slade removed the earbud from his ear. And then, with the lightest of kisses to keep from hurting her, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.