Page 59 of Wild Card (Men of Action #4)

TALON

My body convulses, the tang of blood filling my mouth as I hit my knees. “Man, I didn’t know she had a boyfriend!”

“She’s my sister!” Another blow slams into my temple, warm liquid dripping into my eye.

I grind my teeth, using every ounce of self-control not to lay out this fucker.

“Hold it together, Simms, another minute and we’re in his phone.” Rand speaks in my earbud.

“My bad, dude. She was alone—” I’m cut off by a boot to the ribs while another guy yanks my shoulders to hold me straight.

“Do I look like a fucking dude to you? Fucking American frat boys blowing into town, wanting a good time. You fucked with the wrong woman.” My assailant spits, his dark eyes crazed.

The woman I’ve been working all night stands across the dirty parking lot, restrained by a man who seems bored.

She screams in rapid-fire Spanish, getting her brother’s attention. He half turns to her, shouting his response.

She lashes back at him, keeping him engaged in the argument and giving me more of what we need.

“Ricardo, leave him alone!”

“Rosa, you know better than to pick up with a Gringo! I told you not to leave the house tonight!”

“You don’t own me!”

“I got called out of an important meeting to deal with your shit, again, Rosa. You’re lucky I don’t lock you up.”

“Try it, asshole, and I’ll kill you!” She struggles against the man’s hold, scratching at his arms and drawing blood.

“ Getting tired of this, Rosa. Time I teach you a lesson on what happens to these boys when you insist on defying me.”

He turns back, his fist connecting with my face three times before I go limp.

She screams again, this time begging.

“Stop it! I’ll go home and stay there. Don’t kill him!”

Ricardo’s phone rings and he pulls it from his pocket, taking it without a word. When he disconnects, he speaks to the man still holding me.

“Take care of this mess. I don’t want to see this guy again on his vacation.”

“We’re in, have access to his entire system. Do what you want, but we need him breathing,” Rand instructs.

I wait, motionless, as Ricardo climbs into an SUV. His lapdog shoves Rosa in before hopping into the driver’s seat and speeding away.

The guy at my back grunts.

When he cornered me in the club earlier, I sized him up. His bulk is meant to intimidate but he’s no match.

When he presses on my bad shoulder, pain radiates through my arm.

Fuck, Willow will flip if we have to rehab this shoulder again.

On the thought, I snap to my feet in a crouching position and haul him over my head, slamming him to the concrete.

He lands with a satisfying thud, but not nearly as satisfying as when I get my first punch. He grunts, one hand going to his nose, the other to his hip.

His piece is already in my waistband. Stupid fucker didn’t even notice being disarmed.

He scrambles to his feet, only to fall back when I roundhouse kick his legs out from under him.

Usually, I’d make him pay for the sucker punch earlier that has my cheek throbbing.

We need to get this shit over with.

His fight kicks in, but it’s useless when I get him in a sleeper hold and force him unconscious.

“Fuck, man, you didn’t even get on your feet.” Blade comes around the corner, grinning from ear to ear. “Nice to see civilian life hasn’t softened you.”

I release the man and stand, pain searing my ribcage.

Blade notices, his grin dying.

I wipe the blood from my face. “Tell me we got ears and eyes on Ricardo?”

“Rand’s on it. SUV’s headed out of town.”

I nod, flinching at the gash in my temple. “Shit, this is gonna leave a mark.”

“Lucky for you, the women find scars sexy. Heard that’s how you landed the princess in the first place.”

“Nah, I had her before that.”

“Not from what I heard.” He grabs an arm and we drag the asshole to our waiting van.

Blade gets out, gives me a once-over, and shakes his head. “You let him get you.”

“Had to play my part, Patch.”

He grumbles, “Shut the fuck up. No one calls me that anymore.”

“Never live it down, boy scout.” I grin at the memory of slapping that moniker on him the first month. He was so fucking eager to impress, we all compared him to a boy scout seeking his patches.

“Let’s roll.” I jump in the back of the van and secure the still unconscious man with zip ties.

Hugo takes the guy’s phone, connects it to his own laptop, and starts downloading. After a few minutes, he curses a string of profanities under his breath. “Fucking pervert likes ‘em underage.”

The screen fills with pornographic images of young girls in various provocative positions.

I close my eyes, trying to scrub the pictures out of my head. “Got anything useful?”

“Give me a few minutes and we’ll know every contact and location this asshole has been.”

I stare out the windshield, mentally calculating the distance to our quarters outside of town. The road gets bumpier, indicating we’re closer. A sinking sense creeps into my system, my instincts suddenly alert.

“Pull over and cut out the lights,” I demand, yanking my gun from under the seat.

“What the fuck, man?” Blade curses, doing as I asked.

“Something’s off, I’m checking it out.” A firm hand grasps my shoulder.

Fuck—that shit hurts.

“I’ll go, you took some pretty hard hits tonight.” Hugo lifts his piece from his holster and checks it.

“No fucking way.”

“There’s been no activity all night, not even a raccoon passing,” Rand informs us, reviewing footage on his screen.

I bite my tongue, reminded for the umpteenth time this is not my normal team.

My guys don’t question gut instinct—we live by it.

“Wait for my word.” I slip out of the van, creeping along the perimeter of the woods.

Something is definitely off. The closer I get, my insides buzz with awareness.

My movements are deliberate, avoiding the motion sensors.

Our security is top-notch, created by the military and trial-tested by Hayes Security for over a year. Even the best wouldn’t know about the laser wiring… unless.

It hits me, my pulse racing as I stand and whistle. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Movement comes from all sides, a blinding light in my face.

“Fuck, what happened to you?” Major lowers the beam, stepping closer to inspect my head.

“Nothing much.”

“Seems like you got your ass kicked,” Ace mutters.

“Why aren’t you with your family?” I twist to Ford. “Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?”

“Funny how things change when the goddamned United States Marines call you up. Or when your fucking best friend hauls ass in the middle of the night without his team.”

“I had my reasons.”

“We know all about your fucking bullshit reasons.” Ace steps up, his dark eyes loaded with the same fury as Ford.

“We’ll deal with that later. For now, let’s get inside, get you cleaned up, and debrief. I assume Ricardo did this?” Major’s cool tone gives away his own disappointment.

“How much did Robbie tell you?”

A rustling in the brush behind us has all guns drawn in the direction. Blade steps out, taking in the scene, and cursing under his breath. “Fuckin’ A, recognized those voices.”

“Close the asshole in the storage room. Get the other guys and meet us in the command room. We need to get a lock on Ricardo.”

Blade gives a short nod, disappearing back into the night.

The others follow me around the dense woods and into the darkened house. I don’t turn on a light until we hit the secured room set up with all our communication equipment.

Three bags sit in the corner. “How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to scope out this place, not long enough to get to you, apparently.” Major digs through the med kit, motioning for me to sit.

I swear the fucker smirks when I hiss, the disinfectant burning the hell out of my head. “He got you with his ring.”

I don’t respond, my own anger building at the cheap shot and knowing there was nothing I could do without risking blowing my cover.

“Willow won’t like this.” He openly chuckles this time.

At the mention of her name, my chest tightens. “How is she?’

They trade glances, Ford crossing his arms.

“She’s a lot more forgiving than I am.”

There’s an edge of regret in his voice. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Means he pissed off the princess by threatening to kick your ass. Then proceeded to dig his grave being his normal asshole self,” Ace explains with a wicked grin.

I’m ready to get in his face when Ford steps forward. “I lost my temper and apologized. But that woman proved to have your back, maybe even more than us.”

“Understatement of the year. I thought my wife was scary.” Ace pretends to shudder.

For the first time in a week, I smile, thinking of her riled up. “Nah, she’s a pussycat.”

“More like an alley-cat. The woman actually had me flinching. Let’s just say we all know now not to piss off the princess.” Major places a strip of adhesive over the glued wound, handing me a mirror and wipe to clean my face.

I want to know more about their altercation, specifically what they did to upset Willow, but Rand, Blade, and Hugo enter, giving quick greetings.

“Wondered how long it would take you three to get here.”

“Ahhh, Baby Face, we couldn’t let you have all the fun.” Major slaps his back.

“You guys give out shit names,” Rand grumbles, connecting his laptop to the display screen on the wall.

A dot travels down a secluded road we’ve been surveilling for a week.

Ace eyes the screen. “Do we have audio?”

“I slipped a device on the sister and his lapdog when he pulled me out of the club.”

Ford settles in next to Rand, working the equipment until a muffled sound comes over the speakers.

Ricardo is still bitching at his sister about leaving his meeting to drag her out of a club. She gives it right back to him, claiming he’s an overprotective asshole—among other names.

“Take me home.”

“No, Rosa, you will learn there are consequences.”

“Consequences? I’m not one of your subordinates, Ricardo!”

“No, you’re my sister, which makes you an easy target.”

“I’m not in your business, Ricardo. I have my own life.”

“Rosa, don’t be na?ve. A man in my position makes enemies.”