Chapter 25

Walker

My frustration has ricocheted to an all-time high. Another day and night spent with little action. We know there’s something going down; we just can’t seem to catch a break.

Now that the DEA is fully involved, our team of five has expanded by a dozen. For the last week, I’ve been in Columbia with Agents Kelly and Ross, while Oliver has been with Agent Collins in Myrtle Beach. SLED has other agents in different cities around the state. Tomorrow, we’ll be rotating, and I’ll be in Beaufort for however many days until I’m told to go to the next location.

“You got anything else?” Kelly questions me.

“Only the gut feeling that these people know we’re onto them. The same thing I keep telling you.”

“And I keep telling you, patience is the name of this game.”

“Patience is my least admirable virtue.”

He huffs, shaking his head. “You turn into a grouchy fucker when you don’t get your way.”

“It’s not getting my way that’s my problem.”

He understands my meaning. “I guess I can see your point. If I had to go to a hotel room every night, knowing I had an Emi in my bed, I’d be tense, too.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“I see you get it, but warning, don’t mention Emi in your bed ever again.”

“You make it too easy to for me to ignore.”

I stand, even more irritated. “I’m out. See you in the morning.”

“I hope you bring a better attitude tomorrow, Walker. This whole broody and miserable vibe is starting to kill my mojo,” he calls after me.

I flip him off, cursing under my breath.

When I get to my truck, it’s after eleven, but Emi will be up waiting on my call. She always is. Besides a few texts during the day, this is the only time I get to call her. Being surrounded by a bunch of men every minute of the day has become my life.

She answers, unusually chipper for this time of night. “Hey, sweetie!”

“Thought you may be close to sleep.”

“I can’t sleep. I’m too excited.”

“Excited about what?”

She goes quiet, a ruffling on the other end of the line, then she starts to backtrack. “I guess excited is not a good word, maybe anxious. I’ve been waiting for your call.”

Her tone changes, and my first thought is that she’s hiding something from me. But since the night in the hotel, she’s kept her word. I’ve had Marcus keeping an eye on her and Maren.

“Guess what?”

“What?”

“We had a double dose of Trixster follow-up tonight.”

“Do I even want to know?”

“Maybe not, but humor me. Stacy and her band of scorned and scammed went to the police today to file a formal complaint against Ricky Sharpe. They all had their videos as proof that he tried to blackmail them, too. She sent us an email and said that, after contacting the online dating sites and stating their cases, the administrators would participate fully with an investigation.”

“That is good news. When I get home, I’ll follow up with what’s happening.”

“We can only hope Maren’s virus worked, and he can’t use online dating to take advantage of unsuspecting women.”

“Women should be more aware in general.” I don’t tell her that I paid a visit to Ricky at his home the day after the hotel incident and told him I was looking into him. When I left, he knew exactly where I stood on hitting a woman.

“Well, regardless, there’s more.”

“More?”

“Yes, remember Bailey?”

“Justin’s fiancée? How could I forget?”

“She emailed us, too! It was a totally different person. She confronted Justin and he freaked. The way she explained it was he begged her not to leave him, said he’d give up the lifestyle and never look back. She still left him.”

“His loss.”

“That’s not the end of it. Bailey decided to research the elements of BDSM and decided she wanted to try it. She took him back on the condition that he accepts she is his only partner. No more clubs, no more panties in the mail, nothing. He gladly agreed, revoking his membership to Suite. The details are a little sketchy, but it sounds like she’s turning into a vixen and loving it.”

“Well, that’s a turn I didn’t see coming.”

“Isn’t it awesome! We did good for once!”

Her excitement is contagious, and I find myself smiling as I turn into the hotel parking lot. Kelly was partly right; I do miss Emi in my bed every night. But it’s so much more. I miss everything about Emi.

“Proud of you, baby.”

“How was your day?”

“Same.” She knows exactly what that means.

“Bummer, I’m sorry.”

“Tomorrow’s a new day. Hopefully, the relocation will be more fruitful.”

“Don’t remind me.” Her mood shifts.

“I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“I’d count down the days, except I don’t have a timeframe.”

“You’ll be the first to know, I promise.”

“Okay.”

“Love you, babe, but I’m gonna lose you in the elevator. I’ll text you in the morning.”

“Love you, too. Muah!” She makes a kissing sound before hanging up.

I stare at my phone the ride up, and as soon as the elevator opens, the scent assaults me. It gets stronger with every step. I can feel her presence all the way to my bones, and when I open the door, she’s standing there with a blinding smile ready to pounce. I don’t have time to say anything before she leaps into my arms, almost tackling me before I gain my footing.

Her lips kiss every inch of skin on my face before finding my mouth and slipping her tongue inside. I inhale deeply, my hands going to her ass and moving us to the bed. When my knees hit the corner of the mattress, I fall, bringing her with me.

Her lips and tongue move urgently with mine, kissing me hard and deep to make up for the week apart. My fingers slide up her back until I reach her head and tangle them in her hair. She tears away from my mouth and places open-mouth kisses along my jawline to my earlobe.

“Surprise,” she whispers so seductively my body hums alive.

“How did you know where to find me?”

“Before you get angry, I swear I didn’t beg Maren to locate your government issued top secret phone. Nor did I place a GPS tracker on your truck. Even though I wanted to so, so, so bad.”

“The thought didn’t cross my mind, but now that you mention it.”

She dislodges her arms from my shoulders and braces her hands on either side of my head. “Bryant called me. He told me where you were and hinted that it would be okay for me to visit tonight. My bag was packed and I was in the car before we even hung up. I’ve been climbing the walls for you to get here.”

“Kelly organized this?”

“Yes, he had a key waiting for me, and we have the next ten hours before you have to leave.”

I already respected the man, but my appreciation for him doubles. Who knew he was such a romantic?

“God, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” I scan her face, realizing how much just the vision of her can affect me.

“He said you’d been a little edgy.”

“He’s mentioned that a time or two.”

“We owe him for setting this up.”

Done with talking about Kelly, I twist us, so she’s pinned under me. “I’ve never had a better surprise in all my life.”

Her eyes transform into a liquid amber glow, and she beams her smile so bright it rocks me to the core. There’s no wavering, no second guessing. This is the moment I want to memorize for the rest of my life. “Marry me.”

Her mouth drops open, and I take advantage by grazing my tongue along her lips which start to quiver. Her chest trembles against mine as tears pool in her eyes. “Just to be clear, is this the interlude to one of your famous knock-my-socks-off, make-me-choke-up, send-my-emotions-spiraling, Walker Scott declarations of love? Or is this actually the point where I say yes to a question?”

“This is where you say yes to a non-question, but for formality’s sake. I’ve already told you I’m going to marry you, but right now, I want it to be official.”

The tears spill down the sides of her temple as she starts to nod. “Yes.”

I clutch her head firmer and kiss her, pouring everything I have into it. My own emotions threaten to explode as my heart thunders and swells in my chest. Peace and possessiveness wash through me knowing it’s finally official.

She breaks away, choking back a sob, and buries her face in my throat. “You have to stop this. Crying is not my thing, but with you, it happens involuntarily.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Mom, I need to go.”

“One more question,” she presses.

“And you wonder why I call Dad most of the time. What’s with all the questions this morning?”

“Don’t be snarky. This is the first time I’ve spoken with you in weeks. Text messages don’t count.”

“Because I’m busy. Right now, I’m pulling up to work. Can we make this quick?”

“Fine, I was wondering about inviting Emi’s parents for Easter. We should probably meet them before you propose.”

Shit. I’d hoped to avoid this conversation with her. The plan was to tell my dad and let him break the news so, by the time I saw Mom, her anger at being left out would have simmered. No such luck.

“Too late.”

She sucks in a deep breath followed by a small cry. I can picture her shocked expression in my head.

“You didn’t?”

“I did, and she said yes. Please don’t ask for details.”

“Oh my God,” she responds tearfully. “She said yes?”

“Of course, she said yes. What did you think she’d say?”

“I didn’t mean it to sound so surprised; it’s just so soon.”

“Soon for whom? I’m almost thirty-one years old. I’ve waited a long time to find a woman like Emerson, so why wait?”

“You are exactly like your father!”

“On that, I have to agree, and look at how it’s turned out.”

“When did you ask her?”

I skip the part about not really asking. “Four days ago, she paid me a surprise visit. The timing was right. I wasn’t going to let the moment slip away. But that’s all I have to say about it. If Emi wants to share the details, she can.”

“I’m so happy for you, Walker.”

“Thanks, Mom, now can I go? I’ll touch base in a few days.”

“I’m going to plan a trip into Charleston this weekend. Maybe Emi would want to meet for lunch and shopping.”

“You can bet on that. It’ll help keep her mind off me being gone. I’d appreciate you keeping her busy. Maybe set up a spa day at the salon y’all go to. Text me the number and I’ll call them. It’ll be my treat.”

“Okay, love you.”

“You too.” I disconnect and climb out of the truck, eyeing the surrounding area. Unlike Charleston and Columbia, Beaufort is a much smaller town. SLED has set us up in a large, state of the art warehouse, well-equipped with everything we need.

Agent Kelly and I talked about it this morning and agreed, something’s going down soon. All our surveillance has paid off, proving the involvement goes deep. Chatter indicates people are getting restless, and the five men from Suite have returned several times. SLED agent Sam has been transferred out of undercover work in bars and is now in an office working intelligence surveillance. He has been able to interpret that the shipment is coming into the state via land and waterways. We’ve increased our manpower with DEA agents at checkpoints on the southern border of the state line and have agents still scouting the populated coastal cities.

My gut clenches, looking around the darkened parking lot outside the warehouse. Nothing looks out of place, but the hair on the back of my neck stands. I check the time and shake off the feeling. I need to call Emi.

She answers on the first ring, almost breathless. “Hey.”

“Babe, you okay?”

“Yes, I just tore through my house looking for my watch.”

“You lost your watch?”

“Apparently so. I can’t find it anywhere.”

“When’s the last time you had it?”

“I wore it to Columbia. I remember putting it on after our shower and before we went to breakfast.”

“Hold on.” I go to the passenger side of the truck and open the door, searching for it. The shiny silver catches my eye, lodged between the seat and the console. “I have it. Must have unlatched somehow.”

“You mean when we got carried away with our goodbye kiss?” I can hear the smile in her voice.

“That could be it.” I grin at the memory that seems so long ago. I pocket the watch and make a mental note. “I’ll stop by the post office tomorrow and mail it to you.”

“You don’t have to as long as I know it’s found. I’d rather you deliver it in person, along with yourself in perfect condition.”

“You’ve got a deal.”

“Are you ready for tonight?” There’s a rustling on the line I recognize as her crawling into bed.

“Yeah, we’re ready for what I hope is a night that will produce some damn results.”

“I’ll hope for that, too.”

“My mom’s going to call you. She’s coming into town this weekend and wants to get together. I’ve asked her to set up a day at the spa. Invite Maren, too, if you want.”

“You spoil me.”

“I need to do more than spoil you because, be prepared, she knows about the engagement and she’s going to pummel you with questions.”

“That’s okay. Maren and I can handle it.”

The door to the warehouse opens, and Kelly sticks his head out, looking for me. I wave a finger at him to give me a minute.

“I’d better go, babe. Time to get to work.”

“I love you.”

“You too. Talk to you tomorrow.”

She hangs up first, and the heavy feeling in my stomach returns. I drop my phone in my jacket and head inside.

“Nice of you to join us,” Kelly starts to harass me. “How is your fiancée tonight?”

“She’s great,” I reply. He’s taken every chance to badger me since Emi left, and I let it slip I proposed.

“I still don’t understand how you, of all people, could convince a woman to marry you without having a ring on her finger.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re fiercely protective and archaically possessive when it comes to her. I’d think you would have slipped a diamond on her finger and branded her before letting her out of your sight.”

Getting her a ring is the first thing I’ll do when I get home. I think of every way I branded Emi that night in the most intimate ways, and my cock stirs.

“She’s been branded,” I assure him with a warning tone.

He howls in laughter, clapping his hands together. “Like I said, archaic caveman.”

“You got a point?”

“Not really, but getting under your skin has become a highlight.”

“Get a new hobby.”

“Touchy, touchy.”

I roll my eyes and go to the large table on the far side of the room to see what may or may not be happening.

For hours, we watch and listen for anything that could tip us off. Kelly and I break apart from the group and go to review some files.

“I’ve got something.” I wave Kelly to my makeshift desk. “Look at this. In the last twenty-four hours, there have been twelve boat charters for tomorrow. This isn’t highly unusual, but they’ve all requested all-day charters. It’s all different boats, anything from fishing boats to large luxury sails.”

“That’s our waterways. I’m calling Collins and Ross.” He gets them on the phone and relays what we’ve found. After a few minutes, they confirm the same in Charleston and Myrtle Beach for the following days. He puts the phone on speaker and drops it on my desk. “These guys can go far enough out not to be detected and exchange the cargo under the guise of leisurely day trips on the water. But where are the drugs originating from?”

We all agree to keep digging and hang up, going back to our research.

One of the technicians picks up an incoming boat not registered on the harbormaster doctrine. A few minutes later, a DEA agent on the highway team reports a convoy of shipping trucks crossing the state line outside of Savannah.

This could mean nothing, just like so many other nights we’ve thought we’ve gotten ahead of the game. But the difference is, tonight, my gut is telling me this is it.

At two a.m., we get our break. The convoy pulls up to the dock where the boat slipped in earlier.

“Gear up,” Kelly commands, sending a dozen of us scrambling.

We’ve planned for this, run through the scenarios, and every man knows his place. DEA isn’t shutting me out; I’m in for the raid.

Once we’re all equipped with the right communications and vests, we break into our groups. Kelly, a DEA agent, and myself take off on foot, going through the dark alleys between the warehouses, until we have a clear vision of the activity.

A few men gather in a huddle talking, before one of them barks out a command and the others move to their trucks. I watch as crates, disguised as produce, are unloaded and transferred to the boat.

“Our divers are in place. One is climbing up now. When we have confirmation, we’re on,” our DEA contact whispers.

Kelly and I draw our weapons, knowing the other teams are doing the same. As soon as we get the word, we’re going in.

Another ten minutes passes, my adrenaline spiking with each second. From what I can see, we have over a dozen men between the trucks and the boat. If I’m right, it’s a man on man scenario because there are twelve of us spread out.

“We’ve got confirmation. Drugs are in the crates.” The agent does a five-second countdown with his hand. “Good luck, men,” he says before storming forward.

“DEA! FREEZE AND DROP IT!” can be heard from all directions.

The men drop their crates and grab weapons. Bullets fly all around as chaos ensues. People pile off the boat, firing in every direction. I realize too late we’ve underestimated their manpower. Flash bombs explode, hindering my vision, and I duck behind a dumpster to let the smoke clear.

I spot two men coming off the boat with machine guns, and I fire, one of them dropping instantly. The other slides behind a truck for cover. The noise becomes deafening as everyone yells orders. A shot whizzes by my ear, and I drop to my knees and fire again, hearing a loud thud from a body falling.

The firefight continues as we close in, Kelly and I are close enough to communicate with only our eyes. There’s a loud roar of an engine starting as someone tries to take off in one of the trucks. We both aim and shoot out the tires. He jerks his head to the right, and I go left to get to the boat.

I use as much cover as I can until I’m forced into the open, bolting across the open expanse. In a split second, I count a dozen bodies down, three of them with DEA vests.

“Fuck!” I scream and spot a flash out of the corner of my eye right before I hear the shot.

I go down, feeling my ribs crack with the impact to my vest. My head bounces off the pavement, temporarily stunning me. There’s another shot, this time grazing my thigh, and a searing pain shoots through my leg. I have no choice but to roll to my stomach and crawl on my elbows to the nearest truck, using the wheel to hoist myself to standing. My ribs and leg scream in protest as I reload, ready to spin and fire.

But I don’t get the chance. Out of nowhere, my ankles are jerked out from under me, and I go down again, this time, landing so hard I know something’s broken.

The breath is knocked out of me, but my instincts kick in and I fight, kicking with all my force at the man holding my feet. There’s a crack followed by a howl of pain. I shoot in the direction and feel a spray of warm blood hit my face.

The next thing I hear is the sound of a gun being cocked at my head. Training from the Army pulses in my veins, but Emi’s face flashes through my head. I could risk my life, turn on this guy and try to overtake him.

But the danger is too great.

I drop my gun and raise my hands, knowing I’ll get out of this for her.