CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Brent crouched at the edge of the tree line beside Josh Cahill, leader of the Durango unit, one hundred yards from Garcia’s darkened hacienda. So far, Zane hadn’t detected any online chatter about the arrival of Fortress in the Chihuahua province. Wouldn’t hold, Brent knew. No way to keep that secret indefinitely. Word traveled fast when three private jets landed on separate private airstrips. His goal was to be in place ahead of the chatter. Whether he’d been successful remained to be seen.
One thing he did know. Garcia would have learned by now Rowan was special to him. And that meant using his girlfriend and the child as leverage. Perfect setup to target Brent.
The cartel leader wasn’t stupid. Brent’s reputation for never leaving one of his own behind was common knowledge. Because Rowan was his, he was even more determined to free her from captivity. Garcia knew Brent was coming, just not when.
Zane dropped hints in strategic places about Fortress looking for a kidnapping victim in Costa Rica and Venezuela, a victim who was a high value target to Brent personally. With luck, Garcia would believe he had more time to prepare. Whether or not the cartel leader bought the story, Brent and his people were prepared for strong resistance.
Cahill handed Brent the infrared scanner, pointed at the left corner of the hacienda on the second floor. He studied the heat signatures in the room. Two figures. One adult. One child. What the scanner couldn’t tell him was whether or not the signatures belonged to Rowan and Alexa.
He remained motionless, watching the figures, hoping for some movement to tell him whether or not the adult in the room was Rowan. The figure sat beside the prone child, stroking his or her head. Comforting the child.
Brent scanned the surrounding trees for heat signatures. No one close by. The guards were walking on the far side of the house, according to one of his other unit leaders.
He activated his comm system. “Alex, any sign of a child on the premises other than the one in the east corner?” he murmured.
A moment of silence, then Durango’s sniper responded. “Negative.”
“Veronica Miles said a woman and child were brought here from Phillips’ plane. That has to be Rowan and her niece,” Cahill said.
“Agreed. Move your team into position.”
Cahill melted into the shadows to join his teammates. Alex Morgan had already taken a high vantage point to cover his unit’s entry and exit from the hacienda.
Adam and Eli flanked Brent, Jake behind them with his mike bag in case Rowan or Alexa were injured and needed immediate medical attention. “Jon’s in position.” This from Eli.
With a nod, Brent activated his comm system again. “Bravo and Gamma teams, report.” When the team leaders confirmed their teams were in position, Brent instructed them to hold. Once Durango was in place, all the teams would converge on the hacienda.
For the first time, Brent’s patience was strained to the breaking point. Never before had he been tempted to leap into action before his operatives were in position. This time, though, the mission was personal. Every minute he waited was another that Rowan and Alexa were alone and vulnerable. And that wasn’t acceptable to him on any level. Only years of discipline kept him in place.
“In position,” Cahill finally murmured in Brent’s ear piece.
“On my signal,” Brent said.
“Copy.”
Jake had timed the guards’ rounds. So far, they hadn’t deviated from their seven-minute intervals. Sloppy work. Frankly, he was surprised Garcia allowed this pattern to develop.
Brent forced thoughts of Rowan and Alexa to the back of his mind and focused on the execution of the mission. He couldn’t afford a distraction. His life, that of his operatives, and Rowan’s and Alexa’s lives all depended on his focus.
Right on schedule, the guards rounded the east corner and started across the front of the house. “Durango and Bravo, go.”
His body readied itself for the sprint across the open terrain to their designated entrance. Garcia’s hacienda had four entrances, one on each side of the place. Fortress didn’t have the option of using windows because the paranoid cartel leader had bars on every one. Talk about a fire hazard.
There were two underground escape routes with a PSI sniper trainee and spotter waiting at each tunnel exit in case Garcia slipped past the units closing in on the hacienda.
When the time was right, Brent signaled his team to move and whispered, “Gamma, go.” With that command, the EOD men from Durango and Bravo took down the circling guards in total silence.
He and his unit crossed the open space without incident. Brent crouched in front of the door and quickly picked the lock.
“Alpha team, you’re clear,” Jon murmured through his ear piece.
“Copy,” Brent whispered and opened the door to slip into the darkened corridor. At just past one o’clock in the morning, most of the household was asleep. Guards roamed inside the hacienda. Fortress would deal with Garcia’s security detail as they encountered them. “EOD.”
His order was acknowledged as he and his unit worked their way toward Rowan and Alexa.
“One incoming,” Jon murmured.
A muffled footstep confirmed Jon’s warning. Brent signaled his unit. They scattered, melting into the shadows of alcoves, furniture, or an unoccupied room.
A lone guard walked into view. Brent sized him up in seconds. Lazy, arrogant, careless, his stride more of a strut. The man’s gaze swept over the corridor without noticing anything amiss, his face registering boredom and fatigue. Based on the puffiness, Brent guessed the man to be a heavy drinker.
Brent palmed his Ka-bar, slipped behind the man, and slammed the hilt of his knife on the back of his neck. The guard’s knees gave way. Brent caught him before he hit the ground. He and Eli dragged the man into the nearest room, cinched his wrists and ankles with zip ties, and slapped duct tape on his mouth to keep him from alerting Garcia or another guard too soon.
“Jon?”
“Clear.”
Brent and his unit moved into the corridor and resumed the journey toward the east corner room on the second floor. At prearranged intervals, Eli stopped and attached C-4. The EOD men in the other units did the same as they progressed through the hacienda. By the time Fortress was finished with Garcia and his organization, the Navarro cartel would be decimated.
Brent made his way to the east side staircase with his team following in his wake. He frowned. The staircase twisted at a sharp ninety-degree angle. Blind spot. He signaled his team to wait while he checked to see if the stairwell was clear.
Brent silently traversed the stairs to the landing and peered around the corner. Nothing. Excellent. He motioned for the others to follow and climbed the remaining stairs. When he reached the second floor landing, he held up his fist to signal his unit to stop.
He crouched, checked the hall. One guard sat outside Rowan’s room. This one, however, was alert and watchful, gaze constantly scanning. Great. If Brent’s intel from Veronica was correct, Garcia’s suite was at the end of the hall. Any disturbance by the guard would draw unwanted attention.
Brent eased back and retreated a few steps to stop beside his medic. He whispered in Jake’s ear, “Dart.”
A nod and the medic eased his mike bag from his shoulders. He reached inside and drew out a dart gun, chose a vial, loaded the dart with the drug to knock out the guard. In silence, he moved past Brent, aimed, pulled the trigger. Immediately, he and Brent crossed the thirty feet separating them from the guard. Jake caught the man just as he slumped to the floor. He moved the guard to the opposite doorway.
So far, they’d met little resistance, everything going according to plan. And that made Brent suspicious. Missions never worked without adjustments. Garcia should have had more guards roaming the place. The cartel leader had installed cameras everywhere, but Zane had hacked into the system remotely and put the feed on a loop. Garcia might have a sensor in Rowan’s room. If he’d been this lax over the years, he would be dead.
Brent activated his comm system and whispered into his mic, “Be ready. Too easy.”
Each of his team leaders acknowledged his warning.
His skin crawled. He glanced at Adam, then Jake. “Stairs,” he whispered. If Garcia was indeed watching, he wanted the crime lord lulled into believing Brent was the overly confident one. The two operatives returned to the stairwell where they’d watch and wait.
He knelt in front of the knob and picked the lock, praying Rowan and Alexa didn’t raise an alarm. When the lock gave way, Brent stood and slipped into the room. Eli followed him inside, shut the door.
Rowan paused mid-stroke over the little girl’s hair, tension radiating from her body. She stood, turned. Her gaze locked on Brent’s.
He didn’t say a word, simply opened his arms. Rowan raced across the room and threw herself into his embrace. He inhaled the familiar scent of her shampoo as he wrapped his arms around her. He never wanted to let her go. “Are you okay, baby?”
She pressed her face against his neck. “I was so afraid I lost you,” she whispered.
Brent didn’t miss the fact Rowan avoided answering his question. Had Phillips or Garcia hurt her? He pulled her tighter against his chest. “How is Alexa?”
“Terrified, but unhurt. Phillips is dead. Garcia killed him with us in the room.”
Brent mentally shrugged. Garcia saved him the trouble of taking out the militia leader himself. However, killing Phillips in front of Rowan and Alexa would lead to nightmares for both of them. He made a mental note to contact a child psychologist for Alexa as soon as they returned home. “Did she see the murder?”
Rowan shook her head.
But Rowan had. Nothing like this should have touched her. If Brent had anything to say about it, Rowan would never have to face this again. “Ready to go home, baby?”
“Beyond ready.” She eased away from Brent. “Let me wake Alexa.”
“Hurry. We’re running out of time.”
She returned to the bedside and gently shook her niece’s shoulder. “Lex, wake up.”
A soft groan, then, “Is it morning?”
“Shh. No, sweetheart. Brent is here to take us home.”
The slight figure popped up and the beautiful blue eyes looked at Eli, then Brent. “Which one is your boyfriend?” she whispered.
Brent crouched beside the bed, putting himself on her level. “I am, Alexa.” He nodded at Eli. “That’s Eli.”
“Ready to go home, sugar?” Eli asked, his voice soft.
Alexa nodded and threw off the blanket covering her. Brent was pleased to note she was fully dressed in her pink outfit except for her shoes.
While Rowan helped Alexa with her tennis shoes, Brent unzipped his pack and pulled out a stuffed rabbit, one with long floppy ears, the fur soft as a butterfly’s wings. As he’d hoped, Alexa’s eyes lit up. He smiled, handed her the rabbit. “Is it all right for my friend to carry you, Alexa? We need to move fast to get away from the bad men.”
Alexa eyed Eli a moment. “Aunt Ro?” She didn’t take her attention away from the SEAL who did his best to look non-threatening.
“He’s my friend, Lex. You can trust him.”
“But I want Brent.”
Shock rolled through Brent at her honest words. His heart turned over in his chest. “I need to protect your aunt, sweetheart.”
Another few seconds of staring at the SEAL and Alexa held up her arms for Eli to pick her up.
He lifted her into his arms and hugged her close. “I’ll take good care of you, Sweet Cheeks.”
The girl smiled at him, tugged the rabbit close, and laid her head on Eli’s shoulder. “You’ll keep Aunt Ro safe?” she asked Brent.
“No one will hurt her, Alexa. You have my word.”
“Brent, movement headed your direction,” Jon said.
“Copy.”
Eli’s expression turned grim.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Rowan whispered in Brent’s ear.
“Company. We have to go.” Into his mic, he said, “Adam?”
“Ready.”
Brent dropped a quick, hard kiss on Rowan’s mouth. “Follow my orders without question, babe.” He glanced at Eli without saying a word. His friend gave a subtle nod. No one would touch Alexa. Eli would do whatever was necessary to protect her.
Brent flattened himself against the wall and eased the door to the hall open a crack. Nothing so far, but his gut warned him trouble was closing in. He didn’t want to handle trouble in an enclosed room with one entrance and exit.
Weapon up and ready, he pressed Rowan against the wall and signaled for her to wait while he made sure it was safe for her and Alexa to leave the room. He stepped into the hall and motioned for Rowan. As soon as she cleared the threshold, Brent pulled her up against his back. Eli came next with Alexa. Brent signaled him to take Alexa to the stairwell.
The door to Garcia’s suite opened as well as doors on either side of the hall. Three men stepped out, all armed with weapons aimed at Brent. One of the three men wore an eye patch. Garcia.
“Not so fast, Maddox.” The cartel leader smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you.”