CHAPTER NINE
After Dust was in position on a roof across the street from where they suspected Ivy was held, he texted “good 2 go” to everyone on the team. JJ, Nance, and ZQ waited quietly in the six-feet distance between the turquoise and apricot buildings.
As planned back in Tampa, Steelhead would eventually change his flight attack pattern of the dope farms and pilot the helicopter for three zigzag passes as the men riddled the fields and sheds with bullets. On one pass across the large storage facility, Grey and Titan were designated to destroy it with RPG’s. Then Steelhead was supposed to haul ass across the mountains to their pre-arranged extraction point.
He’d evidently made a few spirals for effect because Titan texted, “Holy hell, I just puked. Whack-job can’t handle this thing fer shit. If he keeps laughing, can I rip his nuts off?”
ZQ snickered. Titan could be a tad high strung and Steelhead loved pushing his buttons. A light-hearted moment was a welcome reprieve from what lay ahead. It took the focus off the knots in his stomach. He was going after the woman he loved, the mother of his son.
As the sun surged toward the horizon, their progress in the city had been uneventful. ZQ didn’t know whether to relax or tense. He looked in every direction at once. He was so close to saving Ivy; he didn’t want anything to go wrong.
Two “fwrrps" silently shimmered the humid, briny air. JJ ordered Nance to stay with ZQ and jogged the narrow path between the houses to check Dust’s handiwork. The medic’s job was to lean the wounded or dead men against the building as if they were drunk. Soon JJ returned to the space between the two structures.
“Front of the building is clear, ZQ. I’ll go cover the back.” JJ signed for the canine to be quiet and follow. After man and dog jogged off, ZQ tossed the grappling hook to the wrought iron railing around the flat roof.
With practiced movements, he quickly climbed the rope to the shuttered window. In eager anticipation, his heartbeat sounded in his ears. Please, God. Let her be in here and alive. He inhaled a breath of determination and hope that all their assumptions were correct before he pushed off the building, swung back, and kicked his way in.
The odor of coppery blood greeted him. He slipped off his backpack and dropped to his knees beside her unresponsive body. Whoever hurt Ivy would die. He quickly picked the broken wooden slats off her. “Baby,” he whispered, “how badly are you hurt?”
Emotions he hadn’t expected surged through him like waves on a rough ocean. So many years without her, his heart aching even as he refused to acknowledge it. Damn, how he’d loved her; he still did. The heart had its own mind. It wanted her and would accept no one else.
His beloved lioness was a mass of bruises. Her tank top was up partway revealing crisscrossed stripes of contusions. Blood pooled beneath her leg. An unholy rage like he’d never known damn near took his breath away. His woman was unconscious on the floor, her leg wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket. He was surprised at the trembling in his hands when he pulled it back to examine the wound.
He quickly texted JJ. “Bullet in thigh. Bruised to hell. Unconscious.”
A text quickly came in. “Tourniquet. Check for exit wound. Clean. Wrap.”
With more gentleness than he expected to have at this moment, he rolled her over to see if there was an exit wound on the back of her thigh. None was there. All the bleeding was coming from the bullet’s entry.
“Ivy, can you hear me?” Her lashes fluttered in the dim room. He cupped her head and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Lioness. It’s me. Master Quinn. Open your eyes, love. I’m taking you to your son.”
“The cartel has him. We’re both going to die. My fault. All my fault.” Her eyes remained closed as she shook her head.
ZQ used antiseptic wipes on his woman’s blood-crusted face.
“My sweet boy. He’s all I have left of you. Except for the dreams. Dreams like I’m having right now.” She was disoriented. Groggy.
ZQ kissed Ivy’s forehead, gently trailing his lips down her cheek. “This is no dream, baby. I’m here to get you out. Our son is safe. He and Athena are at my ranch in Texas. I promise you. He’s safe, getting spoiled by my mother.”
“But they told me—”
Possession overtook him as he kissed her full lips. Ones he knew so well. “They lied.” His lips feathered against hers as he spoke. “They lied to you. Open your eyes and look at me.”
Her green and golden-eyed gaze focused on him as if recognizing him for the first time since he’d crashed into her room. “Quinn? How? Where?” She frantically looked around the room. “Am I crazy? Are you really here?”
“I am. My team is here to take you home. My real name is Zane Quinlan, or ZQ.” He removed his cell from his cargo pants pocket. “Our boy is okay. Look at the picture of Quinn at the airport. I gave him a stuffed Spiderman and he wasn’t too happy when it had to go through x-ray at security. Look at his expression.”
Her fingers touched the screen. “That’s his pissed off look. When was this taken?”
“See the date?” He pointed to the corner. “Their plane left at nine-forty this morning. Here’s one of him belted in his seat, his arms wrapped around Spidey. They’re in Texas now, well protected.” He showed her a picture of their son beside his pony. “Here he is with the colt I gave him. He really is okay, Ivy.”
She wiped tears from her eyes as she sobbed in relief. “He’s safe. You made sure he was safe. Oh, thank you. He’s my whole life.”
“He’s damn near perfect, Ivy.” His hands worked quickly at unwrapping the blanket and checking her wound. “Give me a sec to look at this.” He removed the tourniquet and flushed the wound with sterile water. Antiseptic was squeezed into the opening and the tourniquet retied before he bandaged it, wrapping her leg with gauze.
She never uttered a sound of pain, such a strong woman. Her gaze stayed focused on his face. “We know each other’s real names now.” Her eyes narrowed. “Where the hell have you been? How did you find out I was abducted and, after all this time, why should you give a shit?”
“I’ll explain it all later. Are you hurt anywhere else? I see masses of bruises.”
“I had almost daily beatings, but they’ll heal. Just the bullet wound.”
He couldn’t take it another minute. Scooping her in his arms, he held her close and she melted against him. Two jagged halves of a whole reconnected. “I never expected to see you again. Damn, my life’s been empty without you.” He buried his face against her neck and breathed in her essence. “My woman. Mine and Quinn’s.”
A sob escaped Ivy as her arms surrounded his shoulders holding him to her. “I can’t believe I’m finally seeing you again. If only I’d known all it would take to get you back was getting shot, I’d have painted myself as a target years ago.” She hiccupped another sob and pulled away, swiping tears from her face.
He prepared her arm for an injection. “This will take the edge off the pain. And by the way, no target painting.”
“I didn’t know you were a medic.”
“I’m not. I was Commander of SEAL Team Five, so I had to know some of everything. Now to get you outta here.” He gave her a quick kiss before scooping her over his shoulder. She grunted in pain over the movement. “Sorry, I know it hurts. But I need to get you to a safe place. See you get better medical care.”
Before ZQ stepped out of the window, he patted her ass. “You need to know, Ivy Rosemoor, I’ve never stopped loving you. No one has been able to take your place in my heart.” He grabbed the rope, wrapped his feet around it and repelled down, much faster than he’d climbed up.
“Do you ignore everyone you love? Thanks, but no thanks.” He chuckled at her sassiness. She may be submissive in the bedroom, but she was always a spitfire the rest of the time. Keeping up with her had been a challenge and a helluva lot of fun.
He ran toward the back yard. JJ stepped out of a hiding place of shrubbery. Nance was at his side. ZQ turned toward JJ. “You pick-up Dust. Nance will run the sidewalks beside you if you order her to. I need to keep Ivy as close to me as I can. I’m not ready to turn her over to you just yet. Contact the team.” ZQ helped her to stand so he could run, carrying her in his arms. His bike was parked three houses down the narrow alley.
She punched his shoulder; her effort so weak he barely felt it. “Why did you abandon me?”
He explained as he ran. “Mission to Afghanistan. Wounded in a firefight and had my cell shot to hell. So I couldn’t reach you. Months later, got my foot shot off. Spent weeks in two hospitals and rehab, learning to walk with a prosthesis. To prove I was battle-ready, I had to go through BUD/S again. By the time I was free to hunt you down, more than a year had passed and I couldn’t find you.”
He threw aside the brush concealing his bike and leaned her against it. He straddled the seat and helped her on behind him.
“Quinn…Zane…ZQ…Quasimodo…whatever the hell your name is, I’ve heard criminals come up with better stories. You expect me to believe all that while you were just running, carrying me? Tell me, did the dog eat your homework?” Her head titled to the side. Damn, he’d bet she’d be fierce as fuck in court.
“Ask Quinn. He’s seen my prosthesis.”
“Just how have you met my son?” At her quizzical look, he explained. “Grey and I are old friends. He asked for my help in finding you, not knowing we had a history. And I had no clue who Ivy was until I saw the photos.” He started the bike. “Wrap your arms around my waist and hold on. And Quinn is our son.” He sped off in the direction of the rendezvous point.
He should have expected her attitude. Hell, he was so glad to see her again, he welcomed it. A Dominant/submissive’s relationship was built on communication, honesty and trust. They’d both skipped over the honesty part, especially him. Even as their relationship progressed to love, he’d kept so much about himself a secret. Then war destroyed their only way of contacting each other, leaving their lives totally screwed.
His cell vibrated. At a traffic signal, he stood and pulled it from his pants pocket. “Being followed. Change to plan C.” Plan C was a different meeting spot—the roof of a large hotel. He’d have to say goodbye to her now. There’d be no time if other aircraft were in pursuit.
ZQ took off, making a U-turn. Horns honked. Drivers cursed and flagged him the universal Have-A-Nice-Day sign. “Change of plans,” he yelled over his shoulder at Ivy. “Our helo is being followed. I’m staying behind to take out the leadership of the cartel. Otherwise, they’ll just come after you again. You and little Quinn will never be safe. I have to guarantee you have a secure future.”
“So, you’re going to leave me again?” She punched his shoulder with a fist. “Who did I fall in love with? The ghost of a phantom macho SEAL?”
She had a right to be pissed. Poor thing was in pain, scared and full of resentment over his disappearance from her life, especially when she turned up pregnant. He parked across the street from the hotel. “I’ll wrap my arm around you. Do your best to walk normally into the hotel. We’re taking the elevator.”
A quick glance up the street and he spied JJ’s bike so he assumed they were already inside, maybe even on the roof. He reached back with a hand and pulled off his bloody t-shirt. Being shirtless here was no big thing.
“You expect me to walk normal with a bullet in my leg? My skirt is soaked with blood. I know how bad my face looks.”
“Keep your head down. We’ll move quickly before people have a chance to notice or care.” With his arm wrapped around her waist, he practically carried her through traffic to the hotel’s double glass doors. Off in the distance he could just make out the sound of the approaching Black Hawk.
The hotel concierge asked what was wrong with the woman. Why all the blood on her skirt?
ZQ replied in Spanish that she’d fallen and injured her leg.” He shrugged at the hotel employee. “Too much liquor.”
Once in the elevator, he swept her into his arms and pressed the button for the top floor. He kissed her deeply, his tongue reacquainting itself with hers. “I love you, baby. I love my son. JJ, my medic, will take care of you. By tomorrow, you’ll be with Quinn.”
The elevator doors screeched open and JJ leaned against a door near the end of the hall. Nance alert at his side. ZQ ran toward them, carrying her, and kept up as his friend led the way up steps to the roof. Dust was in sniper mode, making occasional movements from one side of the roof to the other.
“Don’t leave me.” Ivy’s arms tightened around his neck. “We have so much to work out. I know I’m grumpy, but I’m in pain and hungry. And I can’t believe you’re here.” She kissed his neck several times. “We need time together. Stay with me. Stay. ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas.’” She used part of the French lyrics he’d so often sung to her.
Christ, baby, I wish I could. I want to spend the next few days just staring at you.
“JJ and any of the other guys will tell you how to reach me. I’ll come for you once I make sure all danger to the two people I love is eliminated. I promise. I love you.”
The helicopter landed and ZQ handed her over to JJ. “Take care of her, brother. You know what she means to me.”
JJ wasted no time hopping into the helo. Nance and Dust followed.
To ZQ’s surprise, Grey jumped out, a backpack strapped on and carrying a duffle bag of what appeared to be filled with some heavy shit. What the hell? “Get back on that chopper.”
“Ain’t happening.” Grey waved Steelhead on and the bird lifted less than two minutes after landing. ZQ stood, watching the aircraft containing his heart shrink into the orange and gold shimmering ribbons of the setting sun.
The whoomp, whoomp, whoomp of an approaching helicopter jarred him into the urgency of the moment. “Grey, I had no clue you were part of RescuesRus.”
“Kiss my ass. As half-owner of the Omega Team, the title you just tossed fits. So, like it or not, sailor boy, I can be of use to you.” He opened his bag and removed sections of an RPG launcher.
ZQ grabbed those remaining and assembled his. Both ducked into blind spots. As a smaller helo flew by, they fired and with direct hits, blew it out of the air. Flames and falling metal descended on the roof and streets below.
“Ain’t this fun? Christ, Athena’s gonna be pissed I stayed.” Grey laughed as he dismantled the launcher and shoved it into the bag. “I love my job.” He tossed ZQ a blue striped tank top and a pair of jeans torn at the knees. Grey changed out of his tan t-shirt into a purple one. “We need to modify our look.” Chucking his cargo pants, he pulled on black jeans. He rolled up the clothes he’d taken off and passed ZQ some clunky junk chains. “Necklaces for your candy ass. Let’s get the hell out of here.”