CHAPTER NINE
“Ella, come on, you need to eat. Starving yourself isn’t going to help,” Isabella said.
Ella sat in the king-sized bed and pulled on the sheets with her fingers, wishing her friend would leave her alone. She couldn’t move herself to get in the shower or do anything. The bedroom door opened and a heavy stomping of boots came from the same direction. Ella didn’t look up; she knew the only person who would dare to enter the room was Steel. He had been in and out the past two days to check on her, sending up meals and trying to coax her to talk, like everyone else.
Marcus was on his mission in Mexico and despite Steel relaying messages, they hadn’t been successful in locating him. It was Steel who collected her from the hospital after Josephine suffered a heart attack and died. The ground from under her feet vanished; nothing felt real after that and he took over. He had dealt with all the paperwork pertaining to Josephine’s death and authorized the doctors to perform an autopsy. The results would take several days, but now, locating Marcus was a top priority.
“Isabella, do you mind leaving us?”
“Sir, I’m not sure that is appropriate…”
“Isabella, for Christ sake, I don’t care what you think. Ella hasn’t eaten or moved from this room since I brought her here. Now, please, get out.”
Ella focused on the black-capped chickadee on a branch outside the window, chirping. A quick patter of light footsteps and she knew Isabella had left. Knowing Steel was here and that they were alone didn’t make her nervous or feel it was inappropriate. She didn’t care.
“Right, Ella, the time for dwelling on your sorrows is over. This isn’t what Josephine would want. It isn’t what Marcus would want and hell, if you were in your right mind, you would be kicking ass, not stewing away here. You cannot hide any longer. Besides, I need your help,” Steel said in his razor-sharp and gruff voice.
Ella glanced down at her navy T-shirt with no bra underneath. She didn’t care what Steel thought. What the hell was he doing in her room anyway? If she had known taking a room in his mansion would give him access twenty-four seven, she would have made other plans. Before she could even think about what she should do, two strong arms grabbed her waist, and she started to wrestle.
“I’m stronger and bigger than you, Ella.”
As much as Steel pulled and yanked her body, she twisted and kicked out. Huffing and puffing, she exerted as much strength as she could gather to fight him. In the end, Steel lifted and hoisted her over his shoulder.
“Put me down. What the hell are you doing?” Ella shouted, struggling to free herself.
Steel strode from the bedroom into the glossy wall-to-wall white tiled modern bathroom. He pulled the full-length glass door aside and stepped into the large shower cubicle. He twisted the faucet on, and drenching cold water poured down like a waterfall.
“Let me go. Don’t you dare.” Ella squirmed in his arms. The cold water sprayed against her naked legs. Steel dragged her off his shoulder and eased her down until she stood, wriggling and pulling against his hold, in front of him. She shoved at his chest and shouted, taking note that he stood there in the shower fully clothed. He clamped her arms, shook her a little, and pushed her under the stone-cold water, drenching her from head to foot.
“I need you to function, Ella. You’re stronger than you believe. Damn it, Ella. Stop fighting me. I’m not the enemy here.”
The shock of the cold temperature made Ella stand still. The water poured over her head, bathing her all over. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes to let it flow over her face and slosh down her body. The water rejuvenated her kind like a battery to a car—it jolted her energy—but Steel couldn’t possibly know that. Yet, as she stood, the need to fight stopped. But everything that had happened over the last month and weeks rose inside her body, which shook with emotion. She screamed out loud, unable to hold the pain and grief inside. The emotions were overwhelming and consuming. Steel gathered her into his arms and stood under the shower with her, holding her tight as she cried and cried against his solid frame.
“Sh, it’s okay.” He pressed her body into his and rubbed her back. “Let it all out.”
Tears mixed with water and Ella shivered with the freezing temperature despite being hugged and wrapped in Steel’s embrace. She leaned into his strength and gave in to the comfort he offered. After several minutes, the tap squeaked and the water stopped. Steel moved his arm to her waist and guided her out of the shower. He grabbed a warm towel from the heated rail and wrapped it around her body. Standing there, eventually she lifted her head to stare into Steel’s sharp hazel eyes; his moustache twitched and he inhaled a deep breath as he pushed her away from his body. There was a rigid control in Steel’s face but she watched as his eyes narrowed at her. He pushed aside a stray strand of hair that dangled over Ella’s face.
“Ella, you have to face and deal with the pain inside you or it will destroy you. Don’t hide it. Embrace it. Feel it. Let it go and make what happened count for something.”
Ella tightened the towel and studied the man before her. She knew he was right, and he wasn’t the first person to tell her to face her demons. But Josephine had been the final straw. Her very soul felt splintered. She wobbled but stepped closer.
“It’s too much.” She looked away and bit her lip. Part of her knew it was wrong to confide her agony in Steel.
He pulled her chin, forcing her look at him. “I know you have suffered more than anyone I have known, but the pain you feel is a reminder that you’re alive. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s a very good thing.”
His hand stroked her exposed wet skin on her arm. They looked at each other for a moment. The room was silent except for her heart, which thudded inside her ears. Where is Marcus? Staring into Steel’s wide eyes full of need, she became aware of her surroundings and pulled away. Unable to meet his eyes, she dipped her head, confused as to what she had seen in his gaze.
“Thank you, sir.”
He laughed and stepped to the door, swinging it open. The vacuum they were in dissolved and the real world stood there waiting.
“You have never addressed me as sir before. It would be odd now if you became so formal. The team would have a field day with that. You know, you really are a witch in the worst kind of way, Ella. I know I perhaps overstepped the mark here. Drayton will have my balls for sure, but I acted in a way that was what I believe you needed. I know you don’t belong to me. I also know you never will. Damn it, you bring out a soft side in me, which is bad for my reputation. Downstairs in ten minutes. No secrets. I need your skills to track down that damn husband of yours.”
The awkwardness disappeared. She shook her head and smiled. A relaxed smile. The first one in ages. She didn’t feel the slightest passion toward Steel, but he had her respect and what was more, she trusted him.
“The only reputation you have, sir, is that you’re a man of honor. I can vouch for that.”
Steel nodded and left.
Ella dressed with renewed vigor. She hadn’t been this energized and determined for a while. Racing downstairs, she fastened the last button on her gray shirt and tucked it inside her fitted black pants. Reaching the hallway, she pressed a switch only known by the team and a panel separated to reveal a secret elevator. She slipped inside and pressed the button to descend. The basement in Steel’s fortress was enormous and like an intricate maze. Once the door opened and revealed an empty hallway, she exited and headed for the first door on her right. The operations room. Inside, the lighting was muted. The room was dominated by several television panels—large and small—on the walls at the front of the large space. There were four rows of long tables with computer terminals at every workstation; each held an agent. As she walked in, the hushed chatter stopped and every eye rested on her.
Steel held the floor right at the center, but he left the other agents, including Isabella, and joined her. “I said ten minutes. You’re late,” he said with half a smile.
She smiled back and let her gaze wander to the screens, watching as each displayed a different location. One had a real time live feed of a team on the ground in the bush somewhere. On other monitors, there were aerial photographs of land masses and rugged terrain. Satellite images of undisclosed compounds in strategic areas.
“Ella, I wish I had better news.”
She removed her eyes from the multiple televisions back to Steel.
“Still no contact. That’s not like him.”
She checked her wristwatch. Marcus had left seventy-two hours ago. “When did he last check in?”
“Ten hours ago, the team lost him. They are now in position a couple of miles outside where the contact lives with her husband. We’re awaiting confirmation that Marcus is there. The team has eyes on the target, but not Marcus. He asked Jake to give him extra time if he lost communication, but now the team believes he’s been compromised.”
Ella examined Steel’s face and his eyes didn’t settle on her for long; they kept darting toward the monitor and his hands were in his pockets. He looked nervous. Something bothered her about what he was telling her.
“I don’t understand. Why did he ask Jake to give him extra time and delay telling you that he hadn’t checked in? Why wasn’t he with the team? Didn’t they all drop together?” Ella looked at the circle of agents at the front standing with Isabella, who hadn’t walked over yet, which was odd.
“Yes, they all made the drop from the helicopter to the designated landing area. However, Drayton had a meeting with an informant. She’s known to him from previous missions in Mexico. They have history, back in the day when he was a FBI agent. Due to their relationship, she wasn’t willing to meet with anyone else.”
Ella swallowed. When Steel mentioned relationship, did that mean sexual? Her belly tightened at the thought of Marcus with another woman. Either way, it sounded as if Marcus was in way over his head.
“Do you know the contact?”
Steel twisted the end of his thick moustache, his gaze now drilling holes in her as he watched for a reaction. He pulled out his pipe from his pocket and lit it, inhaling and puffing out a large cloud.
“Yes. Ava Marie Carlos.”
The name somehow felt important. Drayton didn’t like to talk much about work at home, but he had mentioned the head of the Knights cartel as one Jose Angel Carlos. She rubbed her arms. Was this woman the man’s sister or wife?
“I know Marcus’s mission had to do with the Knights. He mentioned human trafficking as well as drugs. He also mentioned a connection to the professor. He told me this, but he didn’t mention a source down there. Is she Jose’s wife?”
Steel dipped his head to stare at his feet. “Yes.”
It gave her some relief to know she was a married woman, but it didn’t make the situation any better. Shit. She wiped her hand across her mouth. Marcus could be dead if he had been taken by this savage cartel, especially if he was caught with the wife of the leader.
“Ella, the team is waiting to go in. Jake wanted to check in first to see if Marcus is there before the team goes in. It’s high risk and could jeopardize the entire mission. It will expose the team. But if…”
“But if you wait, Marcus could be tortured. Killed. That’s what you were going to say, isn’t it?” Her stomach dropped and the energy that glowed from earlier wavered. She could lose him forever. He wasn’t immortal and he didn’t realize.
Steel squeezed her shoulder. “It’s why I don’t allow members of the team to have relationships with each other. It fucks everything up.”
She gave a small smile, but pressed her lips together and walked several steps to be closer to the front to examine the overhead monitor. The image was inky black; it was in the dead of night. She could make out Jake’s steel-gray eyes under all the camouflage and greasepaint as he stared at her from the screen.
“This is going to sound weird, but you said no secrets, which hinted you knew I have some. Well, I have certain gifts. One I have been working on helps me to detect Marcus’s location. It helps me when I have an article of his, so I brought his T-shirt. Please, don’t ask me how I do this, and I may not be able to from this distance, but I need to try.”
Ella grabbed the nearest vacant computer chair and sat down. She didn’t want them fussing over her if she passed out. Lifting the navy T-shirt, she inhaled Marcus’s scent. It was silly, but since she had moved out of their home, she had taken this with her and slept in it every night. She had thought to put it in the wash, but now it was the only means at hand to invoke the link she desperately needed to Marcus. She brought the top right up to her face, squeezing the thick cotton material, and closed her eyes. The last time she had seen him was only a couple of days ago. His handsome face resolute, with a couple of days’ worth of dark stubble that littered his square chin, making him look dark and dangerous. Shadows skirted his eyes, mirroring his ebony eyes that always delved into her mind and soul, demanding complete attention. They drew her like a moth to a flame. Her heart rate accelerated just seeing his face in her mind. The world around her disappeared. She didn’t care what Steel or the others thought if she could get a visual of Marcus.
“You are a man, a man who commands respect from his woman. So, tell me this. What do you think I should do when you discover that your wife has been having sex with someone else? Eh? Do you think she should be made to pay for her sins or do you think she should live to be someone else’s whore?”
Ella watched as a young, suave man not dissimilar to Marcus gripped a naked almond-eyed beauty around her neck. The man squeezed her creamy throat with one tanned hand and with the other stroked her high flushed cheekbone. The woman’s long, dark hair fell over her shoulders, covering her large breasts, but it didn’t hide her slim and unblemished body. She choked and struggled. Her eyes popped wide as he applied pressure with his thumb to cut off her air supply, and she clawed at his hands to pull them away. Eventually, he did and threw her to the ground like rubbish, where she stayed, sobbing. The man spat at her and, with his hands clasped behind his back, strolled around the luxurious room painted in a rustic peach. An overhead fan swirled, but Ella could feel the heat from the breeze wafting in from the long open windows, and smell the sweet, heady scent of gardenias. Tall leafy plants stood guard on either side of them as crickets chirped in the background.
“What do you want me to do with your wife, Mr. Carlos?”
Mr. Carlos picked up a small brown box from the top of his mahogany desk and pulled out a thick cigar. The man next to him in a beige military uniform struck a match and lit the tip for him. The smoke swirled around and Mr. Carlos removed the cigar from his mouth. He walked away from the desk to stand in front of a stone fireplace and rested his hand up on the wooden mantelpiece. There was no fire and the grate was clean, but in the chair opposite the fire sat a large man full of solid muscle. He was stripped naked, apart from fitted black boxers. A familiar tattoo etched on his rounded bicep and Ella’s heart sped up. Marcus was there with his arms secured behind his back. His dark mop of hair lay tasseled over his face and a sheen of glistening sweat shrouded his face as it dipped down.
“Excuse my manners. I forgot to offer you one. As you’ve already sampled my wife, you may as well have one of my finest cigars, too. Or perhaps you would like the shirt off my back, huh?”
Jose Carlos charged at Marcus and backhanded him across his cheekbone. Marcus’s head bobbed up. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but he kept his head level to stare right at his attacker. Ella studied the dirty face, one eye black and the other completely closed. She had never seen him look more battered and bruised. Yet, his strong spirit prevailed. He spat at the feet of Mr. Carlos.
“How about a shot of Alquimia?” Marcus said.
A clenched fist landed right in his stomach, followed by a second and third strike. Ella shook her head and willed Marcus to stop antagonizing Carlos, but she couldn’t reach him.
Needing air, she pulled away mentally from the scene. Marcus was alive but for how much longer, she didn’t know. When she opened her eyes, Steel leaned over her, holding her shoulder, and Isabella crouched down by her side with a glass of water, which she took. She sipped the cold liquid and swallowed.
“He’s there. They’re both there at the villa with Carlos. Tell the team to go. Whatever the mission was, it’s now a rescue mission because that sadistic bastard is going to kill them both. Just get them out.”
She swiped at tears and stood but wobbled. Steel’s hand darted out to steady her as he shouted out commands over the headset.
“You knew they were together.” She addressed Steel.
He looked at Isabella and back at her. “Ella, don’t assume anything.” He walked away to watch as the tactical team deployed into action.
Ella felt adrift and alone. She couldn’t process what she had seen and heard. What was certain to her was that Marcus and the woman had been together. Whether that meant they had sex or not she didn’t know, but they had been caught together. A sense of betrayal engulfed her. Mr. Carlos accused Marcus of having sex with his wife. She sniffed and dug her nails into the palm of her hand. She watched as several disguised soldiers moved with stealth through trees and bushes to pursue their goal. One scaled the villa and rapid gunfire sounded out. The live feed dropped but communication continued via the headset.
Ella tapped Isabella’s arm. “I can’t watch anymore. Let me know when there’s some conclusive news.”
Isabella nodded and narrowed her eyes, searching her face. “Are you sure you won’t stay?”
“I’ve seen enough. Let me know what happens.”
“Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?”
Ella wrapped her arms around her waist; a sudden need to eat and drink caught her. She couldn’t remember the last decent food she had eaten. She had been so lost, but she needed to get a grip. Whatever Marcus had done, maybe she had pushed him toward it. When he returned, one thing was certain—he would be devastated by the death of Josephine. As much as she wanted to disappear for good, she would wait for him. Josephine had said he would need her, and she wanted to be the one to tell him about his mother. Then she would leave.