Dangerous Protector (Aegis Group Book 5) (25 page)

He’d told her he loved her.

And she wanted him to leave her alone.

The woman who fell too fast wanted him to let her go.

He couldn’t do that, and yet…what right did he have to ask her for more?

He didn’t. And he knew it. She was right to leave him on his ass. He didn’t deserve her. Never had. One way or another, when this was all over, he’d do exactly as she asked and he’d leave her alone. It was all he could do for her. Because this was his fault, and she was right. He’d used her, put her in danger and lied to her. He had no business asking her to love him. Forgiveness was out of the question.

“Phone,” Ghost barked.

Marco started.

The phone on the dresser vibrated, the screen flashing.

Fuck. He had to get his head out of his ass.

“Hello?” He turned, taking in the others already outfitted in their urban tactical gear, which amounted to bullet proof protection under dark clothing.

“Morning, Marco.”

“Randy.”

“What do you say we meet for coffee this morning?”

“Time and place?”

“How about in an hour?” Randy rattled off an address, then repeated it.

Clear across Denver.

Shit.

The call cut off and Marco’s palms began to sweat.

They weren’t just recovering an asset. This was his cousin they were talking about. Yeah, Danny was a punk-ass kid, but he was family. And if Marco didn’t make the right call, Danny and Fiona would pay the price.

Fuck.

“We’ve got to go.” Marco grabbed his gear and the others followed suit, none asking questions. At least he had the best guys at his back. Someone had to be looking out for him to send Felix and Ian to him at a time like this.

He told Ghost the location and time. Ghost jumped in a two-door sports car and was gone before Marco could hand Fiona into the back seat of the SUV.

They were in a race for Danny’s life. If they had any luck at all Ghost would get to the location and set up somewhere with the camera and his sniper rifle before Randy’s guys arrived.

“What about the other guy? Scott?” Felix asked as they loaded up.

“He’s probably long gone by now. A coward like that doesn’t stick around once they’ve been found out.” Marco glanced at Fiona in the back seat. “We’ll find him.”

After they eliminated the threat Randy posed, then Marco could focus on getting Scott. Or whatever the hell his name really was. He couldn’t threaten Fiona and get away like this. She’d lived in fear for too long. Marco couldn’t bring himself to think about the weeks she’d spent in a relationship with the guy. Yeah, he wanted half an hour alone with Scott. After that, the feds could have what was left.

They rolled out of the parking lot in less than ten minutes, geared up and loaded.

He glanced in the rearview mirror, catching sight of Fiona. Ian had given her one of the vests, but it was too big on her. Still, it could very well save her life.

He’d been a fool. A fucking fool. And she was right to kick him to the curb.

Marco tightened his grip on the wheel.

The idea of letting her go, of watching her walk away, it twisted the knife. Could he do it? Was he man enough? Or would he keep tabs on her? He knew what she tasted like, her scent, the sound of her voice, the feel of her body. She’d become part of him in such a short amount of time…

He couldn’t let her go.

Yet, he would.

“It’s Ghost,” Ian announced. He held up his phone and put it on speaker.

“What’s it look like?” Marco asked.

“Randy’s already here with about a dozen guys. The location’s a fenced-in loading area, attached to an empty warehouse. There’s a gate at one end, and you’ll have to drive between two buildings. It’s sort of like a yard. No cover. Nowhere to run. You’re going to be surrounded.”

Fuck.

That wasn’t good.

“We park on the street, and I walk in. Just me.” Marco glanced at Felix. “The guys can stay with Fiona.”

If things went south, it’d just be Danny and him in the frying pan. Felix and Ian could get Fiona out safely enough, and Ghost could lay down whatever support he could before getting out of there.

“This isn’t going to go well, Marco,” Ghost said.

Marco could read between the lines.

Ghost would abandon the meet if all was lost. Try something else. Or nothing at all. He didn’t understand Marco’s ties to other people. Family. Love. Because Ghost had never had those things. It wasn’t an option for Marco.

“We do it my way,” Marco said.

He could live with the price he had to pay. It was the cost of righting a wrong for the woman he loved.

Scott was no longer
in charge.

He wasn’t a prisoner, but the Goon Squad hadn’t taken their eyes off him since arriving back at the house, which was damn inconvenient since he wanted to slip away. He’d get Brat another time. Hell, he’d sat up all night working on shit just for the chance to slip off without Goon #1, #2 or #3 seeing him, but they’d remained obnoxiously around the whole time.

“Up. Come on.” Goon #1 nudged his chair.

“Fuck off,” Scott snapped.

“I said, come on.” Goon #1 pressed the cold barrel of his gun to the back of Scott’s head. “We know where Fiona is, and you’re going with us. Lila wants answers.”

Scott got up, glaring over his shoulder at the leader of the Goon Squad.

Fuck Lila, and fuck her idiots.

“I’m up.” Scott spread his hands.

“Get down to the car. Move.”

“What are you going to do with Fiona when you find her?” Scott descended the stairs. Was there a way he could spin this in his favor?

“Move.”

Lila wanted Fiona for answers, and probably to cover her ass. What had begun as an attempt to steal information and product design was now a scramble to get out of the picture before the shit hit the fan in such a way that it took Good Global down in the disaster that was NueEnergy. Either way, Scott didn’t give two fucks what happened, so long as everyone died.

24.

They were fifteen minutes
late, but it couldn’t be helped. Marco could only drive so fast in a stolen vehicle. The street was empty—only a few cars passed them by.

“I don’t like it,” Felix said.

Yeah, well, neither did Marco.

“That’s them.” He flicked his fingers toward a guy standing at the entrance to the yard. “I’ll pull up across the exit and leave it idling. Felix, take the wheel?”

“Sure thing.” Felix grimaced.

Yeah, the guys wouldn’t like this plan because it put Marco, and only Marco, at risk.

He eased the SUV down the street, then parked lengthwise across the entry to the courtyard.

Two vans sat ready to take off in the middle of the yard, a couple guys hanging around the vehicles. Danny sat on the ground, near the front fender of the lead vehicle, and he didn’t look good.

Marco clenched his teeth and shifted into park.

“Case?” He twisted in his seat.

“Marco…” Fiona glanced from the vans to him.

It was a minor miracle she even cared about him after what he’d done. He mustered a small, tight smile for her benefit.

“It’ll be over soon, sweetheart.” He grabbed the case out of the floorboard and got out of the truck. Another minute staring at her and he might lose sight of what he had to do.

Felix met him in front of the SUV.

“Take care of her, okay?” Marco peered into the truck.

“Sure thing.” Felix shook his head and slapped him on the shoulder.

They’d all worked jobs where things went sideways. Dangerous shit happened when people’s emotions were involved and loved ones were at stake. It was different when it was Marco’s heart and Marco’s family though. It was personal. And Randy was fucking with the wrong damn guy.

Marco strode into the courtyard. He didn’t glance at the guys at the gate, nor the ones on the inside with weapons drawn.

“I only see four armed men,” Ghost’s voice was low, quiet, as if he were whispering into the headset. “Recording.”

Marco slowed his pace as he neared the vehicles.

Which one was—

“Marco.” A man with auburn hair, way more freckles than Ian, and dressed in a suit stepped out from between the vans. He lowered a cell phone from his ear and slid it in his pocket. “I was wondering if you’d join us.”

“Got held up a bit.” Marco stopped a dozen or so steps from the man.

“Where’s Fiona?” Randy folded his hands in front of him. It was a natural movement, but one that gave away his military training. Not a SEAL. He didn’t have it in him.

“She’s here.” Marco jerked his head over his shoulder.

“Danny for Fiona and the data. That’s the deal.” Randy stared at Marco. There was death in his eyes. Randy was the kind of man who enjoyed killing. Had no heart.

“That’s the deal you proposed. My counter-offer. The data for Danny, and we walk out of here.” Marco held the case up, then set it on the ground and took a step back.

“Not good enough.”

“I’m not finished.” Marco pulled out his phone and turned the screen toward Randy. “I’ve got a guy live streaming us right now. That’s a nice close-up of you. You know Denver has a ban on automatic weapons of any kind, don’t you? How many do you have here? Eight? And kidnapping is a federal crime. Danny doesn’t look like he’s with you willingly. I’m also willing to bet you don’t want anyone looking too hard at you. What’s going to happen if we release this video to the media? I bet we could put a good spin on it. White supremacist group or something.”

Marco was talking utter bullshit. Sure, assault rifles were banned within Denver, but he was pretty sure they were outside the city limits. Still, Randy didn’t appear as firm on his terms as he had when Marco started talking.

“I can’t agree to this.” Randy’s voice was a snarl.

“Then don’t.” Marco shrugged.

Danny grunted and made some sort of noise, but Marco didn’t glance his way.

“I can’t let you and Fiona walk out of here. Not after the mess you created.”

“Me? All I did was point out your company was hacked by her ex-boyfriend.” Marco shrugged. “Whatever you think I did? It’s garbage.”

“I know all about you, your family’s land, what Eli sanctioned. I know what you wanted. I can give it to you, if you give me Fiona.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Think about it, Marco.” Randy took a step forward.

“No, I really don’t have to. Give me my cousin and we’ll be gone.”

Randy stared at him for a few moments.

“You’ve got thirty seconds before the live feed goes directly to the Denver PD.” Marco pitched his voice louder for the others to hear. Randy wanted to play with people’s lives? Did the rest of them know that? Or was his team as rotten and soulless as he was?

“Give him the kid.” Randy jerked his head toward Marco.

A man standing in the wings stepped toward Danny and pulled him to his feet.

The air practically crackled with tension. One wrong move and they’d light up the day with gunfire.

For several seconds Marco didn’t breathe.

Danny looked like hell. He’d been worked over, and for what? Because Marco wanted to do what was right? He’d screwed up, that was for sure, and neither Fiona or Danny were going to pay the price for his wrongs.

The man shoved Danny at Marco and he had to lunge to catch his cousin before he tripped over his own feet. The kid didn’t look good up close, either.

“Come on, Danny. Let’s go,” Marco whispered. He got an arm around Danny’s waist, which meant he was down to one hand. He didn’t like the way these guys were staring at him and he didn’t trust them to let them out of here. “We need to go fast.”

Marco walked backward, partially dragging and carrying his cousin.

“Marco.” Randy stared at him, his gaze hard. Like that of a killer.

Shit.

Randy reached behind him.

Tires squealed in the distance.

Marco yanked his gun out of his waistband.

The men at the front of the courtyard yelled. Something was going on in the street, but Marco couldn’t spare them any mind.

But—
Fiona
.

Marco got his gun up a second before Randy.

Someone fired off a shot.

What the hell was happening? Were Ian and Felix watching Fiona?

Marco threw himself and Danny sideways.

Randy fired too late.

They hit the ground and rolled. Marco shielded his cousin’s body with his own, twisting and rolling to keep his gun arm free.

More shots fired. Yelling. The men at the vans were running toward the street.

Marco dragged a barely conscious Danny toward a stack of barrels and prayed they weren’t flammable.

A woman—Fiona—screamed.

The world stopped.

Marco stared out through the chain link fence.

Ian and Felix were penned down, fighting off both Randy’s men and Scott’s.

Scott had a gun to Fiona’s head.

No…

Scott shoved Brat back
into the SUV. She fell, her body limp, into the floor. Hopefully she was still alive. If not, well, at least he’d gotten a first row seat to her misery for a while. At this point he wanted off this crazy train by any means necessary.

This was his one chance.

He jammed his foot down on the accelerator and shifted into drive.

The truck shot forward, bouncing over the curb. One fender hit a fire hydrant, scraping along the side of the vehicle.

The glass windows cracked, but held.

He jerked the SUV around a corner, weaving his way through the buildings. He needed to put space between himself and the Goon Squad. Those idiots were going to get him killed.

The first thing he needed to do was get rid of this truck. Once that was done, none of those knuckleheads would be able to follow him. The place he had lined up could do double duty as both a kill site and his staging location for putting together a new identity.

A little magic, some time, and he’d become someone else. He was tired of the name Scott anyway.

Brat groaned and curled in on herself

He had her.

Scott hunched his shoulders and giggled in glee.

He had her. And soon, at his leisure, once she knew who he was, he was going to kill her.

Fiona’s head hurt. Hell,
everything hurt.

What’d happened?

Even thinking made her ache in a bad way.

The last she remembered…Marco had been about to make the trade for Danny…and then…

It was too jumbled in her head.

Something had happened. What?

She tried to lift her hand, but it was heavy.

It was cold. Why was she cold?

Fiona opened her eyes and shut them again. Pain radiated down her neck and spine. “Migraine” was too tame a word for the skull-splitting agony. Her shoulders throbbed in an unnatural way.

What the hell was going on?

She shifted, and gravity went topsy-turvy on her. Up became left and down became right. She peered through her lashes.

Huh.

She wasn’t lying down after all.

Then where was she?

Something had happened. She’d…been scared. Things had spun out of control and…what? What’d happened? Whatever it was, it was bad.

Fiona tried once more to lift her hand.

It wasn’t heavy. She was tied up.

She twisted her arms. Coarse rope bit into her wrists. Both arms were secured to the back of the chair, keeping her hands slightly behind her and near her hips. No wonder her shoulders hurt. She’d been leaned forward, all her weight on her bound wrists.

Something scraped over the concrete floor.

A person?

She stilled, doing her best not to move. Waves of hot and cold, fear and dread, swept her. Anything could have happened while she was passed out. The NueEnergy team could have overpowered them. The Good Global guys could have shown up. The cops could have arrested them all. Scott…

Her stomach dropped at the whisper of his name in her mind.

Scott.

He’d been there.

She had this fleeting flash of memory. A glimpse of his face.

Oh, God…

Marco was certain Scott was Nova. If he was right, if her ex-boyfriend was the very person she’d been hiding from her whole life, then…

A sob escaped her lips before she could stop it. Her body shook.

She didn’t have time to be afraid.

The Marshalls had taught her what to do if captured. In the beginning, they’d been afraid someone would come after her. They had, but it’d never been in person. Now…

Think. She had to think. To become more aware of her surroundings.

What could she hear?

The scraping sound had been close. Other than that, what could she hear? Was that the sound of street traffic? Cars meant the possibility of pedestrians. She wasn’t gagged so maybe she could call out for help. If she did that, then whoever was holding her would also know she was awake.

What could she smell?

Bleach. Lemon. A slightly musty, damp odor.

A basement. That would make sense. The concrete would make it harder for someone to hear her. Which meant there was probably a window nearby. If there was a window there was the chance of escape.

How much could she move?

Her hands were tied. What about the rest of her?

She shifted one foot, then the other.

Her feet weren’t tied, that was good.

What was around her? What could she see?

Fiona rolled her head to one side and froze.

Scott crouched a few feet in front of her, watching her. He’d looked at her like this so many times before. She’d always taken the flat stare to be…disappointment. That he wanted her to be more or something she wasn’t.

Now she could see it for what it was.

Predatory.

He’d been waiting and watching for the moment he could do this.

Scott was Nova.

Marco had been right, and she hadn’t trusted him.

“Hello, Badass Brat.” Scott’s smile wasn’t…right. He bared his teeth, his lips pulled back, and she thought he might bite her.

“Nova…” She breathed the word.

“I have to say, I didn’t expect you to figure it out.”

“Marco did.”

“That stupid soldier boy?” Scott’s mouth twisted up into a snarl. “He’s a fucking idiot.”

Fiona swallowed. Engaging Scott ran the risk of riling him up more. She needed to stay calm. The calmer she was, the calmer Scott would be, right?

Scott stood and paced the width of the basement.