Forged in Steele (18 page)

CHAPTER 20

RIO
was awakened from a deep sleep by the beeping of his secure phone. He rolled carefully away from Grace, who murmured a sleepy protest before snuggling right back into his side. He smiled and kissed the top of her head before turning and reaching for the phone on the nightstand.

“This better be good,” he growled into the phone.

“I have something that I believe belongs to your KGI.”

Rio went silent as shock gripped him. “Hancock? What the fuck are you calling me for?”

Titan’s leader, a man that Rio had trained himself, and who he’d thought had gone rogue, was not the type to call to ask about the weather. If he was calling Rio in the middle of the night, or calling him at all, it wasn’t to exchange pleasantries.

“Pretty young female doctor? Ring any bells?”

Rio sat up in bed. Grace woke up beside him and went quiet as she studied him in the dark.

“What kind of stunt are you trying to pull, Hancock? If you have Maren, I’ll have your balls on a platter.”

“If you want her back, you’ll pay attention. I’m sending an encrypted message outlining coordinates. Be at the assigned location two days from now at oh two hundred hours. Don’t be late or I can’t guarantee her safety. And Rio, I’m only handing her over to you. Anyone else shows and the deal is off. We clear?”

“Yeah, I got it,” Rio muttered.

The phone went silent in his ear and Rio lowered the phone. Son of a bitch. It shouldn’t surprise him that Hancock was involved. The man had his fingers in a lot of shady goings-on. It wasn’t clear who Hancock worked for exactly. Titan had started as a government covert black ops organization that didn’t officially exist. But then a few years ago it had ceased to unofficially exist either, and it had been disbanded. Only, Titan was still alive and operating. They’d brought down Gordon Farnsworth, the man responsible for Grace’s abduction, and as a result, Rio and Grace had adopted Elizabeth, Farnsworth’s orphaned daughter, a precious little girl whom Grace had healed at great risk to herself.

It would have suited Rio just fine never to have crossed paths with the man again. But apparently fate wasn’t that kind.

“Rio?”

He turned to see his wife’s worried face peering anxiously at him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

He cupped her cheek and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Not sure, baby. That was our old pal Hancock. Apparently he has Maren, or at least knows something about where she is.”

She sucked in her breath, her eyes growing wide with alarm. “Is she all right?”

“I don’t know yet. He’s sending encrypted information and says he’ll hand her over in two days’ time. I need to retrieve that information, and then I’ll need to call up Steele. He’s been turning the world over trying to find her.”

“Do you have to go?”

He grimaced. “Yeah, baby, I do. Sorry. Hancock says if I don’t show, the deal is off. I’ll take you and Elizabeth to see Shea. You can stay with her while I go with Steele.”

Her eyes brightened at the mention of her sister. Then she smiled. “I’ll let her know I’m coming.”

Rio rolled his eyes. “Cool your jets for just a second before you start the telepathy. If Shea finds out this quickly, then she’ll tell Nathan and then Nathan will tell Sam and the others and they’ll all know before
I
even know what the hell is going on.”

She smiled and threw back the covers. “I’ll wait until you tell me I can contact her. In the meantime, I’ll wake Elizabeth and we’ll pack a bag while you do your top secret super spy stuff.”

“Kiss me first,” he murmured.

She offered her sweet mouth and he took it hard, tasting her and letting her taste him. He never grew tired of her kisses, of her love. She was a goddamn miracle.
His
miracle. She’d saved his life and it had nearly killed her. He’d never forget that, nor would he ever let her put herself at risk like that again.

“I love you,” he murmured against her lips.

“Love you too,” she said with a breathy sigh.

“Go wake Elizabeth. We’ll need to pull out as soon as I download the information. I’ll put in a call to Steele to meet us at the KGI compound. He and his team are God only knows where at the moment. He’s taken this mission to find Maren very personally.”

Grace frowned a moment, her brow wrinkling. “Steele doesn’t take anything personally, does he? He’s more of a machine than a man. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him express any emotion.”

“I have no idea what’s under his skin on this, but he hasn’t rested a moment since Maren went missing. He laid down the law and told Sam this was his mission and to go fuck himself if he didn’t like it.”

Grace’s eyebrows went up. “Maybe Steele has a thing for Maren.”

Rio laughed. “I doubt it, honey. Steele is . . . well, he’s Steele. He lives for his team and not much else.”

“I bet that’s what they used to say about you too.”

Rio paused. “You got me there, love. When I met you, my priorities changed on a dime and I’ve never looked back. You and Elizabeth are everything to me. You know that, right?”

She smiled and cupped his face in her hands before kneeling up to plant a scorching kiss on his lips. “Yeah, I know.”

* * *

TWENTY-FOUR
hours later, Steele stood inside the war room at the KGI compound with his team, waiting for the information Rio had promised. He hadn’t slept worth a damn in weeks. His sole goal of finding Maren pervaded his every waking thought. His team had been just as focused. He knew he was working them hard. His demands were nearly inhuman. But they’d accepted without complaint and had adopted his drive to locate Maren as their own. Three months. Three goddamn months since she’d disappeared, and he was no closer to finding her now than he had been in the beginning.

Except now they’d been brought in by Rio’s cryptic message that he had intel on Maren. That was it. Nothing else. Steele seethed with impatience. What the fuck were they doing here? If Rio knew where Maren was, then why the fuck weren’t they in the air, prepared to go in and get her out?

Rio stepped inside the war room and the entire gathering came to attention. Sam straightened and focused his attention on the other team leader, as did everyone else in the room.

Rio’s team flanked him. They were still down one man, and so far Rio had shown no interest in replacing him. They were fools to operate a man short. Rio should have already replaced his man and had him training with Nathan and Joe’s team. But then Rio did things his way, just as Steele did, so Steele couldn’t really fault whatever reasoning he had. He doubted he’d be quick to replace one of his own team members. He sure as hell hadn’t replaced P.J. when she’d quit the team and walked away. But then there’d never been a question of her coming back. Steele refused to even consider it.

“What have you got?” Steele demanded when Rio got close enough that everyone could hear his report.

“Hancock called me,” Rio said bluntly.

A round of cursing went up from those gathered. Steele’s blood ran cold. Hancock and by proxy, Titan, were bad news. They’d gone rogue and there was no telling who was signing their paychecks.

“He said he’ll deliver Maren at oh two hundred hours tomorrow.”

“What the fuck?” Steele bit out. “That bastard has Maren? What the fuck kind of stunt is he pulling? I’ll nail his ass to the wall for this.”

“I’d hazard a guess that he’s in deep cover within Mendoza’s organization. Or rather Tristan Caldwell, as that’s his newest alias,” Rio said.

Sam’s expression was stony. “So he’s just going to hand Maren over to us?”

“Give me a second to run down his communication. Then we can move from there,” Rio said calmly.

The room went quiet and Steele’s fingers curled into fists at his sides.

“The deal was that Mendoza, or rather Caldwell, made a bargain with Maren. She would oversee his recovery from his latest plastic surgery, and in return he wouldn’t harm her or touch her. Hancock believes she’s in danger now and that Caldwell is looking to waffle on his end of the deal.”

“Son of a bitch,” Steele swore.

“Hancock was willing to leave her until his mission was complete and he brought down Caldwell. I have no idea who the hell he’s working for, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Resnick was somehow involved. Or if he’s not directly involved, he knows something. But Hancock is apparently concerned for Maren’s safety and he wants to pull her now.”

“Why the fuck doesn’t he just take Caldwell down now?” Garrett demanded. “It makes no sense. He’d risk pulling Maren out but he won’t pull the plug on Caldwell?”

Rio shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. I don’t claim to understand the workings of Hancock’s mind. He’s cold and calculating. I’m surprised as hell that he gives a damn that Maren is at risk. He’s the type to put mission above all else. We know that much. He damn well let Grace walk into a situation where she could have been killed, and he did it to achieve his objective. This isn’t his usual M.O. so I’m leery of his offer to hand Maren over to us.”

“Where and when?” Steele asked bluntly. “I don’t give a fuck about his mission or his objective. If he can give us Maren, that’s all I care about.”

Rio eyed him speculatively, staring at him a long moment as if trying to peel back the layers in Steele’s mind. Good luck with that. Steele returned his stare, not backing down one inch. He didn’t flinch. Then Rio quirked one eyebrow upward.

“Maybe Grace was right,” he muttered.

Steele’s eyes narrowed. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

Rio shook his head. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Can we get on with it?” Steele ground out. “We don’t have time for this shit. Just tell me where I need to be so me and my team can get on the road.”

Rio blew out his breath. “There’s a problem with that. Hancock will only deal with me. Says if anyone else shows, it’s no deal. I know you won’t like it, but I’m going to have to go. You and your team can be on standby while I retrieve Maren.”

“Hell no,” Steele burst out.

Several disagreements were voiced in the room.

Garrett had a pinched look on his face. Sam was shaking his head and Donovan’s expression was dark.

“How the hell do you know this isn’t a trap?” Sam asked. “You and this guy have history, Rio. What if he’s using Maren to take you out? How do you even know he’s telling the truth about any of this?”

“I don’t know,” Rio said calmly. “It’s a chance I have to take.”

“I don’t like it,” Donovan muttered. “This reeks of a setup.”

“He’s not going alone,” Terrence said, speaking for the first time.

“Hell no, he isn’t,” Steele broke in. “Me and my team will be there.”

Rio held up his hands for silence. “Look, Hancock is a cagey, paranoid bastard with ice in his veins. I don’t doubt for one second that he’ll pull the plug on this if I show up with two teams. Yeah, my team goes. Where I go, they go. Hancock will know this. Even if I’m at the meeting place alone, he’ll know I never go anywhere without my team. Steele, you and your team are going to have to hang back with Terrence and the others whether you like it or not. Once I have Maren, we’ll pull out and hook up with you as soon as I have her safe.”

“So he’s just going to give us Maren and expect us not to give a fuck that Mendoza or Caldwell or whatever the fuck he calls himself is still out there and a threat to Maren?” Steele asked.

Rio nodded. “Yeah, that’s exactly what he wants. He’s risking his mission to get Maren out, which is highly uncharacteristic of him. He won’t hesitate to pull the plug on the entire thing if he even thinks we’re planning to move against Caldwell before he’s ready to shut Caldwell down himself. I know it goes against your grain to stand down, Steele, but that’s exactly what we’re going to have to do if we want Maren back and out of harm’s way.”

Steele’s jaw clenched until his teeth felt ready to break. Hell yeah, it went against his grain to just walk away and let the bastard who’d abducted Maren go free. He wanted the bastard taken down where he’d no longer pose a threat to her. But first and foremost he wanted Maren out of Caldwell’s grasp, and if he had to sit on his hands for the time being, then it was what he’d have to do. As long as he got Maren back, Caldwell and Hancock could go fuck themselves.

“You tell your buddy that if he fucks us on this, I’ll hunt his ass down. I’ll devote the rest of my life to hunting him down and taking him out,” Steele said in an icy voice.

Rio raised one eyebrow. “I’ll let him know.”

“Now where the hell are we going?” Steele asked.

“Kosovo,” Rio replied grimly.

CHAPTER 21

MAREN
sensed the presence of someone in her bedroom and woke through the heavy veil of sleep just as a hand clamped down over her mouth. Her shriek was muffled and her entire body went rigid, prepared to defend itself.

Her instant thought was that Tristan had come to her bedroom, that her time was up, and that he was making his move. She struggled under the firm hand and then another went to her throat, squeezing lightly. It wasn’t hurtful, but the pressure prevented her from moving.

“Be quiet, Maren. I’m not going to hurt you. I need you to wake up. Above all, remain silent. Nod if you understand me.”

Armand’s voice filtered through her panic and she nodded. His hand loosened but hovered close in case she attempted to scream again. Who would save her? Certainly not Tristan, although he might not be pleased to find his guard in Maren’s bedroom in the middle of the night.

“Sit up. You have to hurry. Get dressed. Take nothing with you.”

She did as he said and glanced at the bedside clock to see it was just a few minutes past midnight.

“What’s going on?” she hissed. “What are you doing here? And where am I going?”

“There’s no time for questions,” he said impatiently. “Get dressed or you’ll have to go in your nightclothes. Wear something warm. It’s cooler where we’re going.”

She grabbed his arm as he started to move away from the bed. “Tell me what’s going on. You expect me to blindly trust you? Did Tristan order this?”

He turned back to her, his voice calm. “I’m getting you out of here. But if you don’t hurry we’ll lose our window of opportunity. It’s my guard shift and the others are sleeping except for the guards patrolling the estate, and we have to time our exit just right so we aren’t seen. You have exactly twelve minutes to get dressed and get the hell out of this house or you stay here. Your choice.”

When put like that, she wasn’t going to argue. No, she didn’t trust Armand, but he had been kind to her, and if he was getting her out of her prison, she wasn’t going to protest. She just hoped to hell she wasn’t jumping from the frying pan straight into the fire.

She scrambled up and went to her closet, tearing off the silk pajamas. She paid no heed to modesty. She doubted Armand was looking anyway. Not bothering with a bra, she pulled on a T-shirt and jeans, gifts from Tristan. She hated to take anything at all that he’d given her, but she had nothing else to wear.

She pulled on socks and a pair of boots and then reached for one of the fur-lined jackets Tristan had provided. She hadn’t given it a thought before, but it was obvious he’d planned for her to remain with him long term because he’d purchased items she’d need in colder weather and it had been cool but not cold wherever they were so far.

No matter what Armand’s motives were, if he offered her a way to escape, she was grabbing it with both hands.

Returning from the closet, she whispered, “I’m ready. Where are we, Armand? Tristan never said and I’ve not been allowed outside long enough to get any idea where the hell this place is.”

“Kosovo,” he returned grimly.

“Kosovo?” she squeaked. “Oh my God. I don’t even know exactly where Kosovo is on the map, and I’ve traveled extensively. All I can tell you is that it’s in Eastern Europe somewhere.”

“It doesn’t matter. In a few hours you’ll be long gone from here and it’s advisable you never return.”

“No shit,” she muttered. “It’s not going to make a place on my future vacation hot spots, that’s for damn sure.”

He grabbed her arm. “Let’s go. You stay absolutely silent. Not one word. You listen to me and follow my orders at all times. If I say get down, you drop immediately. Are we clear?”

There was a thread of steel in his voice. She wasn’t sure how she’d ever gained the impression that he was nice. Right now he sounded ice cold. Not at all like the man who’d brought her pregnancy books and chocolate. Or someone who’d fussed at her for not taking better care of herself.

She followed him into the hallway outside her bedroom, and it was then she noticed the gun in his shoulder holster. There was another on his hip. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried over that fact. At least he had some protection in case they got caught, but she didn’t relish being caught in the middle of a gunfight. She mentally said a prayer that they’d slip out undetected and make it safely to wherever they were going.

He paused a moment as if listening for any sound below. Then he herded her down the stairway, keeping his finger to his lips to motion her to maintain strict silence. As if she needed to be told. If he was getting her out of here, she’d do anything he said.

He led her through the kitchen and out the door leading onto the terrace. From there they took a set of winding stone stairs that led to an open, fenced yard. He pressed her to the side of the house and held his palm firmly over her chest. They stood for a long moment until Maren saw a shadowy figure fade to the right and around the far corner of the house. She let out a long breath of relief, but his hand pressed harder against her. A silent command for her to remain quiet and absolutely still.

Another figure followed in the same path as the first. She would have already gotten herself caught. Apparently stealth and escape were not her strong points. Thank God Armand had more skill than she did.

A dozen panicked questions swirled in her mind as he led her through the back gate and into the dense vegetation beyond the fenced-in enclosure. Was he just going to dump her somewhere outside the boundary of the house and leave her to go it alone? Yes, she wanted to be free, but somehow wandering around Kosovo in the middle of the night didn’t fill her with any relief. She had no passport, no identification, no phone, no way to get anywhere at all.

When they moved beyond the first line of trees, he whispered, “Pick up the pace or I’ll have to carry you and that’ll slow us both down.”

She immediately quickened her step, matching his stride the best she could. Lucky for her she wasn’t so heavy with child that it had reduced her walk to a waddle. Though she hadn’t gotten much exercise in the last several weeks. She’d spent her time locked in seclusion. She was already out of breath from the exertion of the fast walk.

After an interminable amount of time, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to keep up her current pace. She had a stitch in her side and her hip was cramping.

“How much farther?” she whispered. “I’m not trying to be a pain, I swear, but I can’t keep this up much longer.”

In response he merely stopped, swept her up into his arms and then set off at a rapid clip. The man was obviously in tip-top shape. Despite his warning that carrying her would slow them both down, he kept up an insane pace. She swore he was walking faster now that he wasn’t having to wait for her.

He made carrying her weight seem effortless. Who was this guy anyway? He worked for a guy like Tristan, but he did nice things for her and had sworn he wouldn’t let Tristan harm her or her child. And it looked as though he was keeping his word. He’d risked a lot to help her escape. Tristan would be furious when he discovered her gone, and once he discovered Armand gone as well, he’d rapidly put two and two together.

“He’ll kill you for this,” she whispered. “You know that, don’t you?”

She saw his smile in the dim moonlight streaming through the trees. It wasn’t a friendly smile. It had the look of a predator about to pounce on his prey. She shivered because the man looked decidedly dangerous. Somehow she thought he could hold his own against a man like Tristan Caldwell.

“You let me worry about Caldwell,” Armand said simply. “He won’t be happy, but I’ll take care of that.”

“You’re going back?” she asked in shock. “Are you crazy?”

“My job’s not finished,” he clipped out.

Another dozen questions burned on her tongue, but his grip tightened around her, a warning for her not to push further. Oh well, if he was crazy enough to go back to Tristan after helping her escape, that was his problem.

He must have sensed her thoughts. “Does the expression ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’ mean anything to you?”

He had a solid point.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I don’t know why you did this, but I’m grateful. I was scared out of my mind.”

“I know,” he said simply. “And I had my reasons.”

He fell silent and she didn’t pursue the matter any further.

After what seemed like hours, he carried her into a small clearing, where a black helicopter was resting a short distance away. As soon as they came into view, the helicopter roared to life and the rotors began spinning, kicking up dust and leaves. She turned her face into Armand’s chest to shield her eyes from the debris.

A second later he deposited her inside the helicopter and hopped up beside her.

“Put your belt on,” he yelled over the noise. “Make sure it’s tight. Don’t want you falling out.”

Yeah, neither did she. She secured her seat belt, and for good measure she latched onto his arm. He didn’t pull away from her and instead transferred her hand to his thigh and then wrapped the arm she’d gripped around her shoulders, anchoring her tightly to his side.

A moment later, they lifted into the air and the ground spun dizzyingly below her. The helicopter swept over the treetops, nearly clipping the tops as they flew away.

A shiver overtook her and she was glad he’d told her to bring a jacket. Though the temps were plenty warm, the night air had a crisp chillness to it the higher they lifted into the air. With the sides open, the wind blew straight through the interior, turning her nose into a block of ice.

She clutched her free hand over her belly in an automatic protective measure.

Armand looked down at her, his gaze inquisitive. She shook her head to let him know she was fine. Scared and nervous as hell, but she was okay. She just wished she knew where they were going. If he was planning to go back to Tristan, then he evidently planned to dump her somewhere and leave. Which meant she’d be going it alone.

That filled her with utter panic. Her only option would be to find a U.S. embassy and hope they believed her crazy-ass story of being abducted. Or she could try to find a way to contact Sam so KGI could come get her. She imagined that by now, Sam rued the day he ever met her. She’d been a source of trouble, no matter that she’d provided medical services for his teams.

If she got out of this unscathed, she was seriously going to rethink her career path. She had a baby to think of now, and working in parts unknown in isolated, rural areas of the world was no longer something she could consider.

An hour later, the helicopter began to descend. As she looked out, she was surprised to see they were in the mountains, and it looked as though they were landing in a small valley between two jutting peaks. Her guess hadn’t been wrong about being close to the mountains.

As soon as the helicopter set down, Armand reached over to unfasten her seat belt and urged her out. He ducked low and urged her to do the same, shielding her with his body as he pulled her into the trees a short distance away.

When they were far enough away from the helicopter for him to be able to hear her, she asked in a trembling voice, “Where are we? What do I do now? If you’re going back, then how do I know where to go?”

He touched her shoulder and then squeezed reassuringly. “Don’t worry. You won’t be alone. Someone is coming for you.”

Relief made her unsteady and her knees nearly gave out on her.

“Thank you,” she choked out. “I don’t know why you risked doing this for me, but I’ll be forever grateful. If there’s ever anything I can do to repay you, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

He grinned that sardonic grin and his eyes flashed with amusement. “Oh, I’ll collect, Maren. Just not from you.”

With that cryptic statement, he urged her forward again.

“Can you make it or do I have to carry you again?”

“Depends on how far it is to wherever we’re going,” she muttered.

“It’s not far. Half a mile or so.”

“I can make it.”

“Then let’s make tracks. I’m on a strict timeline here. I have to be back at the chopper in forty minutes, so I don’t have time to spare.”

Nodding, she quickened her step and fell in behind him so she could follow his lead.

Several long minutes later, her breaths coming rapid and short and puffing from her mouth in a visible cloud, they stopped. Or rather he came to an abrupt halt and she collided with his back.

He put his arm back to steady her and remained stock – still, his entire body rigid and wary, like he expected someone to jump out of the trees at them. With his free hand, he drew the gun from his shoulder harness and held it up and at the ready. Her heart jumped and began to beat double time.

“Stay still and remain absolutely silent,” he said in a low voice.

She went just as rigid as he was, locked against his broad back. He was big enough that she couldn’t see around him, and even better, it meant no one would be able to see her.

“We wait for your rescuer to show,” he said. “No matter what you hear, or what you may see, you do not move a muscle. Don’t say anything until I tell you to, no matter what happens, and do not react to anything that’s about to go on. We clear? Nod, but don’t speak.”