Wicked Intentions (Steele Secrurity Book 4) (23 page)

“But that decision isn’t up to us,” Tucker added. Bill turned to look at him, unaware another man was in the hull of the ship with them.

“Oh? Who is it up to?” Bill asked, mock amusement in his tone and his expression.

“Rebel. The man whose wife was buried in the explosion in Houston. The man who’s still digging to find her, praying she’s still alive under all those tons of concrete and steel. That’s who decides your fate,” Tucker replied.

The shock that registered on Bill’s face could not be faked. “I…I didn’t know his wife was in the building.”

“That doesn’t matter. You knew others were in it. But the fact that
she
was sealed your fate.”

“What do you owe him anyway?”

“I served under Reaper while in the Army, then worked for Steele Security for a while before taking a private security job. Now I’m ATF and I owe them my allegiance, and they have it.”

“Your time here is through, Bill,” Joe concluded. “Your friends have started singing like canaries, giving up the locations where you told them to put the explosives. Pity you didn’t use men who were true to the cause. Hired hands have no loyalty, especially when they’re facing life in prison with no possibility of parole for forty years for treason.”

“Let’s go. There is one person who will be glad to see you.”

The five-hour ride back to Houston was mostly silent. While Tucker normally didn’t approve of cold-blooded murder, what Bill had done to his friend Rebel deserved to have justice served. The orders for eradication came from the president. With no higher office in the land, it was fitting that command apply to both of the main conspirators in the plot. He had no doubt Rebel and team would find Rashad as soon as they located Heather, and delivering Bill to him was the least he could do to help his friend.

By the time they reached the Port of Houston, Rebel had been searching for Heather in the remains of the twelve-story building for more than eighteen hours. Even with the briefing of what had occurred, Tucker couldn’t comprehend what his eyes saw. Before he’d seen it firsthand, he held out some hope for Heather’s safe return. But the complete demolition of the building before him left the most hopeless—and helpless—feeling he’d ever experienced.

In spite of that, the first thing he did after securing his prisoner was don a pair of gloves and join the search and rescue effort. No matter how bleak the situation appeared to him, he would work nonstop as long as Rebel and his other brothers remained out there. Day and night, for as long as it took.

Reaper approached Tucker and extended his hand. “Good to see you again, Tucker. It’s been a while.”

“I hate that it’s under these circumstances. Have you told Rebel about your change in orders yet?”

Reaper shook his head from side to side. “It wouldn’t matter to him. Rashad is already dead as soon as Rebel’s finished here. The fact that his death is now sanctioned means nothing.”

“I brought Rashad’s partner with me to give Rebel first dibs on him.”

“Who is it?”

“The dirty CIA agent who faked his death, Bill Smith.”

“Fucking bastard,” Reaper growled. “When did ATF Special Agents start handing over dirty CIA operatives for execution?”

Tucker shrugged one shoulder and lifted one side of his mouth in a lopsided grin. “Call it an early Christmas present.”

D
uring the second day
, the feeling and sensations of pain in Rebel’s hands were long since gone, but he kept moving chunks of concrete, gnarled metal, and destroyed remnants of office furniture in his quest to find Heather. The twisted feelings inside him had only increased with every minute that ticked by on the clock with no real progress being made. Tim, one of the search and rescue crew members, and Robin, his loyal black Lab, had worked diligently throughout the night in solidarity with Rebel.

“Robin has bonded with you, ya know?” Tim chatted with Rebel off and on during the night, lending his moral support in every way he knew how. “Every time I try to get her to take a break, she stares at you and whines until I bring her back out here.”

“She’s a good girl,” Rebel replied, forcing a small smile and consciously keeping his irritation under wraps. “You’ve trained her well. It’s actually very impressive to see the search and rescue dogs in action out here.”

A few other dogs and handlers had located survivors buried under the demolished building. With each round of clapping and cheering, Rebel’s hope for Heather being found alive waxed and waned. His conflicting feelings of being elated there were still survivors, and envy that it wasn’t his wife they’d found, created a constant war in his heart. He’d never give up until he found her, but the state he would find her in was a constant burden on his mind and his spirits.

How far underneath the debris could she be buried?

Was there enough oxygen down there to keep her alive, or would it completely run out?

Had the crumbled concrete buried and suffocated her?

When he allowed these questions to fester inside him, the desire to find Rashad and tear him apart with his bare hands built to levels that would rival a hydrogen bomb explosion. That bled over into his interactions with everyone else. He’d tried to distance himself as much as possible because the stress of it all was tearing him apart. Tim and Robin had been a godsend in keeping him sane and level-headed for the time being, forcing him to be around at least one other person during a time he’d rather have been left alone. After she was found, he’d deal with Rashad in his own special way.

“Come on, girl. Let’s get you some water,” Tim called to Robin, but she ignored him. “Robin. Come.”

Robin locked in place and started barking vigorously. Her excitement was almost uncontainable, causing her to jump back and forth on top of the debris. But she kept her snout pointed to a single crack between two large pieces of building material. Rebel stopped in mid-motion and stared at her for several seconds before his gaze swung to Tim. His eyes asked the question he couldn’t bring himself to verbalize.

“She’s got something! We need some help over here,” Tim yelled.

Group members from every direction swarmed on the location Robin indicated. Reaper, Shadow, Bull, Roman, Joe, and Tucker surrounded Rebel. Everyone watched on pins and needles as a small camera on the end of a flexible tube was passed through the crack and into the darkness below. The tiny LED light illuminated the cave-like fissure, and the image was transmitted up to the screen held by the camera operator. Rebel started to move so he could see the screen, but Tim stopped him.

“Wait. There’s a reason why the image isn’t broadcast for everyone to see. Give him a few seconds to determine what we’re dealing with down there.”

In his mind, Rebel knew Tim was correct. She may still be alive, but the image of her current condition would forever be burned into his memory if he dared to look at the screen. In the event she didn’t survive, Tim was only trying to save him from a lifetime of the haunting scene. Rebel nodded once, agreeing to wait for their signal it was safe to look.

Tim cupped Rebel’s shoulder and squeezed. “I know I’m asking a lot of you.”

“You have no idea how hard it is for me not to grab that camera from his hands and do it myself. My whole life is down there, and I don’t know if she’s alive or dead.”

“I need you to also consider there’s a possibility Robin found another victim. It’s hard not to get your hopes up, but there were a lot of people in this building,” Tim added.

“It’s Heather,” Rebel replied. “I feel her. I know it’s her.”

Tim nodded his head, but his dubious expression conveyed his honest thoughts. Unable to wait any longer, Rebel darted behind the camera operator and watched the live streaming images over his shoulder. What appeared to be a twisted metal cage came into view and the camera operator halted to fine-tune the resolution.

“What is that?” He talked to himself absently as he worked the equipment, moving the camera around for a different angle.

“It’s the framework for the stairs. The concrete is gone, but that’s the mangled steel frame the steps were built on,” Rebel replied. “Zoom in right there.”

When the camera zoomed in tighter, they both saw an arm move inside the cage. “There! Did you see that?” Rebel wanted to dive headfirst into the opening and bring the search and rescue mission to an end. He wanted his wife back at his side.

The camera operator adjusted the resolution again now that he had a specific target to identify. The camera panned out, giving a wider view, and Rebel’s heart surged in his chest. There, buried beneath the piles of ruin and wreckage, lay the love of his life. Boulder-sized chunks of building remains surrounded her, but the thick steel frame of the stairwell had essentially cocooned her, creating a bent and contorted cage that supported the weight of the remains directly above it.

“Call the structural engineers and get them over here immediately!” The group leader instantly took control of the scene. “Everyone in the section immediately around us, carefully move to the sides. Be careful where and how you step. We don’t want any shifting if we can avoid it.”

Another volunteer sent a small speaker down the shaft to her and unclipped the headset from his utility belt. He extended his hand toward Rebel and passed the headset to him. “Talk to her. Let her know what we’re doing and that she’s not alone.”

Rebel hooked it over his ear, and the volunteer gave him the go-ahead nod when he’d turned it on. For the first time in what felt like forever, he was at a loss for words of what to say to his wife. He had no idea how to reassure her. He had no way of knowing how long it would take to safely get her out of the dungeon she was buried in. He had no clue what he was supposed to say.

Her back was propped up against one side of her protective cage. The camera focused on her face, displaying the streaks of dried blood, cuts, scrapes, and bruises lying under layers of concrete dust. Her hair was matted to her head in places, wild and untamed in others. Though she kept her eyes closed, they fluttered every few seconds as she attempted to open them.

In that moment, Rebel realized he’d never seen anyone or anything more beautiful in his entire life.

“Hey, baby. I have to admit, this hiding spot was a pretty brilliant idea for our ongoing game of hide-and-seek. You’ve really set the bar high with this one. But as you can see, I found you. Surely by now, you know me better than to think I’d let something as trivial as a few hundred tons of steel and concrete stand in my way.”

He bit back the emotions that threatened to overtake him when he saw a small smile play on her lips.

“We’re using a small camera to see you and a one-way speaker to talk to you. All you have to do is nod or something to give me a sign. I’ll keep talking and keep you company. You know me—I won’t leave here until you’re safe in my arms again. In fact, I’m never leaving you again. Not for Miami, not for the government, nothing can keep us apart again. Now that I have you in my sights, you’ll be out of there as soon as possible. We have all kinds of people up here plotting and planning, brilliant minds who can figure this out in no time. I’m right here with you, Heather.”

She slowly nodded to indicate she understood, her sluggish movements leaving no doubt of the trauma her body had sustained. She tried to open her eyes again but quickly shut them and winced in pain.

“Leave your eyes closed, sweetheart,” Rebel coaxed her. “There’s a lot of concrete dust, and it can scratch your eyes and make them hurt like hell. We’ll get them rinsed good when we get you out of there. Do you remember what happened?”

She nodded, and her face fell as sadness overcame her.

“I know you’re sad, and I know you’re scared. But we’ll get through this together, okay? You and me. Oh, and there’s someone up here I can’t wait for you to meet. She already loves you, and she hasn’t even met you yet. She’s been beside me all night, searching for you and refusing to rest until she found you. Her name is Robin, and she has the most beautiful brown eyes you’ll ever see.”

Heather arched one eyebrow, daring him to continue complimenting another woman to her.

Rebel laughed good-naturedly. “And she has the shiniest black hair. Come to think of it, her hair color does remind me of yours. Anyway, let me see if I can get her over here to say hello to you.”

He looked up from the screen to find Tim there, smiling and waiting with Robin. Rebel knelt down beside her then Tim gave the command. “Speak to the lady, Robin.”

“Rrr-ruff!” Robin barked.

Rebel ran his fingers over the screen, his heart bursting with love when Heather responded with a full smile. “Robin says hello, babe. She’s a gorgeous black Lab with a heart of gold. You’ll love her, and I’m pretty sure you’ll want to keep her.”

Engineers and construction crews approached, poised to explain the plan they’d devised for extricating her. Apprehension unlike anything he’d ever experienced before gripped him tightly, squeezing him like a vise from the inside. He put the headset on mute before he addressed them.

“I just found her after almost two days of searching. Do not do anything that could take her away from me again.” The threatening timbre of his voice left no room for misunderstanding.

“We’ll take good care of her. Everything will be handled one step at a time to make sure all the supports are in place.” The engineer attempted to assure him, but Rebel would only rest easy when she was finally rescued.

“Okay, baby,” he said softly. “We’re starting the process of getting you out of there. You’ll hear a lot of noise. They’re bringing in heavy equipment to move the larger pieces out of the way. You’ll feel vibrations, which will almost certainly shake smaller pieces onto you. Keep your head covered just in case, but I’ll be here watching their every move, every second.”

She mouthed
I love you
in response, and tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

“I’ve loved you every single day since the day we first met. You’re my best friend, my lover, and my wife, and you’re the best person I know. You’re beautiful and sexy and caring and giving and funny and strong and independent and supportive—and so much more.

“I’m not saying goodbye, my love. You’re not leaving me. Want to know how I know that? Because I can feel you. I feel you inside me, beside me, all around me. Because you’re the best part of me, the part I can’t live without. The day I can’t feel you anymore will be the day I die. But that’s not today, Heather. We still have a life to live out together. So don’t you dare give up and even think about leaving me.”

Her tears continued to roll down her cheeks, but the trepidation that had covered her expression was replaced with the determination he recognized. She nodded and mouthed
okay
. When the extrication work began, she did as he’d instructed and covered her head with her arms. He didn’t miss the grimace of pain that flashed across her face when she raised both arms, but she didn’t let it stop her.

Piece by piece, they carefully moved the largest chunks of debris at the top of the pile away from the rescue site. With every movement, the engineers reevaluated the structure of what remained and identified what to clear next. Inevitably, a portion would break loose and free-fall into the space below, tumbling through the twisted metal that imprisoned her before hitting her. Her muffled cries of pain and fright drove Rebel mad. In the tight space where she was trapped by the metal, she had nowhere to move to dodge the shards. When they’d cleared a hole barely large enough for a person to fit through on the surface, he thrust the headset back to the volunteer and jumped feet-first into the opening before anyone could stop him.

“I’m here, baby. I’m with you.”

He reached his arms through the steel bars that still caged her and covered her head with his muscular arms. The metal had been driven deep into the ground around her and still supported some of the wreckage that hadn’t yet been moved. Though she didn’t have much room to move, she slid toward him, flush with the metal, and wrapped her arms as far around him as she could reach through the metal bars. Her fingers were battered and sobs racked her body, but she held on to him with all the strength she had left.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Her voice barely came across as a rough whisper with her throat and mouth coated in the dust from the devastated building.

“This is exactly where I should be—it’s where you are.”

Through each meticulous step of the work, Rebel stayed at her side. His strong arms protected her from falling dangers. His words soothed her frazzled nerves. His presence gave her the strength she needed to hold on. In between activities, volunteers lowered several bottles of water down to them. In the first delivery, he used the bottles meant for his rehydration to wash the grit out of her eyes and clean the dust off her face. After clearing the dust from her mouth and throat, he nursed her wounds and made sure she was well hydrated. Each time the equipment started up, he gathered her in his arms through the metal bars and used his body to shield hers.

The sun was setting again when they’d cleared enough away to safely cut the metal and get her out. A blowtorch was lowered to Rebel, and he hesitantly examined the cage that surrounded her. If the cut weakened the metal any further, the weight could shift and bury them both. But they’d been in the danger zone long enough, and the odds of something tragic happening increased. Their lives were in the hands of the structural engineers.