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  To include Devon in the call, Ken dialed him then connected someone from each vehicle and used the SUV’s Bluetooth to coordinate their plan of attack.

  Without prodding, Devon started the information sharing. “I spoke with the pilot, and the plane is refueled and waiting with the new flight plan. I can confirm the address in Mexico on the package as belonging to one Alejandro Ramirez. So far I haven’t been able to confirm he’s the one we’re looking for, but based on what I pulled from the hotel, he’s our best option. I’m working to get photos of the man’s house, whether satellite or other.”

  Ken waited for more. Jesse had slipped away more than once to pass information along to Devon and receive what their computer guru had uncovered.

  Jesse shook his head.

  Devon continued. “The man seems to fly under the radar.”

  Collective groans over the speaker matched his own. Nothing at this point equaled something bad. One of two things came to mind, either Alejandro was truly spotless and had in many ways rescued Beverly’s neglected child or he was into something they needed to uncover. For Cody’s sake, he hoped the first one fit. While not religious, before each op he sent up a silent prayer that they were successful. His one for Cody was the same.

  Devon forwarded the photo of the kidnapper to the agents’ handhelds. The man looked like a regular guy. Never before had he wished someone had a distinguishing scar or feature.

  “Here’s the best part,” Devon said with what could be interpreted accompanying a grimace, “or worst part, considering your preference; he’s surrounded by the Lacandón rainforest.”

  Great. He’d prefer the blazing desert heat to the unwelcoming air in a rainforest. High temps, moisture clinging to your skin and humidity that could choke a horse were what they’d be challenged with handling. “We’ve had worse.” Although he couldn’t think of a single op to support that statement. Getting shot at and being on the run held more appeal than traipsing through that mess.

  “You’re high if you believe that.” No one disputed Stone’s statement.

  Franks snorted. “At least we won’t have to lie down on the wet ground as long as Sugar.”

  “Huh. If your job was so all-fired important as mine, you’d survive that little inconvenience,” Sam joked along.

  “Inconvenience? Is that what you call it?” Stone laughed.

  “Whatever it takes,” she shot back.

  “How often do you roll around in the wet grass?” Stone asked.

  “She probably does it for fun,” Franks butted in.

  “She probably calls it combat training,” Cowboy added.

  “Come now,” Doc interjected in a soothing voice, “we have to give the little lady her due.”

  Ken guessed it’d be five seconds or less before Sam blew her top over that jest.

  Sam sputtered, and from the passenger seat, he looked over his shoulder at her, strapped in the back seat. “Little lady?” Her voice rose with an edge to it. “Little lady?”

  Chuckles sounded over the speaker from the other two vehicles. Like Kate and Rylee, the team had opened their arms to Sam and treated her like one of the team instead of a woman they needed to protect. That self-imposed rule of protection fell to him alone.

  “When I think of a good non-curse word, you’re all in for it. And, Doc, know that I won’t forget.”

  “Don’t get your panties in a wad,” Doc said with a chuckle. “I was just funning. You know I’ve got a lotta love for you, honey.”

  “Hmph.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her cross her arms over her chest. He couldn’t be certain, but he thought he saw a smile on her face. Something inside told him she enjoyed it when the men joked and even when Doc called her honey. Of course, he also called Kate and Rylee honey, so maybe that’s why she didn’t fight it.

  Thinking of her response to their kiss, he wouldn’t believe she broke it off because he was her boss. Perhaps he shouldn’t have imposed his rule of professionalism at work. By doing what he’d thought had been the right thing in not giving her more attention, he’d separated their personal and professional lives too much when in fact they were entwined.

  “We’ve got two snipers this time. Who’s going in with us?” Ribbing set aside, Franks’s question brought them back to the op.

  Without much thought, Ken responded without consulting the snipers on his team or his boss. “The Old Man goes in under Franks’s command,” he started, referring to Jesse. “Sugar’s our team sharpshooter.” Calling her that didn’t flow well, but if the team used it once they were in operations mode, he needed to do the same. Keeping her out of the thick of it would keep Sam safer, and he’d be acting as her spotter.

  “I don’t know,” Stone hedged, “she’s a fine shot in close also. She almost kicked our asses in the mock scenarios.”

  “She’s even better at long range,” Franks countered. “She did beat the Old Man after all.”

  Jesse didn’t argue the point. Instead, he grinned.

  “It may’ve been just luck,” Stone countered.

  “What is this? Pick on Sam day?” she asked.

  Someone snorted. He couldn’t be sure but he thought it might be Cowboy.

  “You’re the newbie,” Franks answered.

  “I’ve been with you for months now. I’m not new.”

  “Sure, we popped your cherry months ago, but you’re still our FNG.”

  The first time one of the guys had said that to her, Sam had gone ballistic. Not used to their military jargon, she hadn’t understood that it meant first time in combat or for them, first time on an op. She’d quickly searched the acronym on her phone and gave a smile as she confirmed, “Fucking new guy.” Except she’d replaced it with girl.

  Even though she’d been with them for a while, her argument had no merit. She’d be the newbie until they hired someone else.

  “Sorry, Sugar. It wasn’t until you were hired that they stopped calling me FNG,” Doc said.

  “But they call you Doc,” she argued.

  “Of course they do, I’m your medic.”

  “Wait a second,” she interjected, “we just hired Casper, so I’m not the new guy.”

  Sam had a good point, but Ken had an inkling of what the men would say, mostly because they enjoyed teasing her. She took it like a champ and gave it right back.

  “But he’s Bravo team’s FNG. You’re ours,” Cowboy said, and Ken thought there’d been pride in his voice even if the stretching of her designation was thin.

  Asking no one in particular, she tossed out, “You just make up your own rules as you go along, don’t you?”

  “That’s S.O.P,” Franks said.

  “Standard operating procedure, my ass,” Sam huffed.

  Ken closed his eyes. He didn’t normally mind their bickering—knowing it was one of the ways they passed the time as they waited and grounded them—but this case had him tied up in knots. Beverly had left her son alone for way too long to fend for himself. A week. For Christ’s sake, who did shit like that? While he didn’t know this Alejandro, the man might be right about how the boy was better off with him. Yet, he could be into crimes against children.

  Devon not being able to dig up much on the man worried him, though. As far as they could tell, the man had resided in Mexico his entire life. So, why couldn’t Devon give them a profile of him? And how had he come to be in a relationship with Beverly in the first place?

  “Are you going to join us, Boss?” Franks asked.

  Ken looked at Jesse, remembering the conversation they’d had on this subject. Not wanting to hamper the team, but with a burning need to be involved in this rescue, he answered, “Yes.” At least none of them called him a “broke dick.” He’d always hated that lingo. Especially when women were around. Yet, soldiers still used it. Old habits were hard to break.

  “Damn, it�
�ll be good to have you back.” Franks’s statement told him a great deal about the man.

  As they neared the airport, Stone interrupted the silence with a curse. “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.” That got everyone’s attention—what the fuck always did—and only silence breathed through the three vehicles. “Boss, she’s Oscar Mike.”

  “Son of a bitch.” Jesse said what Ken would’ve. Why was the woman on the move?

  “Should we follow her?” Franks asked.

  “Let me see what I can do on my end.” He’d almost forgotten Devon remained conferenced into the call.

  Damn the woman. What the hell was she playing at?

  Torn on whether to follow the crazy woman or act on a lead that seemed solid, Ken turned to Jesse. “I know Trent needs the help, but if we need it, can we get the fam?”

  “I already sent them out on a charter, but each took their gear and will return for whatever you need. Bravo team ran into a snafu so they won’t be available right away.”

  Before he could ask what happened to Grits’s team, Sam leaned forward. “How do you know she’s moving?”

  Stone answered, “We put a tracker on her car. S.O.P.”

  Not willing to trust anyone in these types of cases, they placed tracking devices on every vehicle involved.

  “We continue to Mexico. Watch where she’s going and we’ll figure things out from there,” Ken directed.

  “I’ll lose her in the air,” Stone informed him.

  Ken knew that already, but he had an idea, which he didn’t like. If what he suspected was true, she was heading where they were to either get her son back or try to reconcile with the man who jilted her. Hell, she might even give them away if she got there first. He had no idea how deep her stupidity went. If this turned out to be the case, they’d just have to intercept her. A thought occurred to him. “Did you drop a tracker in her purse?”

  “Yeah,” Stone said. “It’s not moving though.”

  “Bev does change purses to match her outfits,” Sam informed them.

  Great. He’d have loved to know that before. Actually, it wouldn’t have mattered since they didn’t have that many trackers with them.

  “Is she heading in the direction of the airport?” Ken asked.

  “Yep, it looks that way,” Stone responded.

  “Devon—” Ken started but hadn’t needed to finish.

  “I’m on it,” Devon said. A few moments later, his low voice requested Emily pull up something to set an alert if Beverly booked a flight out of any airport within sixty miles of her home. Emily may be the financial genius of the Hamilton family, but she’d taken to Devon’s tricks for supporting the team with ease.

  They arrived at the airport and left the SUVs where someone would collect them. After grabbing their gear, they took the short steps two at a time, an urgency in the boots hitting the metal.

  In almost no time, the team strapped themselves in, and the plane lifted off the ground. Once allowed, the team, who should’ve been sleeping, pulled out something to keep their minds occupied until op planning. Cowboy held out a small iPad and, Ken knew from experience, played one of any number of games he had loaded on the device. Stone put on headphones and reclined in his seat. Doc opened a book, although Ken couldn’t see the title. And Sam, dear Sam, she brought out a Rubik’s Cube.

  Ken called Franks over before he could deal a game of Solitaire.

  As Ken kept an eye on the team, Jesse set up the laptop and connected to the Wi-Fi offered in the air. While not as reliable as a home connection, it allowed them to speak with home base. He turned his head away from the team as Devon appeared on the screen. His picture came in and out, but Ken didn’t worry about that. He already knew what the man looked like.

  “First, Beverly did purchase a ticket to Mexico. Because she appeared to be in a hurry, it’s not direct so you’ll have time to stop her from getting in the way.”

  Ken ground his teeth. He hated when parents tried to get involved. She wasn’t the first and surely wouldn’t be the last. Generally though, the parents were more stable. “We’ll leave someone at the airport to grab her as soon as she gets off the plane. Shoot us the info.”

  “Done,” Devon responded. Sure enough, he had the info. Thank God for Wi-Fi and whatever Devon had done to boost it.

  “You said two things,” Jesse hedged.

  Ken had a bad feeling about what information Devon had for them. A real bad feeling.

  “It wasn’t easy, but I got satellite images of Alejandro’s house. Plus, a guard who works there is big with Facebook, and he posted a pic and made a few comments that can help us.”

  Ken and Jesse looked at each other, and based on their experience of working together, surmised his boss thought the same thing. Having guards said a lot.

  Devon hesitated, verifying Ken’s thoughts. “It’s a veritable fortress with towers and armed guards.”

  “Fuck.” All went quiet in the cabin. The realization that this rescue had just become more dangerous than expected hushed the team.

  10

  With the team engaged, each had their eyes on their handhelds reviewing the pictures and information Devon sent.

  “Stone, how’s your Spanish?”

  As with each op where English wasn’t the primary language, they’d spend part of the flight learning a few basic phrases to get them through. However, Ken needed someone a bit more fluent in handling the airport employees.

  Stone shrugged. “Passable.”

  “Good, I want you to get over to commercial flight arrivals and keep Beverly out of our hair. I don’t care what you have to do but get her on a return flight and see her to the airplane door. If you have to go and cuff her to the seat, do it.”

  Ken knew that like any other agent, Stone would rather be in the thick of things, but he didn’t complain about this assignment. “Cowboy, how’re you feeling about clearing a path for us?”

  With a quick nod, Cowboy answered, “I’m always good for blowing shit up.”

  “Doc, while I hope we don’t need it, is the field kit ready?”

  Doc didn’t remind Ken that he’d asked that same question before they’d boarded their original flight from Baltimore. “Ready, but I like it looking nice and new.” He ran his glance over everyone aboard. “Got it?”

  While that statement often wrangled boisterous comments, the team just nodded and returned their focus to him.

  On the laptop screen, Ken and Jesse began pointing out areas they would recon for the best visibility and cover. After verifying the field of battle, they’d map out the rescue and their egress route, then get down to business. While they’d have to go in by vehicle and walk about five klicks to avoid detection, they’d have helo support to get their asses out of there and back to the airport. While only a short jaunt for everyone but him and Sam, they needed that quick transport.

  “Once we split, Franks will lead Old Man, Cowboy, and Doc while we’re separated. And Stone if he’s able to return in time.” Looking around the group, he received nods from the men used to the Hamilton brothers taking a back seat, but Sam looked perplexed and bit her lower lip. He’d give her a moment before she figured it out.

  A light bulb seemed to be slowly burning in her mind. Then her eyes snapped to his. “You said you’re participating. If Franks is leading the team, what will you be doing?”

  “I’ll be your spotter.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I’ve worked without a spotter before. I don’t need one now.”

  No one completely denied his directives. They would discuss them and sometimes find a better solution, but Sam’s argument nearly spoke of insubordination. He wouldn’t lie to himself that while he had that burning need to be a part of the op for Cody’s sake, being near Sam, being able to protect her, also drove him to participate, even though his injury might hamper his mobility if they needed
to make a quick retreat.

  “Doesn’t matter. You’re getting one.” His voice brooked no argument. She did sulk a bit like a child who couldn’t convince his parents to buy her candy, and he found that quite cute. “Once Sugar and I are in place, we can fill in the gaps and guard posts.”

  “Bad news, boys.” As an afterthought, Devon said, “Sorry, Sugar, boys and girl.” He winked, which made Ken think she’d moved into Devon’s view. “He’s suspected of trading arms.”

  “That’d explain all the armed guards,” Franks said, even though that hadn’t been a question for anyone.

  “Boys and girl,” Ken smiled at Sam who returned it with a scowl he doubted Devon had received for the same comment, “not like I have to tell you, but this isn’t going to be pretty. I know we all want to rush in and grab Cody, but we can’t unless we want to put Cody’s life at more risk than it might already be. You’re working with a smaller team than you’re used to.” He waved his hand to silence Franks before he spoke. “I know we’ve had smaller teams before, and like then, I know we can do this without injury.”

  “I’ve put in a call to a friend of ours to see if any government agency is after the man. I’ll let you know as soon as I do, so step light.” Devon’s words rested heavily in the air. No one liked to wait. But getting it right meant everything.

  “We’ll recon the hell out of that bitch,” Cowboy said. He tilted his head to the side a moment. “Does the no-cursing thing apply to ops? I mean, Reagan won’t know.”

  Jesse grinned. “I don’t think my daughter meant to stifle you.” Then he chuckled. “And you’re right, she won’t hear you on an op.”

  “Thank fuck,” Cowboy said. “I didn’t think I’d make it.”

  Not ignoring the situation, but the bit of levity relaxed the team a bit and he wholeheartedly approved.

  “Although she’s not allowed in the war room,” Jesse said, “one of her uncles sometimes breaks that rule and she may hear you or find out.”

  Cowboy growled. “Damn, Devon.”