Authors: Emma Anderson
Looking up at the ever-quiet man
who stood beside Judge, she asked, “Will it be all right if you’re left dealing
with the hotel and casino, Chaos? I know you like to stick to the kitchen.”
The giant man smiled down at
her. “The kitchen will have to do without me too, sweetpea. I’m coming with
you. Not only will I be able to help protect you, I can watch Judge’s back and
help Iris here with her problem of who else is on Delgado’s payroll. Now no
more arguing. You just listen to your mate.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Less than twenty-four hours
later, Charli sat in the front of the dark van they were traveling in, giving
Jonah directions to the property. Several other vehicles followed behind. No
matter how hard she had tried she hadn’t been able to pinpoint which property
the drop off was taking place on. Each photo had shown a small runway suitable
for the tiny plane the shipment was being carried upon.
It would seem that the fates
wanted her present when Delgado was captured. As soon as the van started moving
toward the general location of a number of the properties, the fates gave
Charli the answers she had been searching for. Just like when she’d directed
the guys to Nikki’s location, a map appeared in her mind. Her own inbuilt GPS
system.
“Slow down here,” Charli ordered
as a sense of urgency came over her. She felt the van slow as she opened her
eyes. A sense of foreboding hung over her head like a dark, ominous cloud. They
were close to the location of the drop off. The only problem was, so was the
plane. They continued along the road slowly. And finally there it was. Almost
as if it had a huge neon sign over it inviting them to enter was the driveway
that led to Delgado.
“Okay, all non-FBI agents out
now,” Jonah ordered, turning toward her.
A crippling pain shot through
her heart, telling her what she had to do. Facing the stern face of Jonah, she
said, “No! There’s no time. If you want Delgado you have to go now, not waste
time kicking us out of the van.”
“Damn it!” he said before
picking up the two-way radio. “Okay, teams two, three, and four are with me.
Team five, move to the other exit. Team six, you stay here. Nobody leaves this
property without my permission.”
“Copy that, sir!” came the joint
reply.
Jonah then turned to Charli with
a quick glance back at Judge and Chaos. “You will stay in the van,” he ordered
before focusing on Chaos. “Iris says you’re able to work out who else might be
on Delgado’s payroll. I want them but you won’t leave this car until Delgado is
contained.” His whole face softened when he turned his attention on Iris.
“Sweetheart, I want you to stay here. I don’t want to be worrying about you out
there. This asshole needs my full attention. Okay?”
Charli felt for Iris. She too
had a protective mate, but this one had forgotten that she too had the same
training as he did. Still she nodded her assent and was rewarded by a killer
smile from Jonah.
“Good girl,” Jonah said before
turning back to the steering wheel and tearing down the property’s driveway.
The tires stirred up clouds of
dust, announcing their arrival. They drove with one purpose in mind. The path
they had taken was the back entrance, down the fire roads. It meant they were
close to the landing strip. So close that Charli could hear the sound of
running engines. She had noticed that fortunately the plane was nowhere in the
sky, which suggested it had already landed, denying it an easy getaway.
Suddenly the van stopped,
remaining hidden behind a thick thatch of trees. The cars behind them carried
along the road before disappearing out of sight. Within minutes all three teams
had checked in, giving Jonah the signal he’d been waiting for. He pulled the
black ski mask over his face before placing both hands back on the steering
wheel.
They were moving again. As they
rounded a line of trees, they were confronted with a scene from a Hollywood
movie. A number of Delgado’s thugs were there, not worrying about concealing
their weapons. Not that they could easily, considering they looked huge even
from a distance.
“Get down!” was all the warning
she got before bullets came flying at the window.
Suddenly Jonah was out of the
van with his own weapon drawn. Shots could be heard all around, zipping past
the van, some pinging into the metal. Just as Judge had grabbed Charli and
pulled her into the back with him the windshield shattered, sending glass
flying everywhere. She curled into Judge’s hold, willing the noise to stop.
She got her wish. As quickly as
it began, it ceased. Then the shouting started, people being ordered to “get
down.” Charli relaxed slightly. Jonah’s was one of the voices giving orders.
“Please explain to me why he had
to drive the van out there to be shot at?” Judge asked as he picked things out
of Charli’s hair.
“He needed to draw their
attention to him while the others got into place,” Iris replied, dusting her
jeans. “You have to remember you and Charli weren’t supposed to be here in the
van.”
Judge stiffened under Charli.
“Something’s wrong,” he insisted. “Delgado hasn’t been taken down.”
“What do you mean? He’s not
here?” Iris asked, starting to stand. Judge stopped her.
“He’s out there, but he’s got a
hostage. One of the girls from the plane,” Judge explained. “He’s threatening
to kill her. The poor thing is scared. I can smell her from here.”
“Judge, you stay here with the
women,” Chaos ordered as he reached for the handle of the double back doors.
“You can’t go all lion out there in front of everyone, but I have my own bag of
tricks.”
Chaos quite literally
disappeared. Not just through the doors but into thin air. One minute he was
visible, then he was not. At least that gifted Charli with a bit of insight of
what the warlock was capable of. The old disappearing trick held a whole new
meaning. No cupboard needed, just warlock blood.
A bone-chilling scream sounded,
right before a voice she prayed never to hear again. “Clarissa, I know you’re
here. I saw you in that van. Get out here now! Before this girl loses some more
blood. It’ll be on your head.”
Without even thinking, Charli
moved toward the door Chaos had just exited through. A hand landed on her arm,
its grip tight. “Where are you going?”
“You heard him. He’s going to
kill that girl.” She pulled at Judge’s hold. “I can’t sit by and allow that to
happen, Judge. Not if I can do something to stop it.”
“But he’ll kill you!”
“My life holds no more value
than hers does. Who am I to decide who should live or die?” Charli challenged,
raising her eyebrow.
“Damn stubborn woman! Why do you
have to have such strong morals?”
Reaching up to touch his cheeks,
she replied, “I wouldn’t be your mate if I didn’t have those qualities.”
She made another move toward the
door. “Wait!” Judge ordered. “Chaos and I’ll be going with you. But no one will
see us.”
“He can do that to you too?” she
asked, too surprised to be scared for Judge.
“Ye have little faith in me,
sweetpea,” came the voice from the open back door. “Judge, I’m assuming you
have a plan?”
“We go out there, save the girl,
and no one gets killed,” Charli replied for her mate. It sounded like the
perfect plan to her, though she knew the best laid plans never went
accordingly.
“We go out there,” Judge said in
between Delgado screaming her name. “You stay by my side and under no
circumstances will you go anywhere near that asshole.”
“I’ll get the girl, sweetpea. I
promise,” Chaos vowed.
Suddenly they were moving. Judge
maintained the hold on her hand even when he disappeared from her sight.
Together they walked around the van, moving toward Delgado and his captive.
Charli held the girl’s gaze, silently telling her to remain calm and that
everything was going to be okay. Of course Delgado chose that moment to prove
her wrong.
“You took your time,” he sneered
as he dug the wicked-looking knife he held deeper into the girl’s exposed neck.
“Get your fat ass over here. You and I are going to leave and no one’s going to
do a thing about it.”
Judge’s grip tightened on her
hand, warning her to stay where she was. “Just let the girl go, Delgado. She
doesn’t deserve any of this,” she called out, trying to stall.
“You shut your fucking mouth,
you stupid slut. Who do you think you are, ordering me around?” he screamed.
Then he looked around and snorted. Spitting on the ground, he waved his knife,
pointing at the agents that surrounded him. “These filthy scum will do as I
say.” Again he brought the knife back to the girl’s neck and sliced into her
skin.
Then suddenly he released her.
Several gunshots sounded and Delgado fell to the ground. Jonah moved in,
standing over the injured man and calling for the medic team.
Charli would have slumped in
relief had it not been for the fact that she was fairly certain Chaos was the
reason the girl had been let go. That meant he’d been in the line of fire when
Delgado had been shot.
“Chaos,” she whispered, knowing
Judge would hear her.
With a squeeze to her hand and a
kiss on her cheek, Judge said, “He’s fine. He’s not exactly bulletproof but—”
“I know, he’s got his own bag of
tricks.”
“That’s right, sweetpea,” Chaos
said from behind her. As she turned she saw that he was once again himself.
Tall, bulky with his shaved head and brilliant bright blue eyes. “Now why don’t
we release Judge from the spell before anyone notices that he’s missing?”
As they moved toward the van,
Charli became aware of commotion occurring behind them. She ignored it,
allowing the FBI agents to deal with it. It was a mistake. What had started out
as a slight sting on her left shoulder blade quickly transformed into a blaze
encompassing her whole shoulder and back. She had no idea what happened, but
she was scooped up into someone’s arms as they ran behind the van. She was
barely aware of the shouting and shooting that was occurring on the other side
of the van over the pounding in her ears. Darkness swamped her. The last thing
she heard was Judge ordering her not to die.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Judge was pissed off. He wanted
blood, but the asshole was dead. Instead he was sitting in the hospital waiting
room while his mate was in surgery to remove a bullet from her shoulder.
“Have you heard anything?” Chaos
asked, worry softening his hard face as walked toward Judge.
“Not since you rang five minutes
ago,” Judge responded sharply. He cringed at his tone. “I’m sorry, brother. I
hate this. Why did those humans have to notice? You could have fixed Charli up
and then we would have been on our way. But now she’s going through hell, and I
can’t be by her side. And worst of all, she’s going to be in a hell of a lot
more pain after the operation than what she would have been if they let you do
your thing.”
“I know, brother. But secrecy is
paramount. Charli wouldn’t want us to risk exposing ourselves when the humans
could fix her.” Chaos patted Judge on his back. “You know that better than
anyone.”
“I know,” Judge conceded,
finally looking at Chaos. The warlock looked tired. “Did you get everything
squared away with Iris and Biesterman?”
“Yes, I found three traitors in
the teams that were there today. Biesterman’s going to check them out and hand
them over to his boss,” Chaos replied. “One of them appeared relieved when
Delgado was pronounced dead at the scene.”
“But relieved because he can’t
get fingered or because he was forced into the association with Delgado?”
“That, my brother, is for
Biesterman to work out. Then he will have his hands full on returning to Vegas.
I handed over the information that Gabby’s brother stole from Biesterman’s
uncle. He should now have all the names of those in his uncle’s pocket. Minus
those two cops from Gabby’s brother’s case. Viper is convinced they deserve a
second chance after their help with protecting Nikki from her ex.”
Judge snorted at Chaos’s
comment. Since when did they give second chances? Immediately he knew the
answer. Since the girls had walked into their lives and upturned them. He would
take as much mayhem in his life, if only his woman made it through this ordeal.
A hand squeezed Judge’s
shoulder. “You know she’s going to be all right, don’t you?”
“Are you psychic too?” Judge
queried, looking up at Chaos.
“No, I just know that your girl
is strong.”
“You know, Devil thinks you’re a
threat to my relationship with Charli because of your use of the endearment
sweetpea
?” Judge said, looking down at
his hands.
“And what do you think?” Chaos
asked, sitting in the chair beside Judge.
“It’s not what I think, but what
I know.” Judge returned his gaze to his now-seated brother. “I know that you
have no sexual feelings for Charli. It’s your way of identifying those women special
to you. You feel a connection to her, don’t you?”
“Yes, but how did you know?”
He leaned back in his chair and
patted Chaos’s broad shoulder, offering comfort to the man the only way he knew
how. “Do you remember that kitchen hand, about twelve years ago?” Chaos nodded.
“You called her sweetpea too. You were protective of her in a brotherly way. If
I remember rightly her name was Crystal, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Have you maintained contact
with her?” Judge asked, suspecting the answer.
“Yes. She’s mated with a cub on
the way,” Chaos explained. His response wasn’t a surprise to Judge.
“Do you go to her when you take
off from the hotel?” Chaos nodded again. “How does her mate feel about that?”
“Like you, he understands the
connection between us. Though it did take him a while. He doesn’t know me as
well as you do.” Chaos rubbed his hand over his shaven head. “It’s not the same
as the one I have with Charli. Hell, I don’t even understand it.”
“But I thought the connection
you shared with both Crystal and Charli had something to do with your similar
pasts. Each one of your families have used your abilities for their own gain.”
Each brother knew the others’ story of their first life, though they rarely
discussed it.
“It is, but with Crystal it’s
stronger somehow. As if we share something more than family betrayal,” Chaos
said, standing.
“You don’t share DNA, do you?
Maybe your family trees cross somewhere.”
“No, I checked that out. We
share no genes at all.” Chaos looked at the waiting room door. He moved toward
it and threw the attention back onto the problem at hand. “I’m going to hunt
down some coffee and fill Devil and Viper in. The girls are going crazy for
information.”
“Emily doesn’t know, does she?”
“No.”
Judge’s shoulders slumped in
relief. “Good, keep it that way.”
Chaos bowed his head slightly in
deference to Judge. It was his family, so he made the rules. “As you wish. Do
you want some coffee?”
Standing, Judge ran his fingers
through his hair and began to pace. “What I want is for someone to tell me what
the hell’s going on.”
“Two coffees, then,” Chaos said
as he walked through the door.
Twenty minutes later, Chaos
walked in with two steaming cups of coffee. To Judge’s surprise they weren’t in
the usual Styrofoam cups but proper porcelain mugs. After a sip he realized it
tasted like real coffee rather than that crap most hospitals had.
When he questioned Chaos about
it, the big man just shrugged and admitted, “I sweet-talked the nurses into
letting me use their machine in their kitchenette. Nikki and Gabby told me to
do it.”
“How’s everything back there?”
“The girls send their love,”
Chaos replied, taking a long sip from his cup. “And they fear that keeping
Charli’s condition from Emily might not be that easy. She had a vision last
night and called out to Charli. When Nikki asked about it Emily claimed to be
too tired. Then this morning she told the girls what she saw.”
“Why the hell didn’t they warn
us?” Judge fisted his hand around the mug. It shattered. His only saving grace
was that it was empty.
“They tried but we had already
gone silent, remember. No phone or radio contact with anyone.” Chaos shook his
head, pointedly looking at the broken mug. “You can explain that to the nurses.
I’m not.”
Turning his hand over, Judge
took in the damage done by the avenging porcelain. He had tiny cuts across his
hand. Cuts that were already healing. It was nothing compared to what his mate
was currently enduring. Where the hell was that doctor?
As if conjuring her up by
thought alone, a doctor entered the waiting room, still in scrubs. “Are you Mr.
Martin?”
“Yes, that’s me,” Judge said,
jumping up from the chair he was sitting in. “How is she?”
“She’s going to be fine. Very
sore, but she’s one lucky girl. The bullet hit an artery as I had originally
suspected. We’ve had to immobilize her arm. She’s going to have to keep it as
still as possible for a while. But she should make a full recovery.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Judge said,
fighting the urge to hug her. “Can we see her?”
“Yes, but not until she’s been
moved. I’ll have the nurse let you know when you can see her.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Judge
called after the retreating woman as he slumped in his chair. His mate was
going to be okay.
****
Images of Emily tied to a chair,
followed by a man lying in his own blood on the ground, floated through
Charli’s hazy mind and had her screaming. Something squeezed her hand and she
struggled to open her eyes. Her eyelids were heavy, refusing to budge. She
tried to bring her other hand up to clear her faulty vision but her arm stayed
where it was. The pain was now through her whole shoulder and she cried out
again.
“Shhh, kitten, you’ll wake the
whole hospital.”
Judge’s words had more images
running through her mind. Images she knew were real. Delgado was dead, and she
had been shot. She tried to assess the damage by attempting to move her
shoulder again. Only this time she was expecting the pain. Still it remained
immobile.
“Charli, don’t try to move your
shoulder. It’s been bound to protect it from any further damage,” a female voice
instructed.
“The doctor’s right. If you need
anything ask me,” Judge cooed, squeezing her free hand. “That’s what I’m here
for.”
“Eyes won’t open. Heavy!” she
croaked as she yanked her free hand from Judge’s hold and grabbed her throat.
It felt like she had swallowed razor blades.
A wet cloth was wiped across her
eyes right before something cold touched her lips. “Open up for me, kitten.
This will help your throat.”
A sliver of ice hit her tongue
and immediately melted. The drop of cool liquid that drizzled down the back of
her throat was surprisingly refreshing. Another ice chip was held to her mouth.
She welcomed it, desperate for its soothing qualities.
Finally when her throat had
cooled enough and she managed to open her eyes a slither, she asked, “Delgado,
is he really dead?”
“Yes, kitten. He’s no longer a
threat.” His attempt at reassuring her was ruined by his angry glare at her
shoulder.
“He’s the one who shot me,
wasn’t he?”
“Yes,” Judge hissed. His gaze
moved to the machine monitoring her heartbeat. “The agents were lapse in their
judgment of his condition. They assumed he had been incapacitated by his
injuries. They were wrong and you nearly paid for it with your life.”
“Hey, Judge, look at me,” she
encouraged. Initially he fought her request, but finally his green eyes met
hers. Squeezing his hand, she added, “I’m here. Safe and alive. That’s more
than I can say about Delgado. With him gone from our lives Emily and I can move
on and look to our future with you. A sore shoulder is a small price to pay for
our freedom.”
“I nearly lost you,” Judge said,
putting his head down on her leg.
“But you didn’t.” She ran her
good hand through his golden hair. “Now did the doctor say when you can spring
me from this joint? I want to go home.”