Betrayed (Hostage Rescue Team Series Book 9) (22 page)

Finding out someone you’d idolized and protected for the past decade had betrayed you, sucked. He felt bruised inside.

He vividly remembered Perez’s words when he’d called to inform his boss he was leaving the game after the Villa op, during the drive down to Key West.

I’ll be sorry to lose you. But I understand why you’d want that, and I wish you the best.
He’d sounded so sincere. Bautista had believed him, thought he’d be able to get out of the game and start a new life.

Lies. All fucking
lies
.

“You need to let me warn Laura in person,” he said to Rycroft. “Whatever Perez has done, she and the kids are innocent. None of them know the truth about him and the things he’s done. I want them protected and I want your word you’ll let me be the one to talk to her, in person, before I’ll give you anything else.”

Laura and the kids didn’t deserve any of this. He hated knowing how hard this was going to be on all of them.

Rycroft crossed his arms, his expression calm but interested. “Where are they?”

“Vacation house in Destin. Laura always takes the kids there for the week after her daughter Jenny’s birthday.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Yes.” They’d gone every year. Bautista had accompanied them several times over the past few years, as added security.

“And you think Perez is still in Miami and not with them?”

“He never goes. But I can find him.” And he wasn’t disclosing the possible locations Perez might be until he got what he wanted.

A guarantee of Georgia’s freedom.

Rycroft tilted his head a fraction. “He got a mistress or something he’s trying to hide?”

“
No
.” Twisted and fucked-up as Perez’s morals might be, he was a good husband and father. He worshipped and respected his wife, would do anything to protect his family and hide the bad things he was involved with.

No matter what else he’d done, there was no way Perez would ever cheat on Laura. Of that he was certain.

Although he’d been certain of Perez’s friendship as well, so there was a chance he was wrong.

Rycroft didn’t look convinced. “Can you do it without Perez being alerted?”

“Yes.” He knew Perez wouldn’t have told Laura that he was still alive. It would have made things far too complicated for him.

Because she absolutely would have demanded to come see Bautista in the medical facility they’d put him in, and get their lawyers to try and win his freedom. She’d always fussed over him like a mother hen, had invited him on family trips as a guest rather than security because she and the kids adored him.

Yeah. No way she knew he was alive.

“How tight is the security there?”

“I can handle it alone.”

Rycroft made a scoffing sound. “Not an option. Either we all go, or we don’t go at all.”

Bautista fought for patience. The day had started out in the best way possible and quickly turned to shit a few hours ago and he wasn’t in the mood to piss around with details. Laura and the kids would be freaked enough to see him, let alone learn what he had to tell them. He needed to be the one to break the news.

“I go in there alone,” he insisted, unwilling to budge on that point.

Rycroft’s jaw clenched and his eyes cooled at Bautista’s tone. “With us standing by as backup and security, and you’ll be wearing a wire. And you’ll also give me whatever I need to plan an op to get Perez on the way down there.”

He inclined his head. “Fine. But there’s one more thing.”

Rycroft raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”

“I want you to wipe Georgia’s record and let her walk away after this.”

She’d been fucked over too many times by people she’d trusted. He now knew exactly how that felt and he wanted her to be free to start over, have a life again.

“She uncovered things that implicate people throughout the cartel, not to mention a certain government intelligence agency. Even if we get Perez and Rossland is taken into custody, she’ll still be at risk. You said you wanted to recruit her but you know the only way she’ll ever be safe is to get out of the States. She’s given you what you wanted. She deserves to start over.”

Rycroft’s expression turned unreadable. “You realize I don’t have to agree to a goddamn thing here, right? That basically you’re fucked in terms of options here. You either do what I want or you get locked up until you die.”

“Yeah, I know all that,” he said bitterly. “I also realize you fucking kidnapped her and have no solid evidence against her in terms of any crimes. And I’ll make your life a living hell if I don’t get your word you’ll take care of it.”

The agent drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly. “I’ll do what I can.”

He shook his head, refusing to give in. “Not good enough.”

After holding his gaze for a long moment, Rycroft nodded once, his gaze holding a grudging respect. “All right. I give you my word I’ll do everything I can to make sure she’s protected. Once this is all over, I’ll do my best to see that she’s treated fairly. That’s the best I can do, because you know that kind of deal isn’t up to just me.”

He was right. But Rycroft did have major sway in the agency, and was well respected in the intelligence community. Not to mention all the connections he had to draw on. If anyone could help Georgia start over outside the U.S., it was Rycroft.

“Okay. Then I agree.”

“Good.” Rycroft relaxed his stance. “Briar’s working on getting us a flight to Destin right now and Wallace and Georgia are on their way back with the cleanup crew who’ll be taking possession of the body. We need to be wheels up as soon as possible, so you can get the wife and kids to safety before Perez figures out Montoya is dead and goes on the run.”

That didn’t leave them much time. A matter of hours, probably, if Perez wasn’t already aware of what had happened to his nephew. Bautista nodded. He was sure Laura would do what he asked. “I’ll be ready.”

Rycroft stood, then reached out and set a hand on his shoulder. “I know he meant a lot to you. I’m sorry you have to be the one to do this.”

He tensed at the contact. “I’m not.” Because the need for vengeance was already burning hot in his veins. “And let’s be real, this is what you were hoping for all along. You couldn’t have asked for things to work out any better for you.”

Rycroft withdrew his hand. “I’ve got some calls to make,” he muttered, and left the room.

Bautista turned his head to stare out the window, watching small aircraft land and take off. What he wouldn’t give to be on one of those planes right now, out of the country to start over somewhere else.

He literally had no one now. No one who cared about him or what happened to him. Except maybe Georgia.

Well, he
hoped
Georgia did anyway.

His gaze followed a small airplane as it sped down the runway and lifted off the ground, winging its way into a sky filled with all the brilliant colors of an October sunset.

He’d never be that free again. And even if he was, he wasn’t sure if Georgia would want to be with him on that plane anyway.

The door opened again and his heart gave a hard thud when she stepped into the room. Her clothes and arms were still covered in dirt from when they’d been crawling in the woods, but she was still so beautiful.

Jesus, it had scared the shit out of him when that shot had hit the tree next to her as she’d run into the forest. For a moment when she’d fallen to the ground he’d thought she’d been hit. He’d been on his way back to her, going to her despite the danger of drawing the shooter’s attention, and had only begun breathing again when he finally saw her move.

She pushed the door closed behind her, concern clear in her expression. “You doing okay?” she asked softly.

He forced a nod even though it felt like his entire world had just been turned upside down. He wanted to pull her into his arms and never let go, take her away from all of this bullshit. But he couldn’t. And that ate him up inside.

“Yeah.”

“I’m really sorry.”

Jaw tight, he nodded. He was still reeling inside, didn’t know how to process this. She probably knew how he felt. But he’d be damned if he’d let anyone know how much he was hurting, even her.

Old habits die hard.
Never let anyone see your weaknesses
. “Thanks.”

She cleared her throat, suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Listen, I need to tell you something.”

The dread in her tone made his stomach muscles clench. His gaze sharpened on her. “What?”

“Perez was the other name on my list.”

He absorbed that without reaction, mainly because he’d already figured that out this morning after their talk in bed. It made the most sense as to why she’d needed to get close to him in Miami. Perez was an impossible target that only a trusted insider could get close enough to in order to carry out a hit.

Or a former trusted insider.

He nudged that thought aside for the moment, just glad she was being honest with him now. “And Montoya? Did you know about him too?”

“His name came up during my investigation. I knew Perez was using him as an enforcer off and on this past year. But I didn’t realize until this morning when we were talking that he’d done it behind your back.”

“Yeah, apparently he did a lot of things behind my back.” How had he been so blind and stupid? Him, the cartel’s most feared enforcer?

She cocked her head. “Did you know him well? Montoya?”

He shrugged. “I thought I did. But then I thought I knew Perez, too.” Because the man he’d thought he’d known would never have lied and hidden something like that, let alone put a hit out on him.

“You said you helped train him.”

“After he was kicked out of the Army with a dishonorable discharge, Perez had me work with him to increase his skill level. He was Perez’s favorite sister’s son. I taught him advanced techniques in stalking, marksmanship, evasion. Basic sniper skills. I honestly never thought anything would come of it. He was too young and inexperienced to be of any real use to Perez, even with my help, and he had a giant chip on his shoulder that made him too much of a wild card.”

“Anger issues?”

“Yeah, way too unstable and cocky. He was super competitive, even with me, and it pissed him off that he couldn’t beat me.”

But he’d gotten the final word on that one, hadn’t he? Nico was currently zipped into a body bag because of him and no matter how hard Bautista tried to avoid it, his conscience pricked at him with sharp claws. Nico had been a close part of the Perez family. Bautista had seen him play in the pool with Laura and Diego’s kids, be there for parties.

Georgia sighed, rubbed at a streak of dirt on the bottom of one forearm. “Everything’s been taken care of with Montoya. They’re transporting him up to Langley for the CIA to deal with him.”

He frowned. “But that just means it’s more likely that whoever’s still targeting you will find out.”

She nodded, looking a little worried now. “I know. I think that’s what Rycroft wants. He’s waiting to see if it draws any reaction from the other person I’ve got evidence against on the hard drive.”

“Rossland.” He nearly growled the name.

“Yes.” She crossed the room to sit in the chair next to his, close enough that he could smell the sweet scent of her shampoo.

He searched her eyes, craving that deep connection he always felt with her. Even early on when she’d begun volunteering at the care home, he’d felt it. She’d opened up to him so much this morning.

He craved her complete trust. Wanted to protect her, claim her and take her far away from all of this, keep her with him always. “Who was he?”

“One of my former trainers. He was tight with Balducci when they worked at the company together. After Rossland left to pursue politics, he distanced himself from him somewhat. And since Balducci was arrested, Rossland’s been busy trying to erase any evidence linking him to any of this.”

“But he can’t erase what you’ve got on the flash drive.”

“Right. And that’s why that company hitter was at the cabin the other night.”

Bautista rubbed a hand over his jaw, thankful he’d been able to drop the guy when he had. “Tell me you’ve got other copies hidden somewhere.”

She snorted as though that was obvious. “Of course. And if I die, the whereabouts die with me.”

The mere mention of her dying triggered an instant, powerful denial, fueled the anger already beating at him. “You’re not going to die,” he bit out, a savage rush of protectiveness rising up inside him. “Because anyone coming after you is gonna have to get through me first.”

When she stared at him in astonishment he gave her a tight smile. “And it turns out I’m not the easiest guy to kill.”

At that her expression softened and she put a hand on his arm, the light contact sending a jolt of sensation through him. He took a deep breath. He was too worked up inside. There was so much anger, so much pain that Perez would betray him this way.

Throughout everything Bautista had been through, he’d always protected Perez, even during and after his recovery and in contract negotiations with Rycroft about joining this team. He’d flat out refused to turn on Perez, had made it clear the man was off limits.

And now he realized his loyalty had been for nothing.

Georgia’s fingers wrapped around his arm and squeezed. “I don’t want you risking your life for mine. Not ever again.”

Her pale blue eyes delved into his with an earnestness he craved desperately. Nothing else in his life was real. Only her.

“Losing you once almost killed me. Don’t do it to me again.”

The plea in her voice undid him.

Unable to stop himself, he leaned over, cupped the side of her jaw in one hand, and kissed her. Her answering moan vibrated through him, soothing the raw edges of the invisible wound bleeding in his chest.

Pulling back after a long moment, he stared into her eyes. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you, no matter what.” He would uphold that vow with his dying breath, as he had once before.

She opened her mouth to no doubt argue but a sharp rap on the door made them both look up as Briar poked her head in. “Hey,” she said, glancing between the two of them as Bautista pulled his hand from Georgia’s face and straightened. “Plane’s inbound, should be touching down shortly. It’s gonna be a fast turnaround, just changing out the crew and refueling. Pilots are already filing a flight plan now. Wheels up twenty minutes after it arrives at the terminal.”