His Angel (24 page)

She realized he still thought Brody was her boyfriend and knew nothing about her relationship with Ian. He jumped off the crate, stepped toward her and squatted in front of her chair. "Maybe I'll see what has all these assholes beating a path to your door, hmm? You that good in bed, darlin'?"

He imitated the Texas drawl Brody had used on him. When he dragged a finger down her face and neck to her chest, she shuddered. Instinctively kicking out her leg, she missed connecting her shin with his balls by mere inches. But he shifted in time then backhanded her across the face, sending her and her chair toppling over. "You fucking bitch!"

Seconds after she hit the ground, the metal doors on both ends of the warehouse were kicked in followed by flashes of blinding light and loud booms. Gunfire and pandemonium broke out and Angie pushed her legs against the cement floor, forcing her upper body toward where Jenn sat, frantically straining against her restraints while muffled screams emerged from around her gag. Unlike Angie, she was tied to the chair and couldn't get out of the line of fire. As the shooting continued, Angie managed to get to her knees and, using her upper body, knocked Jenn sideways, chair and all, to the ground then covered the helpless woman's body with her own the best she could.

* * *

"Sit-rep," Ian demanded.

They were still in a holding pattern. Brody was listening with one ear to a headset plugged into his portable tablet which ran the same program as his laptop, while his com-set was in his other ear. Angie's voice was coming in loud and clear with the occasional scratching noise, while he could just make out the male voices in the distance. He hit the record icon when he heard Angie start to ask the questions the team needed answers to. "Way to go, sweetheart. Teams, standby, our girl is giving us info... five tangos...principles are handcuffed to chairs in the middle of structure...handguns at ready. No hints at any other weapons...she's off topic. Your call, Boss-man."

"Team One, taking west end, Team Two, take the east end. Get me heat confirmation, Two." Ian signaled for his men to split up and circumvent the empty warehouse they were still behind toward what was the front entrances to both buildings. The other team would work their way toward the back. He also indicated for Carter to find a way to the roof to see if he could get eyes into the northern building. If the buildings were the same, high windows would run along the south side of the other structure. "Reverend, south sniper looking for position, do the same on north if you can." His teammate acknowledged him. "Heat signatures?"

Rad's voice came through as a low whisper since he was needed to be standing close to the target building. "Affirm. Looks like three sitting at a small table. Two others in chairs about twenty feet to my left, possibly our principles. One pacing east to west, looks like he's southeast of principles. One more sitting between duo and trio, maybe on a crate or something."

"Windows, doors?"

The men in the best positions to answer did so, starting with Rad at the north side and going clockwise. "Second story windows on North, no entry."

Marco's voice came next. "East, one kick-in door, no windows."

"South, windows, no doors," said Devon, who was first in line along the front of the unoccupied building and could see the last two sides from where he stood. "West, one kick-in, one overhead, no windows."

Carter reported in. "Sniper position on top of south structure. Partial line of sight. Best I can do. Can get head shots on everyone but pacer; he's too close to my side. Lots of hiding spots, boys. There's a bunch of wooden crates and boxes in there. Princess A, sitting in chair, hands behind back. Princess J, five feet east, hands same, also blindfolded and gagged."

"I've got pacer in sight line from north position in tree." Jake was straddling a limb in the tall tree he'd managed to climb about fifteen yards away from the target building. It wasn't the greatest spot because he couldn't rest his sniper rifle against anything, so it would have to be a holding shot without a spotter. As long as the branch didn't break under his weight, he'd be okay.

Ian acknowledged all transmissions. "Team One, breach west, Team Two, breach east. Team Three, standby for intercepts. On my go."

Marco took the remainder of his team and rounded the building to the back door and stated they were in position, while Ian's team took the front. Before Ian gave the word for Devon to use the mobile ram to breach the front door and Bannerman to do the same at the back, Carter spoke into his headset from his elevated roost. "Crate tango hopped down, walking toward Principle A. Right in front of her, no weapon threat, lost head shot...smacked her, she's on the floor."

"Breach!"

Simultaneously the east and west doors were knocked open and two flash-bang grenades were tossed through each, far enough for them to cause the most confusion among the buildings occupants. Explosions, screams, yelled orders, Beau's barking and sounds of gunfire filled the air as the members of both teams made their entries–some going left, others going right–and took cover. Jake's calm voice penetrated the headsets. "Pacer down, head shot.

The trio from the poker table and Agent Jackson scrambled for cover, while firing their weapons in the direction of the doorways. One of the gang members went down with a hole in his head, thanks to Carter.

Devon and Tanner had gone left after entry while Boomer and Urkel went with Ian to the right. They worked their way around a maze of crates and boxes as the two remaining gang-bangers tried to make a run for the front door using whatever they could find as cover. Boomer released Beau with an order to attack and the dog lunged for the nearest bad guy, clamping his jaw down on the man's arm. The suspect screamed in pain and tried to throw the dog loose but only succeeded in falling to the ground with the angry beast on top of him. He brought his gun up to shoot it but Boomer was there, kicking the weapon from his hand and shoving his own gun in the dirt-bag's face. "Don't fucking move, asshole."

Ian and Urkel worked their way in further, as the other team approached from other side of the long warehouse. A final gunshot sounded as Devon took out the last gang member, who'd still been firing his weapon while heading for the door. All was silent except for heavy breathing heard through the headsets and Beau's barking as the teams searched for the missing tango, Agent Jackson. From Ian's spot behind a crate he could see Angie's prone body lying on Jenn's. His niece was thrashing against her restraints and he couldn't tell if Angie was moving because she was also struggling or if Jenn's actions were causing the body on top of her to move. Seeing no sign of the last suspect and with Urkel covering his six, he ran low toward the women and knelt beside them, relieved when his angel turned her head to face him. "Ian!"

He put his assault rifle on the ground at his feet and reached to help her off Jenn. But the sound of near simultaneous shots had him drawing his sidearm and spinning toward where they came from on the other side of several large crates. Both teams converged on the spot and Ian heard curses and Tanner, their medic, telling someone to call for an ambulance. From where he was still covering the women, he could only see some of the team members and wasn't sure who'd been hit. Marco gave the 'all clear, suspects all accounted for' then Brody appeared at Ian's side and handed him a handcuff key before turning to Jenn to begin setting her free. Ian released Angie's wrists and she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him as hard as she could. "Thank God, you're here."

"It's over, sweetheart. I've got you, but you've got one hell of a punishment coming to you, Angel." Returning her embrace, he watched his teammate remove Jenn's blindfold and gag then cut through the ropes which bound her to the chair. Like Angie, she was crying and shaking but appeared to be unharmed aside from a few bruises. Adrenaline, fueled by Ian's anger, fear and relief, had him trembling as he held Angie tight but he stiffened as his brother's voice came through the earpiece.

Angie cried out and scrambled to stand after she heard Devon say 'Come on, Athos. Stay with us'. Her ear had been pressed against Ian's as the lowly spoken words had come over his headset. Ian helped her up and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they hurried to the other side of the crates. Marco was standing over Agent Jackson's dead body while Tanner and Devon worked on slowing the blood which was pouring out of the side of Athos' chest.

The dirty agent had rounded the tall shipping crates and come upon the other agent's blindside. Jackson had fired a millisecond before Rick Michaelson spotted him and could get his own shot off, hitting the bastard in the head. But the damage had been done. The bullet had entered Athos' chest from the left side, in the thin area under his arm which wasn't covered by the bullet-proof material. It was one of the worst places to get hit while wearing a vest. Ian could see the regret in Boomer's dad's face that he hadn't seen the suspect two seconds earlier. 'What if' was something they'd all learned to deal with since their first moments in combat but it never made it any easier. Jake and Carter appeared and cursed when they saw what had happened.

Angie rushed forward, falling to her knees as Devon made room for her at Athos' head. She grabbed her best friend's right hand while Dev leaned over his chest and continued to hold pressure on the wound. Tanner was quickly starting an IV in the injured man's left arm. Athos' eyes fluttered open at the sound of Angie's voice begging him to look at her. Struggling to breathe, his voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "Ang, you okay?"

"I'm fine. You are too, Jimmy. They're going to fix you up good as new." She wiped the sweat from his brow and the blood seeping out of the corners of his mouth, but it kept coming. His face was pale and his lips blue. Tanner looked up at Ian, who was standing behind Angie and gave him a small shake of his head. It wasn't good and unless a miracle happened within the next five minutes the man was going to bleed to death and there was nothing any of them could do. The bullet had caused too much internal damage, probably nicking the heart or aorta before lodging somewhere in the lungs.

"Promise me something, baby." The wounded agent was fading fast. His labored breathing was increasing and the blood filling his lungs was making him cough. "Promise me you'll be happy and remember I love you."

"I love you too, and you're not going anywhere, damn it! You stay here with me. That's what will make me happy! Stay with me!" The tears were pouring down her cheeks and her lips were trembling as she pleaded with him.

Athos' eyes shifted and met Ian's. "Take her. Take her out..." The rest of his words were lost to a coughing fit. He used the last of his strength to lift the hand which Angie was holding and gestured to the man he was entrusting her life to. Ian understood. Athos knew he only had a few minutes of life left in him, maybe even less, and he didn't want his best friend, the woman they both loved, to see his final moments.

Ian nodded and took hold of Angie's shoulders, pulling her up to her feet. She began to fight him, struggling to stay where she was, but her friend whispered, "Love you, baby. Go."

"No...no, Jimmy!" Angie became hysterical and Ian had no choice but to force her from the scene. "Let go, Ian! Put me down! I have to save him! Save him, please!"

Ian picked her up in his arms and cradled her to his chest as she continued to struggle and scream. He tried to offer words of comfort but she wasn't listening to him. As much as it hurt her to be forced to leave, she might even think he was being cruel, he knew it would be worse if she stayed. As death neared, Athos would begin to cough up a lot more blood and it wasn't a sight she needed to see. She also didn't need to hear the death rattle as the man took his last few breaths. Ian could hear the sounds of the approaching sirens as he carried her to the door. Urkel and Boomer had the one remaining suspect, who Beau had caught, in handcuffs. The others were all confirmed dead.

He brought her outside to where the paramedics, police, and a very pissed-off Agent Stonewall had just arrived. Carter had informed him, after the gunfight was over, he'd contacted Keon again. The deputy director would make sure the scene was cleaned up and no one, other than the one surviving gang-banger, would be in any trouble over the incident. Chase's men had secured the area and began to talk to the agents and officers in an attempt to give Ian and his team some breathing room.

Brody had taken Jenn outside as well, putting her into the front seat of Ian's still running Audi. One EMT ran over to check on her and Angie, while the others rushed into the warehouse where they were needed the most. Angie finally stopped fighting him and he set her down on her feet but refused to let her go, embracing her as she sobbed and mumbled into his chest. "He's going to die, isn't he?"

The painful acceptance in her voice caused a lump in his throat so instead of responding, he just held her tighter. A few minutes later, they both raised their heads when Carter approached. Placing a hand on Angie's neck, he leaned in and kissed the top of her head, whispering, "I'm sorry, little one. He's gone."

Her wail of grief was heard by all.

Ian sat in the passenger seat of Jake's Chevy Suburban as his friend drove Angie and him home to the compound from the airport, and he was less at ease now, then he'd been before they left. It was three months since they'd buried her best friend next to his mother and sister in upstate New York. Brody's recording of Agent Jackson's bragging had ensured James Andrews was put to rest following a full federal-government and military ceremony. A U.S. Marines honor guard had carried his coffin in and out of the Lake George church where he'd been baptized as a baby, made his First Communion and Confirmation. DEA agents and supervisors, fellow Marines, high school friends, and the Trident Security extended family had filled the church pews to capacity for the hometown hero's funeral. Flower arrangements covered the altar, and later again, the grave site. Some of the colorful memorial displays were from Will Anders, Roxy and Kayla London, Tiny and The Covenant staff, Shelby Whitman, several of Angie's friends from Florida, and one from Red Rose Books. Kristen must've let her editor know about their new graphic designer's loss.

Ian had spotted Carter, with dark sunglasses on, standing at the back of the church, and again, off to the side at the cemetery. The spy never approached them and disappeared after catching his and Angie's eyes, giving them a single somber nod of his head. At the grave site, three volleys of seven rifles were fired in salute and Ian held a weeping Angie as Taps was played. A sharply dressed Marine Corp captain knelt and handed her the U.S. flag which had been draped over the coffin, then folded with expert precision. He softly told her the President of the United States, the United States Marines and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration were grateful for her loved one's honorable and faithful service to his nation.

With Jimmy's death, what was left of the drug cartel in New Orleans had no reason to come after Angie. Besides the fact she could no longer be used as leverage for anything, they were too busy trying to keep themselves from getting life-without-parole prison sentences. The investigations which followed had led to Manny Melendez being killed during a raid and subsequent shoot-out with the feds and local police. Three of his minions were killed as well. There had also been a city-wide round-up of suspects, two DEA agents from the New Orleans office and three local cops, in addition to thirty-seven other people. For now, the Diaz connections in New Orleans were either in jail, on the run, or dead. The large incoming shipment of drugs had been seized from the transport cargo ship in a joint operation between the DEA, FBI and Coast Guard.

Henderson had survived the bullet wound to his chest but was out of commission for a few months while he recovered. Ian and Devon had kept their vow and paid for his partner's funeral, along with Chase Dixon. The team, Angie, Kristen and Jenn had attended that burial as well before flying to New York for Jimmy's funeral later in the same week. Jenn's bruises had healed and with the help of her psychologist, who'd counseled her following her parents' murders, she was getting past the memories of the kidnapping. Now, she had to convince her 'uncles' to ease up on their over-protectiveness which had increased ten-fold since the incident. They were back to arguing with her about running background checks on her prospective boyfriends among other ridiculous precautions.

Angie still had moments when her grief would hit her. Ian did everything he could to help her through those rough times and decided to take her away for a while. It took longer than he'd expected but they'd both managed to clear their schedules and workloads a little over two weeks ago. They flew to the Philippines to meet his folks for ten days, followed by four days as guests of King Rajeemh, who was the ruler of the small North African country of Timasur, near Mali. The king owned a home on Clearwater Beach near Tampa, and used Trident Security to offset his own protective detail whenever he and his family were visiting. He'd been inviting Ian and the team to his country for the past two years and this was the first time any of them had a chance to take His Highness up on his generous offer.

Introducing Angie to his parents had been a breeze. As he’d expected, they fell in love with her instantly. His mother had taken them on a tour of the facility she'd been performing surgery in and even had a chance to show Angie first-hand examples of before and after surgery on two of her patients. His angel had been in complete awe of the work his mother was doing and told her so, much to his mother's embarrassment. His mom was proud of the work she did, however, she didn't do it for the accolades but for the smiles of the children she helped.

Any reservations Angie may have had about meeting his billionaire father were quickly forgotten after the man had given her one of his big bear hugs. He'd worked side by side with them while they helped build a new school on one of the many Philippine islands, while Marie Sawyer was busy at the local hospital. Within the first twenty-four hours of their visit, his parents had both voiced their approval of Ian and Angie's relationship. Ian just wished he felt as certain about it as they did.

He wasn't worried about the connection he felt with Angie because the woman was one-hundred and ten percent perfect for him in every way. She loved him, he was sure of it and they were a good fit. She liked trying all sorts of new things with him–in and out of the bedroom–and she obviously enjoyed the sex as she was very vocal about it. And like him, she couldn't get enough of it. What worried Ian was, could he continue to make her happy for the rest of their lives? Was he good enough for her? Because the woman deserved the very best and then some. Yes, he had plenty of money for them to be financially comfortable, and yes, he made her smile...laugh...and cum, over and over. He would give her the moon if he could, but what if sometime down the road, she got tired of him? What if one day she woke up and decided she didn't want to be with him anymore, took off his collar and walked out the door? Ian knew in his heart he would never recover from the loss, never love another woman the way he loved his angel. His fear of losing her was why he was so scared to ask her to move in with him and eventually marry him.

When they'd been in Timasur, they'd been guests of the king at the main palace, a beautiful eighty-room castle on twenty-five acres of manicured lawns and maze-like gardens, where they were always getting lost. After the first day, Ian began to joke he needed to save some breadcrumbs from each of their meals to lay down a trail. That way they could get back to their opulent suite without wandering around for an hour looking for it.

The country was beautiful and they had spent their days with a guide who took them to many of the small nation's historical and natural sights. Kael had been full of history and wit, making them laugh often while showing them the wonders of his little corner of the world. Each night, Ian and Angie had been exhausted, falling asleep in each other's arms after a round or two of amazing love-making. He would never tire of this woman, but would she eventually tire of him like Kaliope had? Granted, he wasn't disappearing for months like he had been during his time in the Navy, but still his thoughts kept nagging at him. He couldn't get himself past his distrust of 'forever' relationships.

Early the morning of their last day in Timasur, Ian had taken advantage of the complete gym located in the east wing of the palace while Angie slept in. By seven o'clock he'd been on the treadmill for over forty minutes, pacing himself at a comfortable ten-minute mile on his way to a seven mile goal. His running workouts had been limited while on their trip, so that morning he'd pushed himself a little more. As he was in the middle of his fifth mile, Princess Tahira walked in and jumped on the treadmill next to him. The twenty-three year old tended to drive the Trident team crazy on her visits to Florida, where they were contracted to be her security detail. While the king, queen and Prince Raj were very laid back people who treated their employees with respect and gratitude, the princess came across as a spoiled brat–plain and simple. She also had a thing for American men, especially her physically fit bodyguards, who she was always finding ways to touch. While none of them had taken her up on her numerous offers of afternoon delights, it hadn't stopped her from trying. And when they still didn't give in, she would find a way to torture them for denying her what she wanted. Her usual form of torture involved a credit card, a mall, and five or six hours of trying on everything in sight, particularly shoes.

Ian had been a little surprised how different Her Highness had been acting during their visit to her homeland. She'd been polite, pleasant to be around, and very nice to Angie and him. And never once on their visit had she put the moves on him, which was so out of character for her. He spent most of his time in her presence waiting for the affable façade to drop and the real princess to emerge. After five minutes of silence while he ran and she walked on their respective treadmills, he couldn't take it anymore and slammed on the stop button. When his feet came to a halt, he grabbed his towel from the hand bar and wiped the sweat from his face before turning his body toward her. "All right Princess, what gives?"

She didn't stop or slow down her pace as she glanced over at him with a confused expression on her face. She looked innocent and he wasn't buying it for a minute.

"What do you mean, Ian Sawyer?"

He'd gotten used to the way she called most Americans by their first and last names. "Well, since Angie and I have gotten here, you've gone out of your way to be pleasant and cordial. You haven't come on to me once, which isn't like you, so what are you up to?"

She hit the red button on her treadmill and slowed to a full stop before turning to face him with a wry grin. "In spite of what you think about me, what you think you know about me, the one thing I don't do, Ian Sawyer, is...what is the word you Americans use? Oh, yes... I don't...poach...on another woman's man, no matter how attractive I find him."

After her last words, he'd expected her to place her hand on his bare chest, despite his sweat, but she didn't and it surprised him. He thought back to the times she'd been in Florida and realized the only men who hadn't complained about her constant advances were the few contract guards who wore wedding rings.

"I envy you, Ian Sawyer. You and Angelina Beckett have found something I have only dreamed about."

He titled his head and stared at the gorgeous young woman as if he'd never seen her before. "What's that, Princess?"

She grinned at him. "I'm a firm believer of soulmates. But I also believe not everyone is lucky enough to find theirs. You two have; in each other. You have something between the two of you I have never had the privilege to see before up close."

Ian shrugged and took a drink of water. "Your parents have been happily married for a very long time, haven't they?"

She paused long enough to take a sip out of her own water bottle. "Not always, no."

At his raised eyebrow, she chuckled. As long as Ian had known the royals, they had been an affectionate couple with each other, and if they did argue about anything it was never in view of others. "Yes, my parents are very happy now, but it wasn't always the way. As with my grandparents and great-grandparents, my mother and father were the result of an arranged marriage when they were eighteen, and neither one was happy about it at first. The way my mother tells it, although they thought each other was attractive, they...what is it you say...scrubbed each other the wrong way?"

He smiled at her flubbed cliché. "It's rubbed each other the wrong way, but I understood what you meant. I had no idea your parent's marriage was arranged. Wow, I can't imagine what it was like to have your spouse picked out for you with no input."

"Thankfully, my parents decided long ago to not force the same tradition on my brother and I. We are free to marry who we choose." She started her treadmill up again and began walking. "As I said earlier, I envy what you and Angelina Beckett have. You have found your one true love, the person you were destined to spend the rest of your life with. I'm worried I will not find mine, but if it is written in the stars, I will have to wait. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy myself." She glanced at him before facing forward again. "I'm also jealous of the babies you will have. You are very handsome and she is a stunning woman. I'm sure your babies will be beautiful."

He couldn't help the panic which had settled in his chest. Him? A father? Could he be a good one? Could he be a good husband? He knew in his heart the answer was yes, but he still couldn't help but feel that one day it would all disappear when Angie walked out the door on him.

Tahira seemed to be done talking to him, so foregoing the rest of his workout, he started for the door to return to his suite but then spun around and strode back to her treadmill. When she continued to walk but looked at him inquisitively, he told her, "I hope someday you find who you're looking for, Princess. Your soulmate. You deserve it as much as everyone else does."

"Thank you, Ian Sawyer. I hope he is as handsome as you."

* * *

Ian didn't realize they'd pulled up to the compound's outer gate and stopped before Angie leaned forward from the back seat and placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, and then at a grinning Jake, neither of who said anything, as the man handed Angie something. Darting back and forth between the two, his eyes narrowed. It was obvious they were up to something. "What?"

Jake remained silent as Angie held up what he'd given her. A blindfold. "Put this on."

"Uh, not without a good reason, Angel."

She sighed dramatically and his mouth curved upward. "Please? It's a surprise for your birthday."