Hot as Hell (16 page)

of the parked cars for more attackers.

Dawn was tempted to join him, but Conn and Theo still needed her, so she took up her position

covering them the best she could.

Finally, Ren came running from the side of the hotel where the parking garage was located. He

was accompanied by a large number of Dutch marines and resort security. The reinforcements began

securing the area alongside of Sam. Sirens sounded in the distance. She wasn’t alone any longer.

Letting out a shaky breath, Dawn sat down, her knees suddenly weak in the aftermath of the

intense situation, and relaxed against the side of the SUV. “How’s Theo?”

Before Conn could answer, Sam reached her side and pulled her up and into his arms. He

squeezed her tightly against him, his face buried in her hair. “God, I couldn’t get here fast enough.”

“I’m fine.” She leaned into his strong, solid body and inhaled his scent, allowing it to soothe her.

As she petted his back, her heart rate slowed and the boulder lodged in her throat eased. “It’s poor

Theo who got hurt. Conn?”

“He’s lost a lot of blood.” Conn swore. “Bastard went for the heart, but Theo must’ve turned

just enough that the knife missed. But it still did a lot of damage. He should make it if we can get blood

in him and get him to a trauma surgeon.”

Sam looked down at Theo and grimaced. He spoke into the mike positioned along his jaw, “Ren,

where are the fucking medics?”

“They’re here.” Ren left the searchers and joined them. “Make room.” He looked at Conn’s

hands on Theo’s chest. “Jesus, Conn. Is he alive?”

“His pulse is fast and thready,” Conn replied. “But he’s holding on. Theo and I made a deal: he

wouldn’t die on me, if I didn’t give up on him. So far, thanks to Dawn protecting both our asses, we’ve

managed to stay the course.”

Dawn buried her face in Sam’s chest. He rubbed her back and whispered against her ear, “You

did good. You’re done for the night. Ren, Conn, and I will finish this with the help of the locals. Still not

sure how MacLean had time to put this all together—”

“These were Benrabi’s men. They were in his cabana at the pool.” Dawn sighed and let Sam

take more of her weight. “Benrabi’s relentless when he wants something … and cunning. He and

MacLean had to have a basic plan in place to snatch me before they reached the table—and it was

highly adaptable. Benrabi did the same when he snatched me right from under my father’s nose and

embassy security when I was a teen. MacLean must’ve texted Benrabi’s men, telling them that I’d be

coming out with Conn.”

“Fuckers,” Sam muttered, his cheek pressed against hers.

“They’ll be scrambling to find another way out of Aruba,” Ren said.

“So, now all we have to do is find them,” Dawn said.

“No
we
about it,” Sam nudged her toward a Land Rover with a Dutch marine, a real one this

time, in the driver’s seat. “Let us handle tracking Benrabi and MacLean. The sergeant is going to drive

you to the estate and stay with you and Keely. There are several other military guards already there.”

“Okay.” She patted his chest. His voice, his expression, were filled with worry, so she’d let him

protect her. Plus, all in all, she’d done a good night’s work: won a lot of money, helped get DNA and an

identifying voice print on a traitor, and saved Conn and Sam from getting shot. “Keely and I will want

to listen in. So keep the com system on.”

“You got it, little cat.” He leaned over and kissed her deeply. His kiss was cherishing and filled

with the promise of a future together. Then he led her to the Land Rover.

Cupping his beard-shadowed jaw, she pulled him down for another kiss. “I think I love you,

Sam.” “God, Dawn. I know I love you.”

His words resonated and something inside her clicked into place. No more thinking about it—

she loved this man, every bleeding dominant, alpha-male centimeter of him.

Sam touched his forehead to hers. “See you later.”

“Stay safe,” she whispered against his lips.

“I will,” he promised.

Chapter 13

10: 45 p.m., Orangestad’s Port, Aruba

Sam, Ren, and Conn were present on the docks when the kidnapped girls gripping blankets

around their scantily clad bodies were taken off several Aruban Coast Guard boats and loaded onto

waiting busses. All of them would be taken to the main hospital in Aruba’s capital to be checked over.

Since their private yachts had been seized, Benrabi and MacLean couldn’t easily escape by

water. To make sure the two didn’t sneak onto some other docked ship, Sam and the others had

helped search the port area, which had been placed on high alert. The Dutch navy, backed up by some

U.S. naval ships stationed in Aruba, were stopping and boarding all boats in the waters around Aruba,

Bonaire, and Curacao.

The Queen Beatrix airport was on lock-down. Nothing was taking off until the Dutch military

said so. The local police with Dutch marines assisting were investigating all private airstrips and

helipads. No plane or helicopter had taken off since the shootout in the drive of the hotel as verified

by live satellite feed per Keely.

“So, where do we go next?” Sam said.

Ren looked grim. “We may have to have the Aruban police alert the public and then institute a

house-by-house search to root the fuckers out.”

Sam shook his head in disgust. “MacLean has always been a slippery bastard. We have to stop

him here and now, or he’ll be in the wind again. And I want Benrabi locked away—far away from

Dawn.”“Let me touch base with Keely,” Ren said. “She and Dawn might have something for us from

the satellite and CCTV feeds she’s tapped into.” He tapped his com-link. “Keely… Keely… Sprite?” His

voice had grown frantic with each lack of response. “Fuck. She isn’t answering. She always answers.”

“Maybe she’s taking a bio break.” Conn’s voice was steady and reasonable.

Ren’s growing concern had infected Sam. “They both wouldn’t be unreachable. If Keely was in

the bathroom, Dawn should’ve responded. When was the last time we heard from them?”

“At 2230.” Ren ran toward the Ranger Rover he, Conn, and Sam were using, shouting over his

shoulder. “That’s when Keely relayed the all-clear report on the private airstrips.”

Keeping pace with Ren, Sam attempted to raise the Dutch marine guards assigned to guard the

women. “Fuck it. The guards aren’t responding either.”

Sam ran and got into the driver’s seat. Conn piled into the back passenger seat as Ren rode

shotgun. “Hold on.” He put the car in gear and accelerated down the port road like a rocket.

“Captain Hoffmann, this is Ren Maddox. No one’s answering at my rental.” Ren paused, listening,

then growled out, “Fuck—”

“What’s fuck?” Sam glanced at Ren and found a look on the former SEAL’s face that meant the

whole situation had just gone FUBAR.

Ren looked at him and waved him off. “Captain, consider the situation as dire. We need backup

there, ground and air, ASAP. The escaped criminals plus an unknown number of accomplices have

taken over the premises. My wife and Dawn Wilson might be hostages.”

Sam snarled and floored the accelerator. Ren shot a fierce glance at him. “Yeah, we’re on our

way. We’ll meet you at the entrance to the road leading to the main house. Out.”

“What happened to the guards Hoffmann assigned to our women?” Sam asked as he swerved

around slow-moving vehicles on the coastal road.

Ren braced his hand on the dashboard. “His men didn’t check in as scheduled at 2230 hours.”

“Why in the fuck didn’t they send someone to check on them?” Conn’s tone was terse.

“They did. Immediately. Those men haven’t been heard from either,” Ren said. “Hoffmann was

ready to send in a helicopter to investigate.”

“Jesus, Ren—” Sam growled. “If the girls are being held hostage—the sound of a helicopter

might escalate the situation.” He didn’t want to think about what MacLean might do to the girls to get

air surveillance withdrawn.

“Hoffman understands the situation is delicate.” Ren let out a harsh breath. “But we need a

chopper there in case they attempt to escape with one or both of our women.”

“Yeah.” Sam glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard. It read 10:50 p.m. “So sometime

between the guards’ report at 2200 hours and their missed report at 2230, MacLean and Benrabi and

an unknown number of men entered the estate and took out the guards, right?”

“Yeah.” Ren sounded ice-cold, but the vibes coming off the man were volcanic in their intensity.

“We know the girls were okay at 2230 since Keely would’ve used our code word for trouble if she were

being held hostage.”

“Let’s give the girls credit. They’re smart. They’ll be alert. They can handle themselves,” Conn

said. “And, worst case, if they’re being held, they’ll know we’re coming for them and will do what is

needed to stay safe.”

Yeah, his little cat and Keely were smart and resourceful, but a lot of bad things could happen

to the women no matter how well-trained they were. Plus, they’d be out-numbered. Rats always

travelled in packs.

“Dammit!” The acidic burn of guilt, helplessness, and fear seared his gut. He’d sent the woman

he loved into danger. “Dawn was supposed to be safe.” He pushed the Rover up to one hundred miles

per hour. The Aruban coastal roads weren’t designed for this kind of speed, but fuck it.

As Sam drove like a bat out of hell, he was aware of Ren and Conn checking over their weapons.

****

Dawn stepped into the great room, having changed into cut-off jean shorts, a tank top, and a

pair of flip-flops. She still wasn’t wearing a bra or knickers since she drew the line at wearing another

woman’s lingerie. Her thigh holster was strapped on one exposed thigh; her gun was loaded with a

fresh clip. As long as MacLean and Benrabi were at-large, she wanted a loaded gun within reach.

“Thanks for sharing your wardrobe. I like these clothes much better than that bandage dress

you loaned me.”

Keely looked up from the computer and smiled. “You can keep the Leger. Ren threatened to

beat me daily if I didn’t lose it.” She giggled. “He loves me naked, not sure why he didn’t like the dress.”

Dawn sat next to Keely and studied the images on the multiple monitors. “Maybe because you

dared to wear it in public… around other men?”

“That was probably it.” Keely angled her head and grinned. “I love pulling my macho man’s tail.

He’s so frick-fracking cute when he gets pissed and goes all caveman on me.”

“Hmm,” Dawn studied her new friend, “so you tempt his beast a lot?”

“Yep, and you should take a leaf from my book and do the same with Sam.” Keely patted her

hand over her heart. “Makes my heart rate freaking crazy when Ren goes all alpha and spanks my ass.

The sex that follows is frick-fracking amazing. Rough, fast, and all night long.”

“He spanks you?” Dawn’s face grew warm with embarrassment, but a flood of moisture coated

her pussy and her clit throbbed at the idea of being spanked before sex.

“Sexy spanking.” Keely winked. “I get so hot, so fast, my first orgasm is almost a spontaneous

combustion. I have so many orgasms during one of those sessions, my pussy tingles for two days.”

Dawn could see Sam giving her that kind of sexual experience. She had a full-body shiver merely

thinking about it.

“Isn’t that topping from below?” Dawn asked. “Manipulating Ren into getting what you want

in bed?”“Yeah, and my hunk of a man knows it.” Keely laughed. “But he likes the results, too.”

“I bet.” Dawn noticed a shadow on one of the screens displaying the rental estate’s grounds.

“What’s that?” She pointed to an area just off the drive in front of the house. “It wasn’t there the last

time the camera scanned over the area.”

Keely repositioned the camera and zeroed in on the shadow. “Shit, that’s a body.”

Dawn picked up a walkie-talkie like the one the Dutch marines guarding the house used. “Come

in, Nils.” No answer. “Johann?” No answer. “Dirk?” No answer.

“Frick-fracking donkey balls.” Keely picked up her gun off the computer console and flicked off

the safety. Dawn pulled hers from her thigh holster and did the same thing, then re-holstered it.

“Ren?… Come in, big guy.” Keely spoke into the SSI headset aligned along her jaw. She switched

frequency. “Ren? Conn?… Shit, shit, shit. No signal. Let’s go.”

Keely only paused long enough to shut down the monitors and to grab her small computer

tablet. Dawn’s heart threatened to pound out of her chest as adrenaline flooded into her bloodstream,

preparing her for fight or flight. She wasn’t sure what Keely was planning, but was certain the woman

had a specific end game.

Keely set a fast pace as she led the way into the back of the house and then down the basement

stairs. “Why can’t we radio out?” Dawn asked.

“Someone’s jamming those audio frequencies.” Keely’s voice was calm; her breathing was only

slightly elevated. “Lucky for us, the security video and audio is hardwired, so we’ll be able to locate,

track, and listen in on the intruders once we reach our safe place. Hold onto me. I don’t want to turn

on any lights and draw anyone’s attention.”

As if Keely’s words conjured them up, footsteps sounded overhead. Heavy, hard, rapid thuds.

Dawn couldn’t tell how many, just that there were a lot of them. She bet two of the housebreakers