Vendetta (11 page)

“Lights out,” the bastard said as he eased his finger back on the trigger.

Valencia heard the alarm just before she was ready to descend into the security room. Fortunately for her it drew their attention away long enough for her to kick the vent off and drop down into the room. She got the first guy with a swift kick to his leg and an expertly precise slash to his brachial artery before she tossed the knife into the heart of the man who had just gone for his gun. She took out two more, including the one who was on his way out the door and then she dismantled the security devices, cut off communications and prayed none of their team members had been killed.

She heard explosion after explosion, gun fire after gun fire. She exited the room, going in search of somebody, anybody, who was on their side. She needed to know that Thomas was okay. What she saw when she rounded the corner was Drake about to get himself shot by one guy while he was fighting with another. She pulled a knife out of her vest and threw it into the man with the gun just in time to keep him from getting a shot off.

“Thanks,” Drake said. She nodded her response. He looked to the guy he had been fighting with, the one now bleeding out on the floor. “We really do need one of these guys alive.”

She shrugged. “Then I’d suggest you get one.” If he thought she was going to waste time trying to get one of these idiots subdued, bound and gagged until they needed him to talk, then Drake was seriously mistaking her role here. “Where’s Thomas?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know if he made it.”

Thomas should have been inside by now. She didn’t like this.

“Communication room secure?”

“Everything in there is dead,” she said. “I’m going to find Thomas.”

“I’ll move ahead. Watch your six, Valencia.”

“You too, Drake.” She was ready to leave him standing there. Her primary concern now was the man she had embarked on this mission for—Thomas McGregor.

They both turned sharply at the noise approaching from behind them. “Whoa!” Gavin held up his hands. “Don’t shoot me.” Drake lowered his gun.

“Have you seen Thomas?” Valencia hoped his answer was yes. If Gavin had made it inside then Thomas should have been here by now. Sully was the farthest from them so it would make sense if he were a little late on the arrival, but not Thomas.

“No.”

She couldn’t wait around. She had to find him. “I’m going back out there,” she said.

“I’ll come with you.”

“No, Gavin. Drake will need you in here. There are still men roaming these halls and he’ll need you. I’ll be fine to get out there on my own. Just don’t either one of you go getting yourselves killed.” She didn’t wait for a response she just took off in the direction she knew she needed to go. She had to find Thomas, and she needed to find him alive.

She heard rapid fire and multiple explosions. This was war. There were casualties in any war. The only thing she could do was pray none of the casualties were any of the good guys.

Chapter Nine

T
homas lingered in the shower, thinking about recent events. It had been a long, hard battle, but they had won one round without any of them getting seriously injured or killed. Mike had taken a bullet in his arm. He had come upon him right before one of Sabian’s men could pull the trigger to end his life. Thomas didn’t waste time; he took the shot without prejudice. Mike wanted to get up and keep going. The man was bleeding like a stuck pig and he wanted to keep fighting. Fortunately, Sully was the voice of reason, as he most often was in these situations, and he took Mike back down to their transport. By the time they finished they had managed to take one man alive. He was a cocky bastard too. “You’ll never break me,” he had said. “And by the time you get to our second compound they’ll all be gone.”

Despite the fact that they hadn’t waited in Texas; they hadn’t wasted a second of time, they still hadn’t made it to Florida in time. Sully had stayed behind guarding their prisoner while they, he, Drake, Gavin and Valencia had gone to Florida. Mike would have gone with them except Drake put his foot down and made his brother stay behind in Austin. All that work and they hadn’t captured Sabian. Now that the Texas event had made the news, “local authorities cracked down,” the reporter had said, “on a domestic terrorism unit…” he was sure his proximity to Sabian had just become that much more distant.

This was his first shower since the Texas battle and right now the only thing he could think about was Thena. He hadn’t called her. He hadn’t emailed her. She had to be worried about him, and he didn’t want that. She didn’t need the added stress while she was carrying their child. He made a mental note to himself to call her as soon as he dried off. He needed to hear her voice, even if only for a minute. They weren’t done here yet. The Admiral had loaned them a facility to interrogate their prisoner, and he knew that they would have to spend as much time as they could trying to break the man. So far he hadn’t been willing to talk, but they had to make this work; they had to find Sabian.

He turned off the shower, stepped out of the glass enclosure, dried off and pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. He could hear Valencia and JJ arguing. They were downstairs in the kitchen of Mike’s home. Zenya had refused to leave his side, and Valencia had refused to take JJ back to the facility they were holding their prisoner at. She said enough people knew what they had and where, she didn’t feel a need to clue JJ in. Thomas shook his head just thinking about Valencia. She held things close to her vest. She took need to know to an entirely new level.

“There was a faction in Washington,” she reminded him as Thomas walked into the room. “I sent you to do some legwork and I’m sending you to D.C. to do some more.”

“I’m supposed to be with you,” he snapped.

“My father sent you here to assist me, which means you answer to me. You’re going to D.C.” She stated with so much authority that Thomas had sudden, and complete, understanding as to why her father had marked her as the next head of the family. This was not a woman anybody with half a brain crossed. JJ picked up his keys in a huff and stormed out the room. “He’ll get over it,” she said. “So, what’s next, Thomas? Do we keep going or do you go back to Boston?”

“We keep going.” He said. “We break our prisoner, get what we need and move onward. I want to call Thena to let her know I’m still alive, but I will move forward.”

She nodded. “Gavin’s outside on the phone with London right now. As far as I know, Drake and Sully have already checked in so that just leaves you.”

“And you,” he reminded her.

She laughed. “My father doesn’t expect me to check in. I’ve been in this business since the day I was born. He’s used to it.”

“Harrison’s not.” He reminded her. She sighed and shook her head.

“Thanks. I didn’t even think about that. I just assumed my mom and dad would keep his nerves in check. I’ll call him. You go call Thena and we’ll see what we need to do from there.

His phone rang before he could even punch in her number. It was Kyle. He hated that the man had his number, wait, scratch that, he wasn’t sure why the man had his cell number. Had Thena given it to him?

“McGregor,” Thomas said in a dry, no nonsense tone.

“It’s Kyle. You need to come back to Boston.”

“I’m not finished here,” Thomas said. “Thena knows what I’m doing so if you think you’re—”

“Man, this isn’t about you running off and pursuing whatever the hell you’re working on. This is about Thena. She’s in ICU.”

“What?” Thomas felt his heart lurch in his chest. Had something happened with the baby?”

“Somebody blew up her car. The only thing that saved her was that she pushed the unlock button before she was at the car, otherwise she would be dead right now. I’m not sure she won’t still die. The doctors don’t expect her to make it, Thomas. You have to get back here now. She needs you.”

Thomas hung up the phone and kicked a chair from the table. It scattered across the floor prompting several pairs of eyes to focus in on him, including his brother, who was coming back in from talking with London on the phone.

“What’s going on?”

“They got Thena,” he growled. “They blew up her car.”

“Shit,” Gavin cursed. “Thomas…man…I’m…I’m sorry.”

“She’s in ICU. They don’t think she’s going to make it. I have to go to her, Gav. I have to go.”

“Go,” he said. “We’ll take care of things here.

“I’ll go with you,” Valencia told him.

“You can stay here. The guys will need you.”

“You need me more,” she assured him. “If they haven’t broken our prisoner by the time I get back then I’ll go in there, but right now you’re my priority, and right now you need me.” He understood her words. Right now he was so angry he wanted to kill anybody with any connection to Sabian, but he had to focus. He had to calm down. Thena needed him and he was going to be there. He had to be there. “She can’t die on me,” he lowered his head, anger, fear and sorrow racing through his body. Each emotion warring within him for dominance. He couldn’t lose her. Right now, in this very second he completely understood how Eve felt knowing she could lose Adam. He understood her pain, felt it within every fiber of his body, and for the first time since that fateful day he found himself wondering how she survived—if she had survived. She was a shell of herself. She was angry and sad and reckless. Going to Afghanistan was reckless. Getting involved with trying to find Sabian was reckless. And now he understood why she was the way she was, because right now he was experiencing every emotion she had except for one—he wasn’t grieving the loss of his mate, and he prayed he would never have to experience that. She had to make it. Thena had to live. If she didn’t he would never forgive himself for bringing her into his world.

The flight into Boston felt long, too long, given his anticipation at getting to the hospital and getting beside Thena’s bed. He needed her to hear his voice and to fight for life. He needed to be there. He wanted to slap himself for leaving her with minimal protection. Shawn had work. He couldn’t just drop everything and watch over his woman. Asking the man to keep a watch over her wasn’t the same as getting one of his friends, somebody like Ethan or Keadon, to come in and stay by her side; to follow her daily and make sure she was safe. He should have done that. They all should have. Mike had sent Zenya to stay with the Admiral while he was out fighting. Drake had asked Geneva to stay with her father—a town sheriff with enough sense in him to shoot first and ask questions later. Sully had the General on his property. Gavin’s friend, Cody, a ranger in one of the Colorado state parks had taken some time off to help take over Gavin’s nature hikes; at least London would have a man with expert marksmanship on her side. Harrison was safely tucked in with Valencia’s family; nobody in their right mind would piss off that clan, but he, he hadn’t had the foresight to make sure there was an armed man with his woman twenty-four hours a day. Worse than that; nobody had thought about the other prized pieces to their heart—Alyssa and Eve. Eve was on her way back to the States and he knew she had somebody escorting her back safely at least, but Alyssa was a sitting duck in Arizona. Gavin had put in a call to Keadon to see if he, or somebody he trusted, could go to Scottsdale and ensure Alyssa’s safety. At least their sisters would be protected.

They had so many connections. Their years in the military and special ops status had afforded them with strong allies and he should have been smarter. He should have called in a few owed favors and kept Thena safe. He would never forgive himself for dropping the ball on this one.

When he saw Kyle sitting by Thena’s bed a pain hit him in his gut. He should have been the one sitting by her side. He should have been there, not Kyle.

“I was hoping you would get here in time,” Kyle said softly as he stood and looked down at Thena. “They couldn’t save the baby,” he said. “They asked me, since there wasn’t any family around and I’m still on her DPA, about what they could do to save her. I followed her wishes to the letter, but she never really factored in a baby.” He shook his head. “Not that it would have mattered. The doctor’s said there was nothing they could do to save the baby anyway. I’m sorry.”

Thomas nodded. “How is she?” She looked near dead lying there on that gurney with needles in her arm, tubes flowing with clear liquids and those stuck in her nose. Hell, she looked worse than death.

“She hasn’t regained consciousness. The doctors say they’ve done all they can. The rest is up to her.” He sighed. “I’ll give you some time alone with her. I need to go get some coffee.”

“Thanks. I know you have other places to be—”

“Thena’s a dear friend to me,” he interrupted him. “There’s no place else I should be. Reese is taking care of her company and I’m helping him while trying to monitor my own, but this, by her side, that’s where I belong.” He turned abruptly and walked away. He was angry, maybe more angry with him because he had brought her into this mess. Thomas knew Kyle was oblivious to everything going on, but he was sure the man had already determined the bomb in Thena’s car was related to something Thomas was working on, and Kyle blamed him for her present condition—as he should.

Thomas pulled the chair closer to her bed and sat down. “Baby, I’m here,” he spoke softly as he took her hand in his. Her tender and delicate fingers lay limply in his big hands. The contrast always amazed him, intrigued him. “You can’t leave me, Thena. I don’t want to have to live without you,” he heard the tremble in his own voice. “I need you. I love you,” he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gingerly.