Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Water trickled down Julian’s face from his wet hair, but he wouldn’t take the time to swipe them away. All his attention was on the hut two hundred yards away from them. He was paired up with Irish. His presence on this mission hadn’t been received well by Deal, but Irish and Growler had vouched for him and he’d grudgingly accepted he could do nothing about it. If he was going to do more “boots on the ground” missions, he and Deal would have to have a discussion to sort everything out. But that could wait for another time. The rain was letting up, so they’d be making their move soon.

“You good, Julian?” Irish questioned, as his fingers flexed around the butt of his rifle.

“Yep.” They’d been in Columbia for four days, discussing where the women were being held, planning how they would extract them, and plotting how they’d eliminate yet another asshole who thought selling women into sex slavery was the best thing in the world.

They’d been about ready to breach the building in the middle of the jungle when a torrential rain fell. Julian had thought it would be a good cover for them. The noise of the rain on the roof of the small hut would muffle their arrival, but Growler, who was taking the lead, had wanted to wait. Fox agreed, and so here they were—waiting.

“Jag and Deal, you take the east side. Hound and Rodgers, the west. Irish and Julian, you take the back, and I’ll be taking the front with Fox,” Growler instructed over the comms.

Rodgers had joined them from the FBI taskforce. With this operation, the FBI were letting Alliez take the lead but still wanted a presence.

“Apart from the two inside the hut with Sergio, I don’t see any other movement surrounding you from other members of Sergio’s organization.” Cass’s soft voice relayed the information. For a moment, Julian wondered if she’d reached out to Lilith or vice versa. He didn’t like the thought of Lilith being by herself the whole time he was away. He suspected that the other women would all get together and believed Cass would make sure that they included Lilith.

“They’re probably all in touch at the local brothel. Sergio’s made it clear that these five women were his,” Fox said angrily.

Whatever happened to Sergio’s business wasn’t the concern of the men surrounding the wooden structure. It was a problem for the FBI or some other government agency to monitor. The main objective was getting the women and making Sergio pay.

“We go on my count. Once in position, I’ll give the directive to breach,” Growler stated. “Three, two, one.”

Julian followed Irish, making sure he stepped where the other man did. He’d had a bit of a crash course in the last few days on how to handle his gun and remained undetected. He hadn’t had the special forces training the rest of the men had had, so he was grateful to Irish for all his guidance.

Once they were in position, he watched Irish. He would take his cues from him once Growler gave the go ahead, which happened far quicker than Julian expected. The splintering of the front door echoed around the forest, along with the screams of the women.

“Hold, Julian,” Irish hissed when he went to move. Julian stilled and silently cursed himself for potentially fucking things up.

Shots sounded, and the volume of the screams inside increased. There was no way he could block the sounds of what he was hearing. There was a big difference between hearing the action over a radio from the safety of his car, or a room, and being on the ground a few yards away.

Suddenly, someone burst through the trees behind him, and Julian whirled around, his gun raised. A man with a machete was coming straight for them. Julian didn’t think. He acted. He pulled the trigger, and a spray of bullets from his semi-automatic hit the man, who crumpled face-first into the mud.

“Do you see anyone else?”

Irish yelled something to Cass, but Julian’s attention was fixed on the man he’d just shot and…killed.

In the back of his mind, he’d known that something like this could happen, but the reality of it occurring was another thing. He was frozen to the spot. His finger still on the trigger, but not depressing it.

“Julian!” Finally, Irish’s voice penetrated the fog surrounding him, and he released his grip on the gun, the weapon dropping to his side, the strap pulling against Julian’s neck. Irish reached out, flicking the safety on. “You good?” he asked.

Julian shook away a bit of the shock at what he’d done, and looked at his friend. “I think so.”

“First one’s always the hardest, but if you hadn’t done what you did, he could’ve taken us both out.”

“I know.”

Shouts of “Clear!” came over the comms, along with whimpering. Had any of the women been caught in the crossfire? Were they going to be bringing some back in body bags?

Nausea churned in Julian’s stomach at the thought, but he swallowed hard to keep it down. Not a good look to lose the contents of his stomach in front of everyone. He didn’t think he’d get judged for it, but it didn’t matter. He would give no one a reason to believe he wasn’t competent enough to be included in future missions. Although he thought it might be a while before that happened.

Irish slapped him on the shoulder. “We got him, and that’s all that matters. Those women in there are now safe because of you and us.”

Julian acknowledged Irish’s words and the comfort they provided him. They had done something good that day. They’d saved the women and eradicated more scum of the earth. With one last glance at the man he’d killed, Julian followed Irish around to the front of the building. He was ready to deal with the next part of the mission—escorting the women home and back to their families.

Tiredness dogged his heels as Julian made his way into his house. His bed was calling him, and he couldn’t wait to sleep in it. The last forty-eight hours had been intense with getting the women safely back into the United States, and sitting through the debriefing of the mission with Ox and Mac, his boss.

He had the next couple of days off, and he planned to take the time to sleep and deal with the reality that he’d taken someone’s life. The card Mac had given him of a psychologist on staff sat snugly in his pants pocket. He didn’t plan on using it, but he did want to call his therapist. Although, maybe because of the classified nature of the mission, he wouldn’t be able to talk to his regular person. Looked like he’d be using that card after all. Not today, though. Today, he just wanted to be around everything familiar and to see Lilith. He’d called her when they’d landed, and her happiness at hearing his voice had chased some of the shadows away.

He should’ve texted her to let her know he was on his way home, but he hadn’t. He’d wanted to surprise her. At least he hoped she’d be surprised to see him. It was possible Cass may have called Lilith to let her know he was done with his debrief. Either way, it didn’t matter. She would be on the other side of the door, and he couldn’t wait to see her.

Before he had a chance to insert his key into the lock, the door opened, and Lilith stood there, a big smile on her face. “You’re home!” she said, a second before she launched herself at him.

Julian dropped his bag and caught Lilith all at the same time, a feat he was sure he could never replicate again. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Her apple scent filled his sense, and he relaxed even further.

Now he understood why the guys had always been so eager to get back to their women. There was nothing better than having someone waiting for you when you got home. The knowledge that they were as eager to see you, as you were to see them.

“I missed you, Lil,” he murmured against her ear.

“Not as much as I missed you. I’m so glad you’re home, J.”

J .

That was the second time she’d called him that, and he loved it. Now that he had Lilith in his arms, the tiredness that consumed him only seconds ago disappeared. He leaned back and looked down at Lilith. Her green eyes sparkled with happiness and something else…desire.

It had been too long since he’d tasted her, and Julian didn’t waste any time now that he had her close. He lowered his head and kissed her. Her fingers dug into his shoulder and he welcomed it. He tightened his hold on her, never wanting to let her go.

For so long, he’d been wandering around lost. The guilt from what he’d failed to do for Rose. Bringing pain to the woman in his arms had been a constant companion to him. Slowly, though, a change had been happening. Feelings he’d never thought he’d feel were bursting to life inside of him. The guilt was still there, and would always be there, but happiness, desire, and love were filling him now.

And he owed all to the woman in his arms. The woman who had trusted him and given him a second chance. The woman who owned him, body and soul.

I love her. I love Lilith.

The thoughts didn’t scare him like he’d once thought they might. Instead, he embraced them and understood what had been so fundamentally wrong about everything Ralph Williamson had espoused. Love didn’t make you weak. It strengthened you. It gave you purpose.

Julian broke the kiss and smiled down at Lilith, as he brushed his fingers across her cheek. His declaration of love on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t want to overwhelm Lilith with the depth of his feelings. There was still so much he had to do to prove he wasn’t like the men of her past. That he wouldn’t be controlling. So his confession of his love for her would wait until he showed her he wasn’t saying pretty words and that he truly, deeply meant them. “I like coming home to you,” he said reverently, still amazed that she was in his arms.

“I like you coming home to me in one piece.” The green of her eyes dulled a little. “I was so worried that something would happen to you. I didn’t want to ask Cass what was happening. I had to trust that you and the others knew what you were doing. That they would keep you safe, like you would keep them safe. Everyone is okay, aren’t they?”

Her worry about him and his work colleagues only cemented his feelings for her. “Yes. Everyone is unharmed.”

“And the reason you went, was it successful?” Her question was tentative.

“Yes, it was successful. It will take time, but they’ll be okay. Changed, but okay.” Julian didn’t think he’d ever forget the way the women clung to each other on the ride to the airstrip. Nor how they didn’t want to be apart when they’d arrived back in the US. He’d spoken to Mac to ensure that they be given every avenue of help available to them. He didn’t want any one of them to go through what Lilith had gone through. Where her parents had deserted her. He didn’t think that would happen with those women, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Mac hadn’t questioned him but had reassured him he would make sure, once they were back with their families, they’d be given access to whatever they would need. Julian had to be satisfied that his boss would keep his word, but he planned to do his own following up to ensure it happened.

“I’m glad. Are you hungry?” Lilith asked, reminding him he was back in the safety of his home and the arms of the woman who was so special to him.

“I am, but I want to shower first.” Her eyes flared briefly, and he was tempted to ask her if she’d like to join him, but he didn’t since they weren’t quite there in their relationship. But he hoped to change that soon. After the “welcome home” he’d gotten from her, he wanted to worship her and show Lilith how much she meant to him.

“You shower while I fix you a sandwich or something. And then after that, who knows what we can do?”

“Indeed.” Julian grabbed that subtle invitation and held it close. He knew exactly what they could do. And he couldn’t wait.