23

Nikole's clasped hands stood still in her lap. They weren't shaking as before. Somehow, calming Maxine down had done the same for her. Or perhaps now that we knew where her mother was being held, she felt less hopeless.

I was restless. I wanted to put my hands on that son of a bitch and squeeze until his face turned purple. Only then would I allow him to breathe for putting us through this. And for bringing that poor woman who sat fidgeting in my back seat into this.

I glanced through the rearview mirror, but she stared out the window. Lost in her thoughts, as were the rest of us.

Jager and Will were on their way. While Christian was feeling better, we all agreed it was best for him to stay back. We knew if one of us wasn't at his best, it could risk the lives of the others.

The roads leading to the old chicken farm were mainly deserted. Only a handful of cars drove past us on our way up. I hadn't realized there was so much farmland in New York State, never having ventured so far west.

The GPS indicated the farm was the next exit to my right. When I pulled onto the long gravel road, I saw two police cars parked just down the street. I was surprised to see Commissioner Rodriguez standing by one of the cars, and then a splurge of heat crept up my neck and engulfed my face. That bastard.

I parked my truck and jumped out, heading straight for my nemesis. Disregarding the shocked faces of the officers around him, I grabbed Rodriguez by his uniform and pushed him up against the police car.

"You fuckin' arrogant asshole," I shouted in his face. "You let this happen. When I told you to look into those names, you let your pride get in the way. If you had done your job, this never would have happened."

"Get your hands off of me," he snarled back.

Two officers grabbed me from behind and pulled me off of him. Rodriguez straightened his uniform and speared me with a hard glare. "How dare you blame me for this? If you didn't let your cock get in the way, you could have done your job and protected these women. Instead, you let both of them down."

What was he talking about? How did he know about me and Nikole? I didn't have the mental capacity at the moment to think about it. All I wanted was to punch him in the face. I struggled against the officer's hold and they pulled me further back.

He leaned forward, his face only inches away from mine. "Get off the road. This is police business."

Rodriguez turned his back and walked away. I stood on the street fuming until my brothers arrived and the officers left me in their care.

Stupid mistake.

I lunged forward, but Will held me back.

"Keep it together, Jake. We don't have time for this pissing match right now."

I ground my back teeth and growled like a wild animal. Between Janine coming back, Rodriguez blaming me, and the governor being kidnapped, I was ready to blame someone for all of it and Rodriguez was the perfect target for my wrath.

"He's right. He can kick us out if you don't settle down. So, settle the fuck down, all right?" He grabbed my face and forced me to look at him.

The red cloud that had formed around my vision began to clear. I could see Will's flaring nostrils in front of me.

I closed my eyes and regained my composure. Turning toward the farmhouse, I tried to think of a plan.

Two more police cruisers barreled down the road, spewing dust in our faces and forcing us to turn our backs.

"He's going to be desperate when he sees all the cruisers," said Jager behind us. "Chapman may do something stupid if he thinks there's no other choice."

"We've got to talk to the police and come up with a plan," said Will.

I sighed. There was no way Rodriguez would allow us anywhere near Chapman. "If we're going to get involved, then you'd better do the talking," I told Will.

I followed him and Jager toward the police cruisers. Behind the blockade of cars, the officers huddled around Rodriguez, many with their hands on their hips and their heads down.

"Sir, we don't have any experience with hostage situations. We've never had to deal with something like this."

Rodriguez crossed his arms and looked back at the farmhouse. "She's the governor. I'll have to call the FBI's Hostage Negotiator. That could take hours by the time he arrives."

Hours? We had no idea if the governor was shot or bleeding in there. We didn't have hours. We had to do something now.

Fortunately, Will was on the same page.

"Sir," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Respectfully, you do not have that sort of time. The governor can be hurt, and if he's taken her here and not made any attempts to contact you with demands, the situation may be more dire than it seems. We need to move immediately."

Rodriguez's jaw clenched, but he didn't tell Will to leave. "What would you have me do, then? Send officers into the farmhouse, potentially triggering the individual to shoot the governor?"

"No, sir. I would suggest sending a specialized operations team trained in successfully rescuing hostages."

He narrowed his eyes, as though Will was mocking him. "And where would I find a team like that in Wellington?"

I stepped forward, standing side by side with my brothers. "Right here."

The officers around Rodriguez stared at each other and then at us, wondering if we were serious. We stood perfectly still, our faces blank of expression. "We just need the go-ahead."

"Are you serious, Devereux?"

"As a heart attack, sir," I repeated the words I'd used in his office.

He looked back at the farmhouse and then at us.

"I think you should send them in, sir. Sounds like they know what they're doing."

The man's voice seemed hesitant. He wasn't looking forward to storming the farmhouse if it came down to it.

"Sir?" I asked.

"I'm thinking," he shot back. "If this goes south, it's on my head, Devereux. Mine."

I waited as he rubbed his face and stared at his officers. "Fine. We try it your way, first. But if you think you can't rescue the governor, you get the fuck out. Got that?"

"Got it," I said, then turned to my brothers. "Let's go."

We walked away from the officers, back toward my truck. "Do you have a plan, Jake?" asked Jager. "We need to keep this guy from doing something reckless."

He was right. "I think I have something that will keep him motivated."

"What?" asked Will.

"It's not what, but who."

Will and Jager both looked at each other, then at me, so I explained. "I have Ed's girlfriend in the car, Maxine. You know, the governor's personal assistant."

"No shit," said Will. "You brought her here? Ballsy."

I rolled my eyes. "Hardly. They gave me no choice."

"They?" asked Jager, chuckling to himself. "I should have known Nikole was behind this." He smiled, with a hint of pride.

"Don't you start encouraging her now," I warned.

"Brother, that woman doesn't need any encouragement from me or anyone else. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

Yes, it was definitely becoming much clearer now. And I loved her even more for it, although I wanted to tear down anyone who tried to hurt her.

"Chapman, and whoever else is in there, is expecting us from the front. But there's a line of trees around the back. If we enter through there, he may not see us coming."

Will looked beyond the farm to the trees behind it and smiled. "That's my guy," he smiled and patted my shoulder.

Adjusting my earpiece into place, I turned to Jager. "You stay with Maxine. Get Rodriguez to put her on the bullhorn to talk to him. Distract him as much as you can so we can go in from the back. Will, you come with me."

Will inserted his earpiece and checked his holster. "Right behind you, brother."

Walking over to my truck, my eyes met Nikole's, and she nodded. It was as though she read the determined look on my face and knew I had a plan. It felt fucking amazing to know my girl trusted me, even though she would need some convincing to stay behind. I groaned a little inside, but I had an important role for her, too.

"What's going on?" she asked when I opened my door.

"Will and I are going in from the back, from behind those trees." I pointed to the small forest behind me.

Both Maxine and Nikole looked over my shoulder, and Nikole nodded. "That's a good idea. Are the police coming too?"

"No. They'll only get in the way. Will and I have done this a hundred times before."

"Peacekeeping?" she asked with an arched brow.

"Yeah," I said.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Nikole. There was no annoyance in her voice, just a need to be useful. I respected that.

"Maxine, we need you to talk to Ed," I said, and Maxine was already shaking her head.

"No, no. I can't. He won't listen to me."

"I don't need you to convince him of anything. We just need to keep him talking." She seemed unsure but didn't argue further.

The next part was difficult, but had to be said. "Nikole, you need to confirm that your mother is alive and well."

Her body pulled back as though she'd been punched in the gut. It probably felt like it, too. "I don't think he would have hurt her, but we need to know what we're walking into. Jager has an earpiece that communicates directly with me and Will. He will tell us what the two of you find out."

They both nodded, Nikole more enthusiastically than Maxine. I leaned over the console and kissed her lips. The creases on her brow smoothed a bit, and her frown straightened. "Be careful," she said, and my heart swelled.

"I will."

Will clapped his hands beside me. "All right, ladies. We need you to head over to Jager down there. We're going to need this truck."

My eyes were glued to Nikole's, and she hadn't moved an inch. Will nudged me and I reluctantly turned away. As I watched Nikole get out of the truck and walk away, a sinking feeling grew in my stomach. I always knew each time I walked into a mission, there was a chance I wouldn't walk out. But this time, my heart messed with my head. Because I wanted to get back to her.

She must have read my mind or felt the tension in the air because when she was nearly halfway to Jager, Nikole turned around and ran back to me.

I pushed Will out of the way and met her on the road where she crashed into me and I'd never felt better.

Picking her up in my arms, I squeezed her body next to mine, wanting never to let her go.

Her hair covered my face and the scent reminded me of making love to her at night and waking up next to her in the morning. How powerful that smell had become to me that simply inhaling it and holding her in my arms could bring me back to heaven every time.

"I love you," I whispered, and she shook her head.

As I slowly put her feet on solid ground, she grabbed my cheeks with both her hands. "Don't say it like that."

"Like what?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"Like it's a goodbye. I won't have it."

I smiled. Her watery eyes betrayed her emotions, even if her words were tough.

"I love you, Nikole May Adams. And this isn't goodbye."

She nodded and kept nodding while clutching my jacket. "Come back to me, Jake." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Come back and say you love me again."

"With all my heart." I kissed her one last time and walked away.

I didn't turn around. I didn't think I could leave her a second time. I couldn't understand how soldiers left their loved ones behind. They must leave their hearts along with them.

"That was beautiful," Will said beside me.

"Fuck off."

Will stopped me before we both got in the truck. "No. I mean it." His eyes held mine, and I knew he wasn't joking. "Don't mess it up."

Will's jaw ticked as though he were holding back more… more words, more emotion. I wasn't sure. He never talked about his past and I never pushed.

"I won't. Now let's go get this fucker."

I started the truck's engine, and my adrenaline revved alongside it. This wasn't just a rescue mission. I was bringing Nikole's mother back to her. It meant everything to me at this moment.

I drove back down the road and turned right, heading straight for the trees behind the barn.

Mine was the only vehicle on the road, so I worried Chapman would notice it coming. "We should park this a few yards back."

Will nodded in agreement. After parking the truck on the side of the road, Will and I headed toward the barn on foot. I could still feel a bit of pain from the gunshot wound whenever I pushed off the ground, but I ignored it as I walked toward our mission.

The gravel road crunched beneath our boots, and the smell of animal feces permeated the air.

"I thought you said the warehouse was empty," Will said beside me, covering his face with his arm.

"It is empty. The soil must still reek of it, though."

"I saw a documentary once where they sprayed the feces through pumps."

"That's disgusting. You should watch action movies like I do instead."

I chuckled next to Will as we crossed the neighboring land. The cluster of trees behind the barn was only a couple of yards away now, and we could hear Maxine's voice shouting over the bullhorn.

The red barn loomed over us, casting a shadow behind the trees. There was a smaller building beside it, one I hadn't noticed from the street since the barn had hidden it. It was about the size of a small garage, with aluminum siding and two small windows on either side.

Will cocked his head toward it, and I nodded. "We should check those windows before checking in on the barn."

I agreed, but we still haven't had confirmation regarding Nikole's mother.

"Jager, it's Jake. Come in."

"Jager here. Are you behind the barn? We can't see you."

"Yes. Have you confirmed the governor's status?"

"Not yet. Maxine is pleading with Chapman to surrender. But he's not responding. We're not even sure if he can hear us."

"We can hear Maxine, but who knows what he can hear inside the barn."

If Chapman was even inside there. Maybe he was inside the garage. If he wasn't responding, that wasn't a good sign. He may have already done something to the governor that would make negotiations futile. We needed to get in fast. If there was any hope of rescuing the governor.

"Let's check the windows. Do you have the mirrors on you?"

Will patted his bulletproof vest. "Yup."

We crouched low to the ground with our hands over our weapons. Maxine's voice pleaded for Ed to respond, but there was no sound coming from inside the barn or the garage.

With our backs against the white aluminum siding, Will pulled out his mirror and extended the metal rod attached to it.

Slowly, he raised it above our heads and in front of one of the garage windows. Twisting it, we saw several tools hanging in a line on the opposite wall, and a wooden table in the middle. For a brief second, the mirror caught what looked like a black jacket before it disappeared.

Will moved the mirror further down the window.

There.

A man paced back and forth inside the garage. He wore a brown delivery uniform with a black jacket on top. He wore a hat as well, but even through the dirt on the window, I recognized him as Ed Chapman. The man who had pointed a rifle at me. It was payback time.

"Where's the governor?" I mouthed to Will.

He moved the mirror further down the window and the reflection caught another figure.

It was a woman tied up in a chair with a gag in her mouth. Her head dropped down to her chest, her short blonde hair covering her face. Despite that, I knew it was Nikole's mother.

"Is she alive?" Will whispered.

"Yes." I couldn't be sure, but we had to plan accordingly. We couldn't take any unnecessary risks that would put her life in danger.

"What now, captain?" asked Will.

Even though I'd been the leader of our special ops group, Will was more in charge of our operations back home. So, the title stunned me a bit.

"We wait until we know what his next move is."

Will nodded, never questioning my instincts. He lowered the mirror, and we waited in hiding until Chapman made the next move.

Except, it wasn't Chapman. It was Maxine who moved next. Chapman's phone rang and his filthy language pierced through the thin window. "Now she's fucking calling me," he swore. "Well, it's too late Maxine!"

My heart sank. What was too late? Was it too late to save the governor? I wouldn't know how to console Nikole if that were true. Anger rushed through my body, but I had to squash it, otherwise it would interfere with my decisions.

It felt like an eternity until Chapman made another sound from inside the garage, but a groan reached my ears and both Will and I looked at each other. Hope filled my chest, and I strained to listen.

It wasn't Chapman. It was a female moan. I was sure of it.

"She's alive," Will whispered, and I nodded.

Holding his earpiece, Will relayed the message to Jager.

On the other side, I heard Nikole's relieved cry. The sound was a dagger and a bandage to my heart. It both hurt and healed it. This woman was going to be the death of me. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Jager," I said. "Maxine must keep calling Chapman and tell him that it's not too late. That if the governor lives, he won't be tried for murder. But if he waits, that could all change. Tell him to give himself up now before it's too late. And put the call on speaker so Will and I can hear through your earpiece."

"Roger that."

Chapman's cell phone rang again. He ignored it. The third time it rang, he yelled at it but finally answered. "I don't want to talk to you Maxine, you traitor! You're standing outside there while I'm locked in here."

Maxine's voice shook, but she relayed my message. "You think that matters to me? I'm already going to prison. What does it matter what they're locking me up for? It's over. All of it."

What was over? As Jager said earlier, a desperate man had nothing to live for and nothing to lose. We needed something to keep him going. But what?

"It's not over," Maxine's soft voice rang through my earpiece just as Will pressed his earpiece closer. Maxine was going about this solo, without our guidance. I was both impressed and terrified. She wasn't trained. If she said something that would upset him, it could all go to shit fast.

"What are you talking about, Maxine? My uncle deserted me and so have you. There's nothing left."

"This all started because you didn't want that bill to pass. Isn't that true?"

"Yes! It was all I ever wanted. It—"

"I will lobby the government. I will start a campaign. I will do whatever it takes to bring awareness to your cause. But Ed, we have to do this the right way. I agree with your beliefs. I agree the bill is wrong, but this isn't the way to get it retracted. Hurting the governor won't help your cause."

"I was desperate," Chapman sobbed, his head in his hands. "No one was listening to me. I thought…" He raised his head toward the ceiling and wiped his eyes. "I thought I would make them listen. But now…"

Chapman stood in front of the governor whose eyes were open, if unfocused. She tossed her head from side to side.

"Is that the governor I hear?" Maxine asked.

"Yeah. She's waking up now."

"Untie her and let her go."

"I can't do that," he said, watching the governor as she struggled against her ties.

"Yes, you can, Ed. Let's do it together. I'm right here."

Ed's sobbing intensified and the gnawing in my stomach grew louder. I knew something was about to happen. I knew it in my bones. We both raised our heads to watch clearly through the window and my biggest fear played out in front of me.

Ed raised his gun and pointed it at the governor's head.

With no time to lose, I broke through the glass with the butt of my gun. I pushed Will down to the ground with me, anticipating Chapman shooting at the noise. Once the shooting stopped, I jumped up and through the window. Tucking and rolling once, I sprang into position, one knee on the ground, my gun pointing at Chapman. Then, I fired.

A shot to the leg and Chapman fell to the ground, clutching his thigh as blood seeped through his fingers. I ignored his cries and ran toward him, kicking his gun out of the way and restraining him while Will untied the governor.

"Oh god, oh god," she cried.

Will and I made quick work of using her ropes to tie Chapman and left him lying on the ground.

He stopped struggling and a loud, guttural sob racked through his chest. The emotional outcry pierced through my anger, and for a second, I felt sorry for the guy.

But then I turned and saw Nikole's mother shivering in her chair and I lost all sympathy.

I gathered her in my arms, pressing her trembling body into my chest.

"Jager, we're coming out," Will said, holding his earpiece. "Tell them not to shoot. Chapman is down and Jake has the governor in his arms."

After a few seconds, he responded. "Police are standing down," Jager confirmed. "You're clear to exit."

After receiving confirmation, I kicked open the garage door with my boot and carried the governor out.