Chapter 15

"This is what? Some kind of storage room?" Alexis looked at the wooden crates stacked along the cave's wall as she slipped off her fins and looped them around her wrist. She'd already clipped her mask to her snorkeling belt.

"An armory," Seb said, walking over to a crate. He opened it and pulled out a lethal-looking machine gun.

"It's what's left of our weapons," Isandro said as Seb opened another crate. Alexis watched in fascination as he checked them out. "Leo's business plan changed once Layla was born. He shifted from providing soldiers and arms to information. The handful of us on the island, along with a dozen other men strategically positioned elsewhere, are all who remain. Our role is to ensure the safety of his family."

"We'd heard whispers he was moving in that direction, but we weren't aware his men were no longer for hire." Seb chose a submachine gun from the crate and slung it across his chest with practiced ease, then locked eyes with Isandro. "What's our current status?"

Without hesitation, Isandro let Seb take charge of the situation on the island. "The plane took off without incident."

The knot in Alexis's stomach loosened. She was the person responsible for placing her friend's family in danger. Xenia had contacted Antoine and betrayed her family, but it was Alexis he was after. She'd led him to the island. If she'd only made her way to Miami without involving Finlay and her friends, Nat and her children would still be in on the island, enjoying their quiet life. If Antoine was as dangerous as Alexis suspected, he wouldn't stop until he'd hunted Leo down.

"We lost one man." Isandro rubbed the back of his calloused hand across the scruffy beard covering his chin. "I have a man at the house. The men on the fishing boat will approach the island from behind when it's clear. Antoine's men are searching the jungle for my other two men. They won't be successful."

"Their side is down one." Seb listened as he continued to go through the crates. "The Tiger Shark took care of him for us."

"I saw the fin in the water. I'm certain you had something to do with that, my friend." Isandro laughed. "Make it two down. Another one of Antoine's men is lying dead on the beach."

Seb turned to them, an impish grin on his face. "This should come in handy."

Alexis's eyes widened, and she gawked at the rocket launcher he'd attached to the carry strap. He hiked the strap over his shoulder as carelessly as Alexis would have slung her gym bag over her shoulder.

"I've seen video clips of those things." Alexis pointed to the rocket launcher. "You could burn down the island if you're not careful."

"I'll be careful," Seb's eyes twinkled with amusement before he changed the subject.

"Nat asked me to give this to you." Isandro dug into a pocket on his black cargo pants and handed her a small piece of paper that looked torn from a children's book.

Written in red crayon was [email protected] and three words. Destroy the bastards.

"I don't understand." Alexis passed the slip of paper to Seb. "I don't have an email account with that address."

"Nat said you'd know the password." Isandro's brows drew together, and he looked at her uncertainly.

Seb held out the paper. She took it and placed it in the dry box holding the algae sample and USB drive. Nat must have created the account last night. Alexis replayed their breakfast conversation in her mind and smiled. Her friend had repeated the password several times as they'd discussed the children's favorite bedtime book. It was the book's title.

"Antoine. Who is he?" Seb asked, diverting Isandro's attention from the note. "I've never heard of him."

"The man has money and is ruthless," Isandro replied and shook his head. "Despite seeming to run the show, I got the impression he was still a middle man and there was someone else pulling the strings. It is not my place to question Leo."

Alexis knew Seb had many questions for the mercenary, and if they made it off the island alive, he'd get answers. It felt like they'd walked into the middle of something and the algae sample was part of something much bigger.

Seb pulled his cell phone out of his waterproof pouch and swiped the screen. "I'm still getting a signal."

"It's the last thing my man in the house will dismantle." Isandro tapped his ear. "We'll keep communications going as long as we can. The plan is to meet back here once we've taken out Antoine's men, or hide here until Leo can send help. The cave is well-hidden."

Alexis clipped the fins dangling from her wrist to her snorkeling belt before walking toward the open crates closest to her. Seb's fingers tapped at his cell phone. She assumed he was sending a text to Javier.

"So, Alexis should be safe here."

"I'm going with you," Alexis said, her voice firm as she peered into a crate and picked up a handgun. "It's not up for debate. While I've never fired a gun, I understand the basic principle. Antoine's men have strategically positioned themselves. You need any help you can get."

"Alexis," Seb growled and plucked the gun out of her hand.

"You might also want to rethink your decision about the Wi-Fi." She smiled sweetly and picked up another gun from the crate. "I'd have your guy in the house cut it off now."

Boxes of magazines holding what she assumed were the correct caliber were packed on one side of the crate. She opened the box, checked the gun's safety, before sliding a fresh magazine into the grip.

"If Xenia gave Antoine the layout to the island, I'm certain she would have given him the Wi-Fi password. I'm not a tech geek, but I would assume there'd be a way to triangulate your positions through your radio transmitters."

Isandro stared at her for a moment and then tapped a button on his Kevlar vest. "We're going dark. Ditch the earphones. Yang, take out the Wi-Fi. Stat."

Seb looked up at the grotto's ceiling for a few seconds, his hands on his hips. He sighed, turned to her, and held out his hand. "If you're coming with us, you're going to need more than a Beretta."

She handed the gun to him. He popped out the magazine, set it back in the crate, and placed the magazine back in the ammunition box.

"She's going to need this as well." Isandro pulled his Kevlar vest over his head. "It won't withstand submachine gunfire, but it'll stop a bullet from a pistol."

Seb took the vest from Isandro's outstretched hand and nodded thanks. He pulled it over her head before Alexis could protest. Like Seb's t-shirts, it was huge on her and came down to her hips.

"Raise your arms so I can tighten the Velcro straps." Seb's tone of voice indicated she wouldn't win if she tried to fight him on this one. He placed his hands under the vest and unclipped her fins and mask, adding them to the collection of equipment attached to his snorkeling belt.

He walked over to a crate after tightening the last strap and Alexis followed, the bulky Kevlar vest making her movements awkward.

"Safety, grip, trigger, magazine, sight." Seb pointed to each part of the semi-automatic rifle he'd pulled out of the crate. "Brace yourself, because it will have a kick."

Alexis nodded as she watched him demonstrate how to fire the weapon, then handed it to her. She positioned it across her chest so it hung at the same angle as his weapon, wishing there'd been time to get off a few practice shots.

"If you run out of ammo, let me know," Seb said, as he tossed her a magazine. He placed two in his pouch.

Alexis hoped the articles she'd read had been accurate. Having a photographic memory wouldn't help if the instructions she recalled were incorrect.

"You'll be fine," Seb said and kissed her on the forehead before reaching into the crate beside them. "Do you have any C4 stored in here?"

"We haven't restocked," Isandro said as if C4 was something everyone had on their grocery list.

"Grenades will have to do." Seb stuffed a grenade he'd found in the crate into the waterproof pouch. He picked up a second one and tossed it up in the air. "One for good luck," he said as he caught the brown ball and added it to the bulging pouch.

Isandro rubbed his fingers over the deep creases in his forehead and looked at Alexis. "Is he always like this?"

"When it comes to blowing up things, yes." She followed Seb out of the cave. Isandro was muttering in Spanish behind her.

The owners of Shadow Defense took on whatever role their job demanded of them. Each man excelled above the others in one area. It often determined who was sent to lead one of their teams on a mission. Together, the five men were unbeatable. While Drake could move across an empty room without being spotted, Seb liked to blow up things.

When they were helping Finlay in Paris, they'd been forced to eat in her living room because he'd taken over her kitchen to create the explosive charges he and Drake needed.

"Keep your voices low," Isandro warned as he led the way through the dense vegetation. "The beach is closer than you realize."

The tropical forest around them was alive with colorful birds chirping and leaves rustling as creatures scurried away at their approach. Amidst it all was the steady hum of the motorboat as it cruised the coastline, looking for them.

The sound of machine gun fire erupted from the direction of the house. Isandro lifted his fist in the air. They halted. Alexis glanced down at the ground as they waited in silence. A black snake slid over a fallen log to Seb's right and quickly disappeared. Insects scurried in and out of cracks in the dead wood. She shivered, grateful for her thick diving boots.

Isandro motioned them forward, and they sprinted through the trees, ducking under low-hanging branches. Alexis avoided brushing up against the pretty leaves adorning the surrounding trees. She assumed Leo would have removed any poisonous trees that thrived in the warm climate because of the children, but she was unfamiliar with the lush vegetation in the tropical hammock. It was better to be careful.

Alexis swiped the back of her hand across her brow, wiping away the sweat. The Kevlar vest not only restricted her movement, but it was uncomfortably hot. Thank goodness the trees shaded them from the scorching sun.

They stayed close to the shadows cast by the forest along the beach. A man lay motionless, face down on the white sand half-way between the dock and the trees. Alexis assumed it was the man Isandro had referred to.

Alexis watched the motorboat near the edge of the island. The two men had continued scanning the water for her and Seb. She wondered if they'd been able to save their friend, and then shuddered, fearing she knew the answer. Wounded, he would have slowed them down.

A shot rang out. Then a second.

Isandro dropped to the ground beside her. Blood poured down his chest.

She shifted her gaze to Seb, struggling to comprehend what had happened. His gun was aimed toward the beach. Alexis whipped her head around. Antoine's man, the one they'd thought was dead, was on his knees. Covered in blood, a gun dangled from one hand. He pitched forward.

Alexis knelt beside Isandro and pressed her hands against his chest. Bright red blood seeped between her fingers and around her hands.

This was her fault. If he hadn't given her his Kevlar vest, he may have survived the shot.

"His pants," Alexis said. "Cut off the bottom of his pants. I need a pad to stop the bleeding."

The motorboat in the cove continued to creep along the shoreline as if nothing had happened. Gunshots were expected when you'd been sent to kill.

Seb leaned over her and she reached out with one hand, snatching the piece of cloth he'd folded into a thick pad. She placed it over the wound and pressed down again with both her hands.

Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision.

"Alexis," Seb said softly. "This isn't our fault."

Yes, it was. It was all her fault.

It was her fault Dr. Butler had lost his research grants. It was her fault she'd made the stupid decision to confront him, so she was sure of his guilt before she destroyed his career.

Instead, she'd destroyed the lives of everyone around her.