CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Two days later, JJ stood in the middle of the Pit . . . the bar-slash-pool-hall that Rex owned with his wife in Colorado Springs. It looked run down and like a dive from the outside, but inside was surprisingly clean and trendy. Pool tables were in a back room, spread far enough apart that people had plenty of room to play but close enough for the space to feel cozy. The bar was in the main room, where a jukebox stood in the corner.

But it was silent and empty now. Rex had closed it for the night so they could use the space for planning. The Mountain Mercenaries were all there—Gray, Ro, Arrow, Black, Ball, Meat, and, of course, Rex. Not only that, the Ace Security guys were also in attendance—Logan, Blake, Nathan, Ryder, and Cole.

The Silverstone team had arrived in town the day before, and Bull, Eagle, Smoke, and Gramps were ready and willing to do whatever was necessary to help.

In any other situation, JJ might have been overwhelmed by the amount of testosterone in the room. With the anger that simmered just beneath the surface. But right now, he gloried in it. Knowing he had so much experience and deadly skill behind him was reassuring.

As if it wasn’t even a question, he’d found himself in the role of team leader. He was used to leading his small team of Delta operatives, so having nineteen pairs of eyes trained on him, waiting for his direction, would’ve been overwhelming. But because this was the most important mission of his life, he actually wished for twenty more men.

Rex was sitting at a large oval table in the back room, his focus alternating between JJ and the screen in front of him. He and Tex had been in constant communication and were doing what they could to track Ryan Johnson electronically.

They’d already found the three cell phones belonging to Carlise, Marlowe, and June. They had been wiped of any fingerprints and found in three different vehicles, and the owners had no idea the phones had even been in their cars. One was in the bed of a truck, another was under the passenger seat of a car, and the last had been found on the floorboard of a semi. It was likely Ryan had hidden them in the other vehicles while at a rest area or gas station.

They had to assume the fourth phone, which had stopped transmitting around Albany, was April’s, but they hadn’t actually found it. Tex had also done his best to track the number April had called from, but it was a burner and couldn’t be traced.

Frustrated that the phones were a dead end, Tex switched his focus to Ryan Johnson. But because the name was so common and they had literally no details about the man, identifying him was turning out to be a near-impossible task.

Rex was working on locating the truck and trailer. They didn’t have the make or model, or even the color, but because of the tire tracks behind Jack’s Lumber, they knew it was a smaller pickup. Maybe a Toyota Tacoma or Ford Ranger. So Rex was looking through hours and hours of traffic cams on the interstates around Albany to see if he could spot any kind of truck with a trailer. Of course there were plenty, so he was pretty overwhelmed trying to narrow down the field.

The rest of the men were basically dead in the water without knowing exactly where the women were being taken. They’d gone over their respective skills—everything from marksmanship, explosives, engineering, interrogation, and negotiation to mountaineering and swimming. Collectively, they had all their bases covered for wherever Ryan might lead them . . . but for now, they could only wait. And it turned out none of them were big fans of waiting.

“Tell us about your women,” Gray said into the tense silence.

Thinking about Carlise, Marlowe, June, and April, wondering what they might be enduring, was almost too painful to bear . . . but the men didn’t hesitate to talk.

“June, Marlowe, and Carlise are all pregnant,” Cal told the others. “But my wife, June, is closest to her due date. She actually told me the morning before they were taken that she felt funny. Not in a bad way, but she was sure our son would be making his appearance soon.

“June was shot by a man her stepmother hired to pretend to stalk her. He pocketed the money they gave him instead of actually doing any of the things he promised. I almost wish he hadn’t, because then I would’ve been on alert. Could’ve protected her. Instead, he just entered her place of work one day and shot her. No warning. She almost died. It was the worst day of my life . . . until now. At least then I could sit with her, tell her I was there, that I loved her. I feel completely helpless.”

“Do you have a name picked out?” Logan asked.

“Maximilian,” Cal said. “It’s a family name. Max for short.”

“We’re going to get June, and Max, back safely,” Logan said in a rough tone. “My child was taken too, and trust me when I say I know what you’re feeling. What you’re all feeling,” he said, looking at Chappy and Bob in turn.

“Marlowe was an archaeologist. She was arrested and sentenced to life in prison in Thailand after a coworker called in a bogus tip that she had drugs. Drugs he’d planted in her stuff. I broke her out of jail, we fled across Thailand into Cambodia, and she literally saved my life when I almost died because of a damn infection. We were married while on the run, and I swore to always protect her. I failed.”

“Bullshit,” Eagle said. He was one of the Silverstone guys. “If you were sitting at home twiddling your thumbs, you’d be failing her. You’re here, doing everything you can to find her. That’s not failing.”

The men looked to Chappy next.

“Carlise got lost in a snowstorm, and with help from a stray dog, she found me and my cabin. Of course, I was so sick when she arrived, I passed out on her for three days. But she was levelheaded and calm, and even without knowing the stove used gas and not electricity—which we didn’t have because of the storm—she wasn’t fazed.”

He paused, then sighed before continuing. “She had a stalker who tracked her down and forced her to run straight into the path of an avalanche. She hid in an underground bunker, was buried alive until we could find her. She’s strong . . . but this is too much to ask of her, of any of the women,” Chappy said in a tortured tone.

“Your women sound a lot like ours,” Meat said. “They’re all survivors. They aren’t going to wither away and die while waiting for you to find them. They’re going to fight back with everything they have. And you know what? If we can’t find them? They’re still going to win. You know why?”

Chappy lifted a brow.

“Because they love you, and they’ll fight to get back to you, just as you’ll fight to get to them.”

JJ nodded. He’d heard stories about a few of these men’s wives. The things they’d survived had been horrific and would’ve broken most women. But they’d not only survived, they’d blossomed in the years since. They’d had children, made families, and gone on with their lives. Not as victims but as survivors.

“What about April?” Gramps asked. “She’s the one who made the phone call, right?”

JJ nodded. “Yeah. She and I aren’t married. She isn’t pregnant. But I’d die for her without a single regret. I wanted her for years, but it took me way too long to get my head out of my ass. Took a car accident, some short-term amnesia, the fear she might choose her ex over me, and a frightened phone call in the middle of the night . . . but I finally got smart. The entire time I was fighting my attraction to her, it felt like I was dying inside. She’s my everything. And without her, Jack’s Lumber wouldn’t exist today. We would’ve gone under. She’s smart, loyal, funny, and so damn beautiful it makes my heart hurt to look at her. To know she’s mine.

“I don’t know who we pissed off to put my April in this situation, but they’re going to die for touching her.”

The room was silent for a beat before Rex pushed his chair back from the table and strode over to JJ. It wasn’t obvious he’d been listening to the conversations going on around him, but apparently he had been.

He put a hand on JJ’s shoulder. Rex was taller by a few inches and more muscular. He had a lot more silver in his hair and more wrinkles around his eyes. But the intense look on his face matched the emotion JJ had seen in his own mirror that morning.

“My wife was gone for ten years. Ten of the longest goddamn years of my life. But not once did I give up hope that she was out there somewhere. Finding her was a miracle. And lucky as shit. She was bent but not broken. Even after the hell she’d been through, she was still my Raven. We’re going to find April and the rest of the women. We’re going to make this Ryan guy pay. Mark my words, this is going to end sooner rather than later.”

JJ nodded. He couldn’t speak through the lump in his throat. He’d been operating on pure adrenaline for the last few days. Every minute that passed without knowing where the women had been taken ate at his soul. He didn’t know what April was thinking, if she was hurt, if her kidnapper had tortured them.

The not knowing was almost worse than knowing what she was going through. Worse because of all the scenarios that flickered through his head. He’d seen enough death and destruction, and abuse against women, in his life that the thought of any of those things happening to April was agony.

And that’s what Ryan wanted. JJ knew that down to his soul. The man hated him and his team for some reason and wanted them to suffer. He was playing a game with them, a game that would end with his long, slow death.

JJ didn’t like killing. Never had. But ending Ryan Johnson was going to be a pleasure. A warning for anyone else stupid enough to use his woman to try to get to him.

Some people would look at him and just see a lumberjack, a backwoods hick who couldn’t string two words together properly while he swung an axe—or rather, a chain saw—for a living, but after this was over, no one would doubt he was a man who could, and would, protect those he loved.

“Um, Rex, you might want to get over here,” Bull said as he hovered over Rex’s laptop. “Tex is trying to get a hold of you, and he’s not being patient about it.”

Rex hurried back to the table, followed closely by JJ and several of the other men. It was a tight squeeze, but JJ was quick to get a front-row seat to whatever was happening. Chappy and Cal elbowed in next to them, and Bob stood right behind them.

“Tex, I’m here, what’s up?” Rex said, after clicking on the video-chat program.

Tex appeared on the screen. He stared at the camera and said, “April’s phone pinged.”

JJ froze. Every muscle in his body tensed. “Where?” he barked.

They’d thought her phone was gone. Destroyed, run over, thrown away, whatever. But apparently it was still part of Ryan’s game. And the men standing in the Pit were more than ready to play.

Tex’s gaze left the camera and went to the screens in front of him. They could hear his fingers clicking on the keys as he worked to pull up the information they all were desperate for.

“South of Bailey, Colorado. It’s a small town west of Denver.”

“Off 285, right?” Ryder asked.

“Yup. It’s rugged out that way. Miles and miles of wilderness surrounded on all sides by Buffalo Peak, Green Mountain, Topaz Mountain, and North Tarryall Peak.”

“Shit, if he’s out there, it’ll make finding him much harder,” Smoke grumbled.

“Not necessarily,” Arrow said. “No, there’s not a lot out there, but that makes the people who live in the area very observant.”

“So if there’s anyone around who isn’t supposed to be there, they’ll know. Especially someone who isn’t a local,” Chappy mused.

“Exactly,” Arrow said with a nod.

“And we can use drones and even a chopper to help search,” Ball added.

“This asshole wants to be found,” Bob growled. “He wants to lure us to his playing field.”

“Where he feels he has the upper hand,” Cal agreed.

“He’s gonna be surprised when it’s not just the four of you who come crawling out of the woods but all of us too,” Gray said with a somewhat bloodthirsty smile.

“We can’t show our hand, though,” JJ warned. “If he realizes we’re not alone, he could hurt the women. Or run and live to play this game another day.”

“Not happening,” Chappy said with a shake of his head.

“We know how to be stealthy,” Bull told him. “We aren’t going to screw this up for you.”

“This guy’s going down,” Cole agreed.

“I’ve been doing tons of digging, and I might’ve found something else,” Tex said.

All eyes went back to the screen.

“On a hunch, I hacked into the Social Security database and searched for any obvious red flags. Tax returns being filed for deceased people, or years where there was no activity on a number and then all of a sudden it’s in use again, babies who have bank accounts, et cetera. Things like that. Guess what I found?”

When the pause dragged out, JJ growled in annoyance. They needed to get moving. Set up camp in Bailey and start looking from there. He didn’t have time for Tex’s guessing games.

Thankfully, Tex quickly went on, “Seven years ago, a two-year-old named Ryan Johnson drowned in the backyard pool of his home. But lo and behold, his Social Security number pinged on a credit report three years ago.”

JJ’s heart rate sped up as Tex continued.

“Looks as if the account was opened in New York City, with regular deposits coming from overseas . . . bouncing from Israel, Johannesburg, and Dubai.”

JJ turned to meet Chappy’s gaze, then Cal’s.

“What if this has to do with our last mission,” JJ said quietly. “Where we were POWs.”

“What do any of those cities have to do with that?” Cal asked.

“I’m not sure. But terrorists always have connections. And if I was hell bent on revenge or making an escaped POW’s life miserable, I might need to rely on others in my network helping to finance my plans.”

“Wait, you think that particular mission is coming back to haunt us? Haven’t we suffered enough?” Bob bit out.

JJ kept his gaze glued to his teammates as he racked his brain, trying to figure out who this Ryan Johnson could be. “The rescue teams killed all of our captors, didn’t they?”

“That’s what we were told,” Cal agreed.

“But could they really have gotten them all?” Chappy asked.

“We all know how terrorist cells work. There are layers and layers. Those on top don’t get their hands dirty, and they order the people lower on the totem pole to do the frontline work,” Cal agreed.

“Well, in this case, all of you are right,” Tex went on.

Looking back at the screen, JJ saw a satisfied smirk on Tex’s face. “From the classified documents I’ve been able to dig up on that rescue mission, the teams that went in cleaned up extremely well. And after you left, the Army concentrated on that area for several months. There were additional missions to hunt down and eradicate every member of that especially nasty group.”

When he paused, JJ asked impatiently. “So . . . ? This isn’t related?”

“I didn’t say that. And funny you should use that word,” Tex replied. “Related. Relatives. Our government had no problem taking out the people they knew were terrorists . . . but they didn’t kill their family members.”

JJ blinked. “Ryan’s related to one of our captors?”

“Bingo,” Tex said with a nod. “That’s my best theory, at least. It’s been nearly six years since you were POWs. Ryan Johnson didn’t appear on the radar until three years ago. From what I’ve been able to dig up on the person using infant Ryan Johnson’s Social Security number, he’s male, twenty years old, has signed rental agreements—two where credit checks were completed, in both New York and Denver. In the last year, he gave up the New York apartment but continued to use the bank account there. He’s got charges from motels, rental-car agencies, and an ongoing charge for an online porn site.”

JJ swallowed hard. He wished Tex would hurry up and get to the fucking point. Despite that, he was soaking up every scrap of information in morbid fascination.

“To hurry this along,” Tex said as if he could sense the impatience of his audience, “if our Ryan Johnson is twenty, that means he was in his early teens when you were POWs. That’s a good age to be influenced by outside forces. And if he had a male relative who happened to be one of your captors, and that man was killed, Ryan certainly could’ve felt a deep sense of hatred for the men he decided were responsible.

“I know it sounds warped and fucked up, but it’s possible he blamed the four of you for his relative’s death. Forget about the fact that his brother or father or uncle, whoever, made the decision to become a terrorist and was torturing innocent men. That wouldn’t matter to our kidnapper. The hatred probably festered, and if more of his neighbors and friends were killed in the following months with the Army’s crackdown, he probably made plans.

“Plans that included getting money from the terrorist network, learning English, moving to New York, getting an illegal Social Security number, and learning to blend in. For whatever reason, he decided the mountains of Colorado would be where he made his stand and exacted his revenge on the four of you.”

It was an outlandish and improbable story. But if Tex had done the research . . . it was most likely true.

“So what will we be walking into?” Gray asked.

JJ forced himself to concentrate. He should’ve been the one to ask that question.

“Nothing good,” Tex said with a worried frown. “The terrorists who held you guys captive were an offshoot of a much larger group, but still well funded. They were also experts in IEDs and other explosives.”

JJ pressed his lips together. Shit.

“There’s no telling what our Ryan has come up with, but if he’s using the women as bait, he’s confident in whatever he’s prepared. Booby traps, IEDs, pits with spikes at the bottom . . . it could be anything.”

“Stop calling him ‘our Ryan’!” Chappy said in a ferocious tone. “He’s not our fucking Ryan.”

“Sorry,” Tex said immediately. “You’re right. All I’m saying is . . . you need to be careful. All of you. I haven’t spent my life watching over you and yours to lose you now.”

“You aren’t losing anyone,” Rex said gruffly. “We’re smarter than this kid. He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. He might get lucky and outmaneuver Chappy, Bob, JJ, and Cal, only because they’ll be concentrating on their women. But with the Mountain Mercenaries, Ace Security, and Silverstone at their backs? He’s as good as dead.”

Tex nodded. “I’ll be watching,” he said unnecessarily. “If you need anything, you call. Hear me? I’ve got teams of SEALs and Delta Force men I can get there in hours if need be. And there’s a group of men not far from you, in northern New Mexico, who are former Special Forces as well. No one messes with our women and lives. Over and out.”

The screen went blank, and the room was silent for a moment as everyone digested what they’d just learned.

JJ turned to the others. “No matter what happens, I’ll never forget that you all dropped everything to join us.”

“No,” Gray said with a shake of his head.

Rex nodded in agreement, as did everyone in the room.

“You’re us, and we’re you. We’ve been where you are, and there are no markers taken or given today. We’re doing the right thing. The thing we’ve been trained to do. Protect others. Keep evil from winning. No thanking us. Ever.”

JJ felt overwhelmed, and he knew his team probably did too. This was why they’d joined the Army. The camaraderie. The teamwork. They were a part of a huge family network and hadn’t really appreciated it. Not completely.

“Let’s go get your women,” Nathan said quietly. He hadn’t said much up to this point, but he was just as invested as everyone else. It was easy to see.

They all headed for the door, and JJ realized he and his team were hanging behind.

“Are you guys all right?” he asked softly.

“No,” they all said at the same time.

Chappy added, “But we will be. I honestly wasn’t sure we would find them. But now? I have no doubt.”

“Same,” Bob said with a nod.

“I’m not doing so good,” Cal said, taking a deep breath. “But I trust you guys and our new teammates with not only my life but June and Max’s as well.”

“We’re going to get our women home,” JJ said firmly. “They may not like how we lock them in our houses and never let them outside on their own again . . . but we’re getting them home.”

The others chuckled, but they understood what he meant. If their women thought they had protective husbands before, they hadn’t seen anything yet.

“Come on. We’ve got a terrorist to track down,” JJ said.

He’d said those words many times over the years, but never had they felt as heavy as they did today.

The four men followed the others out of the Pit and to their vehicles. They needed to get to Bailey and find their women.