Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Rio Blanco, Puerto Jardin

Present Day

FINN PASSED through baggage claim and headed directly for customs. Ten minutes tops, and he'd be on his way to San Isidro.

He hadn't been able to sleep on the plane. The Army had trained him to drop off anywhere, and in Special Forces, he'd rested surrounded by enemy troops. But it hadn't worked this time. Whenever he closed his eyes, Zo was there. Finn didn't need to imagine what could happen to her—he knew firsthand.

She was the center of his universe, and if anything happened to her, it would destroy him. So nothing could happen. She had to be okay. Had to be.

The airport was practically deserted, but the PAL flight was the last in before the place shut down for the night. He passed a few armed soldiers patrolling the concourse, and a couple of airline workers headed out for the night, but that was it. Finn reached the double doors into the customs area and pushed one open.

Chaos. Holy shit, there were lines of people everywhere.

Beating down the frustration, he studied the area, looking for whoever was in charge. One thing about Puerto Jardin was that bribery eliminated waiting almost like magic. He just needed to know whose palm to grease.

It didn't take long to spot him. An instant later, he realized the man was turning down bribes from other fliers who wanted to get out of here.

That almost never happened, and Finn gave the situation more consideration. These weren't the passengers from his flight—they were waiting for their suitcases—so this bottleneck had been here for a while. Each piece of luggage was being opened and searched, and there were extra soldiers standing guard.

Not common soldiers either, but members wearing the colors of the presidential brigade. Fucking great. This happened every time the government got intel that rebels were smuggling something into the country.

Finn did some estimating. There were at least two hundred people waiting, and the A330 he'd been on held another couple hundred. He picked the line that seemed to be moving the quickest and stood in it. This room was about to get much more crowded. The odds the government would find what they were looking for and let everyone else through without a search were slim.

More than half the time, the information was outright wrong—or the rebels rearranged their plans. Either way, he could expect hours in this mess.

Finn made himself take it down a few notches. Zo was okay. Whoever was after that damn disk was probably searching Rio Blanco for her, and she was in San Isidro, safely tucked away at the inn .

And it didn't matter how safe she was. He needed to hold her, to see for himself that she was fine.

Finn shifted restlessly but tamped down on his agitation before it went farther. Causing trouble would slow him down, not get him out of there faster. He knew how to be patient. He'd spent his entire life learning patience.

But his woman's life had never been on the line before.

Trujillo, Puerto Jardin

27 Months Earlier

Finn stared at the outside of the run-down structure. The road was dirt, the name of the bar, El Taller , was nailed to the building with slats from a pallet, the E was tilted, looking ready to fall, and the corrugated tin roof had rusted. He was tired of seedy dives like this, but the check-ins had to happen somewhere natural, and that meant where mercenaries drank. Damn, he wished he could skip this meeting, but if he did, someone would be sent to find him.

Better get it over with.

Crossing the street, he pulled open the door and walked inside. He paused, letting his eyes adjust as he scanned his surroundings. It was packed with mercs in camo, the music was loud enough to mask conversation, and cigarette smoke filled the air with a haze. His teammates had grabbed a table in the corner, and he joined them, taking the open seat next to Ski against one wall.

"You're late," Griff snarled from the other side, his back to the second wall.

Finn glanced at the time. "Three minutes isn't late," he said, careful to keep his tone neutral .

Griff and Ski shot him incredulous looks, but Kyle Winter shrugged. The newest member of the their team didn't know Finn well enough yet to realize he was normally punctual to the second. He returned the stares, taking in details with a glance. JT Griffin looked rough, and his nearly-black hair was stringy and longer than Finn had ever seen it. Same with the beard. His friend also appeared haggard, as if he hadn't slept for a month.

Maybe he hadn't.

There was no fucking way he should have been allowed on this mission, not so soon after what had happened in Tahoe.

Kyle Winter, KW, sat next to Griff. His brown hair was shaggy, but not nearly as long as the rest of them. Then again, he'd only joined their team a week or so before they'd left on this mission. He had a beard, but it was neatly trimmed.

Then there was his best buddy, Ryder Pienkowski. His hair was darker and longer than KW's, but he only sported a few days of stubble. Ski wanted to finish this job and go home to his fiancée. He'd said as much the last time they'd met and who could blame him?

Finn wanted the mission over, too. He was tired down to his soul of dealing with the worst humanity had to offer. He thought of Zo, of her opinion on mercenaries, and suppressed a grimace. Yeah, he wanted to be done pretending to be one of the bastards. The next time he had his mouth on hers, he didn't want her to be horrified when the kiss ended. He didn't want her running away from him as if he were some kind of monster.

"You spent extra time in San Isidro," Griff accused.

The tone pissed him off, but Finn tamped down his irritation. "Because I didn't want to drive through the rainforest in the dark."

"The boss's men made it back last night." Griff didn't say bullshit, but his inflection did.

Okay, it was bullshit. Finn had wanted to spend more time with Zo, and it's why he'd postponed his departure. He might as well have driven back because she avoided him the entire evening. He'd had about two hours of sleep last night because he couldn't stop remembering the feel of her body against his. Because he'd been too aware that her room was right across the hall. Had she slept any better than he had?

"They probably needed to report ASAP. I had until tonight."

Griff's eyebrows came down, making his glare fiercer. Finn returned the glower.

The pissing match lasted until Winter said, "I'll go get some beers."

Once he was out of earshot, Finn leaned forward. "I know you're dealing with some shit, but don't fucking take it out on me."

"The team was worried," Ski said, trying to smooth the moment over. "Don't take his attitude personally—Griff can't help that he doesn't know how to express concern."

It worked. Griff's expression evened out, and his lips quirked momentarily. "You told us the chick who was following the boss's second-in-command was staying at the same inn, remember? Pru came up with more intel about her after he briefed you on the phone."

"What else did he learn?" Finn kept his voice level, trying to sound as if he wasn't particularly interested.

It was Ski who answered. "She was childhood friends with Ramos. His grandfather was the foreman on the dig site her parents were excavating. It's unclear what her current relationship is with him, but you said yourself that she calls him Al."

"That's it?"

"Almost," Ski said, "but yeah, it's why Pru decided it wasn't worth calling you again."

That fragment of information was next to nothing. "You said almost. What else did Pruitt learn about her?"

"She lives in Los Angeles, where the Paladin League is headquartered," Ski told him. "Pru said he has her address if you need it."

"You don't need it," Griff said with a growl to his voice. "What you do need is to quit thinking with your dick. I don't know what it is about her that makes your brain shut down, but it's possible she's working for Ramos. Maybe that's why she's following the boss's second, did that occur to you?"

Two hours of sleep made it difficult for Finn to exercise self-command, but he managed it. Griff acting like an asshole was out of concern. The memory of Tahoe and what could happen when a man's cock overruled his brain was fresh for all of them, but it impacted JT the most. Instead of replying, Finn watched Winter make his way through the mercenaries back to the table, the necks of the bottles threaded between fingers on both hands. When he reached them, he put a beer in front of each of them before he sat down.

"Everyone friends again?" Winter asked sarcastically.

Finn turned a look on him and caught Griff and Ski doing the same.

"Watch yourself," Pienkowski warned him.

"Yeah," Griff agreed. "We're the fucking three musketeers."

"Got it," Winter said. "You guys can say things to each other that outsiders like me can't."

"That's family for you," Ski agreed.

Family. Yeah, Griff and Ski were like his brothers. That was the only drawback to leaving the Army. They'd keep in touch, but things would change. Finn frowned. He'd do what it took to keep the friendships strong, but he had to get out. Tom Finley was becoming less of an act with every covert op they were assigned. If he didn't escape, Finn was afraid he'd lose himself.

"Earth to Stone Man," Griff said.

"What? "

"Your chick was right about Ramos being at war. There's been a series of skirmishes between his men and the employees of a drug lord to the south named Bianchi."

He bristled at how Griff referred to Zo as a chick , but if he called him on it, his friend would know how far gone Finn was. "The boss is going to make a killing arming both sides," he said instead.

"No shit, but the good news is he's going to need more weapons in a hurry. It should play into your hands."

"We could use a break. The man is cautious as hell."

Winter nodded and said, "That's how he's survived. He lets the second take the risks while he sits safe and happy in his compound."

And getting him out was going to be a bitch. Finn took a swig from his bottle.

"The Big Dog wants to start coordinating with the locals," Griff said.

Finn nearly choked on his beer. "Fuck. He knows it's too soon. One of you needs to convince him to wait until things are farther along."

"We'll try," Ski said, "but I think he got orders, because yeah, he does know better."

This was just fucking great. Captain Nguyen did need to bring in the Puerto Jardinese Army, he understood that. The plan was for them to arrest Torres and let the team fade into the background, but that was a big problem because many of the officers were suspected of taking kickbacks—including from the arms dealer. The earlier the captain brought in the locals, the greater the chance that Finn's cover would be blown.

Torres didn't just murder the men who betrayed him. He tortured them first.

Finn took a long drag on his beer.

Rio Blanco, Puerto Jardin

Present Day

Patience had become Finn's mantra over the past three hours. He'd also reminded himself repeatedly that causing trouble wouldn't get him to Zo any faster, but he was fighting to hang on to his calm. He didn't give a rat's ass that his woman was probably safe in San Isidro. He wanted to see her for himself. Now.

It took another half an hour to reach the customs agent. At least it shouldn't take long to search his bag, and with some luck, maybe the car rental place had stayed open to accommodate the hundreds of people waiting to be cleared.

Putting his backpack down on the counter, Finn dug out his passport and handed it to the agent.

The man stiffened as he glanced at it. The motion was nearly imperceptible, but Finn caught it. He also caught the slight step forward. Fuck, the agent had triggered the alarm button.

Finn shifted his stance—not enough to be noticeable, but enough to be ready for anything.

In his peripheral vision, he saw the presidential guards moving. He kept his hands in plain sight, his body relaxed. He was unarmed, and they were carrying automatic weapons. The chances of them shooting in here weren't high, not with so many people crammed into the space, but he wasn't betting on it. The Puerto Jardinese government played hardball.

A captain came up to his side. "Se?or Rowland?"

There was no point in lying, not when his name was on his passport. "Sí."

Finn didn't have time to react before two soldiers grabbed his arms and forced them behind his back.

In accented English, the officer said, "You are under arrest."