Mission: Compromised Submissive (11 page)

Their battle was sweet, short, and to the point. Like clockwork, the soldiers cleared the area effortlessly and got enough Intel to last a lifetime. Between papers, b
lueprints, and hard drives, they should have what they needed. There was signs of the Americans everywhere, leaving little doubt they were residing under the thick heavily armed cloak of Jalalabad when they were in country. It was time to take things back on home turf. “Great j
ob, team! Now that’s what I’m
talkin’ about! Let’s get this shit back to
camp and get our asses home!”
Maverick commended.

“Hell yeah. I haven’t been able to talk to Bella in forever. She is going to be freaking out.” Joker laughed.

“No communication until we set foot home, boys. We can’t risk getting intercepted between here and there
. This stuff here is priceless,
” Pop said, patting the ruck full of their findings.

“Damn. Can you imagine the headlines
when this goes public? I’ll be surprised if there aren’t riots.” Bud grinned.

“This won’t go public. If we have enough to put Vice President Kovak away, they will come up with some hush hush cover up. With the secret societies and other resources they have, no one w
ill ever know the full truth,”
Maverick pitched in. He was right. The facts were, unless this could benefit someone high up, no one would ever know. Then again, with
the
re
-
election coming, it might. However it was portrayed, someone somewhere would be running the show.
The birds had been called in and once everyone was clear of the target, they unleashed the .50 cals on the compound and cut buildings in half. After it looked like swiss cheese, hellfires finished the job off, leaving a pile of dust and rubble in their wake.

“And boom goes the dynamite!”
Romeo yelled, choreographing a slew of whistles and cheers. The Cav boys were just as wild as they were. Every war movie quote known to man was recited on the way back to their camp, where they all celebrated their victory together with cold beers and grilled burgers. Like the team, Triple Deuce was heading back to the
S
tates to help the
next stages of their mission. It was a good chance for them to get to know the people they would be working with until this shit was done and behind them. Going up against the hornet
’
s nest that awaited would be more mental than physical, and they needed all of the assets they could get.

It had been three weeks since Michael
and his own justice league had given Vince’s attackers a
one-way
ticket to the toughest
penitentiary
in the state. Vince had healed up good, falling back into his normal routine with ease. There was still no word from the troops, and tension was high at the house.

Mrs. Sanders worked hard at keeping the girls busy with crafts and projects, using sewing and helping the community as a distraction from their worry. It was Friday, which meant bake everything in the cookbook day.
They were busy making their way through the dessert section when the rumble of vehicles came roaring up the drive. “What in blue blazes?” With Michael and Vince out taking care of the cows, Mrs. Sanders jumped into action, wiping the flour on her apron and snatching down Betsy off the mantle.
Violet, Alaina, and Bella all followed her, grabbing a rifle each from the corner. Michael had made sure there were guns in every room of the house they could get to, and insisted on stocking up on ammo after Vince’s accident. With the girls alone, and whatever the team was busy with, he couldn’t be too careful.
Now more than ever, they were all glad.

“Girls, stay close and behind me.” All three nodded, peering out the crack in the curtain. Mrs. Sanders opened the front door and stepped out with her band of Bonnie
’s behind her. Three black SUV
s pulled up and parked in a row, their tint too dark to tell what waited inside. When the doors swung open, the girls flipp
ed. “Oh my God
,
they’re back!”
Alaina squealed, not taking the time to go down the steps but instead leaping over the porch banister onto the grass. Bella was right behind following her lead, while Violet and Mrs. Sanders giggled and made their way behind to greet their soldiers.
They all piled out, dirty, tired, but so excited to be home.

“Hey
,
baby! We missed you!” Rock said, smacking Alaina on the ass. Maverick stole a kiss first, making Rock yank her away for his turn. They snickered, repeating the process until she was in a fit of giggles so hard she couldn’t breathe.

“I missed you both so much. Not hearing from you was the worst.”

“Look at our group of gun toting women we got
,
boys! I have never been so proud. You ladies are all a sight for sore eyes. You can put a spell on the intruder with your beauty, and shoot ‘em
before they know what hit them,
” Juju said.

“You don’t mess with the women at MM Ranch without getting a load of le
a
d fired at ya.
Where’s
,
Pop?
” Mrs. Sanders joked.

“
We dropped him off at home to the little
lady
. He will be over sometime tomorrow
,
” Bud said with an eye roll. Even some of the guys found her over the top dramatics too much to handle, and had b
een more than willing to drive
cross country if necessary to avoid enduring their first day back around her.

“
It looks like you girls have been busy. The
flower garden looks gorgeous,”
Vice
chimed in, noticing all of the different colored
fragrant
flowers that lined the yard
beautifully
.

“Yeah. Maggie
has had us cooking every recipe known on the face of the earth
,
gardening,
and sewing. She is a regular slave driver now
,
” Bella joked.
Joker
laughed, squeezing her tight.

“Sounds good to me! That just means more goodies for us!” He winked at Mrs. Sanders, who was making the rounds giving welcoming hugs and fussing over them all. Violet had greeted everyone briefly, making her way down to Hulk. Before she got to him, Kodiak wouldn’t le
t her go, and Mac insisted his
turn fi
rst. She giggled, loving it all. This was family. Once Kodiak’s bear paws let her go, she jumped up and gave Hulk a huge hug, dropping kisses on his cheek. He seemed shocked at first but pulled h
er tight, whispering in her ear,
“I missed you
,
sugar.”

Violet smiled, loving the softer side of the big lug. “I missed you more. Come on, let’s go get a spot to sit before everyone piles in.” Her bright green eyes flashed with orneriness, bringing a grin to tug at his exhausted features. He laced her tiny little fingers between his and led her away from the crowd, not stopping until they were hid
den
away from prying eyes. Hulk swooped her up in his arms,
seeking the refuge of her pouty plump lips. Violet giggled, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissed back, giving h
im what they both wanted. Foot
steps on the porch pumped their brakes, stopping their reu
nion far before either would have liked
. Violet hopped down grinning.
“Now that’s how a hello should be.”

“Mmm. Just like I remembered. Sweet as honey. We aren’t done here.” Hulk touched the tip of her nose sweetly, admiring the little swoop at the end. Everything about Violet was perfect, from her button litt
le nose to her wild red curls. When the group started trailing in, he stepped back
begrudgingly
, but not without sneaking another peck to her cheek. Hulk turned and left her standing, still lost in the river of his spell. Mac came running in the house, overly excited to be back home. Since Violet was the only one whose attention wasn’t taken, he went to her first.

Violet knelt down, greeting him with love. Mac swiped his tongue across her cheek and nuzzled under her hand, getting the much deserved welcome for the hard work he had surely put in with the others. “Hi
,
boy. Did you miss me? Awww. Yeah
,
y
ou’re a good dog aren’t you,” s
he cooed.

Kodiak spotted Mac giving Violet his overly ambitious attention and he laughed. It seemed he was more like one of the team than they already knew. Not only did he know that this was home, but he knew a good looking woman when he saw one. “I think he likes you.” Kodiak grinned, sitting on the couch beside where she crouched on the floor. His elbows rested on his knees, lowering his huge frame more to their level.

“Yeah, we are buddies, aren’t we
,
Mac? Yesh
,
you’ze a good doggie aren’t you?” She babbled in baby talk. “So, how did things go over there? Did you guys finish what you needed?”

The look on Kodiak’s face said it all. Something was definitely wrong. When he didn’t answer, but just shook his head, she didn’t press the issue. They had all just walked in the door. He, like all the others, needed a break, a hot meal, shower, and
a
good long rest before talk of work came up. Guilt flooded her. “Oh, sorry…
I didn’t mean to… You just got home. Hey, do you wanna help me grab some drinks for everyone? I’m sure everyone is parched after the flight.”

Kodiak’s face lit up, pulling out of the unfamiliar scowl that wasn’t a norm. “Sure. I’d kill for a glass of sweet tea right now. I know the others would too. Hell, all we talked about was coming home to the good food, pretty women, and sweet iced tea.” Of all the group, he was the happiest no matter what. If Violet had to hold his big butt down and tickle him to keep him grinning, she would. Of two things she knew for sure. On
e, something majorly wrong had gone
down over there. Two, she would just about put money on it that it was about to get worse. Making a mental note to talk to the women later and hatch out a plan to help keep their morale up, she patted Mac one last time and headed for the kitchen with Kodiak behind.

Vice had never been so happy to be home. After walking the fence of death and the nightmares that plagued her every night of never seeing anyone again,
it took all she had not to lay down and kiss the ground. The house smelled wonderful
—
like pies and cakes, and home. The ranch seemed more green and vibrant than ever before. But most of all, sitting in this very room, surrounded by the people she loved
,
was what sent the sentimental overload coursing through
her veins. She was so content that
for the most part she just sat back and listened. Everyone was on a high so great no drug could ever compare. People were laughing and talking, catching up on stories of the kids and local happenings. Mac continued to make the rounds, getting an equal share of pettings from everyone. “Where is Vince and Michael?” She finally spoke up in a break of conversation.

“They are out tending the animals, hun. They should be back soon, and the kids will be getting off the bus in the next thirty minutes or so. All three of them are
going to flip when they see you,
” Mrs. Sanders answered.

“Awww. I missed them so much
,
” Vice said.

“Well, they have a whole forest worth of pictures for their Auntie Vice to give you. You’re gonna have
enough to wallpaper your house,
” Mrs. Sanders snickered.

“Really? Hahaha. Well, I can definitely do that. It’s not like I have any decorating skills. This would be a definite upgrade.”
They laughed. “Oh! That reminds me, has Vince ventured out and found himself a cowboy yet?”

Alaina, Mrs. Sanders, and Violet
,
who had just walked into the room
,
froze. It wasn’t their place to spill the beans on the matter, but lying to them wouldn’t work either. All three gazed to Mrs. Sanders
, who
sighed and shook her head. “Yes, he went out, but unfortunately his night got cut short, and he hasn’t tried since.” She kept her voice even, not giving more away than necessary, despite the fact she knew they wouldn’t stop asking until the whole story had been told.

“And?” As predicted,
the interrogation began. Romeo just happened to be the first to start it.

“And, it went badly. Before you all get your guns cocked and your battle rattle on, it’s already been taken care of.”

“What has been taken care of, Maggie?” Dom butted in, falling in his familiar protective pose. Vice couldn’t help it. He looked so damn hot when he got like that. It took the expression
'
bad boy
'
to an all new level. Granted, the man was huge, but he wasn’t near as tall or broad as Kodiak or Hulk. And yet, he was the scariest of them all.

“I mean, it has been taken care of. Now, sit down,
boy
,
and listen if you must know.” Maybe not the scariest. Mrs. Sanders just proved she had that position already filled. Vice glanced around and noted how everyone had dropped their eyes, doing their best to stifle a chuckle. At least she wasn’t the only one fighting it. “Now, he is okay, so know that. The night he went out to Joe’s, a truck came speeding up the driveway and slid to a stop only long enough to dump him out on the ground and sling gravel back the way it came. When Michael found him, he was unconscious.
” The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. “The doc came and checked him out. He had been roofied, beaten up pretty bad, and injured in ways unimaginable. But, the good news is, he is almost fully recovered.”

By the time she finished, the team was all standing, ready to bolt. If Michael and Vince hadn’t walked through the door when they did, nothing the girls could have said would have stopped them from finding the responsible parties and ripping them apart piece by piece. “Settle down, guys. Ol’ Dad here is one mean son of a bitch. He not only kicked ass and took names, but he reserved them a special spot in hell that would give them a daily repeat of what they did to me. All three of them are sitting tight in Steinbeck.” Vince grinned. Steinbeck prison was the roughest prison in the United States. With the main populatio
n mostly psycho killers and rapi
sts, what went on behind those walls was what nig
htmares were made of. Rumor had
it that there
was a group that called
themselves the
K
iller
C
lown
Posse
. Th
at
nostalgic gang paint
ed
their face up like killer movie clowns and
would
come in the night, raping, torturing, and eventually killing other inmates. Making Steinbeck a perfec
t location for someone who liked
that sort of thing.

The room turned to stare at Michael wide eyed. If there was any doubt to his capabilities before, there wasn’t now. It was clear where Maverick inherited his strength and inner badass from.

“Well then, let’s get something to eat
,
” Mrs. Sanders said grinning, kissing her man openly.

“Not so fast. Vice, care to share anything?” Dom said, putting her on the spot. When the entire room turned to stare at her, she turned be
e
t red. Then it clicked—
her capture. He was talking about her capture, not their affair.
Whew, that was almost a disaster…
Damn it
,
Dom, a little warning next time
,
asshole.

“Oh, I had a little obstacle, but we are all home safe. Let’s eat.”

“Go on,
” his tone dropped, sending a chill through her body.

“I was captured. They tried to rough me up a little. No biggie. I have a few bumps and bruises, and can hold my breath for record-breaking times now, but we are all alive. You should see them. Now, do I need to go butcher my own cow to get something in my deprived stomach, or can we please go enjoy our first meal home and forget about it?” Her irritation was evident. And, the family all knew not to push her until she was ready to talk about it. Tough or not, it had to have taken a toll on her. Sooner or later she would need to vent and get it off her chest to keep from
having
issues
in the future. For now, Dom let her be
but made a mental note to ‘discuss’ her snarky attitude later.