Running on Empty (38 page)

McCall stood about fifty feet to his right side. Thorne was about fifty feet to his left. Kelly, Montgomery, St. Claire, and Mallory were coming in from the back. 

“We’re in place.” Kelly’s voice came through Declan’s earbud. “No activity here. Place looks abandoned.” 

St. Claire broke in, “I’m closest to the garage. I see two SUVs. House is definitely occupied.” 

“Mallory, anything?” McCall asked. 

“Sorry. Almost there,” Jake Mallory answered. “Had to stop for an unfriendly python that got in my way.” 

A good reminder that brutal kidnappers weren’t the only dangers in the jungle. 

“Okay. I’m stationed in a tree about thirty yards from the house. From this vantage point, I see a couple of duffle bags on the second floor, along with sleeping bags. No movement, though.” 

“Let’s assume the place is guarded,” McCall said. “We go in low, fast, and as one. Wait till I give the go-ahead before entering.” 

“Roger that,” they said in unison. 

“Now.” 

Crouched low, Declan raced toward the front entrance. Wearing camouflage pants and an olive-green T-shirt, he blended with the jungle like a hidden predator. Forcing himself to think of this as just a job wasn’t easy. Sabrina was in that house, severely injured. He refused to believe it was even worse than that. Allowing his mind to go there would do her no good. 

“Go,” McCall said quietly. 

Declan pushed open the door. McCall went in low, his weapon sweeping the room. Declan came in behind him. Thorne followed. The jungle had entered the home. Vines covered the walls. Grass, weeds, and even a couple of small trees sprang up from under the floorboards. Some kind of vine curled around a ceiling fan and then spread across the ceiling. Hell, they’d probably find as much wildlife in here as they would outside.

Using hand signals, McCall directed Thorne to the left side of the house, then he went right. Declan went looking for an entrance to the basement. He found a padlocked door off a hallway. No reason for a padlock unless you had something you wanted to keep hidden. 

Pulling out pliers, he clipped the lock. The sound echoed in the too-silent house, and he held his breath. No movement. He opened the door, quiet and quick. A tickling on the back of his neck was a warning he never ignored. He dropped low and twisted. The butt of a gun swung at his head. Declan dodged right, surged to his feet, and slammed a fist into a man’s hooded face. He then followed with a kick to the man’s stomach, and then two punches, fast and hard, to his head. The man fell to the floor with a loud thud. 

“Major, what was that?” A voice sounded from a room down the hallway. Declan looked up, spotted McCall. The man nodded and then pointed to a doorway, where the voice had sounded. He got the message. McCall would take care of the owner of that voice. Declan’s priority was getting to Sabrina. 

He pulled the door open and peered into darkness. Pulling his flashlight from his tool belt, he clicked it on and headed downstairs. He stopped at the bottom of the stairway and swept the light around the basement. Three doors, all closed. Footsteps silent, Declan moved toward the first one, opened it, and peered inside. Old furniture, and sounds of small, frightened animals scurrying to get away. Closing the door, he went to another one. Locked.

His hands delved into his pocket for tools. He put his hand on the door and then felt a gun pressed to the back of his head. “Well, well, well. I was just about to send you an update and photo, but being here to see it in person is so much better. Hands on top of your head, spread your legs.”

Declan didn’t bother to fight. The man would take him to Sabrina. That’s all he cared about right now. He had five LCR operatives backing him up.

Allowing the man to take his weapon, Declan submitted to a one-handed search and was surprised at the man’s naïveté. The idiot seriously didn’t know that Declan could kill him in half a dozen ways before he got off a shot? This wasn’t the traitor…just one of his flunkies.

“Head on inside.”

Hands in the air, he followed the man’s orders and walked through the door. He stopped abruptly. Sabrina was still hanging from the ceiling, facing and strapped to the wall. Her entire back, from shoulders to her ankles, bore red welts, vicious cuts, and bruises. They’d beaten her again. He recognized the markings—they’d used a cane this time. Fury pushed the horror aside. 

“Hey, Red, you got company.”

A pale face, covered in blood and bruises, twisted around. There was only the slightest reaction in her swollen eyes. Considering what she had endured, he was surprised she was still conscious.

“She’s tougher than she looks. I look forward to breaking her further.”

“You got what you wanted…I’m here. Let her go.”

“Oh no. You’ve misunderstood the situation totally. Do you think that’s the only reason I took her? Surely you’re not that dense.”

No, he knew exactly what they wanted her for, but stalling for time until everyone was in place was imperative. Where the hell was—

The soft sound of a shoe scuffing the floor was the man’s first notice that Declan had brought backup. Whirling around, the man faced a very pissed-off and heavily armed Aidan Thorne.

Taking advantage of the hooded man’s distraction, Declan slammed his fist into his face with a satisfying crunch. Before the guy even reached the ground, Declan had Sabrina in his arms.

“I’ve got you, darling.”

As gently as possible, he unhooked the strap at her waist. Holding her with one arm, he tried to unhook her from the ceiling.

“Let us help,” Eden St. Claire said. The compassion and anger in her voice were obvious.

While Eden and Jordan Montgomery worked on the hook, Declan held Sabrina upright. The moment she was loose, she collapsed into his arms.

“Here, I brought something for her. It’ll make her feel more comfortable.”

With a nod of gratitude, he took the short cotton slipover dress from Eden. He hadn’t given any thought to the fact that she would want to be covered. His only intent had been to rescue her.

As Declan tended her, McCall’s voice came through. “Let’s get out of here. I’m getting some bad vibes.”

Declan lifted Sabrina in his arms and headed toward the door. He stopped briefly to eye the man who’d tortured his wife. He didn’t know him, but he swore with everything within him that before it was over, he would know what the inside of his tonsils looked like.

Holding the love of his life close in his arms, he whispered, “Let’s go home, Little Fox.” 

Sabrina breathed through the pain. Her relief at seeing Declan…of knowing he and her fellow operatives were all right, made the suffering infinitely easier. Declan was trying to be as gentle as possible, and she refused to release the slightest whimper. He had suffered much worse treatment for a longer period of time. How could she complain?

Not wanting to lose consciousness in case she was needed, she ignored her discomfort and took in everything that was going on around her. She’d been in an abandoned house. Overgrown with weeds, it’d probably been a perfect hiding spot. She looked forward to finding out how LCR had found her.

Finally outside, she saw Noah looking down at an unconscious man on the ground. He raised his head and gave her a smile. “Good to see you, Fox.”

“You, too, boss.”

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” Noah said.

“You sure you got everyone?” Sabrina asked.

No sooner had she said that than bullets pinged past. Holding her close, Declan raced for the cover of the jungle. She heard him grunt and jerk and knew he’d been hit.

“Let me down, Declan.”

“When you’re safe,” he growled.

He finally lowered her to the ground, and while she was trying to find his injury, he was looking around.

“Where is everyone?”

Holding her hand on the bleeding wound in his upper shoulder, Sabrina said, “They must’ve gone in the other direction.”

“McCall, can you hear me?”

“Yeah,” Noah answered. “We’re trapped on the other side of the house. Looks like they called in reinforcements.”

“Where’s Thorne and Mallory?” Declan asked.

“I’m on the south side,” Mallory answered. “Got tied up with a couple of assholes.”

“Thorne, check in,” Noah said.

No answer.

“I’m headed your way, McCall,” Mallory said.

Declan held Sabrina’s face in his hands. “You stay here. Understand?”

“But I—”

“I’ll get Thorne. It’ll be a lot easier if I don’t have to worry about you.” He handed her a weapon, her SIG Sauer, and then pulled something from his pocket. “Here’s an extra earbud. You hear anything bad…anything at all, you scram. You hear me?”

She knew exactly what he meant, and no way would she take the time to tell him that he was crazy if he thought she’d leave him. Instead, she grabbed the back of his neck with her good hand and pulled him to her for a quick kiss. “Get back safe or I’ll kick your ass.”

He grinned. “But I’d much rather kiss yours, sweetheart.”

“Come back safely, and I’ll consider it.”

Giving her his own hard kiss, he disappeared into the bushes, heading back to the house.

How many were out there now? Gunfire popped around her. She tried not to think about what was happening. Declan and Aidan would be okay. She—

“Aw, shit.” 

Declan’s voice sounded pained, stressed. No, she damn well would not lose him again.

Ignoring the pain in every part of her body, along with the knowledge that running barefoot through the jungle wasn’t exactly a brilliant idea, Sabrina headed back toward the house. They needed help. 

She got to the edge of the overgrown yard and stopped. Declan was running toward her, carrying Aidan over his shoulder. Her breath hitched. Movement at the side showed a gun emerging from the bushes. Taking careful aim, she pressed the trigger. A yelp and then silence.

Declan made it halfway across the yard when another shot rang out. He jerked, stumbled. Racing toward him, Sabrina grabbed him right before he fell. Gunfire erupted. She took the time to look around…saw Jordan, Noah, and Eden shooting at the house. Jake ran toward her and pulled an unconscious Aidan away from Declan.

Knowing she had no choice if she wanted to save him, Sabrina grabbed Declan under his arms and pulled with all her might.

She managed to reach the edge of the jungle. Painful breaths rasped from her lungs, and no matter how she cursed her body for letting her down, she could not force it forward one more inch. Massive gunfire, like an explosion of fireworks, erupted. Unable to do anything else, she threw herself on top of Declan and held tight. 

Chapter Thirty-three

She was floating on a cloud, cocooned and free of pain. Occasionally, she’d hear a grumble, growl, or bark and wondered vaguely who the big dog was that was making all that noise. Then she’d fall back into that soft, puffy nothingness where pain didn’t exist.

Eventually, that growling voice started to get on her nerves. It kept saying her name, over and over. Finally, she got irritated enough to open her mouth and say, “Enough already.”

A bark of laughter and then a kiss on her lips. She had no idea why she smiled but could feel her lips curve up.

“Okay, Little Fox, I know you’re in there. Open those pretty eyes and glare at me.”

Never able to resist that beautiful, masculine voice, she forced her eyes open. Declan sat beside her. “Declan? You look like crap.”

Another burst of laughter. “Your charm is the first thing I fell in love with.”

“Liar. You told me it was my ass.”

“It was your charming ass, as I recall.”

She lifted a hand to touch him and then winced. Her arm was in a cast up to her elbow. He took her hand and held it to his mouth. “You gave me quite the scare.”

“Back at you, Ace. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Couple of flesh wounds.”

She knew that wasn’t the truth. She’d seen at least one bullet hole in him. But other than a too-pale face and a noticeable stiffness in one shoulder, he seemed to be healthy.

Memory returned, and grief quickly followed. “Aidan?”

“He’s going to be fine. Got a nasty hole in his shoulder and arm, but the man’s got the hide of an elephant. Doctor said he’ll be up and around in no time.”

She closed her eyes in relief. “Thank God. And everyone else. They’re okay?”

“Yeah. The good guys won this time.”

“No survivors?”

“No.” His face went grim, hard.

“What are—”

He pressed his fingers to her mouth. “You’re going to rest and recover. No worrying. Got that?”

“Declan, tell me.”

“I’m headed out tomorrow.”

“You know?”

“Yes.”

She saw the sorrow in his eyes, and it confirmed her suspicions as well. After all those years working together, how could he have betrayed Declan? Betrayed her?

She took a breath, and they said his name together.

“How’d you figure it out?” Declan asked.

“As hard as it was to come to terms with, it was the only thing that made sense.”

“I’m sorry. I know how you feel about him.”

“You’ve known him even longer. It’ll be harder on you.” And then, even though she knew he had no choice, she had to add, “He won’t be taken alive.”

“I know that. But I have to do this, Sabrina. You know that…right?”

“Yes.”

“When I get back, we’re going to have a long, serious talk.”

“Just make sure you come back to me.”

“No worries about that. I’ve got too much to live for to let this end badly.”

He stood, leaned down, and kissed her mouth, lingering, sipping, moving gently, slowly savoring.

“Promise me, Declan. Swear to me you will come back.”

Leaning over the bed, he whispered softly
, “And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve. And fare-thee-weel, a while. And I will come again, my Luve, Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile.”

And with Robert Burns’s beautiful words lingering in the air, he walked out the door.

Declan made it out of the hospital before he exploded. Damn them all. What they had done to her was unforgivable. He didn’t care what the man had meant to him, and he no longer gave a damn about the hellish torture he’d been put through. The bastard would, however, pay for what he had done to Sabrina.