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“Hi.” Ivy tugged a sweater over her shoulders as she approached. “I heard you guys got a lead.” She pulled the cuff of her sleeve, and I could see she was uncertain.
“We did.” Her gaze took in my gear as I drew closer. “We leave in,” I looked at my watch, “ten.”
“I guess that’s good.” She chewed the inside of her cheek. “What’s that?” She eyed the little charm.
“Just a reminder that not everyone is a bad guy.” I smiled at her.
“That’s true,” she cleared her throat, “but please don’t hesitate to shoot if you’re not sure.”
“I trust my gut and senses. I’ll be all right.” I wanted to reassure her, but my words just seemed to make her more edgy. “I don’t want you going to Washington without me,” I blurted, not caring about my filter anymore. “Can you stay ’til I get back?”
“You know I can’t do that.” She lowered her voice. “If Frank needs me there, I have to go.”
“Lie and say you’re not feeling well. Just buy me some time.”
“Ty,” her forehead creased slightly, “I’ll be fine. Frank will be there.”
“Beckett,” Cole called as he came out the door, “let’s move out.”
“Copy that.” I looked back at Ivy. Damn, I hated the timing on all this. I could see her nerves were on edge despite what she said. She stepped back when I didn’t say anything.
“Be careful.” She turned away, but I hooked her arm and swung her back to me then caught her lips with mine. I may not be able to control what would happen in Washington, but I could control this moment, and I needed to show her how important she was to me. She matched my intensity and gave me everything she had. Her hands squeezed the tops of my arms as if she didn’t want to let go. I put one hand on her waist and held her to me, and the other went to the back of her head. I fingered her silky hair as my lips crushed hers. She tasted like candy, and I wanted more, but our time was up.
“Be here when I get back,” I huffed. I kissed her deeply one last time and left. I wasn’t good at goodbyes.
I rushed up the driveway, hopped in the SUV, and we drove up to the helicopter pad. The pilot had the engine on, and once we were all inside, he lifted off and we were on our way. I settled in and savored her taste still on my lips. In the past, I’d never have allowed thoughts of a woman to cloud my mind once I was in uniform and ready for a mission, but Ivy was always right there. I found myself needlessly thumbing the side of my jacket. I blinked back the idea of her soft skin inside it and swallowed hard as I adjusted my position. Moore caught my eye and threw me a quick smirk then turned back to his chat with John. I hated that he knew me so well.
Twice, Cole went over the plan and then over the back-up plan. He was thorough and left nothing to chance. Everything went silent, then each of us were lost in our own thoughts. I saw Moore looking at something, but before I could ask, Mark tapped me on the arm. He fished around in his pocket then pulled up something on his phone. It was a video of Ivy inside the chopper.
“I thought a little lady luck for your arrival date was smart.” Mark’s voice broke over the radio. “Once you decide on your team’s name, you can add it.” I fought a big fat grin as I watched Ivy lean forward on all fours to blow the flakes away. The video panned out from her tight ass, and I could see she’d etched the year on the helicopter wall. It was incredibly sexy, and now I wished I wasn’t sitting in the belly of the chopper but alone with her in a room. “Make her be the reason you come home.” He took the phone, and I felt Moore hit my leg as if to agree with Mark.
I leaned back and allowed myself to daydream about Ivy as we flew toward the unknown. It was a long trip. We made a stop and switched aircraft, then as we all settled ourselves for another flight, we used the time to get some sleep. Who knew when we’d get to shut our eyes again. All too soon, the sound of the engine changed, and everything became real again. All thoughts of anything except the mission disappeared as I did my mental checklist.
The rope hissed through my hands as one by one we descended onto enemy soil. The moment our boots touched the ground, we swung our weapons up, bent at the knees, and scanned the horizon through our scopes. Then, blending with the night, we made our way to the town and began the search. I took the street level while Moore scanned the rooftops.
“Movement, at our nine,” Moore’s voice crackled through my earbuds.
“Stay on it.” We kept moving. I did a double take when a child stepped out of her house and froze in fear. I held a finger up to my mouth and urged her back inside. I knew the Cartel used children of all ages to do their dirty work, but I wasn’t about to take out a kid. For a split second, my eyes moved to the bracelet, and I knew Halim was with me in some way.
We came up the next street, and Mark and Cole signaled us to follow. John, Mike, and Keith stepped in line behind us as we entered a narrow area and came to a stop as unexpected barricades armed by police blocked our route. We knew better than to be spotted by the Mexican police. No one could know we were here. As we watched, one of the officers suddenly jumped off the hood of his cruiser and looked down a side road as though he heard something. He waved at one of his men to go check it out while he pulled out his weapon and picked up a radio.
Cole made the signal for us to split up and follow plan B. We scattered. It was better to be on our own in that situation than all be caught together. Moore and I stayed close enough to keep tabs on each other.
An engine rumbled behind Moore, and both of us dove for cover. Laughter and bottles being thrown against a wall made it clear trouble was nearby. We slowly got up and made our way down a side street, keeping close to the wall.
“I’ve got company,” Cole whispered into the radio. “Three armed men in a Honda. We’re staying put.”
“Copy that, Raven One,” I huffed as I kept my pace. “We have company to the south of us. Moving across the open—” I stopped dead when I saw its shadow even before I heard the sound. Four men in the back of a pickup, AK-47s swung at their sides as they rounded the corner facing directly at us.
“Is that…?” Moore’s tone was chilling.
“Ma Deuce,” I whispered at the large-caliber machine gun capable of destroying a military aircraft pointed in our direction. When I saw the shooter’s hand move to load the gun, I knew we had only four seconds to haul ass. I reached back and shoved Moore hard to one side as I ran directly toward the barrel of the gun then dodged at the last second into a side street before they could get a fix on me.
“We’ve got company!” I could hear Moore inform the others over the radio while I pumped my arms and ran as fast as I could to draw the fire away from him.
Zip, zip, zip, zip! Plaster above my head blew up and rained down over me. I used my shoulder and burst through someone’s front door, jumped over a child on the floor, ran through their living room, and then out a kitchen door. I hopped over a fence and landed in a sandbox. After a fleeting thought of thanks for the soft landing, I bounced to my feet and shimmied up a pipe to higher ground. More shots could be heard, and I only hoped it wasn’t at the family’s expense.
“Check in, Beckett!” Moore broke through my wild heartbeat.
