“Nothing. I heard them but don’t see a damn thing,” came the response through the comm. “But we’re not alone, that’s for sure. I don’t know who these fuckers are, but we need to get rid of them?—”
Britt's heart lurched. Had the Palmchat Islands military discovered their plans? Had they sent a tactical team of PISCOs to stop them from destroying this place? No, she couldn’t stand by and let The Visitor continue to use the underground facility to torture people. He had to be stopped.
“Ozzy, take three of the team and search,” Hunter commanded, then turned back to Mari. “Keep burying those explosives. No one is going to stop our plans.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Britt paced through the tangled jungle paths, watching the team. She had to know for sure if The Visitor was down there. See him for herself before he suffered the consequences of what he’d done to her.
Hunter’s path crossed hers, his face drawn in a disturbing frown. “Ozzy, update now!”
An uneasy feeling settled within her. It had been a while since Ozzy and the others had gone to investigate the sounds. What could’ve happened to them?
Seconds later, she got her answer.
Six figures emerged in the jungle, dragging the bound and gagged Quattro mercenaries. Britt gasped as the masked figures tossed the men onto the ground in front of Hunter and the others.
Britt held her breath as the first man removed his mask.
Lachlan.
His face sent a jolt of adrenaline racing through her heart. It took every ounce of restraint she had not to run to him, hold him, kiss him … tell him how much she loved him. How much she would always love him. Could she really live without this man? Was that a possibility for her with this all-consuming love for him rooted inside her?
One by one, the rest of the men revealed themselves—Sebastian, Everett, Kane, Rocco, and Adonis.
“Who the fuck are you?” Hunter yelled as the rest of her team drew their weapons. Lachlan and the Stingray team didn’t even flinch, clearly unmoved by the Quattro show of force after dismantling a third of the mercenaries.
Britt rested a hand on his forearm. “The bodyguards who protected me over the past few weeks.”
Hunter raised a hand, motioning for the other members of the Quattro team to stand down.
Lachlan walked straight toward her, stopping within inches of her. “Bodyguard? That’s all I am to you?”
She couldn’t answer. If she did, she wouldn’t be able to protect him or Paloma. Her resolve would crumble, and she’d do something stupid—like emotionally blackmail Lachlan into staying with her as she ran Quattro.
His gaze was hard as stone. Disappointment flickering in his amber gaze at her silence. The loving man replaced with the rigid, military-trained operative.
Lachlan continued, “Whatever you’re doing here, you need to stop. Now.”
“Why the fuck should we take orders from you?” Hunter demanded, but Britt silenced him with a gesture.
"What's happened?" she asked, ice forming in her veins at the look on Lachlan's face.
"Paloma is down there," Lachlan said, his voice breaking.
The world tilted beneath Britt's feet.
No. Not her. Not Paloma.
“We believe the man who held you down there for over a year is Wesley Thomas, a PISCO with a penchant for taking matters into his own hands when he doesn’t like the decisions made by leadership.” He reached a hand toward her face, brushing away a strand that had blown into her eyes. The first kink in his armor of anger. “He’s the guy who came to my house the night before …yourmen kidnapped me.”
She heard the rebuke in his tone. The betrayal.
Britt’s mind raced from the unexpected intel. The voice. She’d remembered that voice but couldn’t place it. Had The Visitor been that close to her, and she hadn’t known it? Hadn’t known she’d had a chance to take him out back then. Protect her daughter from whatever the hell he was doing to her now.
“He took her because of me,” Britt said. “To get back at me.”
Lachlan didn’t acknowledge her fears. “I have to get her. Tell your boys they can either help or get the fuck out of our way.”
Adonis approached. “And whatever the fuck y’all were planning with these TNT sticks can’t happen.”
