Page 70 of Red, White, and BearCat Blue

I nodded, praying he was right and Josiah wasn’t actively looking for my mom now that he was here in L.A. The very idea of her coming to harm threatened to take my legs out from under me. I wrapped both arms around my middle, hugging myself to get the shaking under control. I leaned back against the wall for support, afraid I’d fall and stop Mars from doing what he was doing. His efforts were valiant but were they even getting through?

Minutes ticked by as Mars kept at it. The woman’s taunts continued, though, the edge in her voice was beginning to show as the threats became even more terrifying. “No one is coming for you! You’re unarmed and I have an army of men out here even if they manage to find us. We’ll simply gun them down.”

I checked my watch, noting that only five minutes had actually elapsed when the woman’s taunts suddenly turned to shouts. Several men yelled and then there was a barrage of gunfire. I leapt at Mars who dropped the wires, wrapping me up in his arms. His body thrummed with energy. “Candy?” I asked, using his name for the first time.

Mars kissed the top of my head, tightening his arms. “Ya right, luv. It ‘as to be.”

More gunfire followed along with the screams of dying men. It sounded like a warzone beneath the elevator. When the gunfire abruptly stopped, I heard the pounding of heavily booted feet and then…

“Mars! You in the elevator?”

Mars let go of me and put his mouth to the elevator door. “Up ‘ere. We’re stopped between floors.”

“Sit rep?”

“Both fine, boss, but they ‘ave my weapon. Long story. Everyone okay down there?”

“We’re all good, Clifford. Lots of bad guys down. Alain has a bullet graze on his cheek, but we’re all alive and kicking. Can you get out of there?”

“I severed the wires for the lift so they couldn’t get to us,” Mars called down.

“I’ll call out a Rescue unit. We’ll have you out soon.”

“Righto.” Mars smiled at me, wrapping me up in his arms.

I sank against his chest, blowing out a sigh of relief. He’d saved my life once again. Mars was the bravest man I’d ever met, so brave it boosted my own courage. Even though our situation had been dire only minutes ago, he’d kept his cool, and gotten a message out to someone. Right now, though, I relaxed against his strong chest, knowing we’d get out of this whole and hearty thanks to his efforts. I could only hope I’d be able to say goodbye to him once it was all over…without a broken heart.

When we were finally able to get clear of the elevator, Mars’ teammates cheered, and we were welcomed into a sea of smiling faces.

Chapter Twenty

MARS

The time spent with Cam in that elevator had been harrowing and I’d never felt more relieved in my life than when I heard the sound of automatic gunfire as Candy and the team arrived. Everyone but Napoleon and Mickey were waiting for us, as we stepped out, slapping our backs, and cheering.

“That was great work, Clifford,” Candy said as soon as I told him about the disabled phone and my attempt at getting a signal out to him. “We got your distress call from the company who operates the elevator phone. We knew where we were going, but the industrial park is big, so the Morse Code shortened our response time to this location.”

“We would’ve lost a lot of time searching the buildings if you hadn’t been able to pinpoint where you were,” Miguel Huerta said as he slapped me on the back. “Good job, brother.”

I grinned at the newest member of our team. Huerta was a native Angelino of Mexican American heritage, married to Raven Mathis who worked alongside Judy Mendez in our team’s IT department. The two men were the only married couple on the team other than Rex who’d married his boyfriend, Cachi, a few months back.

“Thanks, Huerta.” I glanced at Cam who stood talking to Nash and Patsy a few feet off. “I was inspired.” When I turned back to Miguel, he was giving me a knowing kind of smile. I wondered what he was seeing in my expression before Rex came over to shake my hand.

“You gave us all a fuckin’ scare, Mars,” the tall Texan drawled, slapping me on the back. “We was worried about your fool ass.” He hooked a thumb at Nash. “And Hampstead almost had kittens gettin’ us here in the BearCat with Candy barkin’ orders in his ear from the passenger seat.”

My eyes narrowed. “Nash drove my baby?”

Miguel and Rex both laughed. “Shoulda seen him,” Rex drawled. “He woulda made you proud, weavin’ in and outta traffic like a pro.”

I straightened, knowing I wouldn’t be convinced the BearCat was okay, until I saw her. That vehicle was my pride and joy. I showed it by keeping her in tiptop condition, sparkling clean, and always stocked with guns, ammo, and all the gear we needed with us on all our missions.

Alain came over and smiled, then grimaced as the Steri-strips across his left cheekbone must have pulled. The bullet had come way too close to taking out an eye or something worse. “Ya doing alright?” I asked, shaking his hand.

“Just a small scratch.” He smiled. “Well done, old boy. Jolly good idea to stop the lift between floors. It delayed them just long enough for us to arrive. When Candy couldn’t raise you on the mobile, he was a trifle upset.”

“You and me both, mate. They were using a signal jammer,” I replied. “I blame myself for this mess. I should’ve taken Cam right back to the ‘otel instead of thinking I’d be a big lad about town and we’d ‘ead to this place I know for lunch.”

“It’s a damned good thing you didn’t head back to the hotel,” Rex said. “They must’ve followed you from the office, so leadin’ them there wouldn’t have been good.”