Delta: Rescue: A MacKenzie Family Novella (The MacKenzie Family) (4 page)

He dropped the protein bar wrapper on the counter of the rent-by-a-week apartment and grabbed his go bag, ready to head to Miami and knock off a to-do item on his retaliation list.

* * * *

Love, Inc. was nothing if not proficient. Maddy powered through to her office with a perfect smile, a sexy wrap dress, and flawless hair. She looked the part—
everything
looked the part—and when she was there, she felt it too.

Models were eerily similar to the women Mercier sold. The business was run almost exclusively on referral for both clients and talent.

Her phone rang as she sank into the buttery leather of her executive office chair. Answering the call, she looked out her window onto Miami’s orange-and-red sunset. “Yes, hello?”

“I’m so sorry.” The voice whimpered. “I messed up.”

A chill ran down her spine. “Lori? Is that you?”

Lori was one of her models, always looking for a way to hit the big leagues before she was ready. “I took a shoot off the books. Really, I’m so sorry. I was wrong. It wasn’t—” A raspy breath echoed through the phone. “I need a doctor. He—” A sob sent another chill down Maddy’s spine. “Hurt me. I’m so sorry.” Lori’s voice, hoarse and tear soaked, rang in Maddy’s ears.

“Lori, sweetheart. Where are you?”

“Where the Calvin Vine shoot was yesterday.” She sobbed. “I thought he was part of them. I thought—”

“Doesn’t matter, sweetie. Help is coming for you. Are you safe now?”

“Yes,” she whispered hoarsely.

“You’ll either see me, Hale, or the cops very soon.” However, any interaction with Miami’s finest always made her nervous.

“Thank you.”

Maddy ended the call, then dialed the head of Love’s security detail. “Hale, Lori took a job off the books. It went all wrong. I think she was attacked. Get there to help with the cops
and
give me a name. I want him before they get him.”

“Damn it,” he growled. “On it. Where is she?”

She pulled up the schedule to find the Calvin Vine location from the day before, anger forcing her to focus on the next move. Incidents like that rarely happened. She screened her clients, staff, and model roster well. The industry was never one hundred percent safe, though she offered the girls the best possible chance of safety in a business that was filled with sleazy photogs, eating disorders, and drugs, which her father was apparently selling. Still, when something bad happened, especially what she thought might’ve happened to Lori, Maddy wanted swift, brutal payback.

“Hotel Miranda,” she said.

“All right. I’m two minutes out.”

“Good…and Hale?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Lori is strong.” Maddy’s French accent tinged her English when she was angry, and she was fuming. “But if she was brutalized, care for her as best you can. She will fight it but need it.”

“Understood.”

Hale was American ex–special forces. Ex because they’d kicked him out. He had a problem turning his hostility down when he needed to. He had been hired by her father as her bodyguard when she first came to Miami. Hale was not stupid and quickly saw through the Mercier façade, but he needed the paycheck. As time went along, he was the only person who knew her on the inside and outside, knew what she was and where she wanted to go. When Love came into existence, he transitioned from her personal detail to run the security shop.

They’d never been romantically involved, primarily because she was unable to tap into that part of her psyche, which seemed completely broken. But he cared for her, much like she imagined a brother would if he weren’t a sicko like her Lucien.

Whenever Hale went on a job like that, he was ruthless, but only after he’d handled Maddy’s model with expert care. There was no question that he would track down who did this before the cops, and revenge would be swift.

Taking a deep breath, Maddy opened a desk drawer. She might send Hale to lead the hunt, but she would be involved too. No one hurt her girls without having to face her. If there was one benefit from being Papa’s daughter and seeing the Mercier empire at work her entire life, it was that she knew how to exact payback. Waiting patiently for use was her favorite .22.

* * * *

Lori had been hurt every way a woman could be hurt. Anger thumped in Maddy’s neck as she left the girl’s side. Even the doctor, who was no stranger to various questionable industries, was affected by what happened to Lori. Maddy’s rage was near blinding, but she controlled it and left as the cops began probing the
who
s and
why
s of what happened.

Hale followed behind her as she retreated, leaving Lori in the care of a close friend on the way to the hospital.

When they were both streetside and she couldn’t contain the need to scream, Maddy turned to him. “Hale—”

“I know who it is.”

“That fast?”

“He’s
connected
.”

God.
“To Mercier?”

Hale nodded. “Yes.”

“Damn it! Those disgusting—”

“I’ve pinpointed him. He knows who you are, and I’d guess this is a message to your father.”

Of all the people walking the earth, Hale understood why she wanted to kill Papa. The local cops, the feds, and Interpol were no match for her father. He had ins everywhere: Miami, Abu Dhabi, Madrid, Hong Kong.
Everywhere.
No agency existed that could do what she needed to. But her process was slow.

“Maddy? He’ll hear from someone else if you don’t tell him first.”

“Whoever hurt Lori is mine. Not Papa’s. Before you teach him a lesson, before we hand him over to the police,
he is mine
.”

He gave her a lecturing, hardened glare but acquiesced. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Address.”

“Not too far.” He gave it to her as they swiftly moved from the swanky Hotel Miranda. “I’m riding with you.”

“Not tonight, you aren’t.” She smiled at the valet, who went to retrieve her sports car. “Hale, get in your own ride and give me a ten-minute head start.”

“Maddy—”

She flashed him a look as the sleek black Lotus pulled up. According to Papa, being discreet didn’t mean avoiding cars priced as much as housing. He preached looking the part. He was a CEO, and she was an executive. He ran a trillion-dollar company, and she was on its board and was also the head of one of the fastest-growing modeling agencies in the world. So a Lotus it was. Other than material extravagance, they were tight-lipped and well hidden.

“Ms. Mercier,” the attendant said as he held the door for her. The staff were more than familiar with her and her models, who often traipsed in for couture events. Sometimes she thought the staff guessed that the high-end modeling agency was a front for Mercier’s dealings, but that didn’t matter, at least not tonight.

“Thank you.” She turned to Hale before sliding into the leather seat. “Ten-minute head start.”

He shook his head. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Hale—”

“
Maddy.
If your father finds out—”

“Let him.” Her brow furrowed because she knew he was right and she wasn’t thinking clearly. A .22 in her purse wasn’t much of a defense against the man who had sadistically hurt Lori—not unless Maddy walked in and just shot him, and if her father did find out that she’d purposefully kept a message from him, even for a limited amount of time, the man she was about to hunt wouldn’t be her problem.

“Think about what you’re doing.” Hale stepped closer.

Retaining some of her composure, she tilted her head and motioned him into the passenger seat. “Let’s go.”

Already walking to the opposite side of the car, he pressed his cell phone to his ear, no doubt doing what she paid him well to do—protect her and ready their team to avenge her girl.

He programmed a location into the GPS. The directions took her to a seedy, though not poor, section of the city. The area wasn’t safe, but that wasn’t a concern. That was the part of town she frequented that had nothing to do with her models.

“Why’s this guy staying in a shithole like this?” she asked.

Hale shook his head. “No idea.”

Most who frequented that area knew her, or if they didn’t personally, they knew of her. God had been kind to her in the looks and brains departments, and she’d worked hard to create Love. But that wasn’t what made her a local underground legend—it was her temper, the protective wrath she had when it came to her models, her business, or even the underground side businesses she tinkered with. Everyone knew they were to be untouched.

All her hired muscle were as loyal as they were clued in. They knew that underneath the thousand-dollar shoes and designer dresses, Maddy was a beast raised by a monster, every day reminding the world that looks were deceiving.

She blew out an anticipatory breath and double-parked on the street. “This is it?”

Hale was already pushing out of his seat, and that was all the confirmation she needed. She caught sight of two of their men’s vehicles parked under the sun-setting shade of a low-leaning palm. Their team was already there. Leaving her purse but taking the .22, she left the Lotus unlocked, and God help anyone who tried to take her ride. Then she strode toward the building.

Hale was paces ahead of her, but he slowed and turned at the front of the walk. “Easy in there, Maddy.”

She raised a brow. “What part of what we just saw says I should be easy?”

His eyes darkened. “I’m just asking for you to let me do the dirty.”

“We’ll see.”

After climbing the well-worn stairs, they reached the unit with weathered blue paint, and she turned the door handle. Ahead of her sat the piece of shit, gagged, tied to a chair, hands and legs bound, and two of her men were posted against the bright-yellow wall. Cockiness colored the bound man’s eyes where she wanted to see fear. When he focused on her, that didn’t change. It should have. It would soon enough.

“Ungag him.” She paced. “And back the chair to the wall.”

Hale obeyed.

She spun on a heel, deliberately toying with the weapon in her hand. “Tell me about you.”

The man cackled. “Tell me about your father.”

“Wrong answer.” Maddy nodded.

Hale’s brass-knuckle-clad fist socked the guy, snapping his head against the wall.

“He’s just warming you up for me. I’m worse. I’m your nightmare, and before I turn you back over to my boys, you deal with me.”

Hale growled. “His name is Felipe Rivera.”

Felipe’s eyes tightened at the name, but nothing came out of his mouth.

“Well, Felipe.” She inched closer. “Any apology you wish to give?”

“Your whore was hurt—”

“Model,” Maddy corrected.

“Whatever you wish to call her,” he continued. “Make sure your father knows the Riveras were close enough to hurt your business, hurt you.”

The asshole was trying to hurt the unfeeling with the innocent. “You took my girl in the mouth when she said no? That was a mistake. Hit her, hurt her? You will feel that too.” She stepped toward him, standing knee to knee with the tied man. “You stole her body without her permission? Made her bleed?”

With that, the man shifted, jutting his chin as though offering a
fuck you
to her father.

“You’re going to beg”—she leaned forward to his ear—“and plead to be put down like the dog you are. But I won’t let you die.” She nudged her knee to his. “I’m a teacher. You will learn.”

As she turned toward Hale, the door crashed open, and something heavy thumped on the floor. Her heart pumped as the flashbang exploded. Its pop was louder than the door had been, and the quick smoke-spitting bomb hissed. Trained instinct kicked in. Never show fear, always have an escape, but she didn’t see her options. Commandos burst into the room, one to the right, the next to the left. A third man stood by the door while another remained outside. Panic soared in Maddy’s racing blood, and her stinging eyes leaked tears.

The commotion threw her team into play, but she stood there, unflappable amid the shouts and the smoke, never showing fear, always facing her enemy until she could survive.

Hale yelled, “Stand down!”

Other voices ordered them to do the same. The chaotic clash spun around her, but she didn’t waver. Bring on the law. Let them try to take her down. She had no fear when she was high on adrenaline.

“Down!” Hale ordered. “Down, down. Get the fuck down, Maddy.”

No.

Boots were stomping into the room, men shouting. Her security was ready for war. No weapons had been fired, but no one knew what the next move was.

“North wall.” One of the commandos reported their mark, her captive, tied to a chair. “Confirmation on Rivera.”

In all the craziness, she put her hands on her hips. “Enough.” Nothing changed as a man surged toward Rivera. She moved in front of him and dropped her chin, shouting with all the anger that Lori deserved, “Enough!”

That time, the room stilled. The man in front of her froze. Hale and a man attacking him, hands still on each other, stopped. Everyone noticed that she was a she, not throwing swings like in an action movie—everyone except for one.

He marched over, got in her face, and growled, “On the bed, facedown.”

Her hand flew to slap his face. He wore tactical gear: hat, goggles, and body armor. But his cheek was bare, and her slap left a mark on his sculpted chin. He didn’t flinch, and he stood stoic and statuesque, towering over her like a military mafia man.

“Stand down,” he told her in a voice all too familiar.

Letting her eyes drift down, her curiosity was piqued amid the bodies and lingering smoke.
DEA
was branded on his chest.

Luke Brenner
—twice in recent history?

But that didn’t matter. The bastard in the chair was hers. After what had happened to Lori, Maddy didn’t care who this team was or what they wanted. She even ignored her fear of the law. Retaliation was the only option—Luke and friends had to leave.

She pursed her lips. “No.”

“One last time.” His words rolled over her senses. Even in the midst of the tension and chaos, she noticed how masculine it was, making her flash back to the hotel from weeks before. “Back down.”