Shattered Valor (30 page)

Val hit the ground. “You guys hurt? Rocco? Greer?”

“No. We’re good. You get him?” Rocco answered.

“Of course. Might be others, though. Angel and I’ll check it out. Greer—stand by with the Jeep.”

Greer stood up and hooked a hand in the ropes binding their captive. “Get up.” He was a dead weight. “It’s over. Get up.”

“Greer, he’s dead,” Kit told him.

“Shit.” Greer rolled the guy over and checked for a pulse. It was a pointless exercise. His entire torso was covered with red.

Kit looked over at Rocco, who was staring at the guy’s wound, the wet blood lit by the headlights of their two vehicles. “Blade, take the jeep and get Rocco back to the bunker. Tell Owen what happened. We’ll clean up here.”

“I’m fine, Kit. I can deal,” Rocco snapped.

“Good. Get outta here.”

Ty waited impatiently for the rest of the team to rejoin them in the bunker. Rocco was pacing in the control room. As they watched the panels, a semi pulled into one of the buildings on the WKB compound—the one where Rodeo was parked. They didn’t have eyes inside that building.

A half-hour later, the rest of the team drove up the tunnel and parked close to the bunker.

“We got three dead gangbangers,” Kit told Owen as he led the others into the bunker. “We left them on the driveway up front. Can you call your FBI friends and get a clean-up?”

“Already done,” Owen answered. “Blade said Amir’s shipments are coming in.”

“Which might explain what Rodeo’s doing with his trailer up at the compound,” Rocco added, looking at Kit. “He’s one of their mules.”

“I found something while you guys were out.” Max rolled his chair to another screen. He hit a button and started a video showing two cars sitting at the edge of a field on a dirt road across from Mandy’s property, by the main road into town. “Remember that van parked by Mandy’s property?”

“Yeah. It was some old, beat-up love nest,” Greer told the group. “Full of rust and not much else. It wasn’t even locked. We went all through it. Looked like something from Val’s teenage years.”

“The hell it did,” Val snapped. “My teenage van was a whole lot more plush, with a bed and faux fur.”

“Maybe this old van just saw more action.” Angel grinned at Max.

“It saw action, all right.” Max clicked the feed to resume the video. “I’m guessing it was where Sebastian’s transmissions were being recorded.” As they watched, a car drove up, dropped someone off, then both vehicles left. “This was recorded less than a half-hour after we discovered the transmitter.” Max sent a glance around the room, stopping with Ty. “Your dad or the WKB has someone else in town. No way could they have gotten here that fast from the compound.”

“Unless they were already on their way.” Owen straightened. “We had a hole and we plugged it. There could be more videos out there.” He looked at Ty. “If we find them, we’ll be sensitive about how they’re handled. In the meantime, we’ve got a shipment of heroin about to make its way off the compound. We can’t rush in there and take them down. We need to know more about their infrastructure. How are they getting their product into the country? How are they getting it across country? What are they doing with it at the compound? And what happens to it downstream?

He looked at Rocco and Ty. “I need to use the girls.”

“No,” they both answered.

Owen shook his head. “You said Rodeo was a friend of Mandy’s. If he sees her parked on the side of the road with a flat, he’ll stop to help her. When he does, Eden can take Tank to check out his trailer. If he’s got the goods, Greer can place a GPS tracker on his trailer and truck. Then we’ll hand him over to the FBI.”

“No,” Rocco shut that down. “Blade and I’ll do what needs to be done. We’re not putting the girls in jeopardy. They don’t run our ops.”

Owen held up a hand. “Max pulled up Rodeo’s schedule. His next stop is in Colorado. He’s going to get on the interstate when he leaves here. I want to know if he’s carrying heroin before we send resources after him and blow our advantage.”

“I don’t like it,” Rocco persisted. “I can have a fender-bender with him and my old truck. That’ll stop him.”

“And impact his timeline. Stopping to help with a tire is an easy thing. He’ll do it for Mandy.”

“They aren’t a part of this, Owen,” Rocco argued. “What you need done, we’ll do. Leave the girls out of it.”

Ty felt the same way about the subject as Rocco, but Owen was right. Involving the girls would be a great assistance. “Where are we going to be?”

Owen nodded to Max, who pulled up an overhead shot of the intersection where he wanted to stage Mandy’s flat tire. “You, Rocco, and Val will be here.” He pointed to different areas on the screen “Greer and Angel, here. The girls will be wired. He’s a friend of Mandy’s. All she has to do is flag him down. While he helps with the tire, Eden will walk Tank around his truck and trailer. He’ll find something or he won’t. Either way, they’ll be done.” He looked at the guys. “Val will keep a bead on him the whole time.” He looked at each man. “Questions?”

Rocco crossed his arms, but gave no further argument.

“Then let’s get to it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

The elevator stopped in the master bedroom. Ty clapped Rocco’s shoulder. “Let’s go break the news. If they don’t want to do it, we’ll come up with another plan.” He held the outer closet door open for Rocco.

“I’m not happy about this,” Rocco growled.

“I know. We’ll keep them safe.”

Kelan was standing at the top of the stairs. He looked at the guys as they walked past. He’d stayed on guard upstairs but had listened to the conversation through his comm unit. “You guys going through with this?”

“Yeah,” Ty answered.

Kelan shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

“I don’t either. Will you watch my boy, K?” Ty asked him.

“I will. He’s sleeping. The girls are in Fiona’s room.”

Rocco tapped lightly on the door, then opened it. The girls were sitting on the bed, laughing with each other. Tank was curled up at Eden’s feet. Ty watched as Mandy turned to look at Rocco, a smile on her face, one that slowly leached away as she caught his somber expression.

She came around the bed and took hold of his waist. “What is it? What’s wrong, Rocco?”

“We need your help tonight.”

“Anything. Name it.”

Rocco frowned and shot a look at Ty before answering. “We think Rodeo may be transporting heroin in his trailer.”

“What? Bobby wouldn’t do that. You’ve met him. He’s a good guy, a rodeo star, for heaven’s sake. Why would he jeopardize that?”

“Is he a good guy, Em?” Rocco questioned her confidence in Rodeo. “Have you ever looked at his stats? ’Cause they don’t jive with the backing he’s received.”

“Well, yeah. His stats were low, but that’s because he couldn’t make it to the big competitions without the backing. Really, this jealousy of yours is misplaced, Rocco.”

“Mandy,” Ty broke in before her resistance spiraled out of control, “if he’s innocent, then nothing bad will happen to him.”

Mandy drew back and folded her arms over her waist. “What is it you need me to do?” she asked Rocco, in a much cooler tone this time.

“I need you to have a flat on the south road out of town. He’s going to be heading that way shortly. He’ll see you and stop to help you. You won’t say anything to him except for small talk about the flat. Eden and Tank will be with you. If he asks, you two are returning from shopping in Denver.”

“And while he’s helping with your tire, Eden and Tank will check him out, then check out his rig,” Ty added. “You okay with that, Eden?”

“Sure.”

“Keep a low profile. Have Tank do his thing without looking like he’s working. Rocco, Val, and I won’t be far away. You’ll never be out of our sight.”

“And if he has the heroin?” Mandy asked.

“We’ll take care of that,” Ty answered.

“What can I do?” Fee asked the group.

“Will you help Kelan keep an eye on Zavi for me?” Rocco asked.

“Of course,” she nodded. She smiled, but Ty could see the disappointment in her eyes that she hadn’t been given a role in the sting.

Mandy went to change. Rocco followed her, feeling a definite chill in the air. She opened some drawers and took out a long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She made a quick change, giving Rocco little time to enjoy the flesh she was showing.

“I think I’d know if a friend of mine was into such bad stuff.”

Rocco swiped a hand over his eyes. “Like you knew the plumber was a terrorist?”

Mandy looked up at him as she pulled her hair into a ponytail. “That’s not fair.”

“Why isn’t it? We have evidence that causes us to doubt Rodeo’s integrity. This isn’t about him and me. There’s too much at stake for any of us to indulge our personal vendettas—or our blind spots. The guys and I are just following the threads, Em.”

Mandy sighed and walked into Rocco’s arms. “What’s happening, Rocco? Nothing is as it seems. Nothing is normal anymore. Wolf Creek Bend is just a regular, small town, a decent ranching community. Stuff like this doesn’t happen here.”

Rocco kissed her forehead as he wrapped his arms about her shoulders. “Maybe it’s more common than you think.” He drew back and looked down at her. “If you don’t want to do this, we’ll find another way. I’ll get you out of it.”

“No. I can do it. I want to prove he’s innocent.”

Eden changed, then poked her head into Ty’s room. He stood at the window, facing the night.

“Thanks for this chance, Ty. I know Tank can do it.”

Ty crossed the room, coming toward her with the fierceness of a predator. He caught the back of her head, gripping her hair, as he bent to her mouth. His lips were firm and tender. She opened for him, hungered for the touch of his tongue against hers. He stopped only when someone knocked on his door.

“Let’s go, Blade,” Rocco ordered.

Ty leaned his forehead against hers. “Don’t take chances tonight,” he whispered.

They went downstairs, Tank close on their heels. The guys had gathered in the foyer. Greer had two comm units on the big antler table that was the centerpiece of the entryway. Ty picked one up and positioned the earpiece in Eden’s ear.

“The radios work two ways. You can hear us, and we can hear you.” He tucked the receiver into her pocket.

When he finished getting her settled, he cupped her neck and looked down into her eyes with such a troubled expression that she wanted to cry. She smiled instead and took hold of his shoulders. The muscles in the corners of his jaw bunched reflexively.

“We’ll be fine. We’re smart girls. I’m sure this Rodeo character is not a monster. Besides, we’ll have Tank with us.”

“Here’s how it’s going to work, ladies,” Kit told them. “We’ll escort you down to the south road out of town. Angel will swap your good tire for the one he just let the air out of. You’ll stay in your vehicle until we give you the signal that Rodeo’s close. You’ll flag him down to help you. Mandy—you’ll chat with him a bit and keep his focus while he puts on the spare. Eden—you’ll get Tank out. Have him smell Rodeo, then go over to his truck and trailer and have him work that. Keep it low key. If something goes wrong, we’ll be right there. When he’s finished with the tire, get in your car and come back home.”

“What if he doesn’t leave town this way?” Eden asked.

“Then we’ll catch him farther down the road with another plan.”

Owen was leaning against the stairs, watching them. “You’re okay with this?” he asked them both.

Mandy shook her head. “It isn’t this—” she waved and indicated her comm equipment. “It’s that Bobby’s a friend.”

Kit looked at Rocco’s hard face before answering Mandy. “This isn’t personal, sis. Amir is working with the WKB to store and market his heroin and opium. The money he’s making here for Abdul Baseer al Jahni is funding terrorists across the Middle East. If Rodeo’s guilty, he may be a small cog, but he’s part of the machinery we’re going to crush. So tonight’s important—we’ll learn if he was just in the wrong place wrong time, or if he’s an enemy.”

Mandy looked between Kit and Rocco, then nodded. Eden picked up Tank’s leash.

Fiona leaned against the banister upstairs. “Good luck, you guys,” she called down to them in a loud whisper so that she wouldn’t wake Zavi. Eden waved to her.

When they left, and silence returned to the house, Fiona sent a look at Kelan. He watched her with his dark, calm expression. She went over and sat on the top step, resting her chin on her hands that were clasped over her knees.

Kelan shouldered his rifle and sat next to her. He flipped a switch on his comm unit so that it wouldn’t transmit. “What’s got you so restless tonight, Fiona?”

She turned her head to look at him. “Besides everything?”

Kelan smiled. “Besides that.”

“You would have gone with them if not for Zavi and me.”

He shook his head. “Max can’t guard the house by himself. Someone had to stay here.”

“Do you resent being left behind?”

“I never regret the work I do—whether the assignment’s simple or complex. If I did, I’d find other work. And as far as you, Zavi, Eden and Mandy—you’re why the team and I exist. Why would I wish you gone?”