Zara appeared in the doorway, her mounds of hair secured on top of her head and her pants somehow pressed. “You hungry? I made brownies for dessert.”
Noni forced a smile. “Thanks, but no.”
“Me either.” Zara’s shoulders slumped. “This is so stressful. I mean, I’ve known the moment was coming for a while, and here it is, but you know? It’s life or death.” She rubbed her chin. “Literally. I’ve used that expression before, but I’ve never really meant it. Not like now.” Concern fanned out from her eyes.
Noni nodded. The idea that any of those strong brothers might be killed cut through her. They were tough, but bullets were tougher. “I know.” She tried to find the right words. Also, Zara and Anya had folded her into the family, and she didn’t know how to express her gratitude. “No matter what happens, thank you. For, well, everything.”
Zara smiled, but her lips trembled. “Family is family, and tonight is going to go well. It has to.” The smile slid away.
“I know,” Noni whispered, steeling her shoulders.
“Okay. Stay strong, and that baby will be home by morning.” With an encouraging nod, Zara turned and continued down the hallway.
Seconds later, Denver stepped inside and shut the door. “Hi.”
Noni straightened. “Hi. Do we have a plan?” She’d watched him and his brothers pore over maps while on the phone with the family in Montana, nailing down entry points and a bunch of stuff that sounded like a raid on television. The Montana guys were already in the air for the two-hour helicopter flight. “Finally?”
Denver walked over to a pile of stuff he’d dumped in the corner when they’d chosen their bedroom at the ranch. “Yeah. Ry, Heath, and I are going in from the south while Jory and his brothers are coming from the north and fanning out. They’re dropping from a helicopter a few miles out and running, and we’ll park and do the same.”
“Won’t they see you coming?” Her breath felt chilled in her lungs.
“No.” He dropped his jeans and pulled on a pair of black cargo pants with what looked like a lot of pockets. “The snowstorm has increased, which will give us cover. If we leave vehicles miles away and go on foot, we should be okay.”
It would be freezing. “What then?”
“We have the plans of the entire compound, and we’ll breach from every direction. The baby will be in the main building, and we’ll get her to safety first. That’s the main priority.”
She swallowed. “Then what?”
He didn’t answer, and his face went blank.
Okay. Whatever he was planning, he didn’t want to share. She wouldn’t judge him for wanting to end the threat over his head. “What about me?” she asked. Waiting a few miles away was better than waiting an hour away.
He reached for a pair of combat boots and slipped his feet in, leaning down to lace them up.
She waited for him to answer, but he seemed so focused it was as if he wasn’t really in the room. “Denver?”
He moved to the bed and the myriad weapons he’d laid out, choosing a sharp knife with a jagged edge to set gently in a sheath strapped to his right calf. A darker knife with twin blades went into a sheath on his left. “Where is…there it is.” He grabbed some odd concoction of Velcro and strapped it around his right thigh before reaching for a big gun with a large barrel to place in its holder.
She looked around and found a similar-looking Velcro gun holder to toss his way. He secured it on his other leg and reached for another version of the same gun to set in place.
Whoa. Two knives and two guns. But he wasn’t done. Three cylinders went into holders near the guns.
“What are those?” she asked.
“Tear gas.” He flipped open a box he’d put on the floor and drew out several other odd-shaped silver things. “Flash grenades,” he said before she could ask, also setting those in pockets. Then he strode back to the corner and grabbed a bulletproof vest, wincing when he pushed his arms into it.
This was unreal. To think Ryker and Heath had all this stuff in their vehicle when they’d driven from South Dakota. The devastation he was already wearing blew her mind. “How is your side?” Obviously the stitches were pulling.
“Fine,” he said, securing the vest.
Heath suddenly appeared in the door. “Talked to Jory, and they have snow camo suits that will blend in with the storm better. But they’d have to stop here first.”
Denver paused. “No. Stay on plan. It’s dark and we’ll be fine.”
“Agreed.” Heath gave Noni a nod and then moved away.
Noni swallowed. “Why not get the suits?”
Denver reached for the 9 millimeter she’d just loaded to place at the back of his waist. Spare clips went in even more pockets. “The plan is detailed to the last second, and we have to come from opposite directions. Madison is waiting, and I don’t want any delay.” He caught her gaze, his blue eyes glittering with determination. “Trust me. We’ll be fine. It’s dark anyway.”
A lump filled her throat. She didn’t seem to have much of a choice. So she stood and grasped a jacket off the bed, moving toward him to hand it over. “No weapons in the jacket?”
“Maybe just a couple.” His lips twitched, and he took more stuff out of the box to put in his jacket. “Did you count the weapons on me?”
“There are a lot,” she whispered.
He nodded. “See why you’re not coming?”
So she wasn’t a fighter, and she wasn’t trained. If they left the cars miles away in the snow, she’d need to turn on the heat to keep warm. Anything could give the position away. Didn’t mean she liked it, though. “Waiting is the hardest part.”
“I know.” He brushed her hair away from her face and placed a soft kiss on her nose. Then he paused. “Did I leave my pack in here? The one with C-4 in it?”
Her stomach dropped. “Um, no. Haven’t seen it.”
“Must be in the office.” He rolled his shoulders back.
She just looked at him. God, he was big. Tall and muscled, so deadly looking in his combat gear. She’d never been this close to so much danger—not really. But instead of seeing Denver as bringing danger, as she had a week ago, she now saw him as a shield. Even a protector. He’d do everything he could to save the baby. “Please be careful.” Fear was ice-cold inside her. Fear for him, for Talia, for all of them. This was real.
His eyes darkened past blue into something deeper. “I will. We’re leaving you all with weapons.” He jerked his head to the two guns remaining on the bed. One was the gun he’d given her just days ago, and the other one looked identical to it. She also had the gun she’d started with, and that was in her pack. “You just point and shoot them. Just in case,” he said.
She looked at the two silver guns, and a pit formed in her stomach as she focused back on him. “No problem.”
“Noni.” His stance was wide, his jaw hard.
“What?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “I’m not that good with words.”
Well, no shit. “I know.”
“I’ve been trying to hold back since this is so dangerous and I don’t know what’s going to happen.” The more he spoke, the faster the words were coming. “But I meant what I said.”
“I know.” All of it. She was well aware of his fears and his love. Her heart hurt, and her eyes stung. But she had to be strong. For him and for Talia. “I get it, Denver.” Right now he needed to concentrate. “We’ll talk when you get back.”
He grimaced. “Okay. But—” He reached inside the case where he’d gotten the flash grenades and pulled out a velvet box.
She stopped breathing. Completely. No air.
He flipped it open to reveal a ring sparkling with alexandrite surrounded by a whole lot of diamonds. “I want you to have this. I mean, it’s yours.”
She could only blink. Emotion washed through her, stealing every thought but one. Just one. He’d bought her a ring? A ring?
“I, ah, saw it and thought of you a while b
ack, and I couldn’t help but buy it.” He sounded bemused, and he shuffled his feet in those big boots. His voice was low and sure. Intent. “It’s a promise if I make it through this. If I don’t, it’s something to remember me by.” Taking the ring out, he grasped her hand and slid it onto the ring finger of her right hand. “For now.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away. “It’s beautiful, Denver.” It truly was. Her favorite stone and diamonds…from Denver. She just stared at the sparkly gem. From Russia, like her paternal grandfather, a man who’d died long ago. It was a stone made of hard times and cold winters and strength and pressure and hope and faith. Denver had bought it for her when he wasn’t sure they’d ever see each other again. The tears went deeper than her eyes. They filled her. “You have to make it back to me.” Her voice cracked on the end.
“I will.” The promise was solid, his tone strong. He took one last long look at her and turned for the doorway, stopping right before leaving.
Her eyes filled again.
“Damn it.” He pivoted and was back in front of her, his fingers spearing through her hair. His mouth descended, and he kissed her deeply, so much emotion in his touch that he took everything she had. Releasing her, he pivoted and strode away.
In a flash, he was gone.
* * *
The freezing trek through the trees, blinded by swirling snow, took Denver’s mind off the constant ache in his side. The knife wound was healing, but the heavy gear on him kept pulling the stitches. He had no doubt he was already bleeding, and they’d just arrived in the center of the compound. The barbed-wire fencing had been easy enough to dispatch, while the traps set along the way had been a bit more difficult.
One hole holding spiked limbs had nearly taken Heath out, but Ryker had tossed him to the side in the last second.
They had to take care of three sets of two-man patrols, knocking them out and tying them up. No need to kill them. There was no doubt they were just hired muscle and not Madison’s small special force of supersoldiers. It had been too easy to take them down.
The difficult part of the op was coming up.
Finally, now they were in position.
There were three standing targets. The first was the main facility, where hopefully Madison was staying with the baby. The lab was in the same building, based on the floor plans he’d studied. The second building contained fuel, supplies, and weapons. Probably. The third was a barracks that housed soldiers.
All had to be destroyed. The remaining outbuildings didn’t concern him.
He stared at the main building and settled himself. No thinking. No feeling. Just action. Heath was at his right and Ryker at his left.
Out of the mist, without a wisp of a sound, Jory Dean appeared.
Only training kept Denver from moving back. Jesus. The guy could really come out of nowhere. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Jory shucked his pack, handing over earbuds. Then he dug deeper and brought out three pairs of night-vision goggles.
“Nice,” Ryker breathed, taking a pair.
Jory grinned. “They also can detect heat signatures. Do not ask how we got ahold of the technology.”
Denver didn’t want to know. He really didn’t. He accepted the goggles. “Is everybody in place?”
“Affirmative.” Jory clapped him on the shoulder. “Per our discussions, Shane and Nate are on the supplies depot, and Matt and I will take the barracks. The main building will be guarded, and after we take out the other threats, we’ll converge behind you to clean up. You’ve got five minutes before we blow the explosives and they know we’re here for sure.”
Denver stuck the earbud in his ear. “My priority is the baby.”
“Yes.” Jory’s gray eyes darkened. “She’s everybody’s priority.” He cleared his throat. “We’d like Madison alive.”
Denver stilled. “Seriously.”
“We talked about it on the way down. She has intel we want.” Jory lifted his face to the wind and seemed to listen. “The storm is settling down. We need to move now.” He took one step away, disappearing completely.
“That’s a little freaky,” Ryker muttered, inserting his earbud.
Denver secured the goggles on top of his head. His blood brother scar scratched against the inside of his glove, and he took a moment to feel it. “Guys.”
Heath bumped him with a shoulder. “Got it and ditto. Let’s do this.”
Ryker settled his goggles over his eyes. “If anything happens to me, Zara—”
“Yeah,” Denver said. He’d take care of Zara and Anya as if they were his own sisters, because basically they were. Ryker and Heath would protect Noni and the baby. “All around. We’re covered.”
Then he took a moment and dug deep. “If this is it, I don’t regret a second. Not one moment of everything we’ve been through. We found one another.”
Ryker’s eyes darkened. His tone was hoarse. “Agreed.”
Heath cleared his throat. He pressed a hand to his chest. “Thank you for being my brothers,” he said, his voice rough too.
Denver’s lungs filled. One of them had to make it just to remember, to pass that on. He shook his head to settle into the op. There wasn’t anything else to say. He glanced at his watch. “Let’s go.”
Crouching low, they moved in formation toward the main building, keeping an eye out for scouts. With the storm so brutal, any guards were probably right inside the doors. Running around to the back of the building, they found the rear entrance that had been visible from the surveillance photographs. Ryker moved along the wall and found the right box, flipped it open, and went to work.
Nobody could fuck with a security system like Ryker. Nobody. Within a minute, he gave a short nod.
Good.
Denver moved to a window a few feet from the rear door. Using his goggles, he looked inside. Seemed like some sort of office or storage room based on the boxes piled in the corner. Giving a hand signal, he used his knife and edged the window up. His ribs protested when he slid over the sill, but he ignored them, landing silently.
Within seconds, his brothers had joined him. They moved through the room and out into a hallway with several doors. “We’re in the office area,” Denver whispered.
Ryker nodded. “You go to the second floor, I’ll go down to the lab, and Heath will cover here.”
Denver instantly pivoted and moved quietly down the hall, leaving wet boot prints on the wood floor. He reached a stairwell and started climbing. Hopefully Madison and the baby were upstairs. From the floor plans, it had looked like some bedrooms were up there. Madison wouldn’t stay in the barracks.
He didn’t encounter anybody, his sight strong with the goggles. Reaching a landing, he could see a small vestibule with four doors spaced a distance apart.
His heart beat rapidly, and he took several deep breaths to calm himself. Then he switched on the heat sensors and turned toward the nearest door. A small signature lit up yellow and red. Very small and not moving. Talia? He forced himself to scope out the other three rooms. No signatures. So he turned back to the one room and gently nudged open the door.
The room was small, with a worn dresser, changing table, and crib that had obviously been picked up quickly. The crib looked old and dented. No doubt unsafe. His breath hitched, and he moved forward to see the baby. She opened her eyes and gurgled. For a second, he was frozen. She was okay. His hands trembled.
She smiled, the sight trusting and innocent. Relief nearly took him to his knees. She was healthy and unharmed. Thank God. He reached for her, needing to hold her tight.
The cocking of a gun behind him stopped him cold. He slowly turned.
“Hello,” Sheriff Elton Cobb said, lifting a flashlight to Denver’s face.
The light exploded through the night-vision goggles, completely blinding Denver. Even so, he put himself between Cobb and the baby while ripping them off.
“Oh. This is gonna be fun,” Cobb said with anticipation.
Chapter
35
Noni twisted the ring around her left ring finger while sitting at a long table made of what seemed to be redwood. The brownie in front of her looked good, but her stomach revolted. Zara sat across from her while Anya sat at the head to her right.
“We have to be able to do something,” Noni muttered.
Zara leaned back and stretched out her arms. Her dark hair fell down around her shoulders. “I have bandages and antiseptic ready.”
Anya nodded. Her red hair caught the light and shimmered while her green eyes were dark with worry. “I have blankets and more bandages ready.”
“I already organized the thread in case we need to stitch anyone up,” Noni murmured, caught by the sheer oddity of the entire conversation. “Life has gotten way too weird.”
“Amen, sister,” Anya said, her gaze catching on the sparkles. “Want to dish about the ring? That wasn’t there yesterday.”
Heat blasted into Noni’s face, and she quickly put it on her other finger. “Denver gave it to me, put it on my right hand, and said it was a promise.” He had not proposed marriage. She’d just wanted to see what it’d look like on her other finger. “It’s my favorite stone.”
“The diamonds are pretty, too.” Zara pushed her uneaten brownie away. “This is excruciating. I can’t even call in to Montana because they’ve gone all dark again since the raid started. My granny and her fiancé are there.”
“Montana sounds nice,” Noni said, wanting to talk about anything but the raid. How shocking to already trust these two women as much as she had anybody. They were truly bonded in what was happening.
Zara shrugged. “Sounds nice. Haven’t been there.” She looked at a pretty ring on her engagement finger. “Maybe we should all get hitched there. You know, have a triple wedding.”
“I’m not engaged,” Noni reminded her, trying really hard to ignore the pang in her heart from those words. “Not even close.”
Anya shoved her hair away from her face. “A promise is a start. Zara got engaged twice to Ryker, right?”
Zara nodded. “Yeah. Well, he asked twice and I said yes twice, so it’s all good. He really wanted to get it right.” Love lit up her entire face.