Cam fell back against the side of the van.What the fuck was Nic thinking?“We talked about this last night.We were on the same page.”
“Aside from us and Mary, he hasn’t had a family in almost thirty years,” Aidan said.“All of a sudden, he does again.He might not be thinking clearly.”
Cam shook his head, not that Aidan could see him.Everything about Nic not thinking clearly was wrong.“Does that sound like Nic to you?”
“Not at all,” Jamie answered.“But we don’t know this Nic.The one he used to be.”
Except Cam did, or at least he’d seen glimpses of another Nic.The SEAL who’d chafed at being sidelined in the van, who wouldn’t let those he loved get hurt.
Fuck.
“He’s gone after Lette himself.”
Cam had made his point about the ransom—that would never work for getting Lette back—but had he driven Nic to take other action instead?
“Garrett went with him,” Lauren said, entering the fray on the other end of the line.“He was lurking outside the room when I got the location out of Cole.”
“Victoria?”
“Confirmed Garrett never returned to the hotel last night.She said she thought he was with us.”
No, he was with Nic, if Cam had to bet.His stomach took another tumble.The Marine and the SEAL going after their sister.“Where’s Nic’s truck?”
“At Curtis’s house still.”
“Fuck!”Cam cursed loudly, drawing the attention of several agents.He lowered his voice back to normal and added, “We’ll have to track him another way.”
“Hold a second,” Lauren said.“Nic used a credit card thirty minutes ago.A motel in San Simeon.”
“One town up from Cambria,” Jamie said.“Text us the address now.”
Why would Nic do that?He had to know they’d trace it and find him.Was that what he wanted?The address came through along with a map.
“I’m on the way out the door now,” Aidan said.“Jet’s being fueled.It’s an hour flight down.Jamie, get the teams ready to roll as soon as I land there.Cam, you head out now.Go get Nic.We’ll be right behind you.”
But how far behind Nic were they already?
“Why didn’t we just go in there and get her?”
Nic closed the hotel room door behind a fuming Garrett.“Because it’s a fucking fifteen-acre estate, G.We needed to do recon first.Assess entry and exit points and determine the best and safest approach.”
Garrett spun in the middle of the room, looking every bit the keyed-up jarhead in his camo pants and service sweater.All that was missing was the olive piss hat, which would only make his hazel eyes burn brighter.“I’m tired of fucking recon.”He ripped off the damp, sandy sweater and hurled it at the chair by the blazing corner fireplace.
For his part, Nic wanted to hurl himself on the bed in his room next door.
Garrett was tired of recon; well, Nic was just fucking tired.And just plain fucked.He was supposed to have met with the grand jury an hour ago.He hated to think how many voicemails were on the phone in his pocket.Save for the early morning call to his colleague about the continuance, he’d kept his phone off since Garrett had shown up at the house last night, five minutes after Cam had left.
Maybe he wouldn’t be in this position if he’d tried harder to talk Garrett out of his plan.Or maybe both his sister and former lover would be hostages by now, given Garrett’s bullheaded determination to go after Lette on his own.Maybe Nic didn’t have much of a fucking choice.
Exhaustion seeping into his bones, Nic dragged himself across the room.Ignoring the tempting fireplace, he yanked back the gauzy balcony curtains instead and opened the sliding glass door to the chilly sea breeze.The brisk blast chased off the exhaustion nipping at his heels.He dropped into one of the patio chairs and removed his shoes, dumping out the sand over the rail.
He hated sand, having had more than enough of it for one lifetime.So of course Vaughn’s Cambria property was oceanfront.And of course the best vantage point for recon was the sandy beach cliff.He and Garrett had climbed up over the edge to lie on their bellies in the tall beach grass, looking into the mansion through the tall floor-to-ceiling windows.Their sister had been gagged and bound to a living room chair, unconscious but breathing, her chest rising and falling regularly.Nic closed his eyes, prayed she stayed breathing, then banished the image so he could function.
A shadow fell over him, Garrett stepping out onto the patio.Leaving off his shoes, Nic slumped back in the Adirondack chair, staring up at Garrett resting against the rail, his biceps straining the sleeves of his drab undershirt.“You’re a fucking USMC major.I know the Marines didn’t teach you to act without a plan or without backup.”
Which was why Nic was stalling like his life depended on it.He’d been stalling since he’d agreed to come with Garrett, who’d overheard Lauren and Cole discussing Lette’s location.Between Garrett’s single-mindedness and Victoria’s imploring text last night to keep her kids safe, what was Nic supposed to do?Let Garrett go rogue alone?Not an option.Yes, he could have tried to subdue him before they’d left, but one, Nic wasn’t sure he could win that face-off, and two, even if he had, he’d only be able to watch over Garrett for so long before he had to leave for the grand jury.As far as Nic could tell, the only reliable way to keep Garrett from doing something stupid—from putting their family in even more jeopardy—was to go with him.And stall.He hoped like hell Cam would get here in time and that he’d forgive him.
“You’re stalling,” Garrett said, as if reading his mind.“Waiting for the feds.”
