Jagger followed his partner toward their first unsuspecting target. A man in jeans and a hooded jacket standing approximately fifteen feet away.
The dock employee faced out over the glistening, moonlit waters. With his back to them, he had no idea they were there. Not until it was too late.
As if sensing their presence, their target started to turn his head their way. But Talia was ready, her rifle already spun around and lifted high in the air.
“What the fu?—”
The poor bastard didn’t have time to finish before the butt of Talia’s weapon slammed against the side of his head. While Jagger kept an eye on their surroundings for any possible threats, their target’s legs crumbled beneath him, his body falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Talia worked impressively fast, dropping down into a crouch to slap a strip of duct tape over the unconscious man’s mouth. By the time he’d drawn in his next breath, Talia was already securing his wrists and ankles together with police-grade, plastic zip-tie cuffs.
A quick glance to his right showed three additional, near-identical scenes. Each set of partners had taken down their own assigned targets without incident or alerting anyone else of their presence.
There are still more to go.
Talia pushed herself back up to her feet as Jagger bent down and reached for the secured man’s collar. With her covering his six, he fisted the thick material of the guy’s jacket and began dragging his bound body across the asphalt.
Like clockwork, the combined teams had their targets secured. Less than two minutes later, they’d been bound,gagged, and stashed out of sight, behind two smaller buildings standing behind the team’s current location and the water’s edge.
The next step in their plan went off without a hitch. All they had left to clear now was the boat, which had just been docked.
Following Talia’s lead, Jagger and the others waited for two of the four crewmen to disembark. Just a few…more…seconds…
“Drop your weapons and put your hands on your heads!” Talia’s shouted order echoed through the air.
The two men who had disembarked did as they were told. Almost immediately, the automatic rifles they’d been holding fell to the ground by their feet.
The remaining dickheads, however, were still standing on the boat’s deck. Behind them, stacked in four rows of three high by three deep, were several identical shipping boxes. They were all unmarked. Each one the perfect size for the kinds of weapons they’d come here to seize.
Jagger eyed the two men who were refusing to follow Talia’s clear and concise directive. Their chins lifted in a show of defiance, as if they truly believed they could win the massively lopsided fight.
“We don’t want to hurt you.” Talia kept her voice calm and steady.
Jagger’s muscles tensed, his gut clenching with worry and anger as she continued closer to the enemy. What the hell was she doing? Begging these pricks to take a shot?
No, she’s giving them the chance to willingly surrender.
The other members of Delta and Echo closed in. Within seconds, they were standing together, near the concrete edge. One united group.
One team.
As far as standoffs went, on a scale of one to ten, this one was about a two. Two against thirteen, that is. And from the looks on their targets’ faces, these guys knew their odds weren’t good.
“One last chance, assholes!” Talia shouted at the men. “Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!Now!”
Yep. Definitely in love.
In reality, he was most likely experiencing nothing more than a heavy dose of lust. Hard. Hot. Driving-him-crazy-with-need lust.
And seeing her in action—all fearless and determined in her quest to make the world a better, safer place—only made it worse.
Focus, dumbass.
Jagger blinked himself back to the situation at hand. The guy on the right looked scared as shit. His buddy just looked pissed.
“I’d listen to her if I were you.” Jagger backed up his partner. “Either you walk out of this mess, or you’re carried out. The choice is yours.”
“Okay!” The skittish one on the right confirmed that he understood and spoke English. “J-just…don’t shoot!”
