Maya Banks - Forged in Steele

“I don’t give a fuck who gets credit for taking him out,” Hancock snarled. “I just want it done so I can move on to Maksimov.” He rubbed his bruised jaw and then his swollen eye. “I have a personal score to settle with that asshole now.”

“I’m thinking your next performance review is going to suck,” Dolphin drawled.

Ordinarily Steele would be all for letting everyone give Hancock shit. The bastard deserved it for all the grief he’d caused them in the past. But their focus was drifting and they were fast running out of time. They’d land in an hour and then they’d only have a few hours to scope out a vast amount of territory and then wire Maren and wait for the call and hope like hell they’d covered the area where he wanted to meet.

“Cut the crap and let’s focus on the goddamn mission,” Steele snapped.

The cabin went silent. Maren rubbed her hands tiredly over her temples, pressing and massaging, anxiety written all over her face. Steele was in a no-win situation. If he did nothing and didn’t allow Maren to follow through with Caldwell’s instructions, her parents would pay the price and Maren would never forgive Steele for that. She’d live with guilt for the rest of her life and be tortured by the fact that she could have saved them.

But if he let her go, if he placed her in the direct line of danger, he risked losing her and that wasn’t something he could dwell on without losing his mind.

She clutched his cell phone like a lifeline, and from time to time she stared down at it as if replaying that last conversation over and over in her mind. He wanted to comfort her. Wanted to wrap himself around her, a barrier between her and the rest of the world. But his focus had to be on a way to prevent harm to both her and her parents.

They landed at the small airport in St. Augustine, Florida, and quickly gathered at the waiting vehicles Sam had arranged. Donovan had tagged every airport within a hundred-mile radius with aerial photos and he was studying each one, trying to determine where Caldwell would be making his run with Maren.

The problem was, there were simply too many possibilities for them to cover. Until Maren got that phone call, they were flying blind.

Sam made contact with the local city and county police departments and had Resnick pave the way for cooperation. Resnick wanted Caldwell almost as badly as KGI wanted him, and he was eager to facilitate his capture.

“Given the time parameters he gave Maren, the best bet is either Flagler County or Craig Municipal if he’s planning to fly out of here,” Donovan said. “I’ve checked on any private landing strips and there’s one possibility. It’s rural. Only accommodates Cessnas, no jets. Not big enough. My bet is on that one. The other two are too public even though they’re small.”

“How far?” Steele demanded.

“Thirty minutes and that’s hauling ass.”

Steele nodded and then turned to Maren, gathering her in his arms. “Hold tight, Maren. We’ll get through this.”

She gripped him back, clutching desperately at him. “I hope you’re right, Steele.”

The wait was interminable. Everyone was on edge. Restless. Maren checked her watch every few minutes and the closer it got to the eleven-hour mark, the paler she grew and the more agitated she became.

When the phone rang, she jumped, staring down at the phone, stark fear outlined in her features. Conversation ceased and every single eye was on Maren as she shakily brought the phone to her ear.

“Hello,” she said.

Steele was proud of the firm tone she used. He knew she was scared out of her mind, but she sounded crisp and businesslike on the phone.

She listened a long moment and then said, “Don’t fuck me on this, Tristan. I swear to God, if you don’t keep your end of the deal, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”

Steele winced, not wanting her to antagonize Caldwell. But at the same time he felt a surge of pride at her courage.

She quietly lowered the phone, letting it hang in her hand at her side as she faced the others.

“He wants me at the airport in an hour’s time. Fifteen minutes after I’ve turned myself over to him he’ll place the call to free my parents.”

“Which airport?” Donovan asked gently.

“He gave me the address. Didn’t give me a name for it.”

Donovan typed it into his GPS as she recited the information, and he nodded. “Yep, just where I thought. He opted for a private airfield, the one I said couldn’t support a jet. So he’s planning to fly out in a Cessna.”

“Let’s roll,” Sam said. “We can leave Maren in a vehicle a few miles away so the rest of us can move into position. When it’s time—and don’t come in a minute before you have to, Maren—drive to the airport but don’t get in a hurry.”

“I’ll drive Maren,” Steele said quietly. “I’ll hop in with one of you when we get to where we split up.”

Steele gathered her into his arms again, holding her without words as the others began climbing into the vehicles. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and then motioned her toward the passenger seat of the SUV before walking around to slide into the driver’s seat.

THEY pulled to a halt several miles from the airport and the teams piled out, emptying the vehicle Maren would take and gathering to go over their plan of action.

Steele hung back with Maren, quiet and intense, his gaze focused on her. They were quiet, no words passing between them as he gently threaded the tiny transmitter into her hair, weaving it in with the braid. When he was finished, he turned her in his arms and hung them loosely around her hips.

He pressed his forehead to hers and for a long moment closed his eyes, inhaling as they shared the tender moment.

“I love you,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “Every instinct tells me not to do this. Not to let you walk into this situation even as I understand the impossible choice you face.”

“I love you too,” she whispered.

She leaned back so she could better see into his eyes and rested her palms against his hard chest. “Steele, if things go wrong, I mean, if the worst happens and he gets away—”

He shushed her with a finger, his eyes tormented over what she’d said.

“No, let me finish,” she said huskily. “If the worst happens, please know that I love you and that I’ll never give up hope of you coming for me. I’ll protect our child with my life and I’ll never give up hope of us being together and raising our baby together.”

He rubbed his hand over her face, sliding it underneath her chin to cup it as he stared down at her.

“Now you listen to me. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you don’t spend more than the time necessary with him for him to make that call to set your parents free. We’re doing everything we can to protect you and your parents and I need you to believe that and trust in that. But beyond that—and this is important, Maren. I need you to listen to me on this. If something goes wrong, if for whatever reason he gets away with you, you do whatever is necessary to survive. Do you understand?”

She sucked in her breath at the quick surge of tears that stung her eyes.

“I’ll never stop looking for you, Maren. If that bastard gets away with you, despite our best efforts, I will never give up, and I need you to do whatever it takes to survive. I’ll never think badly of you for doing what you have to in order to protect yourself and our child. Don’t anger him. Don’t antagonize him. Cooperate fully and wait for me, because I’m coming. I’ll never rest until you’re back with me where you belong.”

She leaned her forehead against his neck so his chin rested atop her head and she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tight as she choked back the emotion welling in her throat.

They both knew what he meant. That if it came down to it, he wanted her to give Caldwell what he wanted if it meant her surviving and not being harmed. There had been torture in his eyes as he’d told her emphatically to do whatever it took to survive. But there was also determination, and she knew that he’d meant every word. He’d never rest until he found her. If it took the rest of his life, he’d come for her. And he was asking her not to give up.

“It’s time,” Sam said gruffly from a few feet away. “The others are in position. There’s a plane on the runway with a pilot inside. We have snipers surrounding the area and we’re ready to go in at a moment’s notice. Maren, sweetheart, I need you to stall. When you get there, I need you to distract Caldwell. Nathan’s going to take out the pilot and fly the plane. But you need to give him time to get in and do his job without Caldwell noticing. So whatever you have to do, do it. Nathan will go through all the motions, but as soon as Caldwell places that call, he’s going to land the plane. If we’re lucky, he’ll make the call before you get into the air. But if not, just know you won’t be alone. Nathan will be inside.”

“Won’t he notice a difference in the pilot?” Maren asked skeptically.

“Well, that’s where you come in. We need his focus to be on you. The pilot has a hair color similar to Nathan’s. If Nathan can get in, put on the headphones and sunglasses, the cockpit only has a narrow opening, so unless Caldwell makes it a point to check the pilot out, we think it’ll work. If he’s more concerned with you and getting you on board, he’s likely not going to pay much attention to the pilot anyway.”

Maren took a deep breath and then turned into Steele’s arms, hugging him tightly as she tried to gather her composure for what was to come.

“I can do this,” she whispered.

Steele’s grip tightened around her and he pressed a kiss to her hair, just above her ear. “Bet your ass you can. You’re tough, Maren. And we have your back. Now let’s go kick some ass and get your parents back.”

Steele rode with Sam and Hancock after they instructed Maren to take it slow and easy. She still had time and they all wanted to be in position before she arrived on the scene. Steele’s nerves were raw and exposed. He’d never felt so goddamn vulnerable in his life. Maren had taken a huge part of him with her, and it ate at him that he had no way of knowing if this was going to go according to plan.

He couldn’t accept that he could lose her. Or that she would be at Caldwell’s mercy when he knew damn well what Caldwell intended. He wanted what was Steele’s. Was claiming what was Steele’s as his own. No way in hell Steele was taking that kind of threat from anyone.

Sam pulled off into a wooded area and they got out, running through the woods until they reached the edge of the clearing where the airport was nestled.

It was indeed small. One, maybe two planes could be hangared here. Small planes.

And as Sam had said, there was a smaller Cessna out on the runway, engine running, and several feet away, a black SUV with tinted windows was parked.

“Anyone have a view into the vehicle?” Steele asked into the radio.

“I have a view through the front windshield,” Skylar reported. “One male in the driver’s seat. No passenger in front.”

“Got one in the back,” P.J. piped in. “Likely Caldwell. I’ve scanned the perimeter and can’t find another damn thing. Either he’s really good or he’s really stupid.”

Steele stared at the Cessna in plain view. It didn’t add up. Caldwell might have lost his shit but he couldn’t be that stupid. Something was wrong here and his gut was screaming at him.

“I’m coming in.”

Maren’s soft voice came over the wire. There was a tremble evident. He wished to hell they’d been able to give her an earpiece so she could hear them like they could hear her. So they could give her instruction. Backup. Even just let her know she wasn’t alone.

The next minutes were the longest of Steele’s life, and then suddenly the SUV Maren was driving appeared. She drove up to the other vehicle but didn’t get out. Smart girl. Buy them some time. Don’t put yourself at risk before you know the situation.

The door to the black SUV opened and a man stepped out. He walked to Maren’s door and opened it, offering his hand in a gallant gesture that made Steele bare his teeth.

And then voices came over the wire. Caldwell greeted Maren like a long-separated lover. He leaned in to kiss her, and Maren didn’t flinch away. But Steele did. He hated the man touching her. His mouth where Steele’s had been just minutes earlier.

And then Maren wobbled and reached out to brace herself against the hood of the SUV. For a moment Steele’s heart lurched, but then he remembered that she was only doing as they’d told her.