AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Saint got them to the chemical plant in under an hour. The location at the base of Mt. Diablo was desolate and surrounded by trees. The good news was they could easily hide the Suburban and use the forest as cover while they hiked over to the facility. The bad news was mosquitoes buzzed in her ear the entire trek, dining on her exposed skin.
Once they reached the building, the teams of two separated, keeping in touch through the tiny comms unit in their ears. Inda and Lucas stealthily made their way to the rear southwest corner and hunkered down behind a large tree. Her gaze swept the small loading dock and quickly counted two cameras and one exit.
The teams all checked in and reported the same thing—nothing unusual and all quiet. They settled in, watching and waiting, occasionally swatting away a mosquito.
“So are you just going to ignore me now?” Lucas asked quietly.
Inda swallowed hard, trying not to let the guilt consume her. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m working. This isn’t about you.”
“It sure feels like it.”
Frustration exploded like molten lava and she turned to pin him with a glare. She was pissed that he was bringing this up now when they should be focused. But, for the first time, her head wasn’t completely in the op. All because of the insufferable man beside her who was trying to force her to face her feelings.
“Drop it, Lucas,” she seethed. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything and her shoulders relaxed slightly. Shifting, she moved into a better, slightly more comfortable position, and kept her attention focused on the exit. At some point, someone would have to come out or go in.
“I have one more thing to say,” he murmured and she sighed heavily, but didn’t comment. “You might not think you’re worthy, but I do. Just so you know, I’m not giving up on you. Okay, back to the mission.”
He began typing away on the laptop and Inda shook her head. Really? He was going to drop that bomb on her and she was just supposed to do what? Forget it? How the hell could she focus on this mission when Lucas distracted her in every possible way. He shouldn’t have come. He was getting into her head and—
An SUV with dark tinted windows appeared out of nowhere and Inda squinted, realizing there was a half-camouflaged road she hadn’t seen. Probably because she’d been too busy thinking about Lucas.Ugh.She touched the comms unit in her ear and reported, “I have a visual on an SUV pulling up to the rear loading dock.”
“Roger,” Braxton said. “Is it Carlisle?”
The doors to the car opened and Inda leaned forward, holding her breath, waiting to get a glimpse of its occupants.Nathan “Cross” Mills slid out of the driver’s seat and Selma Santiago appeared on the passenger’s side.
“Oh, shit.” she murmured. “It’s Cross and Selma.”
Eyes narrowing on the devious couple, she knew one thing for certain—she was going in after them.
Chapter Nineteen
At the mention of his father, Ryland’s curse came through the comms loud and clear, and Inda couldn’t blame him. Until recently, Ryland had believed his father was dead. The bastard had let him, his sister Addison and their mother think he’d died while on a mission with his former SEAL team. But, really, he’d gone deep undercover, working for the government. Now, however, no one knew where his true allegiance lay. Inda had a feeling Cross was loyal to only one person. Himself.
“Can you take the cameras offline?” she asked Lucas, who sat next to her with his laptop open.
“Of course, I can. Shouldn’t we wait to see what Braxton says?”
Normally, she would. But the urge to follow those two and find out exactly what they were up to was a temptation too strong to resist. “I’m going in,” she murmured, standing up. “So either take them offline or I’ll put them out of commission myself.”
She laid a hand over her nunchucks making her intentions crystal clear. She had no problem busting those cameras apart with a swing. Lucas knew she wasn’t messing around, so he nodded and started tapping away on his keyboard.
Two minutes later, he looked up, intelligent blue eyes twinkling. “I’ve got all the security cams on a loop,” he stated. “As long as no one figures it out, they’ll stay that way.”
“Roger,” she whispered. When he stood up, ready to go with her, she frowned. “Stay here. I shouldn’t be—”
“No way. I’m going in with you.”
“Like hell you are,” she hissed.
He crossed his arms stubbornly. “You’re not going in alone. What if you need backup? I can help you.”
Inda sighed, wanting to argue, but there wasn’t time. Plus, she could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t budging. When a truck rolled up to the dock, providing the cover she needed, she knew it was now or never. With no time to convince him otherwise, she hissed, “Let’s go! And stay close or I will knock you out with my nunchucks and stash you in the bushes til I’m done in there.”
He chuckled. “God, I love you.”
She froze.What the what?Her eyes darted over to meet his, and the sonofabitch winked. He freaking winked at her!
“C’mon, before you go getting all mushy on me,” he teased.
