Page 51 of Mitch

His lips twitched as she dropped her head before looking at him through her lashes. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on, and she didn’t seem to have a clue. Her husband must have been gone in the head to have risked losing a woman like Autumn. Mitch would be eternally grateful that he had though because now he’d show her how she should be treated for the rest of her life if she let him.

He steadied Maggie, who was rolling on the bed with her feet in the air as Autumn grabbed clothes from her overnight bag. It was hard to concentrate when her sexy ass was bent over, but he needed to tell her about Rion and the other developments.

“I have some news.”

Autumn straightened her back snapping rigid at the tone he used. She walked to him the pulse beating wildly in her neck and not from desire this time. “Tell me.” Her hands gripped his shoulders as she stood between his thighs in only her underwear, and he regretted not waiting until she’d dressed.

Instead of touching her how he wanted, he placed his hands on the outside of her silky thighs. “Hench and Midas, Linton’s men visited your family and put a picture of them together on the dark web for us to find.”

She didn’t freak or become hysterical. “Did they hurt them?” Her words came out on a shaky breath, and he knew it was hard for her despite her composure.

“They’re fine. It was a warning.” He told her about the rest, and she agreed with the assessment they’d made.

“Will my family be safe once Linton finds out you took his men?”

“We have a man watching Linton and two men watching your family. They aren’t Eidolon, but they do some work for us now and again. They’re good guys. In fact, they’re brothers who served with Jack.”

“So they know what they’re doing?”

“Yes, Autumn, they’re highly skilled men.”

Autumn nodded. “Okay.”

“Get dressed, honey. Much as I want to sit here and enjoy the view for the rest of the day I have to go into work.” Autumn grinned as she spun on her heel and gave him a beautiful view of her butt. “Woman, don’t play with me.”

“Or what?” she asked in a playful tone which he loved to hear.

He grabbed her around her waist, making her squeal as his hands tickled her ribs. “Or payback will be a bitch.” He tickled her again, and she danced around, trying to avoid him before she wrapped her arms around him instead.

“I submit.”

“Music to my ears, baby.” He kissed her hard and fast before stepping away. “Get yourself dressed.”

Mitch droppedAutumn and Maggie off and made sure they were secure in her apartment with everything they needed before he headed in to work. Bebe and Astrid were there, and those two were as dangerous as any man, in fact, more than most men. He knew they’d protect Autumn and Maggie with their dying breath.

It wouldn’t come to that, he’d seen his future last night, and it was beautiful. He wouldn’t allow either of their pasts to spoil that. It was time to put Linton Allen where he belonged. It made his heart heavy when he thought of the boy he’d known, the younger brother to his best friend who’d looked up to him. He’d always feel some small shard of the blame for what he’d become. Linton could have been anything he wanted with his brilliant mind, but the opportunities weren’t the same for kids like them. He’d been lucky, his mum had moved heaven and earth to get him out, but Linton hadn’t had that.

He’d taken the wrong path, but to him, it may have seemed like the only path. That he’d made a success of even that showed what he could’ve become if life and grief hadn’t stolen the sweet boy and replaced it with cold evil. Mitch had read the file on Linton as he was now and he couldn’t see even a hint of the boy he’d been. Devon would be heartbroken to know what his baby brother had become. He’d joined the Cobras to protect his family, and ultimately it had cost them both. Now Mitch had to face that and put right the wrongs he’d had a part in to save his budding family.

Chapter Nineteen

He would’ve likedto have seen Autumn before he left, but the window was short, especially as there seemed to be a lot of comings and goings from the Cobras’ base. Will had been monitoring the farm with unarmed aerial vehicles commonly known as UAVs from Eidolon while Lopez kept watch on the Cobras.

It was useful for intelligence gathering, but now it was time to act. They’d take the chopper from Hereford at nine o’clock that night and land ten miles north of the farm. Bebe and Astrid would stay with Autumn and Maggie overnight, and Nate would be on call if they needed him. Aubrey was going to pick them up the following morning and drive them into Eidolon where Zack had agreed to meet her and stay with her until they were back.

Mitch had kitted out in the same black clothing as the rest of the team, with his personal body armour underneath, a black helmet with built-in comms, and NVGs. His weapon of choice was his MP5SDs with hollow-point rounds to make sure they didn’t over-penetrate and hit a friendly. He also carried a Glock 17 sidearm as well as three K-Bar knives.

“What are the ROE?” Mitch wanted to be fully aware of the rules of engagement on this op as he didn’t want blowback.

“Engage on contact, but no kill shots unless fired upon. Alex will run command on the takedown at the Cobras’ base, and I’ll run point at the farm. Alex, Blake, Reid, and Deck are with you.” Jack nodded at Alex. “Mitch, Waggs, Liam, you’re with me. Lopez will run comms with Will.”

Mitch looked around the helo as they waited to land. Jack had decided that having two bulletproof Range Rovers take them in was preferable than getting too close with the chopper.

“We all good?”

A round of nods happened as the chopper flown by Liam landed in a field owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and sanctioned by the Palace for use on this mission. Mitch was quiet as they got in separate vehicles and headed for the farm and the Cobras’ base. He’d asked not to go on that op, worry he’d have to engage someone he knew from his past hanging over him. He would’ve done it, but Mitch didn’t believe in making life difficult when it wasn’t necessary. The fact the Cobras still had the same group of garages on the estate where he’d grown up, despite them dripping in money now, was a statement.

As they approached the farm, Jack killed the lights a mile out and then half a mile later they hid the vehicle in a wooded area before hiking the rest of the way. They were on comms only now and using NVGs to see, the green hue casting an eerie light on the trees and countryside around them.