Page 47 of Protecting Bree
It was obvious no one else had thought about that. They’d been so focused on figuring out where Castillomight be taking Fiona, Julie, and Bree, they hadn’t even considered he might try to grab anyone else.
As one, everyone in the room—except Smiley, Cookie, and Hurt—brought their cells to their ears as they called their wives and girlfriends.
Five minutes later, everyone had frowns on their faces and the tension in the air was so thick it was almost hard to breathe. “Jessyka’s getting in touch with the others and telling them to come to our house,” Benny said to his teammates. “It’s large enough to accommodate everyone, including the kids.”
“And Wren’s having everyone meet her here,” Safe added.
“Do we think having the women and kids all in one place is a good idea?” Preacher asked.
“Yes,” Dude said firmly. “There’s power and safety in numbers. And now that everyone knows what’s going on, they aren’t going to be surprised like Fiona, Julie, and Bree were. Cheyenne will be armed. No one is going to get close to her or the others.”
“Same with Remi,” Kevlar agreed. “She’s pissed. Scared, but angry as hell.”
Smiley was done. He was glad the women would be protected, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Bree and how scaredshewas. He didn’t want to imagine what she was going through.
Turning, he headed for the door once again, Cookie and Blink at his heels. Searching truck stops felt like a futile mission. But it had been an hour now since they’d been taken, and doingsomethingwas better than sitting around, waiting on Tex or one of the women he was working with to get back to them. If they found out anyinfo, they’d be in touch and could move to plan B. Or C, D, F, Q. Whatever.
All that mattered was finding the women before Castillo got them out of the country. Things would get much more complicated if that happened.
Complicated, but not impossible.
For the first time, Smiley understood Phantom a little better.
Phantom was a SEAL who’d gone rogue and traveled on his own out of the country to rescue a woman he’d never spoken to in person, had only seen once—at the bottom of a pit filled with dead bodies, where rebels had thrown her after allegedly killing the woman. But she wasn’t dead. After his team had left Timor-Leste, Phantom thought he remembered seeing her foot move…but no one believed him. He’d been determined to rescue her, with or without his commander’s or the Navy’s permission.
Smiley hadn’t approved when he’d heard what the SEAL had done. He couldn’t understand why the man would risk his career and jail time to rescue a woman he didn’t even know. Hell, even if hehadknown her, he didn’t understand the desire to risk everything he’d worked so hard for, without concrete proof she was even alive.
But now he did.
If Bree was taken out of the US, nothing would stop him from going after her. He’d promised that if anything happened, he’d come for her. And by damn, he wouldn’t break that vow. No fucking way. He had a feeling Cookie and Hurt would be right there at his side. They might not have as much to lose as he did when it came to their professions, but they were still risking their retirements.
“I’m driving,” Blink announced, as they headed out ofthe house. Smiley lobbed his keys toward his friend without comment. He didn’t mind if Blink drove, the man might not talk much, but he could be a psycho behind the wheel. He’d learned as much during one of their missions.
As he, Cookie, and Blink piled into his truck, Smiley took a deep breath. Bree had to be all right. She had to. He’d just found her. He couldn’t lose her now.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Bree was having a dream that she was late for school and running through a snowstorm to get there. She’d just opened the door to the school, only to find she’d entered some kind of barn instead. She was freezing. Looking down, she saw she didn’t have any shoes on. Or clothes.
Damn, she was having one of those “naked” dreams. She hated those.
Shivering, she opened her eyes…and realized she wasn’t dreaming. She reallywasfreezing. Her hands felt like ice, and whatever she was lying on was hard as a rock.
Confused, Bree turned her head, wondering why Smiley wasn’t in bed next to her, keeping her warm.
But instead of seeing Smiley, she saw bars.
Bars?
Scrambling to her knees too fast, she yelped when her head hit something hard. Bending again, Bree tried to understand what was happening. Where she was.
There was a weird red light above her head, giving her the ability to see, but things were almost distorted. Therods and cones in her eyes were having a hard time adjusting to her surroundings. Whimpering in confusion, she turned her head the other way—and froze.
“What the hell?” she whispered. It was comforting somehow to hear her own voice. “Fiona?” she said a little louder.
And just like that, she remembered everything.
Well, not everything, obviously, but enough. She, Julie, and Fiona had been in My Sister’s Closet, looking at the newest donations, when three men had come in and grabbed them. The last thing she remembered was being shoved into the back of that black SUV and realizing the fog in the air was actually some sort of gas or sedative.
