Page 63 of Fearless

Hawke gave a nod. “Water under the bridge, brother.”

He didn’t deserve the easy acceptance of his apology but appreciated it all the same. Returning his gaze to the room at large, he said, “Some things happened in my past…things I never shared with any of you. I never dealt with them properly and somehow got triggered.” He shook his head at his own stupidity.

“Anyway, I owe you an explanation, and then we need to focus on getting Serena back.”

He started from the beginning, just as he had the day before with Ash and Liam. There were no more secrets. Never should have been. He told them about Emma, how he’d been the luckiest man in the world to be her father, and then how he’d lost her. He tried to be as succinct as possible, but there was no way he could keep the anguish out of his voice or keep his expression stoic and unemotional. He kept nothing from them—they needed to know all of it.

By the time he finished, he noted a slight thawing in everyone’s demeanor. They hadn’t exactly been hostile to him, but none of them had welcomed him back either. They had a right to be pissed, but at least now they knew some of where he’d been coming from when he’d left. Didn’t excuse his behavior. He owed each person here an individual, private apology, and he would get around to doing that. For right now, Serena was the priority.

He finished up his story with his kidnapping. “Kingsley was up front from the beginning. He wanted intel on OZ. But that was his secondary want. His primary want was...”

“Serena,” Eve finished grimly.

“Yeah. Seems they’ve been wanting her for a long time.”

“So you told them how to find her?”

The question came from the right side of the room. He didn’t know what stung the most—the question or the person who’d asked it. Jazz had always been the least judgmental of them all.

He blew out a harsh sigh. “Absolutely not. They got nothing from me. I know I screwed up, and I hurt Serena, as well as all of you, but I would never, under any circumstance, betray her like that.”

“Then how did they find her?”

Before Sean could respond, Ash said, “Serena said Francine was compromised.”

“That’s not possible,” Jazz said.

Sean told himself it didn’t matter that Jazz could believe he’d betrayed Serena, but she was indignant anyone in Francine could be a suspect. His ego and feelings were not important. Still, when he answered, he knew his voice sounded stiff and formal. “They had recent photographs of her entire family. Whoever took the photos is the culprit.”

“Did Serena have any idea who it might be?” Hawke asked.

“I don’t think so. We didn’t get to talk that long, but if she’d known, she would have told me.”

“I called Ed, Serena’s father,” Ash said. “Warned him that someone had infiltrated their community. He said he might know who it was but didn’t want to say until he investigated further.”

“Okay, so we know how they might have found her,” Eve said. “But what are we doing to get her back?”

“Here’s what we know,” Ash said. “Serena is being held in a compound just off the Pacific Coast, about ten miles inside Mexico. The place was once a hot spot resort for the rich and famous but closed down a couple of decades ago. There are no records of it being purchased or renovated. But according to Sean, it’s been revitalized.” Ash cut his eyes over to Sean. “Correct?”

“Yes, from just the little I saw, everything looked new. Carpets, draperies, floors, windows. I only got to see a few rooms, but they looked luxurious. When I arrived and left, even though it was dark, I could make out several different outbuildings. The place looks like it’s a thriving resort once again. Swimming pool, tennis courts, putting green. The works.”

“Okay, great. When are we going after her?” Gideon asked.

He and Ash shared a look, and Sean gave him a nod. The news would be better received coming from the leader of OZ and not the deserter who’d left them without warning.

“Serena wants to stay there for a while.”

Silence followed his statement before explosions of curses and exclamations followed.

Ash held up his hand. “I know, I know. It’s not what I want either. But we’ve been aware that Serena, as one of our greatest assets, would likely be a target. She’s been preparing for this in case it happened.”

“Preparing how?” Hawke asked.

“Why don’t we let Serena tell you herself?” Hitting a key on the keyboard in front of him, Ash said, “She left us this.”

A second later, Serena’s beautiful face filled the screen. Sean had watched the video a half-dozen times already. Each time, his heart overflowed with love for his strong, courageous wife.

No one said anything when the recording ended, but every operative wore similar expressions of worry and concern.