Capturing Charlie [Braden Security 5] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

“Devlen was trying to help. You know that, Clay.”

  “Yeah, well, it doesn’t help us now, does it? Why couldn’t he just stay out of it?

  “Look, I’m as pissed at this as all of you. But need I to remind you that it was us that brought him in on the job,” James said, running a hand wearily over his face.

  Grabbing up his coffee cup, he continued. “He was doing what any of us would have done to try and speed things up. Remember, he was a SEAL and did not work under the same conditions or brass that we did. He also never went through what we did, so he had no reason to be leery of the top bigwigs.”

  “Well I can tell you I feel like a complete fool,” John said as he looked at his cup on the table not meeting anyone’s eyes.

  “Give yourself a break, John. You were in the dark as much as Devlen,” Angel told him, sitting back in his chair.

  “Yes, I was, but I can kick my ass for not taking the time to question what was going on. No, all I did was follow orders blindly.”

  “Look, John, I don’t like you very much right now, but I do understand. We have all at one time or another been caught up following orders. That’s why it took us a long time to clue in about General Brown the first time,” Grant told him, pulling out his new Blackberry and checking messages.

  “Thanks, Grant, and I will try to earn your trust, all of your trust,” John said, looking at each man at the table.

  “Now that’s out of the way. Why don’t we go over everything we did learn?” James said, sitting up and picking up his coffee cup. “Clay, you lead this. You were on it from the first.”

  “Well, you did have first contact, but the second was the phone call asking for money. Two million, to be exact, and demanding that we bust Carlos out of prison. I don’t know how that leads back to General Brown. My first instincts when I heard the demands were that we were dealing with one of Carlos’s group.”

  “Yes, I don’t see the connection either. Even though it was the same country and same merchandise, drugs, as the general said back at Devlen’s. I don’t think that is enough of a coincidence. There are hundreds of small gangs doing the same thing in Columbia. What ties these two together? Did the other guy—shit, we don’t even know his name. Did he let anything slip in the time you two were together, John?”

  “All I knew of him was that his name was Richard. He was the go-between for us and whoever was calling the shots, probably General Brown. I didn’t have any contact with Brown after we reached the cabin.

  “Richard was not a talkative sort. I tried a few times to get him to open up and tell me how he was mixed up in the mission. He was a mean son of a bitch, and if I pushed too hard, he thought nothing of pointing his gun at me, telling me I was being disloyal to even question orders. After a while, I gave up.”

  John paused for a minute but continued as he pushed his coffee cup away from him and looked every man directly in the eyes. “But I can tell you if it hadn’t ended when it did, I would have found some way to end it. I could tell that Chase and Charlie were not connected with our mission. They were being used as pawns to get others to do our bidding. That didn’t sit well with me. When we start to use innocent people in that way, we are just as bad as the people I thought we were after.”

  “But didn’t you clue in when they wanted Carlos out of prison?” Chase asked.

  “I’ve known men put away on trumped-up charges. I thought maybe we were saving one of our own. I know it doesn’t sound like much of an excuse now, my only excuse is that I was coming in from a deep undercover job that lasted over two years. I didn’t have time to form any impression of the mission before I landed in the States. I just wanted to get it over with and be able to finally let down and think for myself. This was just another mission before I could be free. The orders given were highly confidential and urgent. I reacted without thinking.”

  Madge, after a knock on the door, brought in sandwiches for the men. Laying them on the middle of the table, she turned to James.

  “I probably shouldn’t say anything, but shouldn’t you be home with you wife, Angel, too? They just had babies after all.”

  James turned to look at her. It wasn’t a friendly look. “Thanks for that, Madge. You just made me feel more of a heel than I already do.”

  “Sorry, I just thought that business can wait.”

  “I know, Madge,” James said, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry for being short, but we can’t just drop things when we want. This might lead us to a breakthrough in the future, and if we leave it now, we might forget or leave out something that might just make the difference.”

  “You’re right, sorry.” Madge stepped out of the room and shut the door.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s have lunch and go over everything one more time. Madge is right, we have to get back to our wives.”

  “I hope Laura remembers me,” Clay said with a laugh as he grabbed a sandwich.

  “Well I hope that Cyn didn’t name the baby while I was gone. Grandma thinks our boy should have a name that honors our culture, and she can be very persuasive if she wants to be. I just want him to have a name that people can pronounce,” Angel added, also grabbing a sandwich.

  “Grant, what about you?” Brad asked, him handing him a sandwich.

  Grant took one last look at his Blackberry. “Me? I don’t have anything I need to do.”

  “You’ve been looking at the phone of yours since we left the sheriff’s office. Are you expecting a call?”

  “No, just business. What else could there be?” Grant said, putting his phone down and taking the sandwich from Brad.

  “Well, guys, I’m off. I don’t think you need me in on this. I’ve been away from the office long enough.” Grabbing a sandwich, Chase made for the door.

  “Okay, Chase, I’ll fill you in later. But it’s Sunday. What’s the rush to get to the office?” James asked him.

  “It’s not Sunday everywhere. See you.” Chase left in a hurry.

  The men spent the next few hours going over everything that they could possible think of.

  Finally, James had had enough.

  “Sorry, guys, I think that’s enough. I can’t help feeling guilty for leaving Avery alone so long. I know she is with all the girls, but I want to be there, too. I want to pick up my little girl and make sure she’s real and not something I dreamed up.”

  “What about you, Angel?”

  “I’m on the same page as you. I think we have everything we need to go forward. Not that it is much, but I agree. Let’s take a break.”

  Clay and Brad’s phone rang, picking up almost at the same time.

  Clay opened his and he spoke into the phone. “Clay here.”

  Clay’s voice lowered to a loving tone when he heard his wife’s voice. “Laura, it’s nice to hear your voice, honey. Don’t worry, we’re just about to wrap it up.”

  “What? No way.”

  Clay made a signal to James, who had started to get up out of his seat. James raised his eyebrows, didn’t say anything, and sat back down.

  “Okay, just a minute.”

  Clay held the phone away. “Grant, I just thought of something else. Could you go get the files on Carlos? I would like to look over something before we leave.”

  “Sure.” Grant closed his Blackberry and left for his office.

  “What’s up, Clay?” James asked as soon as Grant left the room.

  “Listen up. The girls have some scheme and we have to have Grant at the VIP lounge for eight o’clock tonight.”

  “What the fuck, Clay? Aren’t they at Angel’s home with the babies?”

  “Well it would seem not,” Clay replied, straight-faced.

  “I’ll strangle Jared and Stan. Where were they? I bet Avery is one of the head schemers,” James said, gritting his teeth.

  “Your bet would be right. Laura, Raven, Mary, and Grandma are looking after the babies. Avery, Cyn, and Janet along with Charlie took off.”

  “Shit, Grant is coming back,” Angel said, loo
king down the hallway.

  “Okay, we’ll split up. Angel and I will go to his house. Have a talk with Stan and Jared and find out what the hell is going on,” James said, getting up from his seat again.

  “You, Brad, and John if he wants to tag along, will have to get Grant to the club. Until we know what the girls have planned, we have to follow through.”

  “I just hope they know what they’re doing. Avery loves to pull my chain when she knows that I can’t do anything to retaliate,” James said with a smile that let the guys know that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

  “Brad, was that Raven on the phone?” Clay asked as he watched Brad close his phone.

  “Yes,” Brad said with a laugh. “Those women sure can scheme.”

  All were quiet as Grant came back into the room with the file and put it in front of Clay.

  “Here. I’m going to head out now.”

  “What’s the rush? I thought you had nothing to do,” Brad asked him.

  “The meeting’s over, everyone wants to leave.” Grant looked depressed as stood with his hands in his pockets.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Clay said, sitting back and folding his hands over his stomach.

  “With everything going on, we forgot to celebrate your escape from captivity.”

  “It was nothing. I just thought of it as any other job. Sure, I’m glad to be free, but it’s nothing to celebrate.”

  “Well I for one agree with Clay. We should celebrate. We could have lost you.”

  “Brad, it was nothing. Just let it go.”

  “No, I think the guys are right. We should have done something,” James added.

  “I would love to go out and celebrate, but Cyn would have my ass. I need to get home and help,” Angel added.

  “I agree, Angel. You and James go home and see the little wives. I’m in the mood for a drink. A body needs a release from the tension we all have been under the last few days.”

  “Count me in,” Brad jumped in.

  “Don’t you have wives at home, too?” Grant said looking between Brad and Clay.

  “Sure we do, but we don’t have families like James and Angel do and the extra responsibilities.”

  “But…”Grant stated as Brad came around and threw his arm around his back, steering Grant out of the conference room.

  “No way, buddy, we’re off to celebrate.”

  Clay stood up and followed. “Don’t forget me.” Clay winked at James and Angel, then turned back to John.

  “You want to come with us?”

  “Sure, if you don’t think I will be in the way.”

  “What about you two, you’ve been quiet all through the meeting?”

  “Count us in. We wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Tony and Gabe replied.

  “Good, the more the merrier. Just go along with everything. It will all become clear later. I hope.”

  James and Angel watched Clay and the others leave, Clay whispering to them as how he thought it would go down from the little he knew from Laura. Clay was grinning ear to ear and had a wicked gleam in his eyes.

  “I think Clay is loving all this. Did you see that big smile of his?” James said, walking to the door.

  “Yeah, I think it’s payback time. I’m just glad it’s Grant and not one of us. I think Clay has been thinking of ways to get back at us for a long time,” Angel said, walking out into the hallway.

  “I hear you.” James flipped the light switch and the conference room went dark. “Let go and see our kids and find out what we’re missing.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Charlie thought her jaw would never get back in shape from all the jaw-dropping things she had seen today. She hadn’t thought she had led a sheltered life, but wow, she was sorely lacking in her education.

  The women had taken her first to a high-end shop that was housed in an old Victorian. It looked like some place a person could purchase lace and perfume. The place had an old world charm feeling. The stable surprised her. Yes, there was lace, but also leather, gadgets that she had never heard of, and enough toys to outfit the whole city.

  Walking around the shop with Avery oohing and ahhing at everything was a bit embarrassing at first, until she noticed that no one was paying them any attention. Cyn was admiring some of their new stock and Janet was knee-deep sorting through corsets.

  After looking to their hearts’ content, they finally got down to the business of why there were there. All the girls had their own ideas of what Charlie should buy.

  Avery picked out an outfit that didn’t hide anything. Cyn went for full leather, and Janet, girly and frilly. Never having to even think about this before, never having anyone worth going to the trouble for, Charlie was lost.

  Charlie, not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings, settled on one from each of them. From Avery she took the too skimpy G-string panties, from Cyn the knees-high leather boots, and a frilly white corset from Janet.

  Trying them on as the girls insisted, she was surprised at how the clothes made her feel. She felt empowered and sexier than she ever had. If these clothes didn’t do it, nothing would.

  Leaving the store, the girls drove directly to the club. Waiting just inside the entrance door was a large blond man. He watched them come up the steps with his hand on his hips. Charlie almost took a step back out the door when she got a good look at him.

  He looked more like a Viking of old, with his blond hair reaching his shoulders, than the owner of a BDSM club. His expression didn’t give anything away, but his poise spoke of a man that you hoped would be on your side if needed.

  Cyn noticed her retreating, grabbed her arm, and brought her in front of the giant.

  “Charlie, this is Lance. He’s my partner in the club. Don’t let him scare you, he’s really a softie at heart.”

  The big man’s face softened as he looked down at them.

  “Well I wouldn’t go that far, Cyn. You’re going to ruin my reputation. I’m glad to meet you, Charlie. I hear that tonight you’re going to take down one of the Braden Security men.”

  “Well I hope so,” Charlie replied, but…”

  Charlie was feeling so out of her depths that she looked around at the girls and said, nervously, “Maybe this is a bad ideal. Let’s just go home and forget it.”

  Cyn slapped Lance on his arm. “See what you did. You made her second-guess herself.”

  “Sorry.” Lance took Charlie hand in his and squeezed it, looking down into her big gray eyes.

  “Grant is a very lucky man. To have a woman go to this much trouble to gain his attention is a jewel. I’ll tell you what, if Grant is too pigheaded to see what you have to offer, come and see me.”

  Charlie blushed and pulled her hand from Lance’s. She knew he was just saying things to make her feel better, but in a way it did. She had a lot to offer any man.

  “Let’s do it.” Charlie looked at Avery.

  “Okay, let get this show on the road,” Avery said

  “Did you get everything ready?” Cyn asked Lance.

  “Yes, everything is ready, and I’ve had a small meal set up in the women’s changing room. I thought that you would have time to eat and maybe scheme some more,” Lances teased Cyn.

  Cyn gave him a grin and an awkward hug, her being so short and Lance being so tall. “Thank you for thinking of everything. We will owe you one.”

  “Okay, get out of here before the men arrive and see you. I’ve got the bar set up and ready to go.”

  “What about the extras?” Avery asked Lance.

  “Yes, Avery, the bar is also stocked with rope, cuffs, and a gag. Everything the guys will need for their takedown. That part I think they can handle themselves.”

  “Well, I just like to be sure, you know how some men forget details.”

  Cyn grabbed Avery and nodded at Charlie and Janet to follow her through a door to the Spice side of the club. “Lance is not one of those men. Come on, Avery, I’m sure Lance has everything under control.”

>   To Lance, she winked and said, “See you later. Wish us luck,” as she pulled them all through the door.

  Lance watched them leave with a smile. He was glad that these women were taken. He liked them all but he liked his women to be more submissive, something he didn’t think any of these women could ever achieve. Avery, even Cyn would drive him crazy after a while.

  Moving from the entranceway, he went in the Vanilla bar and hurried behind the bar. Yes, there was the rope, cuffs, and a gag just where he thought he had left them. Damn Avery. She had him second-guessing himself.

  Looking around the bar, he spotted his staff sitting around having free drinks. He was going to take this out of Cyn’s profits. They needed a few people in the bar to make it look legit. Noise at the door made him look toward it and he straightened behind the bar. This was it. He just hoped the girls knew what they were doing.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Lance watched as Clay and Brad came through the door, each with an arm around Grant’s back, urging him in. They hustled him to the bar and sat on the stools in front of it. Three other men that Lance didn’t know came in behind them and also sat with them at the bar.

  “Hi, Clay, it looks like you are here to celebrate. What’s the occasion?” Lance put napkins down in front of each of the men on the bar.

  “What will you all have?”

  “Lance, buddy, we’re here to celebrate Grant’s release from his kidnapping. Give us all whatever you have on tap.” Clay told Lance as he looked around the bar.

  Lance walked over to the beer fountain and started pouring beer into the mugs. “I heard a little about it from Cyn. So Grant, how does it feel to be free again?”

  “Not that frigging great. There is no need for any celebration. It was just another job that I was mixed up in the middle of. Nothing special,” Grant told him, none too happy as he picked up the glass of beer that Lance set in front of him.

  “How did Chase handle Charlie being grabbed along with you? I know he puts a lot of stock in her. Cyn said you were out to dinner when it happened?”

  “Yeah, well, Chase doesn’t have to worry about it anymore, she’s back safe and in his hands probably right at this moment,” Grant told Lance.