Page 76 of Captured

Axe grinned. “That I can do.”

Rico walked closer. “That means you’re still going on this trip?”

“Yeah, it’s now a necessity.”

“Because of your brother?”

I wasn’t certain whether to be angry or amused. “Only partially. Someone is attempting to double cross me and that’s not going to happen. I have far too much at stake at this point. Axe. You’re going with me so work fast.”

“Why Axe?” Rico asked, as if this was some competition.

“Because I need you here. I have far too much to lose.”

He knew what I was saying, although the man was smart enough not to mention Emily in front of the others. I was known for being a hard ass, not a lover. “Alright. But you’ll need more than one man with you.”

“You seem to forget I have an army at my disposal back in Boston.”

“Understood.”

The last thing I wanted to do right now was to leave Emily here by herself, but it was obviously even more important to get some answers than it had been before. I had to find out what was going on and who was determined to destroy me.

Before it was too late.

I turned my attention to the other men. While they knew all about the fact that I had Emily staying with me and partially why I wanted to set certain boundaries. “I’ll be gone for two or three days. While I am, you are all to guard the woman staying with me with your lives. If you allow anything to happen to her, you will pay. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” almost all of them said in unison.

I glanced at Ralphie. He would recover from my tantrum, but I’d need to learn to control myself. Obsession certainly had a downside.

They knew better than to cross me. They were highly trained, some of the best men in the business. While I felt I could count on them, I trusted Rico with my life. He was the only man I felt I could. He would lay his life on the line for me and in turn for the woman I cared about immensely.

“We’ll head out in the morning at first light, Rico. Axe. Find out everything you can on that flight and the planes. I don’t care how insignificant the information seems to you, I want to know everything. Origin. Flight number. List of passengers. Whatever you find.”

“Yes, sir, but you know the cartels use that airport on a regular basis. I’ve heard they control it now.”

Axe’s comment was twofold. He was attempting to tell me the attack could have been nothing but a third attempt on taking the island by one of the drug lords. He was also saying that anyone gathering information would be hard pressed to do so, the cartel controlling every aspect of the operation.

“Use whatever methods possible. Scramble the satellite and hunt all the planes so they don’t know it was me. You know how to do this, Axe. I have faith in you.” And I did. While he’d started out as nothing but a hacker, a kid with wire glasses, a love of computers, and a penchant for hacking any security system out there, he’d quickly turned himself into a skilled marksman, a wrestler, and a damn good pool player. He’d also grown four inches and put on nearly a hundred pounds. Hence the nickname I’d given him on his twenty-fifth birthday. The man was a solid brute with unbelievable skills.

“I got it, boss. I’ll dig into it a little bit more. I have a few ideas.”

“Good. Just remember we’re leaving in the morning. Bring that powerful laptop with you.”

Axe grinned. “Let me get to work.”

As he walked out, I leaned against the edge of my desk. “The rest of you. Tighten the security. I want rounds of men walking the perimeter and keeping a close eye on the satellites.”

The men nodded before filing out. Only Rico remained.

I could tell he had something on his mind.

“What is it?” I asked him when he remained quiet.

I was mildly surprised when he headed for my bar, making both of us a drink. He wasn’t usually pensive either, allowing his more jovial nature to infuse humor in an otherwise stodgy life. While we’d sparred more times than I could count, had come to blows more than once and had an extremely violent quarrel that had pushed me into almost slitting his throat, I listened to what he had to say every time.

Not that I followed anyone’s advice. That wasn’t me in the least.

He offered me the scotch, his expression almost sheepish. I accepted, narrowing my eyes when he backed away out of striking distance.

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