Page 29 of Fighting for You

We all nodded and followed her into the living room. Seated on the couch, I watched as she began typing into her phone. I watched her face as she went from serious to startled and alarmed. As her eyes grew in size, I realized she had found something.

“Turn on the television,” Ashely ordered.

Kirsten fumbled with the remote until she finally turned the television on. A news reporter shined as a broadcast played. It was well into the early morning hours and my heart dropped at the scene before me.

“Viewers, if you are just joining us, we are at the scene at the Ports here in Sunnyvale. Sometime early this morning, a blast was heard. Local authorities report that a bomb had gone off and a fire is still raging. All but two employees have been accounted for. While rescuers search for the victims, we will continue to keep you updated as information comes in. However, officials tell us the search and cleanup could last well into the day. Expect major traffic delays,” the female reporters announced.

Behind her, the sky is filled with an orange and red blaze as the fire races through the Port. Ships are seen moving away from the docks and firefighters are running to put out the fires. I can’t seem to tear my eyes off of the horrific scene.

“Meghan, call Ryder again,” Ashley says, breaking my trance.

I fumble with my phone for a minute, before dialing Ryder’s number again. It rings and rings, but no answer. I try texting, but again, nothing.

Standing, I begin looking around the apartment. “What are you doing?” Kirsten asks me, concern dripping from her eyes.

“I need to go to the Ports. I have to see if Ryder is ok,” I say.

They both glance at one another before turning back to me. “I will drive,” Kirsten says.

We quickly dress and in no time, we are in Kirsten’s car and heading toward the ports. The stench of smoke fills the air and the closer we get to the water, the more the fire becomes visible.

All I can do on the car ride over is to pray that Ryder is alright. Because if he isn’t, I just know I will never overcome this.

Chapter 26

Ryder

Tucking my wire into my shirt, Matt and I nod toward each other as we begin our shift. I’m still horny as hell and wishing terribly that I was still with Meghan, but duty calls and I have a job to do tonight.

From everything we learned so far, I knew that a shipment was coming in tonight with illegal contraband. I have had the guys working with us from Salvatore Security Forces keeping a close eye on Nathan. My assignment tonight is to not let Nathan out of my sight. When the shipment comes in, I am to give our signal to the awaiting officers just outside of the Port. There was no way they could be within the confines of the Port, that would surely stick out and alert Nathan and whoever he was working with that something was amiss.

“You ready?” Matt asks, as we walk toward the docks.

Glancing at my watch, I check the time. It’s a quarter past three in the morning. Two ships are heading this way and I memorize all of their details.

“Yeah, I’m just excited to get this over with,” I respond.

The vibe down here tonight was off and I didn’t like the strange feeling it was eliciting in me. In my years of combat, whenever we had a bad feeling about something, there was usually a valid reason for it.

Nathan waved at us as he began walking faster than needed down to the docks. I kept my face neutral as I waved back. Matt did the same, too.

“Guys, I have eyes on Nathan. He is heading toward the south dock,” I whispered into the mic.

Matt looked back, like he was inspecting some cargo, while I walked a few feet ahead of him. Another thing I had learned in my combat training, was to always keep distance between you and your partner when on a sting operation. We needed that space in case one of us needed to act or draw a weapon, but we never veered too far away, so that we could always hear one another.

“Stay back, but don’t lose sight of Nathan,” Lance Salvatore whispered back. With this new assignment presenting some real danger and risks, Lance flew back to California to help us out. He was typically stationed on the East Coast, but I was thankful to have his expertise guiding us tonight.

Both ships docked at the same time and I watched as the crew split up to begin unloading the cargo. My job, or rather, my pretend role here at the Ports, was just to play a security guard. I had no business near the men as they unloaded the cargo, but if I just walked down and inspected the area quickly, no one would think anything about it. However, if I lingered, then I might tip someone off.

Slowing my pace, I made sure to keep my eyes locked on Nathan. I watched with keen interest as he began heading to the second ship near the last docking station. He shook hands with a man who jumped from the ship and began tying the lines onto the dock. I watched as they chatted for a minute before Nathan nodded, looked around quickly, and then began moving toward the back of the ship.

Curiously, I swiped my hand across my forehead. This was mine and Matt’s signal that something was up and to tread carefully. I didn’t bother to look back and make sure he was following my lead, I knew he was.

I took a turn and shined my flashlight against the security fence. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nathan take a turn before jumping onto the back of the ship. I may not be a true Port worker, but I did know the crew here had no business stepping foot onto one of those ships.

The rest of the men were busy unloading the cargo and laughing and joking. They were happily blind to whatever scheme Nathan had going on.

As I approached the back of the ship, I heard arguing. I recognized Nathan’s voice, but the other man, I didn’t.

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