Page 37 of Challenging Jayce

“Taking a target out from a sniper nest doesn’t give me a challenge. This, on the other hand”—he motioned to the dead guard—“is a much better use of my skills.”

Nash continued to shake his head but echoed his words from earlier. “Let’s go.”

They made it to the bedroom without any further incident, but he and Nash cursed the second they stepped over the threshold.

Chained to an old gold radiator was a woman curled up in a ball. The few clothes she wore were filthy, like wherever she had been kept before this was full of dirt and grime. Her ankle, where the chain was attached, was red, raw, and bleeding. And if the smell was any indication, possibly infected. There was fresh blood near her but the lack of dried blood only further confirmed his suspicion that she was recently brought to this room.

He and Nash stepped over the three dead bodies and slowly made their way over to the shaking woman.

“It’s okay,” Nash soothed. “We aren’t here to hurt you.”

He let his friend take the lead. Nash was better at these things and women tended to trust his easy smile better than the scowl Jayce wore, like a suit of honor.

The chained woman shook more violently the closer they got, so he chose to stay back and let his friend handle the situation while he called Luke over the mic.

“Make sure those EMTs are on standby. Looks like our package has an infection from being chained up.”

He could imagine the cursing Luke did before he responded back since it took him a few moments. “Copy that.”

Jayce was listening to Nash try to convince their hostage that she was safe to come with us when Luke spoke again. “EMTs will be standing by at the rendezvous point to stabilize her until we can get back to the States. Annie will take over care from there.”

He had almost forgotten Annie was in med school. “We need to move,” he told Nash.

His friend snapped back, “I’m working on it.”

They both winced when the woman flinched and further tried to make herself one with the wall.

“Sorry.” And he actually meant it. As much as they did need to get a move on, the last thing he wanted to do was scare the woman.

It took a few more minutes but Nash finally managed to calm the woman enough to allow Nash to cut the chain from her ankle. After that, it was a flurry of events.

The half-naked hostage threw herself at Nash, almost causing him to lose his balance. She was crying hysterically and mumbling something in another language.

Now that she no longer considered Nash a threat, she wasn’t letting him go. His friend had to use the wall to stand up because there was no way Jayce was getting closer and ruining the progress Nash made. Finally, Nash had her cradled in his arms and they were on the move. Thankfully they weren’t met with any resistance on their way out of the compound.

In less than ten minutes they were off the compound and at the meeting spot where an EMT was waiting for them. Their hostage—who, Nash now told them, was named Maria—refused to leave Nash’s arms while being treated. She was given a round of antibiotics and a quick assessment to ensure nothing was broken before they were once again sneaking out of Mexico.

CHAPTER23

Kennedy satwith Austin and a couple of his teammates as they waited for the rest of the team to return from Texas. It was the first time she was seeing where Jayce worked, and she had to admit, she was impressed with what the seven men had accomplished.

They weren’t working out of some shack. Kringle Security was modestly decorated in modern fashion. The space they owned was on the upper floor of a two-story building. Based on the name, she expected to find some crazy Santa logo but instead it was just a simple K mirrored and pushed together.

The office space was devoid of clutter. Desks were spread out and each workstation was also clean and organized. It made her wonder how often they actually worked inside the building. She was about to ask someone when footsteps on the stairs caught her attention. Jayce was the first one through the door and she took off like a rocket to greet him. She crashed straight into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Kennedy half expected Jayce not to return the public display, but she shouldn’t have worried. He was picking her up in a bear hug in no time.

“I like this kind of greeting when I return,” he whispered in her ear.

A huge grin broke out across her face.

“I know it’s silly, but I missed you,” she whispered right back.

“There’s nothing silly about missing someone.”

She thought she heard a hitch in his voice but she couldn’t be sure. She also wasn’t about to ask him in front of his friends.

Then it hit her.

Jayce’s friends were in the room while she practically climbed him to get closer. She felt her face go a deep shade of red as she buried her head farther in his chest.

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