Page 15 of Cheating the Devil

“No, she doesn’t live with him. It’s only my father, and his staff and guards there now. Please, I can help you.”

“Why?”

His brow furrowed. “Why would I help you?”

Carter nodded. He had a pretty good idea what the man would say, but he wanted to hear his version.

“Because, I may be his son but I do not follow in his footsteps. I abhor everything he’s been involved in, everything he is. I curse the day I was born to such a vile bastard. My brother was no better. My father may have given me the money to create the Trade Winds—I couldn’t get that amount of funding without experience or backing—but I’ve paid him back. Every cent. The Trade Winds is no longer associated with blood money, and I will always regret that it was to begin with. I will help you get your friends back, but my father must never know I was involved. He won’t care that I’m his son any more than I do, and he’ll kill me. I would like to spare my wife and children from knowing my own father murdered me.”

Having interrogated hundreds of people in his career, many under torture, Carter knew when someone was lying to him. Zheng was not. Carter nodded to Jordyn, who removed the blade from the man’s neck, then stood. Zheng believed what he’d said, but Carter didn’t want him to have a change of heart somewhere down the line. “If you double-cross me, you’ll wish your fatherhadkilled you.”

Zheng had sagged back into his chair after he’d no longer been in immediate danger of having his jugular sliced open, his hand going to his neck to check for blood. “Understood.”

“Let’s go.”

CHAPTER 12

“You sure we can trust him?”Brad eyed Lin Zheng, who was tapping away on his cell phone, in doubt, not completely convinced the man would help them rescue Lori and Avery. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise to find out they were walking into a trap. While Carter and Jordyn had been doing their thing, Brad, Cameron, and Jase had checked out the warehouse, while the other two Deimos operatives had gone to Zheng’s house, which wasn’t far from the Trade Winds Resort. Brad and his team had just about confirmed the women were not at the warehouse when Jase had gotten a call from Carter telling them to respond to Chao’s residence. Minutes later, Brad’s own phone had chimed. Back in Texas, Col. Sheppard and Capt. Nielsen had been on speaker, checking in and seeing what they could do to help, which hadn’t been much—not from that distance. Brad had assured them he had backup, of the black-ops variety, and hopefully that would be enough. He didn’t think his teams could get down to Aruba in time. Chao had to know he was fighting the clock. He wouldn’t be able to keep Avery more than a few hours without risking her being found on his property. As it was, the man had no idea who he was up against—but it wouldn’t be long until he did.

“Ninety-nine percent,” Carter responded while pulling a black T-shirt over his head to cover his bare chest. He’d left his khaki pants on but changed into a pair of soft-soled military boots. A few feet away, in a grove of trees near Lin Chao’s estate, Jordyn had somehow managed to change back into her black leggings, sneakers, and T-shirt without flashing the men anything other than the back of her sports bra. Brad had never understood how some women could change outfits in the middle of a crowd without breaking any indecency laws.

“And what happens if that one percent blows up in our faces?”

Carter grinned. “Then I’ll admit I was wrong.” He clapped Brad on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll get the women out of there. Then Jordy and I will have a ... chat with Chao. She has a new interrogation technique she’s been wanting to practice.”

Brad had no idea what intel they’d be trying to get out of the bastard, and he really didn’t care. All that mattered was getting his wife and daughter back. His brain seized. Had he really just thought of Avery as his wife? As the seconds ticked by, he realized it felt right calling her that, and when he got her back, he was going to make sure she knew it. Brad had never thought he’d get married a second time, but, then again, he never thought he’d meet a woman who could handle what he did. She knew the life he led, what he’d done on past Delta missions, even if she didn’t know the specifics. They both had terrorists’ blood on their hands yet were still able to see the good that was out there. Avery was a woman he could grow old with, who would understand when he was having a bad day and couldn’t talk about it. She was a woman whogothim, and that was just what he needed.

“All right, let’s go over this. I want no screw ups.”

Carter rolled his eyes as if to say he never screwed up, but Brad couldn’t give two shits. This was a team he’d never workedwith before and, for the first time in years, he was terrified to go on a mission. Thinking about any alternative to recovering both women unharmed ripped his gut apart.

Stepping over to the hood of one of the SUVs they’d driven to the estate, Carter moved a small rock that’d been holding down a piece of paper with a map of the property crudely scribbled on it. “Zheng is positive Chao wouldn’t have brought the women into the house; he wouldn’t want to soil it with their blood—it’s a religious thing, though I can’t imagine Chao being holy. So, we’re looking at this building here at the back of the property—a hurricane shelter built by the previous owners to accommodate a large family for several days. Zheng’s only been in there once or twice a few years ago. From what he can remember there’s six or seven rooms. Back then, there were some cots, shelving, and other crap, but he has no idea what’s in there now. There’s an entrance here and here,” he said, pointing to the opposite ends of the long structure, “and only two of the rooms have windows—both hurricane strength so they won’t shatter if they’re shot at with the ammo we have; they’ll only crack. Reinforced steel between the concrete is probably what’s preventing us from getting the signal from Avery’s tracker, in addition to the satellite glitch.”

“How do we know which one to enter? Or are we hitting them both at the same time?” Cameron asked.

Zheng held up his cell phone. “My father’s bodyguards might protect him, but some of them are loyal to me. The job pays well, but they hate how he looks down on them as peons. I pay a few I know I can trust to report back to me. I texted one of them; he’s currently standing guard outside this door here.” He indicated the east end of the building on the map. “The younger woman is in this first room and unharmed, aside from some minor injuries from the accident. The other woman is down the hall and around the corner in one of these two rooms. I’m afraid my father hasbeen ...” He gulped then looked Brad dead in the face, his eyes filled with remorse. “He’s been extracting his revenge. She’s still alive but most certainly injured. The guard said my father and the head of his security, Shao Yan, are currently in the main house, but they’ll be returning soon.”

Brad’s hands fisted. He wanted to hit someone—anyone—but there wasn’t any time for that. He’d get his own revenge soon enough once he had Lori and Avery safe. He’d agreed to let Carter run the show, since Brad knew he was having a hard time thinking objectively—another first for a mission.

Pointing at Cameron and Kell, Carter said, “You two are in charge of getting Lori out. Zheng, you’ll get them in there, and remember my promise—you double-cross us, and you’ll beg for death.” Carter must have drilled that into the other man’s head since it didn’t seem to faze him. Anyone else in the civilian world would probably have been shaking in their boots if the spy had glared at them while issuing the unveiled threat. “Is the guard at the other entrance one of yours or Chao’s?”

Zheng shook his head. “You’ll need to take care of him; he’s a new guard and I don’t know him well, other than to know I don’t like him.”

“Fine; he’s expendable. Any guards inside?”

“No, there’s just the two on the outside. I’ll receive a text if someone goes in.”

“Okay, Troy, Jase, that guard is yours. Take him out and make sure he doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass. Brad, Jordyn, and I will take the door as soon as you’re done. After you dispose of the guard, clear the rest of the rooms, then help Brad get Avery out and to the clinic.” McDaniel had texted Carter the address of a clinic on the island with a doctor who would treat Avery and anyone else wounded in the rescue. He’d also keep his mouth shut in exchange for a large sum of money—they’d used him in the past and trusted his greed enough to usehim again. “Cam and Kell, if Lori doesn’t need a doctor, get her back to the resort and lock her down until you get the all clear. Jordyn and I will deal with Chao and his right-hand man. Zheng, after they get Lori out, you’re done. Tell your guard to hightail it out of there onlyafteryour father and Shao come back and go inside—they’ll know something’s up if he’s missing before that. Then, you head back to your resort like nothing’s happened. Act surprised when the cops show up—and they will.”

Brad noticed there was no longer remorse or regret in Zheng’s eyes as he stared at Carter. There was something else—acceptance. “They’ll be informing me of my father’s death, yes?”

Crossing his arms, the spy nodded. “Yes. If you have a problem with that, tell me now. There are other ways I can make him suffer for what he’s done, but he’ll never be able to tell anyone what happened to him.”

“That would mean I’d have to take care of him until his dying day; I highly doubt he would give me the same courtesy. I will be appropriately surprised when the police arrive.” The man turned and stepped away, probably trying to come to terms with what he’d just agreed to.

“All right. Let’s do a comms check.” Carter hit the microphone on the headset he wore. Jase had brought a bunch of them in his bags of toys. If there was one thing Brad had learned about the Trident Security operatives, they came loaded for bear.

Once they were sure they were all connected, they disappeared into the heavy foliage surrounding the estate. As he followed Carter and Jordyn, Brad prayed like he’d never prayed before.

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