Page 12 of The Hero's Bride
Red listened intently,trying to locate the sound that woke him. There it was again. A scraping noise at the back of the house.
“I’ll do a perimeter check,” Sully whispered through the dark. He wasn’t surprised in the least that his teammate was up and alert. How many missions had they served together where they were roused from sleep only to be instantly thrown into a life-or-death situation? “You get to Thalia.”
The men moved silently, parting ways when they entered the hall. Red slipped into Thalia’s room and crouched by her bed. He whispered her name, touching her lightly. She woke with a start, terror on her face until she met his eyes. The way her whole body relaxed when her gaze landed on him flooded his chest with a surge of protectiveness. “We need to go.”
She nodded and sat up just as a crash sounded from the back of the house. “Shoes.” He grabbed the beat-up sneakers and helped her slip them on her feet. The radio inside his ear crackled.
“Threat is neutralized but our location is compromised. Coming around the side to the Jeep.”
He drew his weapon from its holster and cleared the hall before turning back to Thalia. “Stay behind me.” They moved quietly through the house, pausing at the front door. The slight weight of Thalia’s hands on his sides would’ve been unwelcome if it were anyone else, but knowing she was right with him eased his mind. As soon as Sully pulled the car around, he wrapped his arm around Thalia’s shoulders, tucking her into his side. His body shielded her as they ran down the steps and into the waiting vehicle. She scooted to the far side and fumbled her seat belt with trembling hands. He closed his hand over hers and helped her guide it into the buckle.
Sully switched off the headlights and eased onto the road that had led them to the house. They drove wordlessly for about a mile, both keeping careful watch for a tail. When they reached a more heavily trafficked area, his teammate eased off the backroad, flipped on the headlights, and blended in with the other travelers.
“I’m calling Benito to find out who else knew about our location.” His teeth hurt from pressing his jaw together so tightly.
Sully nodded, his face hard. The idea that they’d been betrayed by one of their allies didn’t sit well with either of them. Sully twisted in his seat, eyes still on the road, and extended the phone they’d used earlier to make contact. Although it seemed unlikely that Benito had given away their location, someone had, so they would be operating alone from here on out. There would be no way to trace the call, keeping them off the grid. Red found his information on the phone and dialed.
“Barrera,” he answered after the third ring, voice thick with sleep. “What’s happened?”
“Our location was compromised.” A long stretch of silence was interrupted by a string of curses.
“I’m getting you a new location now. One that will be known only to me while we identify where the security breach happened.” There was the rustle of sheets followed by footsteps padding across a room.
“We’re not stopping again until we reach the border.” Absently, he reached over the middle seat and placed his hand over Thalia’s. In the same breath, she flipped her palm, lacing her fingers with his. The way her hand fit and intertwined with his had warmth spreading through his chest.
“That’s wise.” The footsteps abruptly stopped. “There’s been chatter about the woman. If I find anything of significance, I’ll contact you.”
He expressed his thanks and clicked off the line. As much as he’d love for Thalia to have a place to get rest, keeping her safe was critical. They could get to the border in a day if they traveled straight through. The question was, would Jude have the paperwork needed for them to successfully cross? He trusted Jude with his life, but thoughts of his friend’s task force swooping in for Thalia’s statement to try to nail the Day family left him off-balance. He’d always been mission first, understanding that the safety of the masses was more vital than that of one person. Sometimes hard decisions had to be made. The thought of Thalia being used for an active investigation though, made his stomach tangle. She deserved to be safe and explore what she enjoyed instead of being forced to go places and do things at the whim of others.
“Think he knows how the information got out?” Sully said, turning the wheel to allow room for another vehicle moving in the opposite direction to pass along the narrow road.
“Not directly. If he was involved, he wouldn’t have agreed it would be best for us to move forward alone.” The soft squeeze of Thalia’s hand gave him a sense of peace despite the current situation. She was here. They’d found her, and that was half the battle. There was still so much they needed to discuss, like where he lived. She’d only ever been in Texas when in the United States, but he lived nearly a thousand miles away. He wasn’t sure how she would feel about trading the flat plains of Texas for the mountains of California. The intense heat for snowy winters.
“What are you thinking?” Thalia whispered through the dark.
It struck him how easily she could read him. “How you might feel about where I live in comparison to Texas.”
Sully casually turned up the radio, giving them some privacy to talk.
“I’d like to know about where you’re from.” She gave him an encouraging smile, and although there wasn’t much visibility in the dimly lit Jeep, the way her eyes brightened was mesmerizing.
He sucked in a sharp breath, knocked back by her beauty. “Well, now I consider myself to be from California.”
“And when we first met?” She leaned in closer.
“Colorado, but my parents were constantly traveling with their band. Sometimes I’d have to go with them, and other times, I didn’t.” He shrugged. “When I was first stationed in California, I instantly fell in love with the area. The coastal scenery and beaches can’t be beat. Where I live in Coronado is just off the coast of San Diego. It’s an ocean community and I have a two-bedroom condo. God, I guess I sound like a travel agent.”
“Your home sounds beautiful. I’ve always loved the rainforests of Mexico, but I couldn’t see much of Texas. I never left the Day estate.”
Anger swelled in his gut, and he clenched his jaw. She must’ve been so scared, barely a teenager, when she arrived at the Day estate only to discover her life was no longer her own. He wanted nothing more than to see them convicted of their crimes. “Why tell Vivienne that you lived in an apartment?”
A crease formed between her brows. “When Vivienne began questioning her father about me and why I worked so much for them, he was furious. I was afraid she’d continue to push. I made up many small lies over the years.” She glanced away, looking straight ahead. “That they paid me well. How I’d saved enough to get my own place to live. That I was able to leave the estate. I hope she’ll forgive me for being dishonest.”
“Hey,” he said, squeezing her hand gently to gain her attention. “You did what you thought was best at the time. Where did you sleep at night?”
“There was a large lower floor off one of the wings of the estate with cots. That’s where the staff stayed, and Vivienne was not to know about it. At night, the door was locked from the outside—not that anyone made attempts to leave. Most of the others were elderly and didn’t speak much English. We had no money and no place to go.”
“Shit, Thalia.” He shook his head and was quiet for a moment, soaking in what had been her reality for so long. “I’m sorry you went through that.” The words sounded insignificant when he heard them. She’d been through so much and hadn’t even reached her thirties.
