Hancock’s lip turned up in a glimmer of a smile. “I didn’t contact Rio since I knew Maren wouldn’t be with him. Would have been a waste of time. I have resources you can’t imagine.”
“Who the hell are you working for?”
Hancock regarded him steadily. “Does it matter who signs my paychecks? Titan is no more. There’s talk we went rogue. We just don’t happen to be on Uncle Sam’s payroll any longer. But it doesn’t mean we’re traitors or that we don’t have the best interests of this country in mind. You’re so derisive of me—of us—but how the hell are we any different than your KGI? Just because I don’t work for Uncle Sam doesn’t mean I don’t still have access to contacts and intel, and it doesn’t mean we don’t take private assignments that no one else has the resources to touch. We aren’t bound by politics and bullshit foreign policies. We aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty if the cause is righteous. But what’s righteous to one may not be righteous to another. And we don’t just work for U.S. interests. We take out any threat to national and world security. Think what you want of me, Steele. I don’t give a fuck. But for a man I’m trying to help, you have a shitty way of showing gratitude.”
Steele bared his teeth. “The only goddamn thing I’m concerned about is the safety of Maren and our child. Yeah, my child. Not f**king Caldwell’s baby. Maren and that baby are both mine, so you stay the f**k out of my way when it comes to protecting her because I don’t give a goddamn what your mission is, how f**king righteous it is or how it tips the scale in world politics. This is my family we’re talking about here, and I’ll take you and whoever the hell else out in order to protect my family.”
Hancock lifted an eyebrow in a mocking gesture. “And they say you’re the ice man. You and I have a lot in common, or so I’m led to believe. But maybe we’re both a lot more passionate than we’re given credit for. But where you’re a black-and-white kind of guy, I’m so buried in gray that I’ll never see the sunshine again. My soul is damned, but as long as at the end of the day I can look in the mirror and know the world is a better place for what I’ve done, then I don’t give one f**k what you or anyone else thinks.”
Steele’s lips curled in a sneer. “You don’t know fuck-all about black and white.”
Hancock regarded him a moment. “No, I suppose that wasn’t an entirely accurate statement. I know about what went down with Brumley and your team member P.J. Rutherford. Or is it Coletrane now? Heard they got hitched. And I know she took out Brumley’s men before killing him in cold blood while you stood by. So yeah, I’d say you have no room to judge me, Steele. You’ve crossed the line, but I suppose that’s okay when you’re the one crossing it as long as no one else does, eh?”
“Fuck you, Hancock. I don’t owe you shit. You protected Maren, but then you could have damn well prevented her being taken in the first place, so don’t expect my gratitude for the weeks she spent in that bastard’s hands, pregnant and terrified. She should have never been in that position in the first place, especially since you supposedly exerted so much control over Caldwell and wielded that much influence. You could have put a halt to his wanting to take Maren, but you didn’t because it advanced your mission. And say what you want about the choices I’ve made, but I’ve never willingly put an innocent person in harm’s way to achieve my goals.”
“Ah, so you didn’t send your teammate undercover in a situation where she was vulnerable and without the backup of her team. Okay.”
Fury seared through Steele’s mind. Blinding rage mixed with guilt, guilt he’d lived with ever since that night when P.J. had been savagely attacked. He lived with that every goddamn day. He regretted that decision and the fact that he’d failed P.J. and the rest of his team. And having it thrown back in his face by this smug bastard made him want to put his fist right through Hancock’s teeth.
“Stop it! Both of you!” Maren cried. “This isn’t helping! I don’t care about what was or is, or what either of you have done in the past. It doesn’t matter! What’s done is done. I just want to know that my parents are all right and that that monster doesn’t have his hands on them.”
Steele turned, regret already registering. She was right. This wasn’t the time or the place, and he was letting his own worry and fear take over. But Maren didn’t need this from him or Hancock. She needed reassurance and she needed his support. He wasn’t going to fail her. He wasn’t going to let someone he was responsible for down again. He’d live with regret for the rest of his life over what had happened to P.J., and he’d be damned if he’d ever let anything happen to Maren and their child.
He ran a hand through his hair and sent her a look of apology. Then he turned back to Hancock.
“So why are you here? Just to warn me and then you’re on your way back to whatever hole you crawl out of when you pull a mission?”
“I’m here because I’m no more willing to let Caldwell get his hands on Maren than you are. Maksimov may have slipped through my fingers—this time—but Caldwell needs to go down. I’ll just have to find another way to take Maksimov out. And I’ll do it. No matter how long it takes, no matter what I have to do. He’s going down. Caldwell is going to take first priority at the moment. He’s unstable, and with his wealth and connections, there’s no telling how far he’ll go to get what he considers his back. He won’t care who he has to hurt as long as the end result is him getting what he wants.”
Maren went even paler until Steele worried she’d drop. Her eyes were huge against her colorless face.
He opened his mouth to offer her reassurance, but he knew they’d be empty words. He had no idea what they were dealing with, where Caldwell was, and as Hancock had said, there was no way of knowing just how far he’d go in his single-minded pursuit of Maren.
“I’ll call Sam. He was going to talk to a local security firm about protection for your family. He was going to have it in place so that when they went home after visiting you they would be protected. But I’ll call him and get him on it immediately. We’ll find your folks and get them here as fast as we can. Once they’re here, we can work out a plan that includes round-the-clock protection for you as well as them.”
She looked a little relieved and then the phone rang, causing her to jump. She glanced down at the phone and then her face lit up. “Steele, it’s my parents’ number! Oh, thank God!”
CHAPTER 36
MAREN yanked up the phone, relief so overwhelming that she had to brace herself on the bar because her knees were shaking so badly.
“Mom? Thank God. I tried to call you. I was so worried.”
“Maren . . .”
Her name came out shaky and Maren knew immediately that something was very wrong. She froze, gripping the bar until her knuckles whitened. Steele immediately became alert and closed in, standing at her side. Hancock frowned at Steele’s reaction and came to stand on the other side so he was facing Maren, and both men stared intently at her.
“Mom, what is it? What’s wrong?” Maren asked sharply.
A low sob sounded and Maren clenched the phone tighter, willing her mother to tell her what was going on.
“Maren, it’s your father. He’s hurt. There are men here. Tristan Caldwell.”
Maren collapsed onto the bar stool, shaking so badly she could barely maintain her grasp on the phone. Steele reached for her chin, turning it so she faced him, his gaze boring intensely into her in obvious question.
Caldwell, Maren mouthed.
Steele reached automatically for the phone, but Maren ducked and stumbled off the bar stool, avoiding his hand.
“What does he want, Mom? What did he do? Is Dad all right?”
“He said he wants you and his child back,” her mother choked out. “Maren, what is he talking about? You told me you were with the father of your baby.”
“I am. He’s crazy. What did he do, Mom? I need you to talk to me. Pull it together and tell me what’s going on!”
“He demanded to know where he could find you. When we refused, they beat your father. I’m sorry, honey,” she said brokenly. “I couldn’t let them kill him, so I called you like they told me to. I’m so sorry. I’d never betray you. I don’t want to be responsible for any harm to you or my grandchild, but oh God, they would have killed him!”
“You did right,” Maren said fiercely. “Don’t let them hurt him any more. Tell me what they want. I’ll come right away.”
Steele’s hand came around her arm, turning her forcefully, his expression so black that it would have terrified her if she wasn’t already scared out of her wits.
“He wants to talk to you,” her mom said shakily.
“Put him on then,” Maren demanded.
“Put it on speaker, damn it,” Steele whispered.
Even Hancock had advanced and now stood only a foot away. She felt smothered by the two men. Overwhelmed with gut-wrenching fear. That bastard had her parents! They’d beaten her father. Two of the kindest, most gentle people in the world. People who’d devoted their entire lives to helping others. They didn’t deserve this! They didn’t deserve to be dragged into Caldwell’s obsession. There was no way in hell she’d let this happen. Whatever she had to do to ensure their safety, she’d do with no hesitation. She had Steele. Hell, she even had Hancock. And she had KGI. She wasn’t alone and Caldwell had picked the wrong people to f**k with.
She quickly hit the button for the speakerphone option but still held it to her ear so it wouldn’t be so obvious and her voice wouldn’t seem farther away.
“Maren.”
Caldwell’s voice froze her. She went utterly still, her blood turning to ice in her veins.
“What do you want?” she asked hoarsely.
Steele and Hancock both crowded close to her, their expressions fierce as they strained to hear every word.
“It’s obvious what I want,” Caldwell said coldly. “You and my child. Back where you belong.”
“It isn’t your child and you know it!” she screeched.
Steele put his hand on her arm and then put a finger to his mouth to signal her not to do anything to anger him. As if! She was bloody furious. If she could reach through the phone and wrap her hands around the bastard’s neck, she’d do it and squeeze the life right out of him.
“You are mine. The baby is mine,” Caldwell said. “And I want you both back. You have a choice, Maren. You come back to me and I let your parents go. You refuse and they’ll die while you listen on the phone.”
In the background her mother’s scream rose, and every hair on Maren’s neck stood up.
“Stop!” she yelled. “Don’t you hurt her. I’ll do whatever you want, but don’t hurt her or my father. Tell me what you want. Just stop it!”
“That’s more like it,” he said smoothly. “I want you here, Maren. You have exactly twelve hours to arrive or they both die.”
“Where?” she asked desperately. “You want me to just walk into their house and I’m supposed to believe you’ll leave them and take me?”
“You won’t meet me at their house. They won’t be at their house. I’ll give you the location once you’ve landed in Florida. As for you believing me, I don’t see that you have an alternative. It’s your choice, Maren. Get on a plane and get here. I’ll call this number in eleven hours and tell you where to meet me. Once you arrive, I’ll make the call for your parents to be released. If I don’t place that call in exactly twelve hours and fifteen minutes? They die. So don’t even think about f**king me on this. If anything happens to me and I don’t make that call, they will die a horrible death. I’m not bluffing, so don’t try to call me on it.”
“How do I know you won’t kill them anyway?” Maren asked, her voice rising with hysteria.
“I have no reason to kill the grandparents of my child. Not unless you continue to keep my child from me. I want you and I want our child. I see no need to have their murder between us for the rest of our lives. And if you prove cooperative and don’t fight me, I’ll even allow you to see them on occasion.”
“I’ll be there,” she choked out.
The phone went dead and Maren fell to her knees, sobs erupting from her chest in painful bursts. Steele’s arms came around her, pulling her up and against him as he held her firmly, stroking her hair, kissing the side of her head.
“Shhh, Maren,” he whispered. “You have to be calm. We have to think this through. I need you with me on this. You have to be strong for your parents. Do you understand? Pull yourself together so we can figure this out.”