Team 52 Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 44

  “You guys be careful.” Smith locked gazes with Axel, sending the man a warning. Protect her.

  Axel lifted his chin.

  “Is it okay if we head out?” Kinsey asked. “Your fridge is empty and we need some food. I need more than air to survive on.”

  Smith nodded. “Stay beside Axel. Don’t go anywhere without him.”

  She nodded.

  Smith moved closer and stroked her hair. “He needs to be right beside you, in touching distance.”

  “Okay, Smith.”

  “The ladies tell me this is no hardship, chiquita,” Axel said with a wink.

  A small smile tipped her lips and she rolled her eyes, then she looked back at Smith. “I can do that.”

  Smith stroked her hair one last time, wanting to kiss her, but not in front of Axel. Fighting a tense, edgy feeling, he headed out the door.

  “Smith, wait.”

  He turned, and Kinsey threw herself into his arms.

  The kiss was wet and deep and hot.

  “I’ll see you later,” she murmured.

  “You will, sunshine.” He stroked a finger down her nose and forced himself to set her aside. He headed for his SUV.

  On the drive into the city, all Smith could think of was sexy kisses and strawberries. He met the others at Lachlan’s condo.

  “Hey.” Lachlan lifted his chin.

  “How’s our girl?” Blair asked.

  “The bruises look better today.”

  Smith glanced at Lachlan, and the mess of papers spread out on the coffee table. Callie was shuffling through them, and Seth was intently looking at a tablet.

  “What have we got?” Smith asked.

  “Tracked down Enzo,” Lachlan said. “He also goes by Enzo Russo and Enzo Romano. Has a few other aliases as well, though.”

  Bastard. Smith’s hands flexed. He wasn’t surprised.

  “Blair and I checked out his apartment,” Lachlan added. “Layer of dust says he hasn’t been home for a while. Priority is to find him and have a chat.”

  Smith nodded. He definitely wanted to chat with this ass. “I need to make a few calls and finalize the security system work at Kinsey’s apartment.”

  “Do it,” Lachlan said. “Then we’re going to take a look at a few places we heard Enzo likes to frequent.”

  Smith made his calls. He was in no rush to have the work at her apartment finished. He liked having her at his place.

  “So,” Blair drawled. “Have you stopped bullshitting yourself about Kinsey?”

  Smith stiffened.

  “Blair,” Lachlan said, his voice filled with warning.

  Blair shook her head. “No, we all know he’s crazy about her, and she’s head over heels for him. He’s holding back.”

  “I’ve got my reasons.”

  “Your reasons suck.”

  Smith shoved his hands on his hips. God save him from nosy teammates. “Don’t see you embracing a healthy relationship, Blair.”

  “Don’t turn this onto me—”

  “We all have our demons. You know that.” Fuck. Emotion churned in his gut. “She deserves a regular guy, an easy guy with no baggage. A man who can make her happy.”

  “She deserves the man she wants,” Blair said quietly. “One of the best men I know.”

  Smith sucked in a breath. The others were all watching him.

  Lachlan caught his gaze. “You don’t heal what cut you, Smith, then you end up bleeding over the people who never hurt you.” Their team leader paused. “Now, enough counselling. We have an asshole to track down.”

  Soon, the team climbed into the SUV and headed to the first address to check. It was a condo near the Strip belonging to a cousin of Enzo’s. On the drive there, Blair and Lachlan’s words kept rattling around in Smith’s head.

  Lila had cut him. The shit he’d waded through and seen as a SEAL had kept the wounds bloody. Losing his foot and several friends in that fucked up mission had cut even deeper.

  He’d been sure the wounds had healed. But maybe they’d just scabbed over. When they reached the rundown condos, Smith forced himself to push his thoughts aside.

  No one answered Lachlan’s knock, so Smith rammed his shoulder against the door. The flimsy locks broke open.

  Inside was a dusty mess. The team moved through, clearing the rooms.

  “No one’s been here in a while,” Callie murmured.

  There was some paperwork spread out on the table. Some were clearly photos. Smith got closer and every cell in his body went on alert. They were photos of Kinsey.

  “Shit,” Lachlan muttered.

  With his gloved hand, Smith flicked through them. Taken with a telephoto lens. There were pictures of her shopping, stopping at the drycleaners, picking up flowers from a florist. In all of them she was smiling. Smith studied the one of her coming out of the florist. She had a bunch of sunny, yellow flowers in her arms, and was sniffing them with pure joy on her face. Smith had never bought flowers for a woman before, but he made a note that Kinsey liked yellow ones.

  There were several photos of Kinsey in her apartment, taken through the window. In one, she was getting changed. Fuckers.

  “We’ll question the neighbors,” Blair said. She nodded at Callie, and the women slipped out of the condo.

  “You okay?” Lachlan asked.

  “Yeah.” He’d be better when he planted his fist in this Enzo’s face.

  Smith pulled out his cell, needing to hear Kinsey’s voice. He punched her number. It rang and rang.

  “This is Kinsey. Leave me a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Have a great day!”

  From the tone of her cheery message, you could tell she was smiling. Smith frowned. She was probably in the grocery store with Axel. He’d try her again later.

  Lachlan collected up the photos, sliding them into a bag. Blair and Callie returned.

  “No one’s seen Mancini, the cousin, or Enzo for a while,” Blair said.

  Smith dragged in a breath. He was in the wind. Fuck. He spotted another piece of paper scrunched up on the floor under the table. He grabbed it and opened it.

  His gut hardened. “Guys.”

  They all looked. There was a logo on the paper—a circular design that looked like some sort of stylized bird.

  “Same logo that was on the original note they left when they grabbed Kinsey,” Lachlan said.

  This time there were also words. Cosca Unita.

  What or who the hell were Cosca Unita?

  Lachlan lifted his phone. “Brooks? Sending some info through to you. Got another name for you to run. Cosca Unita. Yeah, sounds Italian. Call me as soon as you find something.”

  Back at the SUV, Smith slipped into the driver’s seat.

  “Let’s check out the bar that Enzo likes to frequent,” Lachlan said.

  Smith nodded and pulled away from the curb. Enzo might be hiding, but Smith was a damn good hunter and he always got his prey.

  Chapter Nine

  Kinsey pulled some cans off the shelf, tossing them in the shopping cart. Axel was pushing, his forearms resting on the handle. He looked bored.

  “Sorry you got stuck with me today,” she said.

  His soulful brown eyes flicked to her. “Hardly a chore, chiquita.”

  She smiled and grabbed a bag of pasta.

  “Kinse, you’ve got enough food here to feed an army.”

  “Smith’s cupboards are bare.”

  “I think mi amigo chews on nails and wood for sustenance.”

  A laugh burst out of her, and she flashed Axel a look. He returned it with a sexy, wide smile.

  Kinsey looked back to the shelves. She wanted to cook Smith a nice dinner. She wasn’t a gourmet chef or anything, but she liked to cook. She’d grown up scraping together whatever she could, usually peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. More often than not, she’d gone hungry.

  Once she’d escaped and come to Las Vegas, she vowed she’d never eat another PB&J again. So she’d learned to cook some de
cent meals, and she enjoyed it.

  She wandered farther down the aisle, when she felt fingers on the back of her shirt.

  “Stay close, Kinsey.”

  The easy charm was gone and Axel’s face was deadly serious. She could see the former Delta Force soldier shining through.

  “You don’t leave my side,” he reminded her.

  She nodded. Soon, they headed toward the checkout.

  The young woman serving them flashed Axel plenty of smiles. He ignored her, but Kinsey was certain Axel was used to every woman over the age of five batting her eyelashes at him. He just radiated sex appeal and charm.

  Kinsey started stacking bags in the cart. When she pulled out her wallet to pay, Axel gave her a hard look. She raised her hands. She wasn’t going to argue with a macho military man if he was intent on paying the grocery bill.

  She turned, looking out the plate glass windows into the parking lot.

  Her gaze snagged on a heavily-pregnant woman crossing the lot. Suddenly, the woman stumbled, clutching at her rounded belly.

  Kinsey stiffened. Something was wrong. Then she saw a car come around the corner, driving too fast, and heading straight toward the pregnant woman.

  Get off the road. Move. The woman spasmed and doubled over.

  Oh, no. Without a single thought, Kinsey ran. She sprinted for the door, heard Axel shout behind her.

  She raced into the parking lot and toward the woman. She waved her arms at the oncoming car and it swerved.

  “Hang on.” Kinsey reached the pregnant lady, grabbing her arm. “Take it easy. You’re okay.”

  The woman’s face was scrunched in pain. Then she looked up at Kinsey’s face and her features smoothed out.

  The woman lifted something and jammed it against Kinsey’s side.

  What the hell? Kinsey felt a jolt rock through her. Her legs went out from under her and she fell to her knees. Ow. She grabbed the woman reflexively, her hands gripping the woman’s belly.

  That’s when the woman’s “belly” slid to the side.

  It was fake. The woman wasn’t really pregnant. A trick, and Kinsey had fallen for it.

  So stupid.

  The woman leaned over, she was smiling. Anger ignited and Kinsey swung out. Her fist connected with the woman’s nose.

  “Shit.” The woman staggered back, clutching her face. Then she jabbed her arm forward.

  Pain flashed through Kinsey again and she pitched forward. Stun gun. Her limbs were twitching. Her cheek hit the pavement and she saw Axel sprinting toward her with powerful strides.

  Then Kinsey heard gunfire.

  Axel’s body jerked and blood bloomed on his shoulder.

  No! He went down on one knee and she saw three big men, all armed, racing toward him. Axel lifted his gun and started firing. She tried to push up, but none of her muscles obeyed her.

  One man went down, but then the other two were on him. Kinsey blinked slowly, watching the fight erupt into hard punches and kicks that made her wince. Axel gave as good as he got, laying out a second man, but the final man kicked him hard, and Axel went down.

  No. No. No! She watched Axel slump to the ground. She had to do something, but she couldn’t move.

  She heard an engine and a van pulled up right in front of them. The “pregnant” woman yanked the side door open.

  Dammit to hell. She was being kidnapped. Again.

  She saw two men dragging Axel closer. Think, Kinse! She glanced upward, staring right at the van’s license plate. An idea struck her. She managed to move one hand just enough to grab hold of a small rock.

  Painfully aware that the clock was ticking, Kinsey gritted her teeth and started scraping the letters and numbers of the license plate onto the asphalt.

  But she hadn’t gotten far when hands grabbed her, and she was dragged off the ground. She was tossed in the van, and a second later, Axel was dropped onto the floor beside her. He wasn’t moving and his T-shirt was covered in blood. Her heart clenched.

  She was pretty sure Smith was going to be really, really mad about this.

  “That bitch broke my nose!” The fake-pregnant lady was holding a cloth to her nose.

  The van pulled out, fast. Kinsey was tossed against her seat.

  Kinsey glared at the whining woman, and then noticed another man sitting in the van. Kinsey blinked. He was dressed in the style of a Tibetan monk, clothed in maroon and saffron-colored robes. His dark eyes met hers, his expression calm.

  He had a black eye, so she guessed he wasn’t here by choice.

  Kinsey drew in a breath. “My friend’s bleeding, he needs help—”

  “Shut up,” the woman snapped. “I don’t care if he bleeds to death.”

  Kinsey looked away, and her gaze fell on a familiar, matte-black box at the back of the van.

  “That doesn’t work,” a voice said.

  Her head snapped up. She knew that voice. She saw Enzo duck in from the front of the van. He stabbed a finger at the box.

  “You asshole!” Kinsey lost it, and launched herself up at him. She aimed her nails for his face.

  Fake-pregnant woman yanked her back.

  Enzo was handsome, his dark hair flopping over his forehead, in need of a cut. He was slim and lean, and now she knew he was also a complete asshole.

  He smiled at her. “Hi, Kinse.”

  She spat at him, enjoying when he leaped back and scowled at her.

  He held up a hand. “Please calm down, sweetheart.”

  “Do not call me that.”

  The woman shook her. “How do we work the artifact?”

  “I have no idea,” Kinsey said. “And nor does he.” She pointed at the unconscious Axel. Be okay, Axel, please.

  “This guy—” Enzo pointed at the monk “—can’t get it to work, either.”

  That’s when the fake-pregnant lady pulled out a handgun. She pointed it at the monk’s head, and Kinsey sucked in a breath.

  “We don’t need you guys, then,” the woman said. “I’ll shoot him first and then your friend.” She toed Axel with her boot.

  “No.” Kinsey surged forward, trying to cover Axel with her body. “The artifact is a fake. They didn’t give you the real one.”

  Curses filled the van.

  The woman moved, sinking a hand into Kinsey’s hair. She yanked Kinsey up so hard her scalp burned. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  “Lenore, take it easy,” Enzo implored.

  “Shut up.” The woman wrenched Kinsey’s head back, tugging on her hair. Then she smiled, and the expression made Kinsey’s blood go cold. “I have a plan I think will get us exactly what we need.”

  Sitting in the SUV, Smith tried Kinsey’s phone again. Blair was driving them to their next location. So far, they hadn’t found any sign of Enzo Rossi.

  “This is Kinsey. Leave me a message—”

  He ended the call and tried Axel’s phone. No answer. He tried them both again, not liking the prickle on the back of his neck.

  Then Lachlan’s phone rang.

  In the backseat, Lachlan pressed his phone to his ear. “Hunter.”

  Smith saw his friend’s expression change, and ice slid into his veins.

  Lachlan nodded. “We’ll meet you there. Thanks, MacKade.”

  Shit. Smith watched Lachlan slide his phone away.

  “There’s been a report of an attack at the Albertsons on Blue Diamond Road.”

  Smith’s chin dropped to his chest. That was close to his place. “Fuck.”

  “Eyewitnesses reported that a man and a woman were snatched and dragged into a van.”

  “Let’s go,” Smith ground out.

  With a nod, Blair steered the SUV into a sharp turn.

  As they drove, Smith stared out the windshield, trying to lock down his rage and worry. But every minute of the drive felt like an hour, scraping his nerves raw.

  Finally, they screeched into the parking lot of the grocery store. Several police cruisers were parked haphazardly near the entrance, and t
here were cops talking with some bystanders. MacKade was there, standing a head taller than everyone else.

  Before Blair had even stopped the SUV, Smith swung open his door and jumped out.

  MacKade nodded at him.

  “What the hell happened?” Smith demanded.

  “Perps lured your girl out of the store—”

  “She came out alone?” Smith’s jaw clenched. He sensed his team step up beside him.

  MacKade held up a phone. “This is from the store’s security camera.” He tilted the screen so they could see.

  Smith peered at a grainy video of a pregnant woman doubling over in the parking lot. A second later, Kinsey rushed out of the store to help. Grimly, he watched the pregnant woman attack Kinsey and stun her.

  “Those fuckers,” Seth bit off from behind Smith.

  Smith felt the same. They’d used Kinsey’s goodness against her.

  “She got in a good punch,” Blair said.

  Next, they watched Axel sprinting out of the store. When he got shot, all of Team 52 sucked in sharp breaths. They all watched the brutal fight that followed, along with Kinsey and Axel being dragged into the white van.

  “Your man left us a dead body.” The police detective pointed to a nearby body bag laid out beside one of the cruisers. “No ID yet. Your guy looked like he injured the others, but he took a bullet.”

  Lachlan lifted his phone. “Brooks, they were taken in a white van.” Lachlan repeated the make and model, then looked at MacKade. “Plate?”

  MacKade shook his head. “No clear shot of it in the video, and none of the witnesses thought to note it down.”

  Dammit. Smith glanced around the parking lot. There were probably a million of those white vans in Vegas. He strode to the spot where Kinsey had fallen. He stood there, hands on his hips.

  He’d failed her. He’d promised to keep her safe and he’d failed her.

  He saw the abduction happen again in his head, move by move. There was nothing in the security feed that would help him find her.

  “Smith?” Lachlan’s concerned voice. His teammates circled around him.

  “I’m fine.”

  Smith looked at the ground, picturing Kinsey sprawled there, in pain. Then he spotted the faint, white scratch marks on the pavement. He frowned and crouched.