Her Daring SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 5) Read online

  “Well, something is going on over there,” Darius countered.

  “Rylie, this is Mason Gault. It’s nice to finally be able to talk to you. My team has nothing but good things to say about you.”

  “Hello,” Rylie said in a small voice.

  “Clint and Lydia are in charge of communications and coordination for this operation, but they are doing it under my command.” At the word command, Rylie bristled.

  “I’m not your subordinate.”

  “Of course not,” Mason soothed. “I was explaining our reporting structure. You are working with one of the best men I have ever served with. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to support you.” God, his lieutenant, was good at smoothing things over.

  “Dare has been really good at the James Bond stuff so far,” she conceded. “But he should have told me about the seaplane sooner.”

  “This was the first chance we were alone, Rylie, wasn’t it?” Darius asked reasonably.

  “Yes,” she admitted.

  “Dare, you have to get to the other side of the island and find out what the hell is going on,” Clint said.

  “Agreed.”

  “You can’t. It’s too dangerous,” Rylie exclaimed. Darius grinned at her. She was so adorable. This was a walk in the park compared to most things he did.

  “She’s kidding, right?” Clint said incredulously.

  “She’s not. It’s kind of cute.” Darius smiled.

  “Go to hell, both of you,” Rylie spit out.

  “Check in again tomorrow,” Clint reminded Darius.

  “Will do.”

  ***

  There was a knock on the door.

  “Dammit, Sylvia made it clear that she didn’t want to be disturbed. What the hell?” Rylie whirled towards the continued knocking. She yanked open the door.

  “What?” Her tone was scathing as she stared at Brandon. He wiped his nose nervously. He’d probably been doing coke again.

  “Albert says you need to come right away.”

  “I will see him at dinner. I need time to rest.”

  “Yeah, well, you can do the horizontal tango some other time. Albert said now.” Brandon’s tone changed from nervous to snide.

  “You’ll want to keep a civil tongue in your head, Brandon.” Rylie narrowed her eyes at him, then she changed to a bored tone of voice. “I assume it’s an emergency?”

  “It is.” He looked over her shoulder nervously. “Dare can’t come.”

  “Why not? I would love to see the intricacies of the antiquities business,” Dare said.

  Rylie turned to Darius. “Darling, if it’s urgent and Albert’s upset, it’s best I deal with this alone. You can meet us for dinner.” Darius knew the rules going into this operation, even though he gave her a dark look. She stepped out of the room with Brandon and snapped the door shut.

  “Explain to me what has Albert so upset,” she demanded of Brandon.

  “One of the girls committed suicide.” Rylie was barely able to stop herself from faltering as she continued to walk beside Brandon.

  “These things happen. We have plenty of stock, why is this such a concern?” She wanted to howl with pain, but she kept in character knowing this was the only way to help the remaining girls. The living girls. She took deep breaths as they walked down the hall, diving ever deeper into the role of Sylvia. I am Sylvia Hessman. Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. Smile.

  “Albert wants you to go back to Vancouver tonight and settle them down. He thinks you have bonded with them, or some such shit.” They arrived at an open door that led into an opulent library.

  “Sylvia, Brandon misspeaks. I don’t think you have bonded with them or ‘some such shit.' I think, as a woman, you can deal with them. The men who are watching them can’t seem to get a handle on the situation, I think this needs a woman’s touch.”

  “Apparently, you’ve hired some incompetents.”

  “Maybe,” Albert acknowledged. “However, it was Ursula who took her life. She was a ringleader of sorts, and the girls looked up to her, that made things more difficult.”

  God, not Ursula. She narrowed her eyes. “More’s the pity. I had assumed Ursula would bring the highest bid. However, she did seem a little high strung.” Rylie took a breath and smiled. “I’ll see what I can do, but Albert you must remember, all of these girls know I am working to sell them.”

  “But they also know you have shown them a little kindness and care.” The leather sofa crackled as Albert got up and came over and took her hands in his. “This needs to be a success, for both of us.”

  “I agree.” She sighed dramatically. “Having Dare here makes things complicated. I’ll have to come up with a cover story. I’ll probably tell him we have some buyers that have pulled out of one of our auctions, and I need to go even things out. Dammit, personal lives always complicate things.”

  “Not always,” Brandon protested. Rylie didn’t bother to give him any sort of response. She just waited for Albert to say something.

  “Of course. Instead of my yacht, you’ll be taking a seaplane to Victoria, we’ll do everything to get you back to your paramour tomorrow morning.”

  “You mean the girls aren’t on the mainland anymore? You’ve moved them to Vancouver Island?”

  “Yes, I changed their location since you last visited them. Don’t take it personally my dear, but I find it prudent to be cautious.”

  “Too fucking cautious if you ask me. Where’s the bourbon?” Brandon was at the trolley that should have contained all manner of liquor but looked to be missing some.

  “Brandon, as I said, we’re having wine at dinner.” If Rylie wasn’t mistaken, he’d managed to find some cocaine somewhere, why the man also needed alcohol was beyond her.

  “Albert, I’m sick of you hiding the booze,” Brandon said belligerently.

  “Albert, we need to stay on point. When am I leaving?” Rylie asked.

  “Less than twenty minutes. I trust you’ll smooth things over with Dare.”

  “I will.” She spun on her heel and walked towards the door as she heard Albert shouting.

  “Don’t ever embarrass me like that again, do you hear me?” Rylie walked faster on her Louboutin shoes, anxious to get away.

  Darius had to have been listening for her, because as soon as she put her hand out to open the door, it was yanked open, and he almost lifted her over the threshold.

  “Tell me what’s going on,” Dare demanded.

  She kicked off her shoes and went straight to her luggage. She upended her cosmetics bag onto the bed, and flung open the large suitcase, scrambling through the contents, looking for underwear and things that would serve her for an overnight stay in Victoria.

  “Dammit, Rylie, talk to me.”

  “Can’t. Got to pack.” If she talked, she’d crack wide open. She didn’t have time to break character.

  “Rylie. You’re scaring the shit out of me.” Darius tugged at the bag in her hands. She jerked it away from him.

  “Stop. I told you, I can’t talk about it!” There they were, her jeans and boots. She tried to stuff the boots into the oversized cosmetics bag but couldn’t make them fit. She shoved harder, but it just wouldn’t work. Then she realized she needed to be wearing them. God, she wasn’t thinking clearly.

  “Fuck!” She threw the boot on the floor.

  Rylie stared at Darius for a moment, then turned back to her suitcase. She also took the toiletries off the bed that she would need for an overnight stay, and put those into the bag as well. She eyed the boots on the floor and grabbed a pair of black jeans and a sweater. She stomped into the bathroom. It took her less than a minute to do a quick change. She couldn’t look herself in the eye. She’d only see Sylvia in the mirror, and she hated that bitch. She came out, and there was Darius.

  “Talk to me,” Darius’ tone was low and concerned. He needed to stop. She whirled on him.

  “What part of, I can’t talk, don’t you fucking understa
nd?! I can’t talk. I’m Sylvia Hessman. I have to keep my head in the game. I have less than fifteen minutes to pack and get the hell out of here. I’ll be back here tomorrow. I can’t be anything other than Sylvia. Fucking Calm. Fucking Cool. Fucking Collected. Fucking Sylvia.” Rylie blinked really, really fast because she felt tears wanting to come. She didn’t have time.

  She looked at him blindly. She breathed in and breathed out. Did it again. “Please, Dare. Help me, I’m begging you to help me.”

  He put both of his hands on her shoulders, and she squared them, jutting her jaw out.

  “Okay, honey. I think I understand. Tell me this, what is Sylvia telling Dare Lawrence?”

  Rylie gave a tight nod. “Right. Yes, she’d be telling you something. You’re right. How could I be so fucking stupid?” She looked up into his eyes, they were calm, and it helped. She took another deep breath and was back to being Sylvia. She straightened her shoulders.

  “Darling Dare, one of our major jade antiquity sellers is attempting to back out at the last minute. It’s my job to make sure it doesn’t impact the auction we have planned. I’ll be back tomorrow. Hopefully in the morning.” She breathed out a sigh.

  “How did that sound? Was it believable?” she asked him.

  “Yes, it was believable. Is that the lie Albert thinks you’ve told me?”

  She nodded.

  Darius’ eyes narrowed. “Rylie, I don’t like this. I don’t like this one fucking bit! How much danger are you going to be in?” His grip tightened on her shoulders. “I’m going with you.”

  “You have the cover story. Dare Lawrence can’t go with me, and Dare Stanton can’t follow me because he needs to remain here with our hosts.” She looked into brown eyes that were no longer calm. He was worried for her. Really worried, and it made her warm inside.

  “Fine, then tell me where you’re going because you’ll have back up, you can be damn sure of that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You don’t think we’re up here alone, do you? As soon as we knew this operation was happening, we sent Finn and Drake up here. They’re in Vancouver right now.”

  “You were supposed to tell me everything,” she accused. “But I’m too relieved to be mad.” She reached out and touched the side of his face, he took her hand and brushed a warm kiss in her palm. She felt it in her heart, in her toes.

  Rylie stared at Darius for a moment, then turned back to her suitcase.

  “A seaplane is taking me to Victoria, on Vancouver Island. I don’t know if they’re in the city, or where they are exactly, so I don’t know how your men will find me.”

  “Easy enough.” Darius pulled a small silver charm out of his pocket. “Give me your wrist. I meant to do this last night, I forgot.”

  She held out her hand and watched as he took off her charm bracelet and placed a silver Harp Seal on it.

  “The seal has a miniature tracker in it. Finn and Drake will be able to find you.” He placed the bracelet back on her wrist, and Rylie felt a sense of comfort.

  “So basically I’ll have a SEAL tracking me.”

  “Bet your ass.” He grinned. Darius zipped up the suitcase. “I’ll walk out with you. It’s what Mr. Lawrence would do.”

  ***

  Rylie looked out of the seaplane window as the plane made its descent into the harbor near Victoria. She had seen pictures of Vancouver Island but had only stayed on the mainland in the city of Vancouver. What she knew about the city of Victoria would fill a thimble. She’d heard they served high tea and had lovely gardens. Then it suddenly hit her, this would be just the sort of spot Albert would love to have the auction, he would make it a garden party. She felt like gagging.

  The pilot was good, they landed smoothly, and hardly bumped into the dock. A huge man of Asian descent walked up to her and bowed his head.

  “Ms. Hessman, my name is Huan. If you will come with me, I have a car waiting.” The pilot handed her bag to the man while Rylie kept her laptop case and purse. Going up the walkway, she surreptitiously searched for the familiar faces of Drake and Finn. She’d met Drake before, but only seen photographs and videos of Finn. She didn’t see either of them by the time Huan escorted her to the limousine.

  Rylie sat in the backseat, and she pulled out her phone so she could track where they were going while also watching out the window. Not that it would matter, Liu would probably change the location of the girls after she met with them, she realized bitterly. She was anxious to see them. Now she had time to think about things, Rylie wondered if Ursula had really committed suicide. The girl had not been unstable at all, she had actually been more of a leader for the others. No, the more Rylie considered things, the more she thought the suicide angle was total bullshit.

  Soon they were driving in more of a rural section, and then they drove onto a gravel road. They came to an old dilapidated farmhouse. Rylie could see a dingy red bar in the back.

  “We’re here.”

  “How many of the women are inside?”

  “I am not sure. I was given these coordinates, along with the strict order to follow your bidding. Mr. Liu is very unhappy with the events that have gone on, and he was very specific I was to help you in any way possible.”

  He got out, opened her door, and waited for her to get out. The door to the farmhouse opened, and a man exited. Huan handed him the keys and indicated the trunk. That man took out her overnight bag and handed it to Huan.

  Rylie turned to the new man. “How many women are inside?”

  He ignored her question, as he began to trudge to the barn. It was obvious he had been expecting them but wasn’t pleased about their arrival.

  Huan grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, stopping his forward motion.

  “The lady asked you a question.” Suddenly the man really looked at her and Huan.

  “I don’t answer to women.”

  “You answer to this one. Mr. Liu said we needed to treat her with respect,” Huan interjected. “She’s one of the bosses.”

  “A woman?” The other man snorted in disbelief.

  “What’s your name?” Rylie’s voice could have cut glass. It got the man’s attention.

  “Howard.”

  “Howard, if you value both your job and your life, you’ll cut the shit, and answer my questions. How many women are here, and where are they?”

  They all stood in the middle of the field, and she watched as the man’s face blanched. “There are sixteen, and they’re in the barn.” Rylie frowned, she could see the barn door slightly open from here.

  “Let me see,” she demanded.

  “Watch your step, Ms. Hessman,” Huan cautioned.

  They got to the barn door, and Howard opened it and let them in. Rylie looked around and saw no evidence of the women. The man walked to the center of the building, bent down and slid a bar mechanism that exposed two doors embedded in the floor. After he had unlocked the doors, he pulled on the handle and opened one squeaky door. A woman screamed.

  “Let them out,” she growled.

  “What?”

  “I said,” Rylie began again, “Let them out of there.”

  “I can’t. Mr. Klein would string me up by my balls.”

  “I don’t know who Mr. Klein is, but Albert Liu and I are running this show. These women are to be sold in six days. You have them huddled in a root cellar?” she roared. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  “We have no place else to put them.”

  Rylie stared at the stupid oaf. She squatted beside the hole.

  “Come out.” She called down. Nothing. There was no response. Normally she would’ve called for Ursula since she was the leader of sorts. “Ophelia, are you down there?” She waited, and there was still no response.

  “Do you have a flashlight?” she demanded.

  “They have a couple down there with them.” He crouched down beside the hole. “One of you bitches, turn on a flashlight!” he yelled. Nothing happened. Rylie stood up, and loomed over
him, she grabbed the man by his hair and turned his head so he was facing her.

  “I asked you if you had a flashlight. Don’t you speak English?” He fell backwards, and crab walked away from her.

  “I’m sorry, let me get you one, ma’am.” Rylie watched as he ran towards a table underneath the barn window, and picked up an industrial flashlight.

  “Here you go.” He handed it to her. “I’m sorry, I should have got this for you straight away.” Rylie turned it on and shone it down into the hole. There was a ladder, and she didn’t see any of the women.

  “How large is the space down there?”

  “Not that big. They must be squished down towards the end. They do that sometimes when I throw down the food.” Rylie closed her eyes and mentally counted to five.

  “When was the last time you fed them?”

  “I was going to do that right before you got here.”

  “You better think real hard about the food you were going to bring. You also better know that they’ll be coming upstairs, so don’t think you’re going to be tossing down scraps to these women like they’re animals.”

  “Wait, they can’t come upstairs. Mr. Klein won’t like that at all.”

  “Who the fuck is Mr. Klein?” Rylie growled.

  “Don’t you know him? He’s in charge.”

  “I’m in charge unless Albert Liu is here, are we clear...Howard?” She waited for the man to nod. “Huan go with him to get the food. I want to make sure they get something decent. I’m going down to see what in the hell you’ve done,” she said eyeing Howard.

  She put the straps of her purse and laptop bag across her body, so they rested at the small of her back, and started down the ladder. She listened intently and was ready for the first attacker.

  Rylie went easy on the woman, she used the flesh of her upper arm to hit the girl in her face, instead of her elbow, but still it knocked her on her ass. She jumped off the ladder and landed in a crouch and swung around, brandishing the lit flashlight as a weapon. Someone came up to her side, and tried to land a kick, Rylie pulled the girl’s foot up higher, causing her to fall backwards.