Black Ops Brotherhood: Tightrope Part 3

"Why?" Friday asked.

"Because if you don't I'll throw your a.s.s in jail for interfering in my arrest."

"Come on, Friday, let her do her job," Danny said, leading his friend away.

Within an hour, Rio had returned to the station. When she searched the rest of the suspects' belongings she found two more of those devices. Obviously, these weren't run-of-the-mill detainees.

The commander of the CBP station sat back in his chair and shook his head.

"If you want time off, all you need to do is ask," he said.

"Felix, I had no choice."

"I know, but this time, I have no choice, either. I'll have to put you on leave pending an investigation. That's twice in less than a week you've fired your weapon."

"I understand," she said.

While they were in the middle of discussing her report and impending leave, Linda, Felix's a.s.sistant, stepped into the office.

"What is it, Linda?" her boss asked.

"Special Agent Gavin Walsh from the FBI is on the phone for you, Felix. He says it's urgent. He needs to talk with you immediately."

"FBI? What the h.e.l.l do they want with me?" he asked with a frown.

Rio left her boss to his phone call and went back to her tiny cubicle to finish up the paperwork needed to hold these men until Tucson decided how they wanted this handled. She knew it would be useless to try to question them.

"Van!" Rio called.

"What's up, Lil' bit?" CBP Van McKay asked.

The nickname made her smile. It didn't matter how far she advanced in the chain of command, she and Van had grown up together in Bisbee. To him she would always be Lil'bit.

"How's your Arabic?" Rio asked.

"Still pa.s.sable, why?"

"Can you take a drive up to the hospital in Sierra Vista and figure out who those guys are that I brought in?"

"Sure thing. I thought they were Guatemalan? Why would they speak Arabic?" McKay asked as he leaned against the opening in her cubical.

"Jensen! McKay!" Felix called out.

Wheeling her chair backward, she poked her head out. "Yes, sir?"

"Stop whatever you're doing and initiate an agency transfer. The FBI's been looking for these guys, and they're coming to pick them up."

"They haven't processed, yet. I'll finish up-"

"That's the FBI's problem. Drop it, and let them handle it."

Something about that statement struck her as odd.

"Yes, sir," she said, rolling her chair back to her desk.

As she searched for the electronic forms for an intra-agency detainee transfer on her computer, she figured these guys must've hit the system somehow and that's why- Stopped herself in mid-thought, she sat back bewildered. She realized nothing had been started yet because no one knew what to do with the men she'd captured.

Wait a minute... These guys aren't in the system yet. Why would the FBI be calling about them?

The only way the FBI-or any agency for that matter-would know they were here was if their fingerprints had been run through the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System or IAFIS, which the FBI managed. However, with what she'd found, a decision hadn't been made on how the men would be processed. Rio furrowed her brow in thought as she s.n.a.t.c.hed the phone from her desk and called down to the holding area.

"Martinez? Have you started processing those guys I brought in? Did anyone fingerprint them to see if we could get a hit from IAFIS?"

"No, they're all in the hospital. I've been dragging my feet until I hear from you or Felix. I did start going through their belongings," Martinez said.

"Did you tag anything and log it in? Did you run the pa.s.sports we found? Did you run them through any system?"

"Nope. But, I found a lot of cash and a couple of burn phones."

Rio recalled seeing the wad of what looked like hundred-dollar bills. "Okay, thanks." She hung up the phone and stared at her computer screen.

We haven't run their prints yet, and no one has started any paperwork. How the h.e.l.l did the FBI know we had these guys here?

She replayed the takedown in her head to try to figure out how anyone other than the people involved would know these men were here. Then it hit her...

Danny!

Chapter 5.

St. Elmo's Tavern Bisbee, Arizona June 18, 2010/0014 Zulu Dan, Friday, and Davey sat back at St. Elmo's and threw back another round. Leave hadn't lasted very long because Captain O'Malley had just ordered them to stand by and snoop around while he and the command staff wrapped their heads around this new problem.

"What does your sister think about all the s.h.i.+t going down around here?" Friday asked glancing at Dan.

"She's got her hands full. As soon as she rounds them up, those motherf.u.c.kers come right back," Davey said, taking a sip of his beer.

Davey smiled at him. He really didn't want to tell Davey, best friend, that his little sister Rio had become the object of Dan's dirty mind. Seeing her in a uniform and in action had thrown his libido into overdrive. By the time he got home yesterday, his d.i.c.k had been hard enough to drive nails. He wanted her to jack him up, like she'd done with Friday when she had him up against her patrol vehicle. He looked at his SEAL buddy with a twinge of jealousy. That f.u.c.ker had the firsthand pleasure of her s.e.xy growl directed at him and didn't know what to do with it. Dan would've pushed her b.u.t.tons, forcing her into doing something to him, and her handcuffs would've been a great start to his evening.

"What's up, man?" Dan asked "When I told you to go by and see her, I didn't mean like that."

"I didn't mean to drop in, like that."

"Why don't you ask her to go to the reunion with you?"

"Are you going to keep busting my b.a.l.l.s about your sister? I remember back in the day you'd kick someone's a.s.s if they got too close."

"They were the wrong guys. The one I trusted hooked up with the school bimbo."

"f.u.c.k you," Dan said, leaning back and looking away.

"Jesus Christ, Danny." Davey shook his head. "Everybody saw it but you. Rio's been in love with you since high school. If you ask me, Sylvia f.u.c.ked you just to p.i.s.s her off. That's the reason why Sylvia broke it off with you. Rio left, and all the fun of s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around left with her."

"No one f.u.c.king asked you." Dan leaned back in his chair.

"No s.h.i.+t? Is that why you've never been able to seriously hook up as much as you've tried?" Friday asked with a wide grin.

"Go to h.e.l.l, both of you!" Dan said, looking away.

"Dude... What more do you need? You've got the blessing right here. She's cute, and just the way you like them... Feisty," Friday said.

"Are you checking out my sister, man?" Davey asked.

"I check out anything female," Friday said.

Dan shot Friday a warning look. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d had better not be having visions of his Rio. Friday was totally wrong for her and would never understand her, not the way Dan would. She needed someone who would let her be herself and not try to smother her commanding personality. His SEAL buddy p.i.s.sing in his territory made him want to pick up the lame f.u.c.ker and throw him across the room. He realized he'd dropped his guard when he caught Davey and Friday looking at him with some concern.

"What the h.e.l.l's wrong with you? Why are you looking at me that way?" Friday took a defensive posture.

"I thought you two were friends?" Davey's gaze moved from one to the other. "If you want to kick his a.s.s, take him outside."

Dan shoved his chair backward and stood. "I'm getting another beer."

"Why? The one you have is full," Davey said, holding the bottle up.

Dan stalked to the bar in an attempt to cool off before he b.i.t.c.h-slapped Friday and Davey. Reminding Dan about f.u.c.king up his chance to take Rio to the prom brought back a landslide of regrets. And just when Dan knew his day couldn't get worse, the tavern door opened to admit Rio and her crew. Dan closed his eyes and groaned.

As she walked by, she glanced at him and smiled. He could live for that smile and would do anything to keep it on her face. He'd also f.u.c.k with her to see her posture and growl the way she had yesterday. Seeing her in uniform again made his c.o.c.k come to life as his gaze ran from the rank insignia on her collar down to her boots. The olive-drab uniform she wore was s.e.xier than any Victoria's Secret ad he'd ever seen. He inhaled sharply as his d.i.c.k came to full attention in record time. His c.o.c.k lurched at the sight of her handcuffs on her tactical belt, and he knew right then he needed to have a serious talk with the uniform wh.o.r.e between his legs.

She approached her brother and Friday. He grabbed his beer and returned to the table. He'd be d.a.m.ned if he'd leave her alone with Friday. He took a seat, and Davey smiled at him as he put his arm around Rio's waist.

"Hey, look who's here."

"Hey, guys, how's it going?" Rio asked. Friday and Davey burst out laughing, and Rio looked at him puzzled. "Did I say something funny?"

"They've been stupid all day," Dan said, taking a drink.

Standing no more than maybe five feet three inches, she couldn't have weighed over 120 pounds soaking wet in her heavy uniform and boots. He recalled seeing her with her long dark brown hair down when he'd gone to tell her about the men he'd seen yesterday. The thick and wavy mane, framing her round face and big brown eyes, and he had to curl his fingers and fight the urge to run hands through it. The Jensen siblings' mixed Scandinavian and Latin heritage reflected in her light olive skin that seemed to glow against the dark green uniform. It suddenly occurred to him how asinine he'd been when he'd shown up on her doorstep. He looked up, and their eyes locked just like they had yesterday when he'd gotten a ma.s.sive hard-on watching her wrap her tactical belt around her waist. Knowing she'd always had a knack for seeing right through him, he knew if he stared any longer, he'd betray his dirty mind. Somehow she knew how to make him want to stroke himself with just a glance.

She could always read his mind. He'd start talking, and she'd instantly understand and know what he needed to do. Seeing her again, he realized what a loss her friends.h.i.+p had been to him. He'd let something special slip from his grasp. He'd been stupid to try to move on with his life without her in it. Well, by G.o.d, he was here now and she wouldn't get away again.

"I've got to go. It's Van's birthday, and we stopped in to celebrate with him," she said, turning toward the bar.

"Are you coming out to the ranch this weekend?" Davey asked, looking at Dan and catching her before she walked away.

"Why? Do you need a maid and cook?" she asked, sounding as if he'd put her out of her way. She was just as he remembered, witty and snarky. "I've got the next four days off all to myself," she said, looking toward the bar where the other CBP agents called to her. "I'll see you guys later."

The opportunity he needed to get reacquainted and close to her again had just presented itself. He watched her interact with the men she worked with and knew he had to do something to make up for lost time. His vision of tasting her lips was rudely interrupted when the door suddenly flew open and three men stepped inside the tavern.

"Ah, f.u.c.k, that's why I wanted you to go and see my sister," Davey said.

"Jax Macey's a deputy sheriff? Were they that desperate?" Dan asked.

Jax Macey and his gang had moved on into adulthood and apparently still hung together. He'd been the school bully, and by the way he and his buddies were moving around St. Elmo's, nothing had changed. He noticed Jax glance at the bar and zero in on Rio. Sensing the threat to her, his fist clenched in anger, and he sat up in alarm. He knew that look on Jax's face and knew that his woman had become a target. The way she avoided Jax didn't get past him, either. Even though his logical thinking brain knew she could take care of herself, his heart wasn't buying into it.

If that b.a.s.t.a.r.d made a move toward Rio, he'd have to do something, because he wasn't about to let her fend for herself. It didn't matter that a group of men more than capable and willing to protect her, surrounded her. She was his, not theirs. Everything in the small tavern went still as Jax got up and walked toward the group of CBP agents. The switch from hometown boy to bada.s.s Navy SEAL flipped in less than a millisecond when he saw Rio close her eyes and stiffen. The imminent threat to her now became his primary focus.

"Danny, there's something I need to tell you..."

Not hearing the warning he got up and went to protect what was his.

Rio cringed when she saw Jax get up and walk toward her. For some reason, he'd recently been struck with the idea that they were a couple. He'd gone out of his small mind if he thought she'd ever hook up with him. When they were growing up, he'd constantly bullied one of her best friends in high school making her a collateral target most of the time. She hated this man for every humiliating moment he'd made others endure, and her long memory was short on forgiveness. The CBP agents with her fell silent with Jax's approach. No one wanted a confrontation.

"What are you doing here with all these men?" Jax demanded.

The bar fell into a tense silence, and she wished he would go away. Her first instinct was to get in his face and tell him to f.u.c.k off, but men like him never took the hint and were too stupid to take no for an answer. She took a drink of her Diet c.o.ke as she thought about how to defuse this situation. By the way he was acting, a clash would be unavoidable, and she didn't want to humiliate him by kicking his a.s.s in front of everyone.

"Walk away," she said quietly.

She didn't need to look at him to know her words had made him red with rage because she wasn't obeying him. "Rio, no woman of mine-"

"She said, walk away."

Looking in the direction of the voice, her heart skipped a beat when she saw who'd spoken.

"Well, lookie here, boys, it's little Danny Gamez," Jax said with s.a.d.i.s.tic amus.e.m.e.nt as his gang laughed.

Now Jax had her attention. Danny had been mercilessly bullied by Jax most of his life. The intended insult made her turn and narrow her eyes at him. If Jax didn't back the h.e.l.l up she'd use her boot to put his b.a.l.l.s in his throat. It p.i.s.sed her off whenever he'd f.u.c.ked with Danny, and it made her even madder when Danny would try to neutralize Jax with humor or a joke. She didn't need Danny the comedian right now. Jax was too stupid to see the humor in anything but hurting someone smaller and weaker. She balled her fists in rage. Maybe it was time she made this stupid ox understand that things would never go the direction he'd like to believe they would.

"Don't help me," she insisted as she stared Jax down.

Right before she lost her s.h.i.+t, someone grabbed her elbow and moved her aside. Danny took her place in front of Jax.

"Go finish your drink, Rio," he said as he stared at Jax. When she didn't move immediately, he said, "Get her out of the way, Van."

The sudden uptick in her heartbeat became impossible to ignore. His commanding tone took her by surprise. Her jaw dropped in shock. His a.s.sertiveness left no room for discussion, and for the first time in her life, she backed down.

"Let's move, Lil' bit." Van put his arm around her and s.h.i.+fted her away.