Forged in Steele (KGI #7)(55)

She smiled and cupped his face in her hands before kneeling up to plant a scorching kiss on his lips. “Yeah, I know.”

* * *

TWENTY-FOUR hours later, Steele stood inside the war room at the KGI compound with his team, waiting for the information Rio had promised. He hadn’t slept worth a damn in weeks. His sole goal of finding Maren pervaded his every waking thought. His team had been just as focused. He knew he was working them hard. His demands were nearly inhuman. But they’d accepted without complaint and had adopted his drive to locate Maren as their own. Three months. Three goddamn months since she’d disappeared, and he was no closer to finding her now than he had been in the beginning.

Except now they’d been brought in by Rio’s cryptic message that he had intel on Maren. That was it. Nothing else. Steele seethed with impatience. What the f**k were they doing here? If Rio knew where Maren was, then why the f**k weren’t they in the air, prepared to go in and get her out?

Rio stepped inside the war room and the entire gathering came to attention. Sam straightened and focused his attention on the other team leader, as did everyone else in the room.

Rio’s team flanked him. They were still down one man, and so far Rio had shown no interest in replacing him. They were fools to operate a man short. Rio should have already replaced his man and had him training with Nathan and Joe’s team. But then Rio did things his way, just as Steele did, so Steele couldn’t really fault whatever reasoning he had. He doubted he’d be quick to replace one of his own team members. He sure as hell hadn’t replaced P.J. when she’d quit the team and walked away. But then there’d never been a question of her coming back. Steele refused to even consider it.

“What have you got?” Steele demanded when Rio got close enough that everyone could hear his report.

“Hancock called me,” Rio said bluntly.

A round of cursing went up from those gathered. Steele’s blood ran cold. Hancock and by proxy, Titan, were bad news. They’d gone rogue and there was no telling who was signing their paychecks.

“He said he’ll deliver Maren at oh two hundred hours tomorrow.”

“What the f**k?” Steele bit out. “That bastard has Maren? What the f**k kind of stunt is he pulling? I’ll nail his ass to the wall for this.”

“I’d hazard a guess that he’s in deep cover within Mendoza’s organization. Or rather Tristan Caldwell, as that’s his newest alias,” Rio said.

Sam’s expression was stony. “So he’s just going to hand Maren over to us?”

“Give me a second to run down his communication. Then we can move from there,” Rio said calmly.

The room went quiet and Steele’s fingers curled into fists at his sides.

“The deal was that Mendoza, or rather Caldwell, made a bargain with Maren. She would oversee his recovery from his latest plastic surgery, and in return he wouldn’t harm her or touch her. Hancock believes she’s in danger now and that Caldwell is looking to waffle on his end of the deal.”

“Son of a bitch,” Steele swore.

“Hancock was willing to leave her until his mission was complete and he brought down Caldwell. I have no idea who the hell he’s working for, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Resnick was somehow involved. Or if he’s not directly involved, he knows something. But Hancock is apparently concerned for Maren’s safety and he wants to pull her now.”

“Why the f**k doesn’t he just take Caldwell down now?” Garrett demanded. “It makes no sense. He’d risk pulling Maren out but he won’t pull the plug on Caldwell?”

Rio shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. I don’t claim to understand the workings of Hancock’s mind. He’s cold and calculating. I’m surprised as hell that he gives a damn that Maren is at risk. He’s the type to put mission above all else. We know that much. He damn well let Grace walk into a situation where she could have been killed, and he did it to achieve his objective. This isn’t his usual M.O. so I’m leery of his offer to hand Maren over to us.”

“Where and when?” Steele asked bluntly. “I don’t give a f**k about his mission or his objective. If he can give us Maren, that’s all I care about.”

Rio eyed him speculatively, staring at him a long moment as if trying to peel back the layers in Steele’s mind. Good luck with that. Steele returned his stare, not backing down one inch. He didn’t flinch. Then Rio quirked one eyebrow upward.

“Maybe Grace was right,” he muttered.

Steele’s eyes narrowed. What the f**k was that supposed to mean?

Rio shook his head. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Can we get on with it?” Steele ground out. “We don’t have time for this shit. Just tell me where I need to be so me and my team can get on the road.”

Rio blew out his breath. “There’s a problem with that. Hancock will only deal with me. Says if anyone else shows, it’s no deal. I know you won’t like it, but I’m going to have to go. You and your team can be on standby while I retrieve Maren.”

“Hell no,” Steele burst out.

Several disagreements were voiced in the room.

Garrett had a pinched look on his face. Sam was shaking his head and Donovan’s expression was dark.

“How the hell do you know this isn’t a trap?” Sam asked. “You and this guy have history, Rio. What if he’s using Maren to take you out? How do you even know he’s telling the truth about any of this?”