Free The Omega Team: Tough Target (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Jordan Dane Page B

and unnatural.
    Something about the man made her edgy, but she had promised Sam she wouldn’t leave his mother unprotected.
    What’s happening, Sam? It felt like an eternity since she’d been with him. Kate knew that Sam wanted to be with his mother, but he had no intention of putting her in the crosshairs of a Cuban drug cartel anymore than she already had been.
    Kate knew what that meant.
    Sam would draw fire and take the fight to the enemy. He had a plan and she would do her part, but the waiting made her uneasy—especially when she had no idea what danger Sam would face. She grew worried sick over him and his mother and prayed for both of them.
    Sam Rafferty had crawled under her skin, as if he’d found a home, and she couldn’t resist the man he’d become.
    “Sam, please be okay,” she whispered and shut her eyes to pray, clutching a rolled up magazine in her hand to stop her fingers from shaking.
    When the elevator dinged down the hall, Kate heard the sound of heavy footsteps and opened her eyes. A tall man dressed in black SWAT tactical gear rounded the corner and came straight toward her. He was dressed like a cop and looked ex-military. When he came closer, she noticed the intimidating scar that ran from his eyebrow down his left cheek. His fierce hazel eyes forced her to stand before he even spoke.
    “Are you Kate Cypress?”
    “Yes. What’s happened? Is Sam Rafferty—?” Her voice cracked and her eyes stung with tears. Kate’s mind had leaped to the worst-case scenario and her emotions were raw.
    “Rafferty is fine, ma’am. He wanted me to find you, to tell you—”
    She didn’t let him finish. Kate grabbed his arm. She had to know.
    “Why isn’t he here? His mother is in surgery.”
    “He’s fine, but he wanted me to tell you there’s been a car accident, ma’am. A high speed chase that led to one fatality. The FBI has identified the dead woman as…” The officer pulled a notepad from his uniform pocket and read the name he had written. “…Camila Borrego, a Cuban national. She’s connected to a drug cartel.”
    “Sam mentioned that name to me. He thought the woman shot his mother. His mom’s in surgery right now. Are you sure this Cuban woman is dead?”
    “Oh, yes, ma’am. They don’t get any deader.”
    “Where’s Sam? Why isn’t he here telling me the news? Is he hurt?” Her hands wrung the magazine she held, rolling it tighter.
    “He’s fine, but the FBI has him in protective custody. He’ll be at one of their safe houses tonight, but they’ll move him in the morning. He wanted me to give you the address.”
    The cop wrote down an address on paper and handed it to her.
    “When you have word of his mother’s condition, he wants you to find him. As you might imagine, he’s worried.”
    “Yes, of course.” Kate looked down at the piece of paper, trembling in her hand. “Thank you. I’ll come when I know his mother is out of surgery, after I talk to the doctor.”
    Kate slipped the note he’d given her into the mangled magazine she’d been holding to mark a page and set it down on her chair.
    “I’ll walk you out.”
    Kate walked the man toward the bank of elevators down the corridor, thanking him again for personally delivering Sam’s message. When she returned to the waiting room, she looked down at the misshapen magazine she’d left on her seat.
    The slip of paper was gone.
    She grabbed the publication and turned it upside down, flipping through the worn pages, to make sure it was missing. When she realized the note with the address on it was truly gone, it gave her chills.
    She glanced over her shoulder to realize she was alone in the room. The creep had vanished.
    “Sam,” she whispered.

Chapter 8
     
    Pinecrest Memorial Hospital and Trauma Center
    Tavio crossed paths with his brother as Amadeo emerged from the hospital elevator on the ground floor. He had a strained expression on his face as he grabbed Tavio’s arm and pulled him outside. He