Page 72 of Her Delta Force Protector

“They stopped and shared a joint a while back, and then one of them handed out some pills, so they’re not going to be thinking straight,” Viper said.

Cupcake grunted. “They’ll be trigger-happy.”

“The sooner we got those weapons out of their hands the better.” Kade raised a fist, and his teammates bumped theirs to his, then they spread out and surrounded the bikers.

Their argument over which way to go was heating up, their tempers flaring. Much longer and they’d start shooting at each other. Cupcake was right, they were going to be trigger-happy.

“You both in place?” He got affirmatives from his two teammates. “Hey, assholes,” he yelled from his cover behind a tree. “You’re surrounded. Drop your weapons and put your hands in—” A bullet hit a tree near him. Kade sighed. “Your turn, Viper.” The bikers needed to realize they really were surrounded.

“Dudes, you’re pissing us off. Do what the man said and drop your weapons.” Another shot sounded. “Missed me, dirtbag.”

“You should listen to him,” Cupcake yelled. “He only has so much patience.”

The three fools started wildly shooting in all directions. Kade peered around his tree, picked the man facing in Viper’s direction because his shotgun was not in front of him from Kade’s point of view, took aim, and put a bullet through the stock.

Splinters of wood hit the man’s face, and he screamed as he dropped the gun. “I’ve been shot!”

“What a big baby,” Cupcake said, then did the same thing and took out a second man’s weapon.

That man, after dropping his shotgun, took off running. Unfortunately for him, he ran right at Kade, and as he was running past, Kade stuck out his leg and tripped the man. When he was facedown on the ground, Kade stuck his gun to the side of the biker’s head. “Freeze, motherfucker.” The man froze.

The sounds of weapons firing ended, and a few minutes later, Viper and Cupcake appeared, each pushing a biker in front of them.

“Most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Viper said cheerfully.

Kade laughed. “You’re not right in the head, man.” They zip-tied the bikers’ hands behind them, and while he and Viper walked their prisoners to the cabin, Cupcake went back to collect their shotguns.

“You can bring your boys out, Chase,” Kade said into his comm when they reached the cabin’s yard.

When the two bouncers and the bikers met up in the yard, Kade laughed at the shock on their faces. “Something to remember for the future, boys. Never mess with a Delta man.”

“Or a SEAL,” Chase said.

Kade grinned. “Just had to get that in there, eh?”

“Yeah, I did. Can’t let Army take all the credit.”

Cupcake and Viper carried all the weapons they’d collected inside the cabin while Kade confiscated one of the men’s phones. He asked the man his name. Not surprisingly, the man balked with a brave “Fuck you,” but he was prepared for that.

“Cut his ties, partner,” he told Chase, who already knew what was going to happen.

By this time, his teammates had returned from stashing the weapons. He held out his hand, and Viper gave him a pair of pruning shears. When the ties were cut, Chase trained his gun on the man while Cupcake and Viper forced their victim’s arm out.

“I’ll do you a favor, pal. I’ll let you keep the important fingers and just take your pinkie.” The man tried to pull his hand away, but he was no match for Cupcake and Viper. For a moment, when the man stayed mute, even with the shears biting into his skin, Kade worried that the ruse wasn’t going to work. He had no intention of cutting off anyone’s fingers, but they needed the names that belonged to the phones.

“Frankie,” the man blurted just when Kade was about to pull the shears away.

With a Sharpie, Cupcake wrote the name on the back of the man’s phone. “You like dogs, Frankie?” Cupcake said.

Frankie’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Who doesn’t like dogs? Why?”

“Just wondered.” Duke had run out behind Cupcake and Viper and joined them. He sniffed the strangers’ legs. Cupcake glanced down at him. “That’s good, though. Duke here only bites people who don’t like dogs, so you’re safe.”

He chatted with Frankie for another minute, then moved to the next man and asked that one if he liked cats. He went down the line, getting each man to talk to him by asking silly questions as he wrote names on the back of phones. With the threat of the pruning shears, no one gave them any more trouble.

Kade shared an amused look with Viper. Only Cupcake could get the enemy to chat with him as if they were suddenly besties. That talent had come in handy over the years. There was a reason for getting the men to talk, though. Cupcake could mimic any voice with only a few sentences from his mark. If Watson or one of the other men with him called one of the phones, Cupcake would answer it. Since an incoming call on cell phones could be answered without a password, all they needed to know was who belonged to each one.

“Come with me, gentlemen,” Chase said after the five phones were identified with the owner’s names.

---