by Amy McKinley
“In position” was repeated through our headsets until all of us had reported. I waited until Jack gave the command to go. When he did, we moved hard and fast. My foot connected with the front door with a loud crack. The wood splintered around the lock. As the door flew open, I jerked to the side in anticipation of a spray of bullets.
Silence. My heart stuttered. That could only mean a few things. With care, I checked around the corner. No shots fired. No one in sight. Gun first, I went into the room.
Empty.
Through a series of “clear” sounding through our earpieces, we came together in the main room. The chair was there, the ties cut and left behind, as was the red knit hat that Jack gripped tightly in his fist.
Mike and I spread out. I took the time to do a thorough search for cameras and bugs. We found a camera pointed directly at the chair and at us.
No one said a word as we left to regroup at the temporary motel. We’ll find her. There is no other option. Rich was involved, as were his unlimited resources, which we would take full advantage of.
Mike got coffee started, and Keegan tossed each of us a protein bar. None of us felt like eating, but we needed to keep our energy up.
Chris dropped his phone on the table and turned to us, his face grim. Jack’s cell rang as soon as Chris spoke. “Rex is out of jail.”
Fucking hell.
Jack answered and uttered a few words into his phone before disconnecting. We didn’t even have time to react before Jack swore a blue streak. “Rich has been monitoring the Tridel Corp’s movements while we attempted to find and rescue Stella. The guards Keegan called in for Max’s room are dead. Max has been taken, and no activity has been noted by the enemy yet. You all know what this means.”
“They’re working together.” At least in some capacity. I threw my protein bar, and it hit the opposite wall with a less-than-satisfying thud.
It was clear as day. Rex and Mole had Stella and Max. Our old enemies and the Tridel Corp had to be interconnected. After what had happened to Jenni, my concern for Stella went through the fucking roof.
Chapter 25
Hawk
It’s too predictable.
The text from Rex—I assumed it was from him, although it came from a different number—taunted me as I wracked my brain to figure out where he could have Stella. We dispersed, checking weapons and gear as Chris scoured the locations for Tridel Corporation’s four territory heads. I dropped down on the couch and pulled Stella’s burner phone from my pocket, thumbing the picture back up. If there was anything there that could give us a clue to where she had been moved, I would find it.
Jack had placed a call to Rich, and we were waiting for him to pick up. I drifted closer when I heard Jack tell Rich he was going to be on speaker.
Rich stated the obvious. “It’s clear that the target has help.” By “target,” he meant Rex and Mole. Without confirmation, he kept the finger-pointing to a minimum, but we wouldn’t. We were positive they had her.
“We figured that, especially when his place was empty,” Jack’s dry tone voiced the thought we were all kicking ourselves over.
Rich cleared his throat. “You’ll have several drones dropped off within the hour, along with anything else you need.”
I glanced at Chris and caught the grin that spread over his face. Good, we’ll have another way to track those guys. Of course, we needed to figure out where they were first.
“What about Mole? How does he fit into everything?” Mike asked.
“Pretty sure I’ve found him,” Chris said. “He’s using an alias, as we’d suspected. He’s operating under the name Vince Raymond.” He chuckled. “He’s got a full beard, which must cover that mole we used to give him shit over. From what I can tell, he mainly pays cash but popped up on the radar for unpaid parking tickets. At least we know where he’s been, but that’s not all. He’s muscle for Tridel.”
“Let’s pick him up, then.” I wanted it done. I would handle the interrogation, and if Mole survived what I had planned, he would be lucky.
“That’ll happen, but I want you to focus on Tridel,” Rich snapped authoritatively. “If you take them down, you’ll strip Rex and Mole’s access to power, their backing. Plus, you’re on the clock for taking down Malone, Tridel’s owner. You’ve got two days to cut the head off the snake.”
“You’re okay with putting Stella at risk by waiting two days to rescue her? Because I’m sure as hell not,” I snapped. I can’t fucking believe this.
“Not quite.” Rich’s voice was calm, while I wanted to rage. “Go after Stan Jones, Ben Anderson, Henry Garcia, and Landon Johnson, the men who run each territory, first. Interrogate them. One of them should know where Stella and Max are being held. If not, they should know where Rex or Mole is.”
Mike leaned over to look at Chris’s screen. “Just got your briefing document.”
I couldn’t think straight with the image of what they could be doing to her in my mind. Hold on, Red. I’m coming for you.
Keegan and I exchanged a look. Repressed fury burned in his eyes too, and it gave me a measure of calm. Even if the rest of our team was okay with following protocol on the mission, I knew he would have my back for the interrogations. Keegan was a mean son of a bitch. The smile that curved his mouth was one of dark intent. “Hawk and I will take point on the interrogations,” he said.
A tic pulsed along Jack’s jaw, but he nodded, his gaze straying again to the red knit hat that Jenni had worn. Mike snapped his fingers in front of Jack’s face. “Hannah will be here in half an hour.”
Jack’s shoulders visibly relaxed. I got it. It wasn’t that Hannah wasn’t the one for him, but he was dealing with bad memories of those last few moments of hell. Rex, Mole, and Jenni’s ring and hat had torn open old wounds that’d never fully healed. His fists clenched at his sides as he made eye contact with each one of us. “Rex is mine.”
I had no problem with that and gave him a curt nod. All I wanted was Stella safe and in my arms, and I would mow down whoever I had to for that to happen. With respect for Jack, I would refrain from delivering a death blow to Rex. I didn’t agree not to hurt him, though.
“They don’t know Hannah.” Mike calling her in was brilliant. “She can scope out the places Mole’s been ticketed. Maybe she’ll find where they’re holding Stella before we do.”
Jack grinned. “Chris, can you get a list and a map together for her?”
“Hawk and I’ll use the storage unit for the interrogations.” Keegan slapped my shoulder hard, and I welcomed the sting and especially his next words: “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Don’t kill the territory heads,” Rich demanded. “We’ll need them for information against their boss, the business, and for testifying.”
I clenched my teeth. One side of me wanted to kill them all for being a part of my past, while the other snapped to attention at the order. Another glance at Keegan showed him bristling, as was I. We would have to walk a fine line.
“That’ll work with Hawk and Keegan out of the action for today, but not tomorrow.” Mike drew my focus. “Malone will be on alert if word gets out about his top guys missing. We could very well have an all-out war on our hands. We need you to take point as our sharpshooter.”
I could easily slip into the skin of an assassin, and by the hard edge to Mike’s voice, I knew he was thinking the same thing. We would have to wait for a go-ahead from Rich. The more we learned about Rex, Mole, and Tridel’s owner, David Malone, the more it appeared as if several businesses were joining forces. Loan shark, money laundering, and drugs all under one management spelled a world of trouble.
“After you pull details from the four territory heads, we’ll determine how to handle the ringleader.”
“Everyone knows what to do?” Jack asked, and at our nods, he ended the call with Rich, promising to update him by midnight. Jack faced Keegan, and everything inside me settled at seeing our leader back under control. “You both have seen the heads
hot graph that Chris put together of all the members in the Tridel Corp. In the time we need to organize, I want you on the roof.” Jack pointed at me. “If you see one, take the hit, but not a kill shot. We can begin interrogating with anyone who comes at us. Keegan, I want you down on the street. Keep to the shadows and do your thing.”
Keegan’s grin was dark, and if I didn’t know him, I would be wary. He was the best of all of us when it came to blending in. No one heard him approach. I suspected it was something he’d learned before we all met. It was a skill I worked to master—it came in especially handy when assassinations were required. He and I had been a team on many of them. He took the up-close, hands-on targets. I took the ones from a distance, using my sniper rifle. It wasn’t our typical mission anymore, since we were out of the military, but if need be, it was easy to slip into the skin we’d worn then.
Sometimes, I thought Keegan had never shed his.
The past was a vengeful bitch, and I hoped like hell it wouldn’t repeat itself with Rex harming Stella.
Chapter 26
Hawk
Jack’s cell phone was ringing, and he motioned us over. I crowded the motel’s dinged-up table alongside Chris, Keegan, and Mike. We knew who it was and had been waiting for Rex to call. He and Mole were as resilient and persistent as cockroaches.
Jack set the phone on the table and put it on speaker.
“What?” Jack barked into the air above the phone.
The laugh that followed wasn’t a sane one. It was dark and menacing with an underlying edge of mania. “Jack,” Rex spat. “You should have stayed away. This is your fault, you know.”
“How the fuck do you figure?”
“My sister’s dead because of you.”
Jack’s head reared back as if he’d been punched. My jaw clenched at the low blow. That wasn’t true, and each one of us knew that. Mike, sitting across from Jack, slowly shook his head to convey that we were behind him and that the fucker on the other end of the call was a goddamned liar.
“Bullshit.” Fire danced in Jack’s eyes, and I was glad to see its return. “You pulled the trigger. It’s your fault. Those were your actions.”
“If your guy on the roof hadn’t fired the shot, I wouldn’t have had to up the stakes. He raised the bar.”
I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. What he said didn’t faze me one bit. “You’re full of shit.” We’d weaponed up because he’d forced our hand.
“Is that you? The one on the roof? Hawk, isn’t it? Fucking fitting. Now, when we meet next, I’ll know where you’ll be.”
“Shut the hell up. Everything that happened toward the end was on you.” Jack shook his head at me. He had my back, as always.
I knew what we were dealing with. Rex wasn’t all there.
“Keep telling yourself that, Jack. My sister wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near you. She knew that. You knew that. But you couldn’t help yourself. You kept taking her away. You increased the threat by invading her space and messing with her head. She was my sister. Not your anything. You fucked with that. You made her a liability.”
“Jenni made her own choices. And you made yours, distracted and with a mind laced with drugs.”
“Where’s the ring?” Rex growled.
I guess we’re done with that portion of the call. Stella had sent the ring with Hayden to Maine. There was no way we were getting it anytime soon, nor would we give it to Rex. That small part of Jenni was for Jack to hold onto, should he so choose.
Jack must have felt my urgency to find Red. I was done with the conversation. I wanted answers.
“Where’s the woman?” Jack demanded.
“Why? You interested in this one too? What would Jenni have thought?”
Jack ignored the Jenni comment. “No. She’s innocent in whatever you’re trying to do.”
“No, she isn’t. If she’s not yours, then she’s one of your crew’s. Which one?”
“Not playing this game, Rex.”
“Oh, you’ll play.” The disturbing laughter pealed through the line again.
“Nothing’s gonna happen until we know she’s alive and unharmed.”
Fucking finally. My gut tightened from the wait to find out if she was breathing.
Shuffling sounded before we caught a muffled cry. Rex growled, “speak, bitch,” and then we heard her.
“Give him hell.”
I grinned. That’s my girl. Red was a fighter.
“You want the ring?” Jack brought the conversation back to a plan of action. “Fine. Bring her—that’s the only way. Name the time and place, and you can try to take it from me.”
“I want more than that.”
“I don’t have all day,” Jack snapped.
“We’ll meet up, your guys against mine. Just like back in the day. You know the place. Bring your crew, no one else.”
This is a fucking nightmare. We knew what Rex planned, a replay of that last night back in the day. No way would that happen.
Jack met each one of our gazes. We were in. Once he had visual confirmation that we were all on the same page, he responded, “When?”
“Tomorrow night after sunset.”
Jack ended the call, and we didn’t waste time thinking about what the next day would bring. We had a job to do.
Now, we hunt.
Chapter 27
Hawk
Hannah arrived just as Keegan and I were leaving the room to take our posts. Having her there was a relief in many ways. She would help Jack hold his pain at bay until it was over, at which point I was sure they would deal with it together. The other reason I was glad she was working the mission with us was because she would attack Rex and Mole’s location and activity head on. That way, we could focus on taking down Tridel, which would cut Rex off from the power he was undoubtedly siphoning from the company. No way would we let him tap into that and risk Stella disappearing forever.
What could they do to her? Death was one scenario. Bile climbed in my throat. I couldn’t think about it. We needed to shut this shit down fast. They’d better not hurt her.
Under the cover of dusk, I peered through my scope, checking the terrain around our crappy motel for potential threats. So far, there hadn’t been any, which was odd and could very well mean that Rex and Mole were acting independently of Tridel. It was also a possibility that we weren’t an approved hit. That too gave me hope. It was small, but I would take what I could get.
I checked my watch again. It was time to go. After a final sweep to ensure nothing moved out there that wasn’t supposed to, I abandoned position. Then I entered the stairwell that would take me down to our first-floor motel suite.
Keegan appeared as I was crossing the threshold to our rooms. Hannah, Jack, Mike, and Chris were at the table, surrounding two laptops. Jack looked up as Keegan and I approached. I left my rifle strapped to my shoulder, not quite ready to part with it.
“Nothing?” Jack’s brows climbed high.
“No. All clear.” Keegan answered, and I echoed his response.
“They may be working outside of Tridel, then,” Hannah said, verbalizing my thoughts while on the roof. “That could buy us some time.”
Time was what we needed. Chris hit a few keys on his laptop and pulled up a map. Hannah had one on the screen before her as well. We were keeping tabs on those guys with drones, satellite, cell phones, any electronic transactions, and facial recognition.
Chris pointed to two points some distance from one another. “We’ve located two of the territory heads, here and here.” He tapped the screen. One point was east of where we were, and for the other, he scrolled to the next town and highlighted a spot close to two intersecting streets.
There were two other blips on the map. Jack indicated that they were the remaining two guys we needed to pick up.
“We’ll have to split up into two groups to hit these targets hard and fast.” Jack indicated the two places on the map. “Hannah will scope the last couple of areas where Mole was ticketed w
ith parking violations. The most frequent ones are where she’ll start.”
“What are the teams?” I wanted to go with Keegan so there wouldn’t be any checks and balances to how hard we struck to obtain the target. Unfortunately, Jack saw through me.
“Hawk, you’re with me. Chris, Keegan, and Mike will make up the other team.”
“Any more contact from Rex?” Hannah turned to me, her light-blue eyes hard. There was a reason she was going in alone, besides being unknown to Rex and Mole. Trained as a spy since she had been a child in Russia, she could handle just about anything that came her way. She was one of us, a weapon all on her own.
Jack and I got into a nondescript vehicle that Rich had sent with the drones. Hannah got into a rental, and the rest of the team took the Range Rover.
The sun had set quickly, and the night was inky, with very few stars and a moon hidden by clouds. It worked to our advantage. Jack pulled away from the motel, and my gaze roamed in a restless sweep, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
“Chris give you a drone?” I didn’t think we needed it, but they came in handy. There were often surprises on a raid like the one we were on. We had government backing and access to satellite photos and more intel than what we had when we began, but that didn’t mean everything would go smoothly. We would have to adjust, as we always did.
Jack and I were going after South first. Our target was Landon Johnson—I liked to call him Lando.
“Yeah. We’ll park a block away and come in from behind.” Jack turned toward me for a second before focusing on the road. “You want to use the drone?”
“No. He’s got a new wife. I’m sure he’s distracted enough and making mistakes. If he’s got guys watching his house, we’ll find them and take ’em out.” Otherwise, it’ll be one unsatisfying mission.