Page 107 of Xavier

Our conversation stops as we get closer to the abandoned warehouses.

Hudson turns off the van lights and parks down the street from the warehouse. There are no cars outside, but there weren’t any cars parked outside the last time I was here, either.

“Show time.” Hudson says as he opens his door and gets out of the van.

I check my guns and knives one last time before following him across the road. We put our headsets on and go our separate ways.

“You ready?” I whisper into the mic.

“Now or never. As soon as you do your damn job.” Hudson says back.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m getting to it.” I grab the wire cutters from my back pocket.

Just like many times before, we start by cutting the power to the warehouse. Luckily, it’s not that hard since Hudson did a lot of prep work while I was gone.

Hudson goes through the back door while I enter through the side office door.

To my surprise, there’s no one here in the office. I crack open the door and listen for any movement.

“Stupid fucking old building.” One man yells as something skids across the concrete floor.

The other man yells from the other side of the warehouse. “I told Everett this would happen if we set up in an old place, but no, he didn’t want to listen because he was in charge.”

“Yeah, look where that got him. Dead. That’s where. Fucking liar deserved it, too. I’m going to try to find the shop light. I think it’s in the office.”

The other man grunts and says, “I’m going to grab one of the extra batteries for it. We’re going to need it if we are going to get done with this tonight and head south to get the girl.”

I see red. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let them get to Brianna. Not anymore. They had their chance and blew it.

Both men groan and swear when they run into something.

“What the hell?” The man on the other side of the warehouse says.

Hudson’s voice comes through the earpiece. “One down, one to go. He’s heading your way.”

I move away from the door and hide along a wall as footsteps get closer.

My heart races as adrenaline courses through my veins. I want to handle this like I would have in the field. I want to get revenge for all the shit they put Brianna through.

The office door opens, and the man steps inside.

I wait until he’s walking past me to stick my foot out, tripping him, and taking him down to the hard concrete ground. It’s much harder to do this in the pitch black without night vision.

Reaching out, I try to get both of his hands to restrain him, but the guy gets one arm free and lands a punch on my cheek.

“Motherfucker.” I knee him in his stomach.

He lets out a groan, giving me the opportunity to grab both wrists.

It’s a damn good thing that John gave specific instructions to bring the guys back alive because I’d shoot him just to end this now.

Bringing them in alive doesn’t mean we can give them a few extra cuts and bruises.

Digging into my back pocket, I grab the zip ties and secure them around his hands.

He tries to fight me, but I stand, grab my gun, and push it into his chest. “Don’t push me, asshole, because I will pull the trigger without a second thought.”

I pull him up into a standing position and push him forward with the barrel of my gun. “Out the back door.”