Page 59 of Deadly Sins

“Kate’s been taken. Jason was right about Consortium presence in the area. Kate’s former fiancé, Hawk Steele showed up. A back-from-the-dead kind of deal. I’m certain he’s Consortium. That hit on Jason that got us all to Endurance? I’ll bet you anything that’s his work. He wanted to lure Kate here and get her alone.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. “We should have seen this coming,” Bridger said finally, his voice low and furious.

It looked like Fenn wasn’t the only person blaming himself. “I need reinforcements, bro.”

“Jason clued us in that something was hinky out there. We’re already on our way. We just touched down to refuel,” Bridger assured him. “Should get back in the air within half an hour, but we’re still two hours away.”

Fenn groaned. “I’m betting he’s got her out at an abandoned radio base an hour’s snowmobile ride from the settlement.”

Which meant Bridger and the team were three hours behind him. An eternity.

“Send me the coordinates,” Bridger insisted. “We’ll be there as soon as we can. Wear your comlink. As soon as we’re in range, I’ll contact you.”

“Roger that.” Fenn ended the call and slumped against the wall, his head in his hands.

How could he have let Steele drag Kate off like that? How could he have been so stupid?

He realized now the man had been lying all along. That radio station wasn’t a place he was staying. It was a prison. To hold Kate, for some reason.

And then it hit him. The Consortium.

Hawk was going to deliver Kate to the Consortium.

Fenn paced the room, his mind racing. The team was coming to the rescue, but he couldn’t wait for them. Steele already had a huge head start. No telling what he could do in three more hours.

He’d have to run this op on his own.

How many people would Hawk have watching his back? Jimbo, he had to figure, but there could easily be others. Maybe even people from the military base.

The abandoned lab was equidistant from the settlement and the base, which meant that anyone could be involved. Fenn’s mind spun with the possibilities, each one more terrifying than the last.

He could use some serious help, but he didn’t know the people in Endurance well enough to be asking folks to walk into a death trap.

And then there was the cookie thing. Who could he actually trust? He couldn’t believe that Saila would have poisoned the cookies, but then again, he’d been wrong about just about everything so far.

He sank down on the bed, his head in his hands, closed his eyes, and prayed, his heart aching with the weight of his fears.

And then, suddenly, like every other time he’d been in crisis, his Savior reached out, offering wisdom. Inner peace.

Fenn knew exactly what he had to do.

He stood, his jaw set with determination. He grabbed his gear, suited up, and headed out the door.

Boots sliding on the slick layer of new snow, he made it to Rog’s place as fast as he could and pounded on the door.

When the older man appeared, he didn’t hesitate. “I need your help. Kate’s been taken, and I need to get her back.”

Rog’s eyes widened. “Copy that. What do you need me to do?”

Fenn explained the situation as quickly as he could, his words crashing into each other. The older man listened intently, his brow furrowed with concern, asking only the most pertinent questions.

Fenn felt like he was talking to Graham. Rog had the same calm, quiet, deadly confidence.

Still, Fenn was all too aware of the risks he was asking the retired special ops soldier to take. “The guy we’re up against is highly trained, well-funded, and completely soulless. This is gonna be––”

“A whole lotta fun,” Rog interrupted him. “You got a ride?”

The empty space outside the hotel made his stomach sink. No. He didn’t.