Page 87 of Covert Operation
“Keep trying. Get me all the information you can. I want to go in immediately.” I disconnect the call because I can’t sit here not getting anything new from him without losing my mind.
The timer on my GPS continues ticking down, the estimated arrival creeping lower as I close the distance between us. With five minutes left, Isaac sends Luca the county schematic of the property. Luca sends it to Christian and Jamison and then we designate a location to meet since we’re all set to arrive within minutes of each other.
As soon as I reach the vacant property we chose, I jerk the SUV to a stop, climbing out and going to the back to retrieve my rifle. The rest of my team is right behind me, and Jamison and Sadie pull in as we finish gearing up.
“I swear to God, I’m going to kill these motherfuckers.” Sadie’s jaw is set and there’s a vicious glint in her eye. I’ve seen her inaction before, and I’m glad she’s here now. There’s no one else who would be as ruthless in this moment. No one else willing to go to the same lengths I am to get Savannah out safely.
“We have to be smart about this.” Luca is the voice of reason today, and I’m fine with that. I’m so far beyond unreasonable there’s no way I could or should be in charge.
“The house we’re looking for is there.” He points in the distance. “It’s surrounded by overgrown trees, so we might be able to get close before anyone notices us.” Luca lays out his plan. It’s one I would have been able to come up with if I was in my right mind.
But I’m not. And thank God I’m smart enough to know it, because anything I do would likely get Savannah killed. I would be too aggressive. Too careless. Too enraged.
Once everyone has their orders, we separate ways, setting off just as Christian arrives with a handful of his brothers. Luca sends Bryce to fill them in as the rest of us move out. Sadie, Jamison, and I stick together, cutting through the trees as the rest of the team surrounds the property so we can all move in at once. It’s our only hope to get Savannah and Lydia out alive. We have to overwhelm them. Catch them off guard and take out anyone in our way.
By the time I can see the house, I’ve got tunnel vision. Jamison grips my shoulder, holding me back when I start for the door. He shakes his head, expression stern. Sadie stands next to me, her smaller body laced with tension, weapon up and ready as we wait for Luca’s signal.
My muscles start shaking from the exertion it takes to hold myself back. I’m reaching for the mic on my earpiece to askeveryone’s location when a single gunshot rings out, sending the birds scattering from the trees around the house.
“Move in.” Luca’s demand is immediate and sharp and late, because I’m already halfway across the yard with Sadie hot on my heels. A single kick takes down the back door and I’m inside, steps fast and long as they eat up the distance. I round the corner just as a gun swings my way.
But the man holding it doesn’t stand a chance. I put a bullet between his eyes before his finger can even twitch on the trigger. Sadie does the same to the man next to him, taking him out with a single shot. Jamison and the rest of the team flood the building, moving through in search of anyone else. I hear a few more shots, but they barely register as I run to Savannah. She’s pale and shaking, but unharmed.
“He was trying to make me beg for my life and I wouldn’t.” Savannah’s words are a whisper. “He wanted me to tell Sadie this was her fault. That if she’d just gotten here sooner?—”
“Shhh.” I cut the last tie holding her in place and pull her into my arms. “You did a good job, Sweetheart.”
Sadie finishes freeing Lydia and passes her off to Christian before launching herself at Savannah. I reluctantly let her move in, hovering close as they embrace. Both women start to sob as they cling to each other, half coherent apologies breaking up their cries.
I don’t want to take this moment from them, but we need to get the fuck out of here. After the explosion at the warehouse, I don’t put it past these dicks to have this place rigged up too.
“We need to get out of here.” I say it gently. Sadie doesn’t know me as well as Savannah and I don’t want her to think I’m an asshole.
It’s a new leaf for me. Usually I don’t care what people think, but I guess if I’m going to have a family, I should at least try to give a shit about their opinion of me.
THIRTY-SEVEN
SAVANNAH
“WE’VE GOT OUR work cut out for us, don’t we?” Pierce steps over a pile of debris, his grip on Mona’s hand tightening as he helps her navigate the treacherous back lot of the property Alaskan Security just purchased.
“It’s not that bad.” Mona sidesteps a plastic bag she probably shouldn’t investigate. The ones we came across last time we were here were filled with crap.
Literal crap.
“The first thing we should do is put up a fence and a security system.” Zeke points to the far corner of the adjoining lot. “That’s the access point we need to cut off. Once it’s not easy to get into, I think people will move on. Find somewhere they don’t have to work so hard to access.”
I slide the stylus pen free from its loop at the top of the screen on the digital tablet in my hand and write myself a note:
Call McKinley Security Systems for consult.
“I think having someone on site should be high on our priority list.” Jamison scans the buildings around us. “How long do we think it will take to have one of these places livable?”
“I guess that depends on what your definition of livable is.” Zeke turns to me. “Any idea?”
“I spoke with the guy Christian referred us to yesterday. He couldn’t give me much in the way of a timeline without seeing the place and the soonest he could get here is two days from now.” I swipe across the screen of my tablet, double checking the time before rattling it off for everyone. “He’s also going to look over the hotel to see if it’s salvageable. If it is, he said he’ll give us a few options for it too.”
“I really hope it’s not a tear down.” Sadie frowns. “We’ll be able to be up and running so much faster if we don’t have to build a place from scratch.”