Page 79 of Shadowed Agenda
“Trust me, it ain’t pretty. Mackenzie pulled a bottle of cough syrup out of a cupboard. I think she was hoping it would make them drowsy, and they’d nap.”
“I used that trick once or twice when my kids were little,” Clara said as she made another pot of coffee. “If I were Mackenzie, I’d count on you coming and want the kids to be out of the way. Asleep in their bedrooms would do it.”
“Mackenzie has been walking back and forth in front of a bedroom window trying to soothe Emmeline,” Shirley said. “She’s standing in front of the window now. It looks like Emmeline has finally fallen asleep.”
“We need to move now before the kids wake up,” Pavlo said, gesturing to the Kevlar vests and weapons sitting on a counter. “Are those ours?”
“I had to substitute a few things on the list Javier sent,” Jake said as Pavlo set his cup down and removed his suit jacket and shirt.
“We’re flexible,” Drake said, adding his clothes to Pavlo’s pile. He pulled a black t-shirt over his head and then strapped on the remaining Kevlar vest.
“We’ll need Mackenzie out of the way when we enter. These guys have been drinking. They’ll be aggressive and unpredictable.” Pavlo strapped a thigh holster around his leg. He loaded, racked, locked a pistol, and placed it in the holster. He shoved four magazines into pouches on the tactical belt he’d put on.
“I’ll take care of it.” Finlay dug in the messenger bag across her shoulder and pulled out a lanyard. She hung it on her neck. “The organization on the identification card exists, but the ID number is fake. It’s a group I support. All I need is a clipboard.” She pulled three brochures from the messenger bag.
“There should be one in Stanley’s office,” Claire said, leaving the room.
“Doesn’t Finlay scare you just a bit?” Drake whispered as he strapped on an ankle holster.
“Yup,” Pavlo said and then laid out the plan. “I’ll take the front door. Drake will need to get in the back door. According to the floor plan, the door at the laundry room’s end opens into the walk-in kitchen pantry. As long as the pantry door in the kitchen is closed, no one should spot him.”
“I can see it,” Shirley said. “It’s closed.”
“The minute Drake is in place, I’ll give Finlay the sign to ring the front doorbell.”
“Where will you be?” Finlay asked.
“Against the wall beside the door. We can count on one man accompanying Mackenzie to the door. You need to get Mackenzie to step outside and off to the opposite side of me so I can get a clean shot.”
“I can do better than that.” She fished out a black felt tip marker from the messenger bag and wrote on the back of the name tag. “If I were Mackenzie, I’d be waiting for someone to show up. This should do it.”
She held up the back of the identification card. The wordduckwas written in big letters.
Pavlo smiled as he picked up an earpiece and mic from the counter. Yeah, it would work.
“Communication had been through our cell phones,” Jake said as he put in his earpiece. “We were worried about others listening in and fucking this up. Red, let everyone know we’re heading out and to switch to the radios.”
“There’s a path going through the trees between the two properties,” Clara said as she handed a clipboard to Finlay. “The trees are thick, so you won’t be seen until you exit the path. It leads to the back of the house.”
“The guy at the Senator’s place just got out of his car,” Red said, reading a text message on his cell phone. “Regan must be close.”
Pavlo began barking orders and headed out of the house. Drake and Finlay were behind him.
No one had voiced the one thought everyone in the room shared. Mackenzie was a loose end. One that would be tied off permanently once Regan had also served her purpose.
Chapter thirty-seven
“Thanks,Kyle.Icantake it from here.”
Gage Palmer. Regan had been right. He was involved in all of this. She was certain he was just a lackey following directions but close enough to the person calling the shots to know exactly what was happening.
“Yes, sir.” Kyle turned and left the room. It looked like the living room.
“If I said it was nice to see you again, Gage, I’d be lying,” Regan said, her rage bubbling inside her. She got right to the point. “Where’s my daughter, asshole?”
“She’s with your sister. The men who took her are at Mackenzie’s place to ensure your cooperation. If you cooperate, you’ll see your daughter soon. I don’t think I have to spell out what will happen if you don’t.”
A glimmer of hope beat in Regan’s heart. The cottage was the first place Pavlo would look. Gage didn’t know Mackenzie had warned them. As for her being reunited with her daughter after she’d played her part? It wasn’t going to happen. Regan knew he intended to kill her. That had been spelled out clearly on the drive over.