Chapter 38
They parked a mile from the house and piled out of the vehicles, a military team armed to the teeth on a rural Alabama road.
Then they fell out, humping through the woods and across fields, making no noise and casting no shadow.
It was a dark night, a new moon, which worked best for special operators on missions.
Trey knew it too which was at least part of why he’d chosen tonight.
That and the convenience of having all the women in one place where he could grab them together.
Seth had found a terrain map and they’d studied it on the drive over.
This area was dotted with creeks—tributaries running into the mighty Tennessee River—and it was hilly.
Not big rolling hills, but smaller ones.
There were fields and woods, and the population was sparse.
There were huge tracts of land and one house sitting on each, a mile or more from the next.
The house where Trey had stashed the women was on a twenty-acre tract, surrounded by woods, though the trees didn’t appear to go all the way to the house except on the southern side. There were fields on the other three sides, and then the woods that hid the house from the road.
Trey and his men would be there somewhere, watching. But they weren’t expecting an incursion a full forty-five minutes before Ethan and his team should arrive if they were chases their asses around Sutton’s Creek looking for clues.
The only purpose for that game that Ethan could see was to get inside their heads, rattle them with the ticking clock, and make them careless when they arrived with minutes to spare.
Trey was obviously in control of when the bomb went off because he wasn’t going to let it happen before they were inside the house with the women.
He’d called again to ask if they were enjoying the clues. Ethan responded that they didn’t have time to talk if they were going to make it in time. Trey laughed and hung up.
Sick fuck.
The whole thing was a game, a mindfuck. Because Trey was butthurt he’d been ejected from HOT and butthurt that Paisley fell for Ethan instead of him. He’d had five years to gloat over what he’d taken from Ethan, but that wasn’t enough. Now he wanted to make all of them pay.
Ethan gritted his teeth. Joke was going to be on Trey because these HOT operators hadn’t come this far to dick around with an arrogant, evil motherfucker who got off on hurting women.
“House on the hill,” Blaze said through the comm. “Single light on.”
“Where do we think Trey and his men are waiting?” Kane said.
“They aren’t expecting us this soon,” Ethan said. “One is watching the driveway approach because they expect us to come up the road and drive to the house.”
“Agreed,” Ghost replied.
“Don’t know how many he’s got, but Trey can see the house. He won’t leave it. He wants us to drive up and breach because time’s running out. He expects us to flip the script he’s laid out for us.”
“We approach through the woods closest to the house,” Ghost said. “Give ourselves as much cover as possible. He’s got NVGs like we do so the field is a no go, even if it’s more direct.”
“Hey, there’s a tree stand in that copse of trees, about a half mile from the house,” Chance said, lowering the high-powered binoculars. “Bet that’s where he is.”
Ethan’s throat squeezed. “That’s it, Wraith. That’s where he’ll be waiting. He can see everything, but he’s far enough from the house for safety.”
He wanted to charge for that stand, leap up the ladder, and put a bullet in Trey’s head before the asshole could blink.
But of course that wouldn’t work. Trey had night vision goggles and he’d see them coming.
He’d open fire and that would be the end of everything.
Paisley and the women would die because he’d trigger the bomb.
“Let’s move out, men,” Ghost said. “We need to get to that house and get the women out. We’ll deal with McCann and his mercenaries when we’re done.”
“Copy that,” Blaze said. The others echoed him.
They melted back into the trees, moving as fast as they could through underbrush, over creeks, and downed trees. Leaves crackled as they moved, but they kept their progress as quiet as they could make it. They were deep enough into the woods not to be seen through the trees with night vision.
They just had to hope that none of Trey’s mercenaries lay in wait up ahead.
The women made it out the window and started for the tree line. It was a good fifty feet away and they hunkered low to the ground, trying not to make themselves a big target. They didn’t know where Trey and his men were, but they had to try to get away.
Freedom was so close. Get to the woods, run like hell south, then make their way west when Rory told them to. The woman seemed to have an internal compass that Paisley did not have. She vowed, if she got out of this situation, to get better at that.
Ethan and the guys taught self-defense so that was going to be priority one. Take self defense classes. Not that he hadn’t taught her some moves because he had, but there had to be more to it.
She also wanted some survival training. How to use a compass, how to live off the land.
How to know which damned direction she was facing without her phone to tell her.
She didn’t like camping because of bugs and wild animals, but damn if she wasn’t going to learn to deal with it.
And she wanted Violet to know. Very important.
“Hey,” someone shouted.
A chill of fear zipped down Paisley’s spine. It wasn’t Trey, but it was one of his men.
“Run!” Daphne whisper-yelled.
A shot rang out, bark and leaves rained down on Paisley’s head, and she passed under the cover of the trees before getting to her feet and stumbling forward. Daphne grabbed her arm and pulled her along. The others seemed to hesitate, waiting for her, but Daphne growled at them to keep going.
“I can’t,” Paisley panted as they followed the other women. “It hurts.”
Her head, her cheek, the joints in her body. When she’d fallen, she’d slammed the floor pretty hard. She’d been running on adrenaline but that adrenaline was fading.
“You can,” Daphne grated. “You fucking will.”
Behind them, more shouts rang out. Daphne wrapped an arm around her shoulders and propelled her forward even though Paisley was slowing her down.
Paisley wanted to give up, sink to the ground, and fade into nothingness.
If she did that, she could save her friends.
Ethan would take care of Violet and she would grow up safe, happy, and whole.
Ethan would find another woman, someone who would be a mother to Violet, and they would have a great life together.
“You’re nothing, Paisley!” a voice shouted behind her. “You won’t escape! Violet’s dead! Ethan’s dead! Nobody’s left to save you!”
Trey.
He was coming for her, like he always was, and there was nothing she could do.
“Think of Ethan and Violet,” Daphne said. “Picture their faces. You’re running toward them. You can do it, Paisley. Run!”
Somehow, Paisley found fresh strength. It swelled in her limbs, her veins, propelling her forward faster than before.
They ran through the woods, dodging downed trees, trudging through creeks, their breaths rattling in their chests.
Behind them came a rustling wave as the men rushed after them.
She knew they had night vision goggles, knew they could see the women when they weren’t covered up by trees.
The men were coming, and they would win. There was no stopping them. It was a miracle they hadn’t fired yet because they could surely see well enough to do so. If they weren’t firing it’s because Trey had other plans. He wanted them in that house, wanted them to be there when the bomb blew.
He knew he could catch them, knew it was only a matter of time before they got lost and tired and had to stop.
“No,” Paisley growled, surging forward. “No.”
She wasn’t going to give up. She couldn’t. Not now. They might make it. They might stumble onto the road and a passing car might stop and Trey might not shoot.
So many mights, but they had to try.
She ran for all she was worth, body aching but feet propelling her onward. Daphne was still beside her, still there to make sure she didn’t quit. Ahead of them, one of the women cried out.
A heartbeat later, a group of men in tactical gear surrounded them.
Paisley gasped for air, her head throbbing, fury gathering deep in her soul. Why?
Why had they made it so far just to lose now?
She drew in breath to scream her frustration to the universe when the circle broke as the other women threw themselves at the men.
Strong arms wrapped around her. She struggled until the voice penetrated.
“Payz, it’s me. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
“Ethan?”
“Yes, baby. It’s me.”
The shouting and movement in the distance behind them was still happening, but there was laughter as well. Laughter because Trey and his soldiers thought they had the advantage.
“You have to keep going,” Ethan said. “The guys and I have a job to finish.”
“No, Ethan, please. He said Violet—”
“She’s fine. Both of them are. Now go, Payz. Go with the women. If you reach the road, stop and wait for us to catch up.”
Daphne grabbed her hand and tugged. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Once more, they were running for all they were worth.