Chapter 8
Chapter eight
The loud rumbling of Spitfire’s engine normally became a lulling sound on their way to and from missions, but Jayson was too keyed up.
He did his best to remain calm and level-headed, but the closer they got to Las Vegas, the more antsy he became.
He wouldn’t be able to relax until he had his daughter back.
He’d given up everything for his little girl and loved her to the moon and back.
If he had to burn Sin City to the ground to find her, he wouldn’t hesitate. And he knew his team wouldn’t either.
He wished Xander were there to help because the former CIA agent was familiar with the Ferrante brothers.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t heard anything about what had happened to him after the team raided José Barrera’s mansion in Mexico, and Jayson feared they never would.
He hoped to Christ he was wrong about that.
If anyone could come back from the dead, it was Xander fucking Hawke.
Luckily, Sabrina’s father came through. Halfway through the flight, Daniel Ross sent an email with the schematics of Rocco Ferrante’s penthouse at The Starlight Hotel—where he apparently stayed any time he was in the city—as well as a detailed layout of his sprawling mansion in the desert.
Sabrina had already forwarded all of it to their phones.
Rocco Ferrante’s residences wouldn’t be easily accessible. He’d be well-guarded and both his places would be a pain in the ass to breach undetected. Despite wanting to remain under the radar, if Jayson had to go in guns blazing, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“Where do we think he is?” Wes asked. They all closely studied the building layouts, wanting to be fully prepared once they decided on which location to hit first.
“Can your dad find out?” Jayson asked Sabrina.
“He said he’s working on it.”
Not good enough. Jayson stifled a frustrated sigh. They needed intel ASAP. Time was critical, and it was ticking away far too fast. If anyone laid a hand on Emma, dared to hurt her in any way, he would wreak destruction like a Horseman of the motherfucking Apocalypse.
“If we don’t hear back from Mitch or Daniel, our best bet is to split up,” Brand stated.
They decided Brand, Wes and Chaz would head to the mansion about twenty minutes outside of Vegas, while Jayson, Sabrina and Corey would go to The Starlight.
Brand wanted Lex to stay with the plane and be ready to move fast. They tossed around and discarded several ideas before settling on a plan of action which basically consisted of breaking in, locating Emma and extracting her.
There simply wasn’t time to mess around with disguises or subterfuge.
This was a balls-to-the-wall, no-holds-barred, blow-shit-up rescue.
Luckily, that’s what they did best.
Fifteen minutes before landing, Jayson secured his tactical vest and checked his gear again.
They were all armed to the teeth and ready for action.
Along with his trusty Glock 19, he had flashbangs, his Ka-Bar, extra ammo and a grenade, not to mention several breaching tools, rope, zip ties and a med kit.
“Are you okay?” Sabrina asked quietly, studying him closely.
He met her worried, golden-brown eyes. “Not until I have Emma back.” Why pretend?
“We’ll find her,” she said, tone fierce. Determined. “I know it.”
He reached over and adjusted a strap on her vest, tightening it. “You don’t have to go in with us.”
A frown creased her brow. “I’m going.”
Warmth bloomed in his chest. The fact that she was willing to step into the fire, to put her life on the line when she barely knew him, hit hard. “Thank you,” he murmured.
Lex told everyone to buckle up, then expertly guided the An-26 aircraft to touch down at a private airfield fifteen minutes from the Strip. The energy amped up as they placed comms units in their ears and prepared to exit.
“Stay in touch,” Brand directed. “Once we locate Emma, return here immediately. No side quests, no revenge plots.” He gave Jayson a pointed look. “Getting Emma home safely is our only objective. Lex, be ready to get us the hell outta here.”
“Roger that.” Lex gave a nod. “See you soon.”
The men exchanged fist bumps and exited the plane. Jayson knew what Brand was getting at, and he wasn’t planning to go off the rails and turn the penthouse into a Tarantino revenge flick. There would be time to finish things up later.
Mitch had arranged for two Range Rovers to be waiting for the team, and they quickly separated and climbed into the vehicles. Jayson opened the rear door for Sabrina then climbed into the front passenger seat, while Corey got behind the wheel.
Looking out the tinted window, Jayson stared at the passing desert scenery, his mind racing, gloved hands clenched.
In the back, Sabrina’s phone beeped with a text, and Jayson turned in his seat. She quickly scanned the message, then she slid closer, making eye contact with him.
“Dad said Emma is at The Starlight. She was just spotted heading up to the penthouse with two of Ferrante’s men.”
His heart thundered at the intel. “Is Ferrante there?”
“Unconfirmed. But let’s assume he is. How do we get up there and rescue Emma?”
On the flight over, they’d discussed stealing a master keycard from housekeeping, as well as posing as maintenance, but who knew how long that would take. Extracting his daughter ASAP was priority number one.
“By any means necessary.” Jayson exchanged a determined look with Corey, and his friend nodded in understanding.
Shit just got real.
Sabrina might be a trained FBI agent, but the two men in the front seat were a completely different breed.
They were former special ops. Badass to the bone.
And now she was about to storm the luxury penthouse of the top Vegas mobster and hopefully not die in the process.
Because sometimes things didn’t work out the way you planned, and she knew ops like this could go south fast.
Jayson contacted Brandon through their comms and relayed Emma’s location, courtesy of Special Agent in Charge Daniel Ross. After agreeing the FBI intel was good, Brand and company changed their course to The Starlight.
Corey parked the Range Rover in the loading dock behind a row of dumpsters and recycling crushers, and they jumped out.
Hopefully, no one would look twice. This was Las Vegas, after all, and there were a lot stranger things to see than a few GI Joe/Jane-looking individuals in black wearing tactical vests. At least, she hoped so.
The Starlight, a newer hotel on the Strip, was immensely popular. According to the building schematics, the freight elevator would take them up to the sixtieth floor, but not directly to the penthouse which covered floors sixty-one through sixty-three.
“How’re we going to access the freight elevator?” Sabrina asked, hurrying beside the two men. Their long strides quickly ate up the distance from the SUV to the elevator, and she was forced to jog or fall behind.
Jayson reached into one of his many cargo pants pockets and produced a small, box-like device. “By using this fun little CIA gadget.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you get that?”
On her other side, Corey unfolded a compact breaching device and used it to pry the closed elevator door open.
“We’ve got connections,” Jayson murmured, and based on what she’d already seen, she had no doubts about that.
She watched them work with ease, skill and efficiency.
Like they’d done this a million times before.
Once Corey pried the door open, they stepped inside and Jayson placed the gizmo on the elevator’s control panel.
The screen lit up, a keypad appeared and he punched in sixty.
The door closed and the elevator began to zoom upward.
Sabrina looked from one man to the other, impressed. “You guys are good.”
Corey smirked and Jayson’s hazel eyes glittered, locking her in his sights. “You have no idea,” Jayson murmured, and her belly exploded in flutters. For some reason, she got the feeling he wasn’t talking about his stealth skills any longer.
She gave her head a shake, needing to remain completely focused on the task at hand. Get in, find Emma, get out. Everything else—if there were to be anything else—could wait.
As they closed in on the sixtieth floor, the men pulled their weapons, and Sabrina followed suit.
She also carried a Glock 19, with a few FBI-specific modifications.
The elevator stopped and Sabrina felt every muscle in her body tense as the door slid open.
Corey took point and Jayson tilted his head for her to follow.
She obeyed without question and he immediately moved in behind her, bringing up the rear of their trio.
The knowledge that Jayson had her six felt good. Reassuring in a way she couldn’t quite explain and had no time to analyze. Corey led them straight to the stairwell and they moved swiftly up the steps to the sixty-first floor.
“Stay here while we clear the floor,” Jayson ordered, and she bristled.
“I can help—”
“Stay,” he hissed. “If we need you, we’ll call.”
Sabrina huffed out a breath, wanting to argue, but knowing time was of the essence.
Still, his order pissed her off. Maybe they didn’t think she was trained well enough and might compromise the mission.
Or, worse yet, maybe they didn’t take her seriously and thought she would just get in the way.
Hell, she had the very bad habit of doubting herself, so why wouldn’t they?
Pride stung, her shoulders slumped and she lowered her gun.
“Don’t think you’re off the hook, Special Agent.” Jayson gave her a reaffirming nod. “We need eyes here on the stairwell to make sure we have a clear exit.”
His words perked her up. It made sense for the op, and it reaffirmed her trust in them to think things through logically, even when there were very personal stakes on the line.
“Copy,” she stated, voice firm and in total control. Granted, she might not be a former Navy SEAL or Army Ranger like the two men standing before her, but she was a goddamn qualified professional, and she could handle herself in a dangerous situation. That’s what she kept telling herself, anyway.
“The hall is empty,” Corey reported. “Let’s move.”
“See you soon,” Jayson told her, then he moved into the hall behind Corey.
Lifting her gun again, she watched the two men glide forward like a couple of grim reapers, searching for souls to take. They might not be active duty any longer, but their training had stuck. She could see it in every move they made. And she was damn impressed.
Her eyes remained glued to Jayson, watching closely as he pressed his back to the wall right outside the door to Ferrante’s suite. Pulling up his gaiter, he lifted a gloved hand and knocked three times.
Here we go. Heart in her throat, she waited for all hell to break loose.
The moment one of Ferrante’s thugs opened the door, Jayson took him down with two shots—one to the head, one to the heart—while Corey tossed a flashbang into the suite. Smoke, light and shouts erupted like some kind of cosmic lightning storm as they pushed inside.
Sabrina couldn’t see what was happening in the suite, but the pop of gunshots filled the smoky air. Sweat trickled down between her breasts as she waited. Her fingers tightened on the Glock’s grip, tense and prepared to fire. She was ready for anything.
Anything except for the sound of the door crashing open one floor below, followed by the pounding of boots racing up the staircase. Oh, shit.
Her job was to keep their exit clear so they could get back to the freight elevator and make their escape. With that thought firmly embedded in her mind, she spun around, aimed her gun down the stairs and fired at the armed men racing up.