Chapter 12 Cash
TWELVE
CASH
I stood in the cover of night on the backside of the building, hidden in the trees that surrounded the compound forty-five minutes outside of Moonlit Ridge.
We’d ditched our bikes about a half mile back on a beaten trail that I found during my surveillance.
The large metal building was in a secluded area, surrounded by an eight-foot-tall chain-link fence. Hazy lights glowed against the heavy darkness that reigned from above, a deep forest fog making it even more difficult to see.
The seedy operation going down inside was held under the guise of a logging company. Kent Ellison had run this charade for years, his reach extending all the way down into San Diego and up into Oregon and Washington.
The guy was dirty as fuck. Cruel and disgusting in his dealings.
Violence skimmed over the surface of my skin as I thought of Elena being held hostage inside. I wanted to take this piece of shit out.
Completely.
But that would only cause a shitstorm that we couldn’t afford right then. We just needed Elena out, then Silas could figure out how he wanted to handle the Kent situation. Kent who would likely come for us.
It was a risk we always had to swallow whenever we came into these types of situations, but we’d dealt with the vilest of creatures since the beginning.
We didn’t shy or shirk when it came to the threat.
I glanced at Theo, who was ducked down in the shadows on the far side of the fence, then to Kane, who was on the opposite side, both standing guard in case things went south.
That thought no longer sat right with me. Could no longer even contemplate that worst-case scenario.
Couldn’t imagine having to go tell their families that something had happened to them.
To me, this thing only worked without attachments. Without the fear that by helping one person we were dragging someone else into the line of fire.
I didn’t know how long we could go on like this.
Cornflower eyes flashed through my mind. The soft feather of her lashes and the little wrinkle between her brow when she’d begged me to step into a position I couldn’t fulfill.
A disturbance blew through my conscience.
What the fuck was I doing? Inviting them into my home?
In my periphery, I saw Theo give me the signal that all was clear. The guard running the perimeter had just rounded back around the north side of the building.
I had seven minutes and thirty seconds to get in and get out before the fucker would be coming back around.
Dipping my chin, I shot into action. I knelt low and snagged my cutters from my back pocket. Breaths going haggard, I snipped through the metal wires of the fence to create an opening. When it was large enough, I bent the fencing back.
On a count of zero to this was fucking it, I squeezed through the opening, the bent edges of the metal scraping over my flesh.
The second I was on the other side, I pulled my gun from the holster at my back, and I kept low, attention raking back and forth as I ran across the grassy expanse toward the backside of the building.
Adrenaline thundered through my veins. The brutality inside stirred and stewed, a quiet howl that begged me to let loose.
To release the pressure that built and built until that delicious moment it was finally unleashed.
There would be no sating it tonight. This had to be clean. I couldn’t leave a trail of blood behind me no matter how much I was thirsting to do it.
I glanced both ways again as I got close to the back wall, then I tucked my gun back into its holster as I grabbed hold of a metal pipe that ran from the ground to the roof. Using my boots against the wall, I propelled myself upward, my movements quickened as I scaled to the top.
I tossed myself onto the roof, breaths heaving and my heart battering as I hurried to the hatch that led into the crawl space.
A padlock kept it bound, and I grabbed my cutters again. My teeth gritted as I compressed the handles of the cutter, the sharp blades shearing through the metal. I stifled a heavy gush of air when it gave. Then I carefully, and as silently as I could, pulled the hatch lid open.
I held my breath as I listened, knowing I was in deep trouble if I alerted anyone, before I felt satisfied I was in the clear and gripped onto the sides of the opening and lowered myself inside.
The soles of my boots hit the interior ceiling with a muted thud.
It was the dead of night, and I was banking on the fact that most would be asleep, and I prayed to fuck that Elena was alone and wasn’t being occupied by someone I most definitely didn’t want to see.
It was the main unknown of this job.
Why she was here. If she’d come of her own accord. If she’d been brainwashed. Or if she was chained.
I crawled through the tangle of wires and conduit toward the room where she was being held. My pulse careened and bashed as I pulled out the large, serrated hunting knife attached to my side.
I started to saw through the sheetrock over Elena’s room.
Sweat dripped down my brow as I dragged the knife back and forth, attempting to keep it as quiet as possible. I glanced at my watch. Two minutes and thirty-two seconds had passed.
Adrenaline pounded as I sawed through the flimsy wood. Finally, I made a hole big enough so I could peel it the rest of the way back.
A faint glow radiated from the space below, though it was mostly dark. Took a second for my eyes to adjust, and I squinted as I made out that the room was close to bare, just a dingy mattress sat in the middle.
A woman was sleeping there, face down with long locks of dark brown hair strewn around her.
Elena.
Thank fuck.
Sucking in a deep breath, I swung down and landed with a dull thunk on the floor.
I froze when she groaned and stirred, then edged forward once she settled. Felt like a prick for what I was about to do, way I knew I was going to freak her the fuck out, but there was no other way to handle it.
I slapped my hand over her mouth as I wrapped my other arm around her waist to drag her off the bed.
Her back pinned to my chest.
Terror gripped her, and her legs started to flail as she clawed at my arm. Her terrified screams were buried in my palm. I put my mouth to her ear, hissed as quietly as I could, “I’m a friend of your brother. I’m here to get you out, but you need to be quiet.”
She stilled, but I could still feel the distrust rolling through her body.
“We have to go, right now, but first I need you to promise me if I remove my hand, you won’t scream.”
Frantically, she nodded against my hold, and I reluctantly peeled my hand away.
Not sure how she was going to react.
Her chest heaved with shallow, horrified breaths as she swiveled around to look at me.
One eye was almost swollen shut, and dried tears and dirt were caked all over her face.
Rage pummeled me through.
A rogue wave that nearly knocked me off my feet and had me thundering out the door to enact the vengeance every one of these assholes had earned.
I bit it back. Let it fester for another time.
I glanced at my watch.
Four minutes, thirteen seconds.
“Hurry,” I told her, stretching out my hand.
She choked back a whimper and took it, and I rushed her to the opening in the ceiling. I cupped my hands to make a step, and I angled my head for her to step into it.
She complied, only emitting a small yelp as I hoisted her up, and she gripped onto the edge of the hole I made. She struggled to pull herself up, and I pushed upward to assist her, my heart drumming like mad since we were losing precious time.
She finally got her elbows hooked and crawled the rest of the way up.
The boards clattered as she tumbled into the crawlspace, and I ground down on my molars, sending a look back at the door before I jumped to grab hold. I tossed myself up, quick to ascend to her side. I gestured with my chin, indicating for her to follow.
I crawled as fast as I could to the hatch that remained open.
The barest glow of moonlight spilled in, and I poked my head out.
Clear.
I climbed out onto the roof, then lay on my stomach to offer my hand.
She grabbed on, and I dragged her out.
“This way,” I grunted quietly.
Crouched low, I hauled her over to the edge of the roof to the metal pole.
Knew this was going to be the riskiest part of getting her out.
Her eyes went wide, fear taking her over as she realized how far it was over the side.
I didn’t have time to coax her into not being afraid of heights or some shit, so I gritted, “Get on my back.”
Hesitation filled her. “I…”
“You want them to find you and drag you back into that room?” I cocked my head with the warning.
She blinked, then shook her head.
I turned around and bent lower so she could climb onto my back. She wrapped her trembling arms and legs around me.
“Hold tight,” I grated, and I swung a leg over and took hold of the pole.
The muscles in my shoulders and arms strained as I eased us down, using my feet planted on the wall to balance us and hoping to God that she had the strength to hold on because this was going to be an entirely different feat if I had to hold onto her and climb down one handed.
Whimpers rolled from her as I edged down as quickly as I could. When we were four feet from the ground, I hopped off.
A wheeze of relief left her when we made impact with the ground, then I cut my attention across the grassy yard before I snatched her hand and ran us toward the hole in the fence.
We were three-quarters of the way there when I heard a harsh, guttural shout.
“Hey!”
“Fuck,” I rasped under my breath, and I didn’t wait. I picked her up and tossed her over my shoulder and ran with her toward the opening.
Footsteps pounded behind me, and I shoved her through the hole, handing her off to Kane who’d heard the commotion and came running.
“Take her,” I hissed. She barely made it through by the time I got clocked by something in the side of the head.
Pain splintered through my skull.
Severe enough that it would drop another man to his knees.