Chapter 17 #2
She turned and walked toward the door, voice low.
She nodded at something the other person said before her shoulders shot back, her muscles tensing.
She glanced over at them, eyes wide, mouth pressed into a fine line before she ended the conversation — waiting until her cell chimed before swiping the screen, muttering something under her breath.
Dalton pushed off the desk, crossed over to her. “Everything okay?”
She stared at her phone, enlarging whatever was on the screen before shaking her head. “I…”
He placed his hand on the small of Avery’s back, much like Buck did to Tierney, gaining her attention. “Obviously, that wasn’t good news, so, just spit it out.”
Avery glanced over at Sloane. “How do I put a photo up on your screen?”
Sloane motioned to Avery’s cell. “Text it to me, and I’ll do it for you.”
Sloane’s cell chimed a second later, and she typed something on her keyboard, had the image plastered on the monitor a moment later.
Avery stalked over. “That was Washington State Patrol. They just found Wade’s truck abandoned on the shoulder of I-5, twenty miles north of the border.”
Buck surged forward, focus centered on the blue Ford sitting kitty corner on the shoulder in the image. “What? Is he okay? And why the hell is he in Washington State?”
Avery held up her hand. “They don’t have much intel.
The driver’s door was open, keys in the ignition with the engine still running.
His cane was behind the vehicle in a ditch, and there were scuff marks in the gravel, but no blood.
No note. They contacted Oregon State Patrol.
And when they realized who the truck belonged to, that he was part of Raven’s Security, they called me.
” She shoved the errant strands of hair out of her face.
“It’s no secret I work with Greer a lot.
That I know all of you. That we’re friends. ”
The lighter burned white-hot in Tierney’s pocket, the weight nearly taking her to her knees. Memories of the ambush surfaced, the truth settling unforgivingly in her gut.
Buck squeezed her hand, eyes narrowed, brow furrowed, when Sloane’s screen flickered, static blasting through the room before an IP address materialized out of the lines.
Sloane tapped her keyboard, swearing under her breath as she shook her head. “Some asshole just hacked our internet feed. Wants us to click on that link. It looks like it’s a live stream. I can probably override it, but…”
Bodie stepped forward. “Hit it.”
The monitor went dark, nothing but a blank, black screen showing for a few moments before the feed cut in. Tierney stiffened.
Wade Stone.
Bound to a steel chair in the center of a cavernous, industrial room flanked by concrete pillars, rusted catwalks, and massive empty vats. Water dripped in the background, gulls crying in the distance.
The camera zoomed in on Wade’s face. His left eye was swollen shut, his split lip crusted with blood that had dried down the front of his shirt. He looked wrecked, but the one eye still open held a feral gleam that screamed defiance.
He’d fought for every inch of breath, and he’d paid for it.
The lens pulled back, then drifted right. A man stepped out of the shadows. Impeccably dressed. Unnaturally still. He moved into frame with the kind of effortless control that made the room seem to contract around him. He reached into his pocket and drew out a small black object.
Snick-clink.
The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot. A tiny flame flared, catching on the silver scythe engraved into the matte-black Zippo.
The lighter brightened the man’s face, highlighting a strong jaw with dark eyes, a nose that had been broken at least once in the past. He lit the end of a cigarette, drawing on it a few times before blowing out a puff of smoke, snapping the lighter, again.
Vaughan Grieves.
Tierney’s stomach dropped. Her pulse slammed into her throat, skin crawling as she stared into his dead, dark eyes.
Grieves rolled the flame on again, the sound rattling through her skull. “Tierney O’Rourke. You’ve been very difficult to find.”
Shoving down the memories teasing her vision, Tierney took a step forward. “Guess you’re not much of a tracker without someone handing you the coordinates…” She paused, looking him dead in the eyes. “Grieves.”
He chuckled. “Someone did their homework. And I’ve got to hand it to you, that escape…” He whistled. “My men were convinced you’d died.”
“But not you.”
He shrugged. “After the way you gutted José and took that river? I had a feeling you wouldn’t just wash away.
The next day, I found where you crawled out of the mud, tracked you for three miles…
and then you vanished.” He sighed, as if lamenting a misplaced watch.
“I never stopped looking. You became a bit of a legend in certain circles, Tierney. The ultimate prize. Imagine my delight when Pike called to say you’d literally fallen back into my lap. ”
He took a drag from his cigarette. “Some might call it an act of providence.”
She fisted her hands. Had he really been searching for her? All this time?
She cocked her head to the side. “If it’s me you want, then why didn’t you just come and get me?”
“Unlike Pike, I don’t let emotions make me careless. He thought you’d be weak. Easy.” Grieves gave a slight shake of his head. “I prefer a sporting approach. Nothing sharpens the prey quite like a life on the line.”
“Get to the terms, Grieves.”
“Patience, luv. I have eight of my best men geared up and ready for blood. You can bring everyone in that room, minus the sheriff. I know she’s pregnant, and despite what you think, I’m not a monster.
But feel free to sub in that search-and-rescue medic…
Rowan Scott, I believe.” Grieves’ eyes darkened.
“Or you can come alone. Just don’t try to pad the roster.
I’m intimately familiar with Raven’s Security personnel. ”
“Weapons?”
“Don’t patronize me. You know how the game’s played.
You’ve survived it twice, now. But let’s be clear.
If I see a badge... Stone dies. If your federal friend brings a SWAT team...
he dies. And if someone tries to drag him off the property without disarming the ridiculous amount of C4 I wired to his chest… he vanishes.”
“Sounds like you’ve already decided Wade dies.”
“That depends on you. You can choose not to play, sacrifice his life to save your other friends, and I’ll disappear. Or, you can come and retrieve him. Your choice.”
“How do I know you’ll uphold your end of the bargain? Pike didn’t.”
“You don’t. Which means, either you win, or you’re mine.”
His words dropped her stomach, the remembered sensation of him watching her from the shadows making her skin crawl.
She wouldn’t go through that again.
She held her chin high. “Send the coordinates.”
He grinned, flipping that damn lighter, again, the snick-clink scratching at every nerve, putting her on edge.
“That’s the spirit. I’ll see you soon. Oh, and Tierney…
” He had the camera pan in on his chest. “In case you’re planning on bypassing the game, having one of your sniper mates cap me before we’ve had any fun, I’ve wired a heart rate monitor to my chest. If it stops before you’ve defeated my men… ”
“Which means, we need to take you alive.”
“You’ve got ninety minutes before his time runs out. Use it wisely.”
He grinned, then the video cut off, a set of coordinates taking its place. The room fell silent, everyone staring at the screen before they all moved at once.
Bodie grabbed his phone, started talking to someone while Sloane launched the map, had the coordinates dialed in. Avery muttered under her breath, looking as if she wanted to pull out some of her hair until everyone stopped, focused on the screen.
Buck inched forward, pointing to the building filling the screen. “That’s the abandoned cannery complex at the edge of the state line. Huge facility with multiple levels. Perfect for sniper lines, IED tripwires. And by the time we get there, the sun will be setting.”
Tierney swallowed the bile burning a line down the back of her throat. “I can go. Alone.”
Buck coughed. “Not a chance in hell, sweetheart. If Grieves wants a war, we’ll give him one.”
Bodie didn’t hesitate. “You heard him. Nobody goes in alone. Hit the armory. We’re going to tear that place to the ground.”