Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
WHEN ELVIS ARRIVED DOWNSTAIRS at first light, he found Blaze already at the table with two laptops open and the particular energy of a man who had found something worth losing sleep over.
Donovan sat at the kitchen window with coffee, watching the back courtyard with the patient vigilance of someone used to standing watch.
Delaney already sat across from Blaze with both hands wrapped around a mug, her eyes on the laptop screen, her shoulders tight with tension once more.
Elvis read the room in one sweep and poured himself some coffee, already assuming he’d need it. Turning and leaning back on the counter, he glanced at GSI’s young computer tech. “All right, talk to me.”
Blaze spun a laptop toward him without preamble.
The footage was from the camera installed on the Bay Street address they had used for Julia Moretti’s resurrection.
The timestamp burned white in the frame's corner, showing that at four fifty-two in the morning a sedan differing from the one he had tagged as Leon’s drifted by the address.
Blaze had drawn a red marker around the driver’s window.
“Different vehicle, but the man inside has the same build,” Blaze told him. “Now watch the mirrors.”
Elvis focused on the screen, particularly the driver’s side mirror, which someone had adjusted twice in quick succession, angling back toward the building’s entrance rather than toward the street.
“Well, he’s obviously not watching traffic,” Elvis said as he lifted his coffee to his lips. “Not that there’s any traffic at that time to watch. Or on the sidewalk.”
“Nope, he’s not,” Blaze confirmed. “His eyes are on that door. Then he sat there for forty minutes, just staring at it before leaving again. I picked him up on two more cameras heading back toward I-16.” He cocked a brow as he stared across the room at Elvis. “Reconnaissance would be my guess.”
Elvis gave a curt nod as he lifted his cup once more. “Mine too.”
He then glanced at Delaney, not surprised to see her already looking at him. Behind her eyes, he saw the calculation running, the same one he had going through his head. He knew they’d arrive at the same place. They always did.
“So we go about our day with me showing up there as if I did it every day, right?” she asked. “He needs to see me at that address, think I’m careless. Just getting on my with my life.”
Donovan turned from the window, his arms over his chest, concern etched on his face. “I don’t think—”
However, Delaney cut him off. “He needs to confirm I’m real and that this isn’t a trap.
” Her words carried the tone of a woman who’d already worked through every objection before anyone else in the room had woken up.
“It won’t be good enough for him simply to see the office.
He needs to see me, or he won’t believe it’s real. ”
The kitchen went quiet as all eyes focused on her.
Elvis chuckled as he licked a drop of coffee from the rim of his cup. “You know the King made himself worth finding as well. He said he didn’t go looking for what he wanted to happen, but made it so they would want to come to him. You’ve done that here.”
“Sometimes it’s better to have them come after you than you go after them,” Blaze said, leaning back in his chair, dropping his arms in his lap. “As Dane always says, sometimes the difference between a controlled situation and a complete catastrophe is simple preparation and sticking to the plan.”
Elvis gave a curt nod. “We did it right. We controlled the where and how, and even tried to control the when by posting your itinerary on the fake company’s website.
Leon will be somewhere waiting for you to make an appearance.
We get you in and out in less than an hour.
You do what we tell you, and everything should go as planned. ”
Delaney held his gaze, then gave a slow bob of her head. “Agreed.”
“And you’re sure I can’t talk you out of this?” Donovan asked.
Delaney shook her head. “It’s time to cut the head off the snake.”
He nodded. “Well, I’m here until this is over.”
She cocked a brow. “I thought the marshals pulled away from me when I came out of hiding.”
He simply stared at her. “They did. I didn’t.”
She stared at the man for another moment and then smiled, her eyes pricking with tears Elvis knew she wouldn’t let fall. “Thank you.”
The marshal merely nodded.
“I’ll have the cameras repositioned within the hour,” Blaze said, already sitting up in his chair and pulling the laptop closer. Then he looked at Elvis, a pointed look on his face. “Dane also texted. He says he’s got your back.”
Elvis cocked a brow, then smiled. “Good to know.”
He then took another sip of his coffee as he glanced back out at the courtyard, watching the morning light find the top of the brick wall.
He took the smooth, simple light as a good omen for the day.
He knew that with Leon doing a drive-by of the place, the trap had teeth now, and the only question was whether they could control what bit down on it.
An hour later, they arrived at the address on Bay Street, just the three of them, as Elvis left Blaze back at the safe house to watch the monitors and feed him updates through the earpiece he wore.
He had put Delaney in a bulletproof vest under her clothes as a precaution, making her wear a jacket so it wouldn’t be noticeable.
Donovan and he had them on under their shirts as well.
He glanced over at Delaney in the passenger seat. “We’ll slip out of the SUV and make our way to the front door. Not slow, but not fast either. It needs to look natural. I want him to make his move out here. There are enough cameras, hopefully, to deter him from doing anything too stupid.”
“And if we get inside before he appears?” she asked.
He sighed. “Then we’ll move to Plan B, but let’s hope we get the first one.”
The marshal leaned forward from the backseat. “And if we see him before he makes his move?”
“He needs to move first, or we have nothing to hold him on,” Elvis said. “So, if we see him, just pretend you don’t recognize him. However, he’s stupid enough to think he has us surprised, and that’ll help us.”
Donovan nodded. “I’ll follow, hanging to the back a few feet.”
“Sounds good.” Elvis then looked at Delaney. “You ready?”
“Hell no, but…” She sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.”
He smiled at her, reaching out and taking her hand in his, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “You got this.”
As they slid out of the SUV, the morning had settled into that particular Savannah stillness, the warm air carrying salt and something floral, while the oaks held their Spanish moss motionless in the absence of wind.
They were halfway to the building, still on the cobblestoned sidewalk when Elvis heard the vehicles drawing near.
Two of them came from the south end of Bay Street, moving at the unhurried pace of men who didn’t believe they needed to hurry.
He reached out and took Delaney’s elbow in his grip. “Stay close and don’t look at them.”
Donovan had already shifted, moving a half-step to his left so he could monitor the sightlines. They were twenty feet from the building’s front entrance, and the walk ahead of them held that quietness that only lasted until it didn’t.
Elvis chanced a quick glance over his shoulder. The vehicles had stopped at the curb, and Leon stormed out of the lead car, more determination etched on his features.
Elvis saw him clearly for the first time without glass or camera between them.
Behind Leon, two men stepped out of a second vehicle, and a third emerged from Leon’s vehicle, moving to flank wide as they approached.
That told Elvis everything he needed to know about how this had been planned.
He could see bulges under their jackets, where he was sure they had their weapons.
Leon’s eyes found Delaney’s immediately, a scowl twisting his face. The recognition that shifted over his features wasn’t surprise, but more like confirmation. His surveillance had paid off, and now he was about to reap his reward.
Or so he thought.
Leon nodded at the man on his right, and together they started across the street.
Elvis pulled Delaney behind him and turned to face the threat.
Leon stopped three feet away, his men spreading out into position behind him with the casual choreography of rehearsed violence. Obviously, these men had worked together before, which meant they knew what they were doing as a team.
“Step aside,” Leon said, his voice flat. It was more like he was acting out an errand rather than there to kidnap someone, which he probably was.
Elvis stood straighter, a slow smile creeping across his face. “You ever hear the song Jailhouse Rock? I love that song. You see, many people believe it’s about chaos when, really, it’s about working the room.”
Leon’s eyes moved to Delaney, a lecherous grin twisting his lips. “There’s no working anything. We outnumber you. She’s coming with us, and you’ll either remain alive as she does. Or you won’t.”
“I’ve watched you all as you approached,” Elvis said. “You work as a team. Probably have for a while if my guess is correct.” He glanced around at Leon’s men. “Teams are great. They’re always there when you need them.”
“You think the marshal is your team?” Leon asked.
Elvis scoffed. “No, no. I just met the man. Don’t get me wrong. He’s good people. But… He’s not my team.”
“Then it looks like you’re on your own,” Leon said, reaching inside his jacket pocket. “Now step aside.”
“Ah, you think you’ve hit gold,” Elvis said. “But not all that glitters is gold, my friend. Why don’t we meet my team? Hey boss, you out there?”
Leon stiffened as his men jerked their gazes around the walkway.
Silence answered Elvis, and he felt Delaney stiffen behind him. “Bobby…”
“What are you pulling, Jenkins?” Donovan asked, arms at his sides.
“Right here, Elvis,” Dane said as he stepped out from the corner of the building, his weapon drawn, eyes moving across Leon’s men with the efficiency of long practice.
Leon went still as one of his men spun around to face the newcomer, and suddenly the air filled with tension.
“Careful, dude,” Elvis said. “He’s a former SEAL. I wouldn’t mess with him. Want to meet the rest? Gage, where you at?”
From the opposite end of the block, Gage rounded the corner with the particular expression he wore when he was enjoying himself in situations that didn’t technically warrant enjoyment. With his weapon trained on the man who had flanked wide, he eased down the sidewalk.
“Present,” Gage called out.
Elvis looked back at Leon. “He’s another badass, so I’d keep your weapons where they are. Grim!”
The roof of the building directly across the street produced a single red laser dot that settled on the chest of Leon’s remaining man with the calm permanence of a period at the end of a sentence.
Elvis could tell by the look on Leon’s face that he didn’t like the way things were adding up.
The street had four of Serrano’s men, but it also had Dane at their backs, Gage on their flank, and Grim’s overwatch from the roof. And Elvis stood between all of it and Delaney.
Leon’s hand moved toward his weapon, but he froze when the red dot shifted to his throat.
“This isn’t over,” Leon said. “We will get our hands on her and then her mother.”
Elvis shrugged. “You won’t. We’re taking you in, and then we’re going after your boss.”
One of Leon’s men scooted to the side, but Donovan drew his weapon, aiming it at the man. “Not one more step. Anyone who tries to run will be shot. Now, everyone on the ground. Now!”
Elvis stayed in front of Delaney as he watched the men realize their odds of escaping had evaporated, and within ninety seconds all three of Leon’s men were face-down on the blistering Savannah pavement with their hands secured.
Dane had Leon pressed against the building, his weapon in the man’s ribs.
Leon simply stood there, looking like a man who had run out of moves.
As Elvis was about to turn to Delaney, he saw the back window of the second vehicle ease downward and then the barrel of a gun pointed out.
“Gun!” he yelled as he jerked in front of Delaney, pulling her down behind him.
He heard the shot a fraction of a second before Donovan made a sound that wasn’t a word and more of a grunt. The marshal hit the sidewalk, blood coming through his fingers and spreading across his shirt.
“Deke!” Delaney called out as she jerked herself out of Elvis’s grasp.