Chapter 24 Wrecker
WRECKER
I didn’t leave her room for more than the time it took to wash my hands.
I stood at the sink in the attached bathroom, water running hot over my knuckles until my skin went red.
The blood had already started drying under my nails.
It took longer than it should have to get it all off.
Not because it was stubborn, but because my hands kept tightening into fists without permission.
Every time I blinked, I saw her pinned against that wall.
I saw the shard in her hand.
I saw the way she looked at me when I came through the door, like she had already decided she was going to keep fighting even if no one made it in time.
I twisted the faucet off. The silence that followed was loud.
When I stepped back into the bedroom, Amanda was propped against the pillows, blanket pulled up to her chest. Her hair was still a mess, dried blood at her collarbone, eyes glassy with exhaustion. But she was looking at the door, not the floor. Tracking sounds. Listening. Present.
That mattered.
I crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle her. She didn’t flinch, but her fingers tightened around the blanket.
“Doc checked you?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“How bad?”
“Mostly bruises.” Her voice was steady, but thin. “My arm hurts. He wrapped it.”
I reached for her hand slowly, giving her the chance to pull away. She didn’t. Her fingers slid into mine and held tight, like she was making sure I stayed real.
“You need water,” I said.
“I drank some.”
“More.”
A small exhale that could have been a laugh if she had any energy left. “Yes, sir.”
I should have smiled. I couldn’t.
Because I could still hear Cap and Ghost in the hall, low voices carrying through the walls. I didn’t need to hear every word to know what they were saying. I’d already heard enough.
Scout’s burner.
Transfer list.
Two days ago.
Not here now.
I leaned forward and pressed my mouth to Amanda’s forehead. She was warm. Alive.
“I’m going to church,” I told her. “Cap needs me.”
Her fingers tightened. “Don’t go far.”
“I won’t.” I kept my voice calm, kept it steady. “Ranger’s outside your door. Doc’s down the hall. Ghost is in the tech room. You’re not alone.”
She swallowed, then nodded.
“I’ll be right back,” I promised.
When I stood, she caught my wrist.
“Wrecker.”
I looked down. Her eyes were clearer now, even through the exhaustion.
“I heard them,” she said quietly. “About Scout.”
My jaw locked.
“I know,” I said.
She hesitated, then said the thing that mattered.
“I don’t want you to go do something stupid.”
I let out a slow breath and crouched again so we were eye level.
“I’m not dying,” I told her. “Not tonight. Not while you’re here.”
Her throat bobbed. “Okay.”
I held her gaze until I felt her breathing settle again. Then I stood and walked out.
Ranger was leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed, expression hard. Smoke sat at his feet, ears pricked, watching everything.
Ranger nodded at me. “She okay?”
“She’s breathing,” I said. “That’s what matters right now.”
He held my gaze for a second, then pushed off the wall. “Cap’s waiting.”
We walked down the hall together. The compound was quieter than usual. Not asleep, just tense. Like everyone was saving energy for what came next.
The war room was lit brighter now. More people in it, more noise.
Brutus stood by the door with his arms folded, face set in that way that meant he was holding back violence by force.
Ghost was at the table, laptop open, multiple screens around him.
Cap stood at the head, phone in his hand, eyes sharp.
Ariel was there too, seated in one of the chairs with her arms wrapped around herself. She looked tired. Not physically. The kind of tired that came from fear that kept returning.
Doc sat off to the side, one leg bouncing, fingers tapping against his thigh. He glanced up when I walked in.
Cap didn’t waste time.
“Warehouse was a transfer point,” he said. “Ghost pulled partial data off that clipboard. Not enough to name a destination, but enough to confirm the route changes.”
Ghost tapped the keyboard, pulling up a screen. “They used codes, not full addresses. But the date stamps match the schedule of shipments we’ve been tracking.”
Brutus leaned forward. “Meaning what.”
“Meaning they cycle captives,” Ghost said. “Move them from a temporary hold to somewhere longer term.”
My hands tightened into fists.
Cap’s eyes flicked to me. “We’ve got confirmation Scout was there. His name was on the list. Two days ago.”
The air in the room thickened.
Ariel’s face went pale. “Two days,” she whispered.
Ranger spoke before I could. “That means he’s still alive.”
Cap nodded once. “That’s what it means.”
My throat burned with something I couldn’t name. Relief that tasted like rage.
Ghost switched screens. “The burner we found wasn’t dead. The SIM was pulled, but the casing had a partial number stamped into it. Same prefix Scout used. That confirms it was his.”
Brutus’ jaw flexed. “So they took his phone, left it as a message, and moved him.”
“Yeah,” Ghost said. “They wanted us to know.”
Cap’s gaze hardened. “They’re taunting.”
“They’re baiting,” Ranger corrected.
Cap didn’t deny it.
I leaned forward, palms flat on the table. “Then we stop talking about what they want and we find where he is.”
Ghost’s eyes flicked up to mine. “We’re trying.”
“Try harder,” I said.
It came out rough. Too sharp.
Cap’s voice cut in, calm but firm. “Wrecker.”
I forced a breath in through my nose. “Yeah.”
Cap didn’t look away. “We’re going to get him. But we’re not walking into a trap blind.”
I didn’t care about blind. I cared about blood. I cared about Scout’s laugh. I cared about Amanda’s shaking hands in my room and the way she’d said his name like it mattered.
I swallowed it down.
“Fine,” I said. “Give me something.”
Ghost’s fingers moved again. “We have something. Maybe.”
He clicked a key.
A map appeared on the main screen. Rural grid. Back roads. Patches of woods. A few highlighted points.
“This is our ten-mile radius from the van sighting,” Ghost said. “We cleared one warehouse. There are four remaining sites that fit the same profile. Empty on paper. Minimal foot traffic. Utility draw that spikes at night.”
Brutus’ expression sharpened. “That’s not nothing.”
“No,” Ghost said. “It’s not.”
Cap stepped closer, pointing at a cluster. “This one.”
Ghost nodded. “Old feed store. Supposed to be condemned. But it has consistent power draw and intermittent signal noise. Like someone’s running jammers in short bursts.”
Ranger’s mouth tightened. “That’s a hold.”
“And this one,” Cap said, pointing to another. “Storage unit row.”
Ghost shook his head. “Less likely. Too open. Too visible.”
“And this one,” Cap said, finger landing on a third point.
Ghost’s eyes narrowed. “That’s the one that bothers me.”
“What is it,” Brutus asked.
“Small warehouse shell,” Ghost said. “No sign. No listings. Sits behind a scrapyard. The scrapyard’s legit. The building behind it isn’t.”
Cap’s gaze stayed on it. “If I was moving people, I’d hide behind a legal operation.”
Ranger nodded. “Scrapyard gives cover. Trucks in and out don’t look suspicious.”
Ariel’s voice was small but steady. “Is that where Scout is?”
Ghost didn’t answer right away. He didn’t lie either.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But it’s a good place to start.”
I watched the map until it blurred. My hands were still clenched. I forced them open.
Cap’s phone buzzed. He looked at the screen, then at Ghost.
“Talk to me,” Cap said.
Ghost growled. “What?”
Cap held up the phone. “Another contact just confirmed something. They intercepted chatter. Not enough to trace, but enough to narrow.”
Ghost leaned in, reading the message. His posture changed. Sharp.
“That’s new,” he said.
“What,” Brutus demanded.
Ghost’s eyes flicked to me again. “Scout’s burner just pinged.”
The room went dead silent.
I felt the words like a punch.
“What did you say,” I asked.
Ghost turned the laptop so we could see. A small notification. A brief data point. Not a call. Not a full signal. Just a ping.
“It was a burst,” Ghost said. “Two seconds. Like someone turned it on and off.”
Ranger’s voice was tight. “Could be a trap.”
“Could be,” Ghost said. “But it came from somewhere.”
Cap’s face went still. Dangerous.
“Where,” I asked, already moving around the table.
Ghost tapped the screen, pulling up coordinates. “It’s not exact. It bounced. But it triangulated enough to give us an area.”
A circle appeared on the map. Smaller than before. Tighter.
Right over the scrapyard cluster.
My lungs felt too tight.
Brutus let out a slow breath. “That’s not coincidence.”
“It’s not,” Ghost agreed.
Ariel’s hands were shaking in her lap. “He’s alive,” she whispered, like she needed to say it out loud to believe it.
Cap’s gaze swept the room. “He’s alive.”
Hope bubbled up in my chest so hard it hurt.
Cap looked at me. Then at Ranger. Then at Brutus. Then at Ghost.
“We don’t leave one behind,” Cap said.
The words hit something deep in me. Something solid.
Brutus nodded once. “Tell me when.”
Ranger shifted his weight. “We’re going now.”
Ghost held up a hand. “We need a minute. If that was a real ping, it might ping again. If we get a second burst, I can tighten the location.”
Cap’s eyes narrowed. “How long.”
“Ten minutes,” Ghost said. “Maybe less.”
“Do it,” Cap said.
Ghost’s fingers flew. He started setting filters, setting alerts, building a net out of whatever crumbs the signal gave him.
I didn’t sit. I stood behind his chair, staring at the map, every muscle in my body vibrating with the need to move.
Cap moved to the side, speaking quietly into his radio. Assignments. Positions. Who was pulling weapons. Who was staying with the women. Who was locking the compound down.
I caught pieces.
“Brutus, you’re on gate.”
“Coyote, you’re backup.”
“Doc, you’re staying on comms.”
Doc swore. “Like hell I’m fucking staying.”
Cap shot him a look. “Amanda and the other girl need a medic on standby. You run in, you’re not the one patching them after.”
Doc’s jaw flexed, but he nodded.
Ariel stood abruptly. “I’m going to check on Amanda.”
Cap nodded. “Take Smoke with you.”
Ranger whistled softly. Smoke stood and followed Ariel without hesitation.
Good.
I turned my head just enough to look at Cap. “I’m not leaving without knowing she’s secure.”
Cap’s expression softened just slightly. “She is. Ranger’s got eyes. And you’ll be back.”
It wasn’t a question. It was an order.
My jaw tightened. “Yeah.”
Ghost’s screen beeped softly.
He froze.
Then his fingers moved again, faster.
“Got it,” he said.
The room snapped to attention.
Cap was beside him in a step. “Talk.”
“Second ping,” Ghost said. “Shorter. But enough to tighten.”
He tapped the screen and the circle shrank again. Not perfect. But close enough to make my skin prickle.
“It’s the scrapyard,” Ghost said. “Back building. Southeast corner. There’s a signal jammer on and off in cycles. Someone’s moving around with devices.”
Ranger’s voice was low. “They’re actively managing.”
Cap nodded once. “Then we hit fast.”
Brutus rolled his shoulders like he was loosening up for a fight.
Ghost shut the laptop and stood. “If they’re running jammers, comms might get spotty inside the perimeter. We’ll need hand signals.”
Cap looked at me. “You lead entry?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Yeah.”
“And you keep your head,” Cap added, voice hard.
I met his gaze. “I will.”
He held it for a second, then nodded. “Good. Gear up.”
Everyone moved at once.
Weapons lockers opened. Vests strapped. Ammo checked. Radios clipped in place. The familiar choreography of men who’d done this before. Men who knew the difference between acting feral and acting stupid.
I grabbed my vest and pulled it on, tightening straps until it fit like a second skin. Knife. Mags. Comms.
Brutus checked my shoulder once, a heavy squeeze that said more than words.
“You good,” he asked quietly.
I exhaled. “No.”
He grunted. “Same.”
Cap stepped in front of the group. “Listen up.”
We all stilled.
“This is not a rescue for a civilian,” Cap said. “This is one of ours. That means they know what we do. They know how we move. We go in smart. We go in together. We don’t chase deeper without eyes.”
His gaze landed on me again. “Wrecker.”
“I hear you,” I said.
Cap nodded once. “Ghost runs overwatch from outside. Ranger on perimeter with Smoke. Brutus and Wrecker on entry. I’m behind them calling shots.”
My pulse hammered. It felt like my ribs were too small to hold it.
Cap’s voice dropped. “We bring Scout home. That’s the mission.”
A low murmur of agreement moved through the room.
Cap turned toward the door. “Move.”
We filed out into the night.
The cold hit my face like a slap. It cleared my head just enough to keep it together.
Before I got in the van, I looked back down the hall toward Amanda’s room.
I didn’t go to her. I couldn’t. Not now. If I saw her face again before I left, something in me would snap for real and I’d lose the thin control I had left.
But I pictured her anyway. Propped against those pillows. Trying to be brave. Hearing Scout’s name and realizing it wasn’t done.
I clenched my jaw.
I was coming back.
We piled into the van. Engine low. Lights off. Ghost set the route on a handheld, then tucked it away.
Cap sat beside me again, calm like always. Not soft. Not kind. Just steady.
“You ready,” he asked.
“I’ve been ready,” I said.
Cap nodded. “Then we go get him.”
The van rolled forward, tires crunching over gravel, the compound gates sliding open ahead of us.
And this time, the fire in my chest had a name.
Scout.