Chapter 11
DEAN
There’s no point in trying to tell Lauren to stay put while I handle this. The best I can do is ask her to drive safely and assure her I’m getting a team on it.
I put in a call to Owen to mobilize law enforcement, while Aiden and the guys suit up and meet me at Jake’s Retreat.
Within twenty minutes I’ve got six highly trained warriors in a meeting room in Jake’s Retreat.
Sam is here with Grant, a recent arrival at Jake’s Retreat. They served together, and although I’ve never met the guy, I trust Sam’s judgment.
Ronan stands at the back, still and expressionless, taking it all in. He’s on a bunch of meds, and I hear his PTSD is bad, but I trained with him when he was a SEAL sniper, and the guy’s focus is unbeatable, even if he is intense.
While I spread a map on the table, Aiden distributes weapons. He’s licensed to carry, same as me. To the other men, he hands tranquilizer guns.
Jace, an ex-special operative who’s recently arrived at Jake’s Retreat, screws up his face as Aiden hands him a tranquilizer gun. “You got anything heavier for me? I’m not hunting lions.”
“Sorry buddy.”
Aiden takes his job seriously. These men may have used high-tech weaponry in the field, but as civilians, they must obey the same rules as everyone else.
It’s a lot to get used to, especially for someone who’s fresh out of the fight, like Jace.
He arrived at the center a few weeks ago for rehabilitation and is supposed to be resting, but when he heard the commotion, he came out of his room and insisted on coming on the mission.
I’m not about to turn away good men, not when Kieren is in danger.
“Come on, man, I’m an Army ranger.” Jace gives a charming grin, which has no effect whatsoever on Aiden.
No one corrects him that he used to be an Army Ranger, but here he’s a civilian.
It’s a hard thing to come to terms with, leaving the military and an identity you’ve held all your adult life. And it doesn’t seem like Jace has accepted that that part of his life is over.
“If you stick around and get licensed, then we’ll talk,” says Aiden.
I point to a location on the map, and the men crowd around. “Security cameras from the school picked up Kieren getting into a vehicle two hours ago.”
I didn’t wait for Owen’s team. Aiden called on a contact who’s good with tech and doesn’t need to wait for the red tape that Owen does.
Zane hacked into the security camera feeds through Hope, and we picked up the vehicle heading to the industrial area on the outskirts of town.
There are no street cameras here, and Zane is going through individual companies’ camera feeds to pick up the trail.
I haven’t asked how many privacy laws he’s breaking.
I don’t care, as long as we get Kieren back.
Over the last two weeks, it’s not just Lauren I’ve fallen for. Kieren is smart and funny when he lets his guard down. He’s the son I never knew I wanted, and the thought of him in danger is a new kind of fear I’ve never experienced in all my years in the military.
Lauren rushes in the door, and the terror on her face makes my chest ache. I swallow down my own fear, knowing she needs me to be strong now more than ever.
“We’ll get him back.” I pull her into a quick hug. But there’s no comfort that will ease her anxiety. Not until she has her son back in one piece.
“I know where he is.” She holds up her phone, showing a tracking beacon.
It’s the industrial area we tracked the car to, but the beacon shows exactly which building Kieren’s in.
At least the kid still has his phone on. But that leads me to a new worry. Maybe Mark wanted him tracked. Maybe he’s not the real target.
“You’re staying here.” I hold Lauren by the shoulders, but she shakes her head.
“Not a chance.”
“It’s not safe. He might be using Kieren as a lure to get you.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t care. I can’t stay here while my child is in danger. Don’t ask that of me, please.”
She’s close to tears, and the fear emanates from her. She’s strong; that’s what I’ve realized in the last few weeks of getting to know Lauren. She’s strong and capable, and I love her for it.
“Okay, but you stay out of the way and do exactly as I say.”
She nods. “Okay.”
I turn to the team. “Let’s roll out.”
Sam drives a Jake’s Retreat mini-van. It’s not the military-grade vehicle I would have liked, but it’s big enough for all of us so we can plan as we drive.
We park a block away from the warehouse and crouch-run under cover until we’re in sight of the building. A dumpster gives us good cover, and we crouch behind scanning the area, but all is silent.
Ronan peels away without a word to scout the perimeter as planned. He fades silently into the shadows, and a moment later, I can’t see him. We’re on headset comms, and he’ll radio in if he sights any tangoes.
I flip down my night-vision goggles and survey the warehouse. Zane sent us schematics of the building, showing two main entrances and a side door.
“Aiden and Grant take the back entrance. I’ll go in the front with Sam.”
“I’ll take the roof,” says Jace.
I eye the roof of the warehouse and a small window that’s propped open.
“Give me the count of sixty to get through the window, and I’ll have the overview.”
There’s no easy route up to the window, only a series of pipes.
“You think you can get up there?”
Jace winks at me. “Only one way to find out.” He’s pulling off his boots, and I glimpse a bandage on his ankle.
“Are you fit to do this?”
He shrugs. “Oh yeah, Doc’s about to discharge me. And climbing’s easier in bare feet.”
I barely know the guy, but Kieren is inside and I don’t have time to argue.
“You stay here and don’t move,” I tell Lauren.
Her body is tense, but she nods her assent.
I plant a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll get our boy back.”
I turn to the men. “Let’s go.”
We peel away, and I glimpse Jace scaling a drainpipe before Sam and I sneak around the corner. I’m counting in my head, and we position ourselves on either side of the door waiting to get to sixty. We’re at fifty-five and about to burst through the door when there’s a shout from inside.
Without waiting to finish the count, I hurtle through the door.
Two figures are on the ground, and one has the other in a headlock.
I aim my tranquilizer gun at the figure applying the headlock but check myself when I realize it’s Kieren.
Instead, I fire at the figure on the ground.
The tranquilizer hits him in the arm, and he goes limp.
Kieren stands up, and he’s panting hard. Relief consumes me, and I push my goggles off my face.
“What happened?”
He eyes me and Sam in our gear, and a grin spreads across his face.
“I did what you taught me. I stayed calm. I knew Mom would track my phone so I kept it in my pocket, didn’t call attention to it.
When we got in here, I realized we were alone, so I waited, like you taught me, pretending to be weak and scared, but always observing.
And when I saw an opportunity, bam! I lunged at him.
He wasn’t expecting it, and I got him in a headlock. ”
He’s proud of himself, and I thump him on the back. “Good work, buddy.”
“I’m not sure what I was going to do next. Good thing you guys turned up.”
The door to the warehouse bursts open, and Lauren runs in. “Kieren!”
She throws herself at her son, and he sweeps her into a hug. “I’m okay, Mom. I got him in a headlock, and Dean knocked him out.”
She pulls back from him and checks him over. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Nah, I’m fine. Mark isn’t though.”
Lauren notices the figure lying prone on the floor and jumps away before realizing he’s passed out. Her hand goes to her chest, and the relief that floods her face makes it all worthwhile.
“What happened?”
Kieren explains the story again to his mom.
“You got out of it yourself,” she murmurs.
Aiden joins us. “I’ve checked the warehouse, and there’s no one else here. It seems he was acting alone.”
There’s movement by the side of the warehouse, and I catch Jace jumping on stacked crates to get down. He jumps from the final crate and lands badly, rolling his ankle.
“Ah fuck. I’m going to get shit from the doc for that.”
Aiden calls it in to Owen, and while we wait for law enforcement to turn up, I put one arm around Lauren and the other around Kieren and walk them away from Mark’s prone body, away from their past.
“You guys want to get some pizza?”
I leave the men waiting for law enforcement while I head off with my family.