Chapter 26
BIT
It made sense that the place where Devaney took Eberly and Michael was a defunct winery that had been part of the consortium and that was subsequently dismantled.
Based on the overheads, as Decker called them, they were taken into wine caves similar to the ones at Los Cab, but far smaller.
Wine caves. As soon as he’d said the words, I felt Tryst’s eyes on me.
Instead of looking at him, I turned my head toward the car window.
I was okay, and I’d be okay, and as long as I was sure of it, I didn’t need him to be.
Where we were headed was about rescuing Eberly and getting her out of the clutches of a man I hoped would draw his last breath today—if not by someone else’s hand, then by mine.
All I knew for certain was that he wouldn’t be taken alive.
“Once we arrive, we’ll use a Doppler device to determine where they’re being held,” Decker, who’d changed into tactical gear before we left, said over his shoulder.
He was seated in the front passenger seat; Snapper was driving.
“According to what I can see from the imagery the NRO provided, there is a second way in and out of the caves.” He held a tablet near the center console so Tryst and I could see it.
“We’ll enter the property over these hills.
” He pointed at the screen. “Then I’ll go in with Steel and his team from the front.
Vex, Jagger, and their crews will go in the other way. ”
He handed me a comms device. “You are to remain outside the caves until you hear me specifically tell you to enter. Any disregard of my direct order may result in loss of life, and when I say that, I’m talking about Eberly, Michael, and Malcolm. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do we know for certain this is where Malcolm is being held as well?” Tryst asked.
“We do not. However, confirming it won’t be difficult once we arrive.”
“How much farther?” I asked.
“Fifteen minutes,” Snapper responded.
“How is Devaney connected to Grogan?” I pressed.
“Half brothers,” Deck responded. “One turned out to be what we presume is the heir apparent.”
“The other is a meth-head,” I muttered.
“I haven’t been able to figure out when he was shipped off to America. I do know he was born in Ireland.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said under my breath.
“No, it doesn’t, Bit. However, your actions the night of the auction are what led me to delve deeper into Devaney’s real identity. I would’ve gotten there eventually; thanks to you, it happened quicker.”
“I should’ve killed him that night. I might’ve if I’d found him.”
“This way will be a lot cleaner, and you won’t end up in prison for murder.”
I raised my head and met his gaze.
“Got it?”
“If you mean let someone else handle it, I can’t make any promises.”
His phone vibrated. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“What happened?”
“While searching for Liam, I stumbled on a possible lead on his father’s and grandfather’s whereabouts. Both were apprehended earlier today. One in Spain, and the other in Dubai.”
“Well done, Decker,” said Tryst.
The man shrugged a shoulder. “All part of the job.”
I shut my eyes and rested my head against the seat, attempting to clear my head and shut off the noise. I clenched my fists against the overwhelming itch I felt to leave the minute I knew Eberly was safe.
It was my fault she’d been kidnapped, in the first place. I never should’ve left her, especially for as long as I had. I was supposed to keep her safe, and I hadn’t. How could she ever trust me again?
When I felt the telltale signs of a migraine coming on, I rubbed my left temple.
“Trevino?” Tryst said, resting his hand on my arm.
“I’ll be okay.”
When he put his hand on the back of my neck, then pressed his thumbs on either side of the base of my skull, I didn’t jerk away.
It was Tryst who’d taught me about the pressure points referred to as the gates of consciousness.
There were others he’d shown me, but this one was the quickest I’d found to alleviate the pressure that could become debilitating.
The first time Eberly was in my bed, she’d done the same thing, and I’d slept. The love I felt for her was more than I realized was possible. If anything happened to her…
“Breathe deeply, Trevino,” Tryst whispered. “Eberly needs you.”
Since my eyes were closed, I had no idea whether Decker had noticed what was happening.
Most likely, he did, given he didn’t miss much.
Except I didn’t care whether he saw or what he thought.
Pride couldn’t stand in my way when the debilitating pain I so often experienced might prevent me from being there when the love of my life needed me the most. I’d failed her once. I wouldn’t again.
I raised my head and opened my eyes.
“Better?”
“I think so.”
“This is it,” said Decker, motioning to a fire road.
Snapper pulled off at the same time I heard one of the other guys say through the comms that they were in position.
“ETA two minutes,” Decker responded.
Snapper pulled right behind an outcropping of trees. Not far from where he parked, I could see one man, but not any of the others.
I closed my eyes and listened after Decked exited the vehicle. Once he was in position, he signaled the others to enter the caves. I could hear the sound of boots on the ground, but nothing else.
Then my blood froze.
“Let her go, and toss your weapon this way,” I heard Decker say. “You’re surrounded, and there’s no way out alive unless you do.”
“Clear out of my way, or she gets a bullet in her brain. As soon as she does, the other two will too.” While the voice sounded like Burke’s, the accent was Irish.
I was out of the vehicle before Tryst or Snapper could stop me, headed for something else I saw from where we parked—another way into the caves.
Three steps led down to an entrance obscured by overgrowth, similar to the one we had leading into the old winery.
Ours went to a secret passageway my father thought his father had used during prohibition.
Rather than connecting to the main corridor, ours went behind the storage rooms. I had no doubt these did too.
Knowing I’d find them easier by listening to voices echoing on the stone, I reached up and turned the comms down enough that I could still hear it, but faintly. At the same time, I readied my gun, eased the wooden door open, and raced inside what looked more like a tunnel than a corridor.
It only led in one direction, and since I couldn’t see a fucking thing, I hugged the wall and ran.
When the voices got closer, I slowed, tuning out the words and focusing solely on feeling my way. I hadn’t found an offshoot yet, but there had to be something leading into the storage rooms.
“I’ve got him,” I heard someone say through the comms, not realizing he was talking about me until I heard Decker say, “Typical Bit.”
“I can’t find a way in,” I responded.
“Two more feet on the left,” said the first guy. It didn’t make sense since the sounds I could hear were on the right, but I went in that direction anyway.
I jolted when I heard the sound of gunfire farther in the distance.
“If you want to live, drop the gun, Devaney. We already took your buddies out.”
“You shoot me, and Eberly dies.”
“So, what are you thinkin’, asshole? You’ve got four snipers with their guns aimed right between your eyes. You think you’re somehow gonna make it outta here? Give it up. You’re done in the same way your father and grandfather are.”
“Another foot, and you’ll round a bend. It’ll put you right behind him. Deck, you ready?”
I came around in time to see Decker take a step forward and the man move the gun away from Eberly’s temple. The split second the distraction allowed gave me my one chance to take him out. I fired first. Two more came after.
Eberly screamed when I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into the tunnel.
“Shh, I’ve got you, little dove,” I said, pulling the comms device out of my ear.
“Trevino?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t come?” I asked, not giving her the chance to respond before kissing her.
“I knew you would,” she said when I broke the kiss.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“I can’t see anything.”
“You don’t need to. Follow my lead, in the same way you would if we were dancing.” I squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back. We’d gone another foot or two when I saw light shining ahead of us.
“This way,” said Tryst, who I could now see clearly.
“What about my dad and Uncle Michael?” she asked.
“They’re waiting right outside,” my uncle reassured her.
I led her up the three steps, but when I tried to release her hand, she held tight. “Don’t let me go yet,” she said, turning in my arms once we were above ground.
“Never, little dove.”