Chapter 31
Chapter
Thirty-One
Hunter sat next to Brie on the couch, staring at the Thai takeout growing cold on the coffee table. Pad Thai that neither of them had touched, spring rolls congealing in their wrapper. Beside him, Brie picked at the food in her container.
His phone rang. “It’s Dom,” Hunter said.
“Do you think it’s about Sophie?” Brie said in a low voice.
“I don’t know yet.” He stood and moved to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He flicked his finger over the answer button. “Talk to me.”
“Axel’s trace worked. We’ve got a location.”
“Where?”
“Rural farmland, north of town.” Papers rustled in the background. “We tracked the IP down to an isolated pole barn on an abandoned property. The owner died eight months ago, and the estate is still in probate.”
“Are you certain it’s them and not just some squatters?”
“Ryder sent drones into the location. The thermal imaging shows four or five heat signatures inside the structure. There are two vehicles at the site, a white panel van and a black SUV. The van matches the description of the one that delivered Brennan’s poison to the bakery.”
Hunter exhaled a deep breath. “Four or five heat signatures? They have four hostages.”
“That’s part of what we need to discuss. I want everyone at my place in half an hour for a full briefing.”
“Copy that,” Hunter said, hanging up the phone.
He stood there for a moment staring at the watercolors of Fate Mountain he’d convinced Brie to hang on the wall. They were beautiful, peaceful, so different from what loomed ahead.
He returned to the living room. Brie had set down her container on the coffee table. Her honey eyes tracked his face as he sat back down beside her.
“Dom believes he’s found Sophie and the other hostages. He wants us at his place in half an hour for a full briefing.”
Brie gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “Is he sure?”
“They tracked the IP address to an isolated building and matched the white van that delivered Brennan’s poison. It’s them.”
She stood, her body trembling. “What now?”
“That’s what we’ll find out. If I had to guess, Dom wants to plan a raid.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?” she asked, her face flushed and her breathing shallow.
Hunter stood and crossed to her, pulling her into his arms. His wolf wanted to keep her safe, and that’s what he intended to do.
Thirty minutes later, the entire crew gathered at Dom and Valeria’s apartment above Steel Protection.
Dom’s living room had been transformed into a war room.
The large flat-screen TV dominated one wall, displaying a satellite map.
Axel hunched over his laptop at the dining table, fingers flying across the keyboard.
Siren stood by the window, her sharp eyes assessing them as they took their seats on one of the couches. Blaze leaned against the kitchen counter. Valeria sat on the opposite couch, rubbing her belly with a concerned look on her face.
Dom stood near the television; arms crossed over his chest. “Let’s get started.”
Axel tapped a key on his laptop, and the satellite map disappeared, replaced by aerial drone footage.
“The abandoned pole barn is located on County Road 47, approximately forty-five miles north of Fate Mountain Village,” Dom said.
The structure came into focus. It was a large rectangular building with rusted metal siding, surrounded by overgrown fields that had once been hay. The forest pressed in close on three sides with a rutted dirt driveway connecting to the county road.
“Property belonged to Harold Kemper before he passed away eight months ago. As far as we can tell, the property is abandoned. It’s a perfect squatter location. Show us the thermal, Axel.”
The image on the TV shifted to a heat signature overlay, everything rendered in shades of blue and red. Inside the barn, five distinct heat signatures glowed orange-red against the cool blue background.
“There are four signatures clustered near the northwest corner,” Dom said, pointing to the location. “They remain relatively stationary, which matches hostages in restraints. The fifth and sixth signatures move between the cluster and what looks like a makeshift living area on the south side.”
“I monitored the building for over three hours,” Ryder said. “Only two people came in and out. One of them matched Brennan’s height and build. The other is approximately six feet, athletic build, unknown identity. I didn’t get a clean enough shot of him for facial recognition.”
“Two people guarding four hostages? Holed up in an abandoned building?” Siren asked in a skeptical tone. “That’s not how cartels operate.”
“Is it possible the feds were correct when they determined the cartel had moved on?” Hunter asked.
“From the information we’ve acquired, it appears to support the theory that the cartel is no longer supporting Brennan. Which means we aren’t facing a full tactical team,” Dom said.
Axel returned the image on the screen to high-resolution overhead photos of the property.
“These are the approach routes,” Dom said, pointing to the screen.
“Main entry team approaches through here. Trees get us within fifty yards of the structure without being seen. We hit the primary entrance at first light when visibility is best, and they are likely to still be drowsy. We are going in close and fast. Breach, overwhelm, extract.”
“Rules of engagement?” Blaze asked from the kitchen.
“Hostage extraction is our priority. Everything else is secondary. If Brennan or his associate threatens the hostages, you are authorized to use lethal force. If they surrender, we take them alive. But those hostages come out breathing no matter what.”
Dom caught everyone’s eye in turn and held it. The room was hushed by silence. Dom checked his watch.
“We move at 0400. We hit the target at approximately 0600. Ryder maintains drone coverage throughout with thermal overlay and real-time communications.”
Brie shifted on the couch, and she made a strangled sound in the back of her throat. “What about the bakery? What if they come for me and Hunter’s gone?”
“The bakery stays closed. You will stay at Steel Protection headquarters with Valeria. Text your employees and let them know there’s a maintenance issue in the building, and the bakery will be closed for the day. Keep it vague.”
“But they’re watching me . . .”
“If there are only two of them, it is unlikely there’s been surveillance since the cartel left,” Hunter said.
“Blaze,” Dom said, turning to his pack mate. “You’ll stay here with Brie and Valeria. If this goes sideways, if we don’t check in by 0800, you fall back to the safehouse.”