Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
The airat Black Tower Security HQ was thick with tension as the team regrouped. Tank, still clad in his tactical gear, felt the cool leather of his gloves beneath his fingers, a grounding touch amid chaos. Responsibility weighed on him, but there was little time for self-pity. Joey”s accusing stare bore into him. She was in the middle of an impressive rant about his impulsive charge at the motel.
“You could have put the entire team at risk. You know we’ve got your back, Tank, but that was just plain reckless.”
He stood his ground, defending his actions. ”We didn”t have time for a meticulous plan, Joey. Every second counted,” Tank asserted, meeting her gaze with unwavering determination. “I couldn’t just let him take them without trying to stop it.”
As it was, he’d failed and Lia had been taken. As glad as he was that Kaylie was safe, he knew it was tearing her apart that Lia was with Lowell and they hadn’t been able to stop it. The guilt threatened to overtake him, but Tank pushed through it. It wasn’t the time.
Joey huffed in frustration but didn”t press further. The team was gathered around a large table. Ross, the former Secret Service agent, leaned over the table, his eyes narrowing in focus. His dark, sharp suit accentuated the aura of authority that always surrounded him.
”The defense bill has to be more than just a political maneuver. It”s a power play by Lowell to ensure Citadel”s influence extends into areas we never anticipated,” Ross asserted, his voice carrying the weight of years spent navigating the intricacies of governmental affairs.
Flint nodded in agreement. ”There is no doubt that Lowell is upper-echelon Syndicate. If this bill passes, it opens doors for Citadel to control military contracts, access classified information, and gain unprecedented influence over national security. And somewhere along the line, QuinTech and Marshand Chemical are involved too.”
Marshall chimed in. “Everyone we’ve spoken to indicates that this bill is the key to whatever the Syndicate is planning.”
Tank, standing at the edge of the table, absorbed the gravity of the situation. He exchanged glances with the team, the shared understanding of the imminent threat fueling their determination.
Joey, ever the voice of dissent, interjected with her signature intensity. ”Thwarting the bill is one thing, but taking down the Syndicate altogether is another. We have to hit them where it hurts the most—their operations, their finances, every single thing that matters to them.”
“You’re right.” Flint nodded at Joey. “That’s the end game. But right now, we focus on the bill, and we focus on Lia,” he said with a pointed nod to Kaylie.
Flint added, ”We also need to find any connections between Citadel, QuinTech, and Collins. There might be a leverage point there we can exploit.”
The room buzzed with discussions, but Kaylie remained a silent figure in the corner, her eyes distant and withdrawn. Tank longed to bridge the emotional gap that had formed between them, to offer comfort or reassurance. Yet the weight of guilt shackled him and kept him from reaching out.
The team, aware of the urgency of the situation, shifted focus to the immediate concern—rescuing Lia from Citadel”s clutches. Tank”s gaze flickered to Kaylie, her silence echoing louder than any words. He couldn”t shake the feeling that her daughter”s peril was a direct consequence of his choices.
The door opened and Jackson came in, his arm in a sling.
“How’re you feeling?” Tank asked.
“I’ll live,” he said with a half-smirk. Jackson was ever the jokester, but Tank would always want him on his team. “But in the excitement of being shot and all that, I forgot to tell you.” He ran his uninjured hand over the back of his head, like he was nervous. ”I think I managed to tag the SUV before they left the motel. If it didn’t fall off when he jumped the curb. Joey, can you find the signal and see if it worked?”
Tank’s heart leaped at Jackson”s revelation. Part of him was ticked that the information didn’t come out sooner, but logically he knew that Jackson had been bleeding out and things like that tended to take priority.
Questions and exclamations erupted from the team, the prospect of a tangible lead invigorating the entire group.
Joey leaned forward over her ever-present laptop, eyes narrowing in focus. ”Of course, I can find the signal. Give me a second,” she replied, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she accessed the tracking software. The room fell into a tense silence, anticipation building as Joey worked her magic.
A series of keystrokes later, the tracking software displayed a pulsating blip on the digital map. The room erupted into cheers, but Joey”s attention was fixed on the screen. Her brows furrowed as she studied the data.
“It’s at Leesburg airport. Let me check the registered flight plans.” The team fell silent, awaiting Joey”s analysis. Tank held his breath and flexed his toes inside his boots.
”Almost got him. Stupid shell company assets,” Joey muttered.
Tank”s heart pounded with a mix of relief and urgency. They had a lead, a direction to follow. Joey continued to dissect the data, her fingers dancing across the keyboard with practiced precision. The room, moments ago filled with tension, now buzzed with renewed determination.
”We”ve got them,” Joey declared, a triumphant grin breaking across her face. ”The plane is scheduled to land at a private airstrip on the outskirts of Chicago.”
Tank’s eyes flicked to Flint’s and his boss raised a single eyebrow. The man had hired him almost six years ago, and of anyone in Tank’s life, other than Kaylie, he knew the most about Tank’s past. Even he didn’t know the details, though.
Chicago, the city of his past, now held the key to rescuing Lia. A surge of familiarity and discomfort intertwined as he faced the prospect of returning to the place he had once tried so desperately to escape. For Lia”s sake, Tank would have to go back there for the first time in twenty years.
Tank turned his attention back to Joey and gave her a nod. It wasn’t exactly high praise, but Joey’s eyes flashed as if she understood the gratitude he was trying to show. “Find everything you can about Citadel’s operations in Chicago. It’s a big city, so we need to know where they might be holding her. Miranda,”—he pointed at his friend—“we’re going tonight. Make it happen.”
“Already on it,” she said, her thumbs moving furiously across her phone screen. He knew they’d have flights, weapons, and everything they would need waiting for them in a matter of hours.
The team mobilized, preparing for the mission ahead. Yet, amidst the newfound optimism, Tank”s gaze drifted to Kaylie.
She sat on the periphery of the room, a silent observer to the unfolding events. The flicker of hope in her eyes mirrored Tank”s own, but the emotional distance between them remained. As the team geared up for the mission, Tank wrestled with the guilt that tethered him, preventing him from bridging the gap with the woman whose life had become entangled with his own.
He had to rescue Lia. Nothing else mattered right now, even the fact that he was going back to Chicago. He’d stubbornly refused missions that would take them to the city in the past, and Flint had never pushed. He wouldn’t be sitting out this time, though. In fact, he would use every piece of his connection to Chicago to help them find Cecelia alive.
Even if it meant walking the dark alleyways of the city he once called home.
Tank”s memories of Chicago were a mix of turbulent emotions and buried secrets, a part of his life he had carefully kept under lock and key. As though pretending it didn’t exist could change the fact that he’d been born and raised to take over and rule his father’s twisted empire there.
With a determined resolve, he pushed those memories aside, focusing on the task at hand. His commitment to Kaylie and Lia would fuel his determination.
The team gathered around the large conference table, each member bringing their unique skills and strengths to the mission. Tank”s gaze swept across the familiar faces of the men who would enter this fight with him—Ryder”s unwavering loyalty, Marshall”s strategic mind, Jackson”s cocky courage, Connor”s combat expertise, and Landon”s quiet yet deadly efficiency. Even Will Gilbert, the stoic and solitary operative, was here, observing and ready to lend his metaphorical sword.
Flint, the commander-in-chief of their ragtag team of misfits, stood by Tank”s side. Even as he grappled with the weight of returning to a city laden with memories, Tank found solace in the unwavering support of his team. They were a cohesive unit, bound by a shared mission and a determination to bring Lia home safely.
The adrenaline coursing through his veins mingled with a sense of responsibility—not just for the mission but for the lives intertwined with his own. Jackson had already been hurt, and he didn’t want it to happen to anyone else. Even though he knew as well as they did that sometimes sacrifices had to be made. You couldn’t knock down the bad guys without taking a few hits yourself. And every person on this team was willing to do that if necessary, but it didn’t make it easier.
Tank met Kaylie”s gaze across the room, her eyes a mix of apprehension and hope. She looked toward the door, and he nodded, agreeing to her silent invitation. He followed her out of the busy conference room into a quieter corridor.
Tank wanted to bridge the gap between them, to offer comfort and reassurance, but the guilt that coiled within him kept him at a cautious distance. They stood in a secluded corner, and Tank”s eyes lingered on Kaylie”s face, studying her expression. ”We”ll get Lia back, Kaylie. I promise you that,” he spoke with a quiet intensity, his voice a low rumble.
The soft hum of fluorescent lights overhead created a subdued ambiance, and the distant sounds of the team”s preparations provided a subtle backdrop to their private conversation.
She nodded, her eyes searching his for reassurance. ”I know you”re doing everything you can, Anthony. It”s just...” her words trailed off, the weight of unspoken fears heavy in the air.
He understood. The heaviness of their situation, the danger that surrounded them—it all bore down on Kaylie”s shoulders. Tank”s hand instinctively reached out, hovering in the space between them, a silent offer of support.
Kaylie took a step closer, her eyes locked onto his. ”I need to believe she”ll be okay. I need to believe that we”re not going to lose her.” Her voice trembled, betraying the vulnerability beneath her resilient exterior. He didn’t miss the way she included him in the statement. Like they were a team.
A raw longing for that unity nearly tore at his chest. For a moment, time seemed to stop as Tank wrestled with his own conflicting emotions. He wanted to be the pillar of support she needed, to assuage her fears and anchor her in the storm. Yet the guilt clouded his ability to fully embrace the connection he longed for.
As Kaylie took that step closer, her eyes locked onto his, he felt the magnetic pull of shared history, shared pain, and shared hopes. The longing to be a team, to face whatever came their way united, stirred a quiet resolve within him. It was a yearning he hadn”t allowed himself to fully acknowledge, buried beneath the layers of self-imposed guilt and the weight of his own past.
Tank”s heart ached at the raw honesty in her words. ”I won”t let anything happen to her,” he vowed again. It had been his constant refrain. A mantra driving his decisions, pushing him through the exhaustion and adrenaline crash. He’d push his body to the absolute limit to save her.
She leaned into his touch, her gaze never leaving his. ”I want to believe that, Anthony. I do,” she confessed, her voice a whisper, laden with the silent plea for assurance. “I’m so scared.”
He tightened his grip, the warmth of the connection seeping through the layers of tension. ”I’m so sorry I let this happen, Kaylie. I’ll make this right,” he said, his words a solemn promise.
A hint of confusion crossed her face as he pulled his hand away, a dull ache settling in the hollow of his chest. Tank”s gaze held hers for a moment longer, then he withdrew his hand.
“I need to check on the team and finalize the plan,” he said, his tone holding a weight of regret. ”We”ll get Lia back. And then the two of you can live your life in peace again.”
Without waiting for her response, Tank turned on his heel and strode back toward the conference room, leaving Kaylie standing in the dimly lit hallway.