Chapter 8
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“I’VE GOT AN UPDATE,” Holt said, hustling into Logan’s office late that night. Knox was still there with Logan, monitoring the footage, and both men looked up.
“On Radley?” Knox asked.
Holt nodded. “Boone rescued her, and she’s okay. Gage flew into L.A. earlier to assist there, but I want you downtown with Cooper and Xaden. There’s a situation in Seattle.”
“What’s going on?” Knox asked, rising to his feet.
“There are more vehicles than expected that we need to search. The team discovered them parked several blocks away. They weren’t there earlier, and analysts assess there may be additional targets in the city.”
“Or they’re messing with us,” Logan pointed out.
“Also a possibility, but given the market for self-driving cars is still in the testing stages here, we weren’t expecting to see so many. We need to intercept and search them all. The Seattle PD is assisting, but I want more of our team there to oversee the situation.”
Logan muttered beside Knox. “There needs to be a kill switch on those damn things. One keystroke, and we turn them all off. I could try to access them remotely but—”
“We’re running out of time,” Holt said.
Knox was already moving toward the door, his hands running over his pockets. He had his phone and keys with him. He’d need to grab some gear and head out. Quinn had finally responded that she was on her way back. They’d miss each other, but at least he knew she was safe.
An hour later, Knox was in position with Cooper and Xaden.
They’d been following one of the self-driving vehicles through the streets of downtown Seattle in their vehicles and were ready to box it in.
It had been driving through the city streets but hadn’t picked up any passengers, which was concerning given their knowledge of the terror plot.
“Where the hell is this thing going?” Cooper asked over their comms units.
“That’s a good question,” Knox said in a low voice as he clicked his mic. “The plot was to set off explosives tomorrow. Maybe the vehicle hasn’t been loaded yet.”
“But if it is and this thing blows, we’re all dead,” Xaden said, his voice sharp.
Cooper murmured his disagreement. “They’re on timers. Unless the terror network has eyes on the city streets, they have no reason to detonate it early. We’ll block the car and check the trunk. If there are explosives inside, we’ll bring in the bomb squad.”
“And if it’s just lost enroute to a passenger?” Xaden asked.
“Then the company gets a bad review, but at least the city is safe,” Knox said quietly.
“All right boys, let’s box this thing in so we can search it,” Cooper told them.
Knox gripped his steering wheel, circling around.
Within moments, they’d trapped it in an area away from any apartment buildings or people.
There were empty offices around, but they were unlikely to have anyone inside at the late hour.
Knox briefly glanced around, scanning the area. If this was a trap, they were cooked.
The team had on Kevlar vests and helmets, but as former military, they knew exactly how damn dangerous explosives were. They’d tread carefully to breach the trunk, assessing what was inside.
The men exited their vehicles, slowly moving toward the car they’d isolated.
Xaden approached first, trying a door handle, and cursed when he discovered it was locked. He peered in the window, aiming a flashlight through the glass. “It’s empty. No passengers. No packages. Nothing.”
“Looks like I’m picking the lock on the trunk,” Cooper muttered, quickly pulling out tools from his gear. He rounded the back of the vehicle and worked quickly to jimmy the lock. Moments later, the lid opened.
“Fuuuck,” Xaden muttered as he aimed a flashlight inside, seeing the crates stacked there.
Knox’s stomach dropped. They were exactly like the crates that had been in the warehouse.
Xaden shined a flashlight on them and frowned. “They look empty.”
“Then why the hell are they in here?” Cooper asked.
Knox stilled, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. Something felt very off about this entire situation. Given the intelligence Quinn had discovered, this scenario was all wrong. “I don’t like this.”
“What’s to like?” Xaden quipped.
“It looks like there’s a note,” Cooper said, his voice gruff. He reached in the trunk with gloved hands, carefully turning one of the crates.
Knox’s gaze slid toward his. “What’s it say?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“Help.”
Xaden leaned closer, aiming his flashlight on the crate and then into the corners of the trunk, assessing. “There was a note at the cabin, too. Remember it was written in sawdust?”
Knox nodded, his thoughts whirling. “Yep. The missing sister of one of the terror cell members wrote help near the window. You think this note is from her?”
“I don’t know what else it could be,” Xaden admitted. “How many people do you think were held against their will? We were only aware of one. The crates were originally assembled at the cabin.”
Knox stilled, working that thought over. It was the most likely possibility. That didn’t mean it was correct.
“Boone and Radley already found the missing sister tonight,” Cooper said. “She was being held in the hotel room of that fucking asshole they were tracking in L.A. Boone rescued Radley, and they teamed up with Gage and intercepted the tango, rescuing the girl in the process.”
“Jesus,” Xaden said. “Those two had quite a night.”
“They sure the hell did,” Knox agreed. “They stopped the plot in L.A., and it looks like we’re getting closer to ending the one here.” He checked his phone as it buzzed with an incoming message. “Seattle PD intercepted another vehicle. That one was filled with live explosives.”
“Well shit. What the fuck happened to these then?” Xaden asked.
“It’s a good question. I’ll let Holt know this one was empty,” Knox said, shooting off a text to their boss. He decided to quickly message Quinn again, too.
Knox: Looks like I’ll be downtown with the guys all night. Are you back in the office yet?
She responded immediately.
Quinn: I wasn’t feeling well and headed home.
Knox frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Cooper asked.
“Quinn’s sick and had to go home.”
Xaden looked at him in surprise. “She must be really sick. That’s unlike her to disappear in the middle of an operation.”
“Yeah. That is unusual.” Knox hesitated a beat, wondering if he should call her.
They weren’t really at that level of friendship though.
Not yet. He’d go out of his way to see her at work but had no idea if she’d appreciate a call out of the blue.
If she was sick, maybe she’d prefer to be left alone. She could already be sleeping.
He thumbed a quick response back.
Knox: Let me know if you need anything. Hope you’re feeling better soon.
The sound of sirens in the distance interrupted them, and Knox’s attention turned back to the task at hand.
He paused for a moment, still unsure about Quinn, then slid his phone into his pocket.
“We should search the entire vehicle,” he said.
“If it’s clear of explosives, we can have this thing towed away. ”