Chapter Twenty-Five #2
Sure enough, the big blond strode into the room a few seconds later. There weren’t any men with him, but he wouldn’t have come alone any more than Aiden. I would have if Mark wasn’t on top of things. Aiden pushed that thought away. “We have a problem.”
They quickly outlined the issue to James, who cursed. “How much open ground is there around the warehouses?”
“Too much.” Romanov circled a finger around the southern one. “And Alethea owns the surrounding buildings, effectively removing the ability to get a clear shot.”
So snipers were out. They could theoretically work their way through any sentries in the buildings, but it would take time that they didn’t have, and if one of the Eldridge guards got out a call for help, it would ruin everything.
Aiden could feel the seconds ticking down.
If Mae had visited both warehouses, it meant she was trying to confuse the trail—and she hadn’t been at Charlie nonstop for the last hour and a half.
He had to hold on to that knowledge, because if he thought too closely about what she was going through—and whose fault it was—he’d drive himself mad.
“Then stealth is out to some extent.” Aiden looked up at Romanov, his fear for Charlie threatening to get the best of him. Was he content to play “Who Has the Biggest Dick?” when her life was on the line? No fucking way. “What do you suggest?”
To Dmitri’s credit, he didn’t gloat. “If they follow the same schedule they have for the last eighteen months, their guards will change shifts at three. If we attack in the midst of that, it will confuse things and give us the chance we need in order to succeed without undue casualties.”
Without Charlie being killed.
Aiden looked at his watch, feeling sick. “That’s two hours from now.”
“Yes, it is.” There was no sympathy on the man’s face. “Can your woman hold up for that long without breaking?”
She could. He knew she could. But that didn’t mean he wanted her to have to.
Charlie had been to hell and back because of the man in front of him, and now Romanov was telling him that she’d have to do it again.
He couldn’t blame the Russian this time.
The only person who’d put her firmly in the path of danger was Aiden himself.
He stared at the map. “What do you think our odds are if we attack now?”
“Perhaps fifty-fifty. If we wait until the shift change, I would increase that to seventy-five–twenty-five.”
He didn’t like either of those odds, but he wasn’t going to be happy with odds that weren’t 100 percent in favor of her getting out of that warehouse safely. “We’re not leaving her in there.”
“You’re risking a significant amount.”
“Yes. I am.” She was being hurt right this goddamn second.
If he’d left her in that little bar two weeks ago, she’d be safe right now.
It was his fault she had a target painted on her back, and he wasn’t going to leave her to bear the burden of it.
“We’ll get her out. Now. I’ll take my men here.
” He pointed to the north warehouse. Aiden was pretty damn sure that was the same one where he and Charlie had gone to play poker last week.
“Halloran, you will hit this one.” He moved his hand to the south building.
“Romanov, you will split your men between us.”
“We’ll talk about your giving me orders another time.”
Yeah, just like they’d talk about Romanov’s determination to make Keira his wife another time.
Aiden looked up and met his gaze directly.
“Tonight, we’re allies. This isn’t the timeline we’d set up, but it will serve the same purpose.
Once the Eldridge threat is eliminated, we’ll get back to politicking and that other bullshit. ”
“Indeed.” Romanov moved to a cabinet built into the center of the shelves and pulled out a bottle of vodka and three tumblers. “I know you Irish with your unrefined palates enjoy your whiskey, but you’ll have to make do with vodka tonight.”
“Now isn’t the time to be drinking.”
“We’re about go into battle. It’s the perfect time to be drinking.”
Aiden took the tumbler without another word and downed the entire thing.
It burned his throat, and he welcomed the feeling.
Two years ago, the three of them would have happily gunned each other down in the street, and yet here they stood, ready to take on a mutual enemy and trusting one another other not to fuck them over.
He looked at Dmitri Romanov and James Halloran and wondered how they’d gotten to this point.
Love, you fool.
His thoughts once again turned to Charlie.
He hadn’t told her he loved her, hadn’t wanted to scare her more than she already was.
He regretted that now. Didn’t he know better?
There were no guarantees in life—especially a life like theirs.
They had to live and love and do whatever it took to keep moving forward.
He had to believe that she’d walk out of that warehouse. She’d faced down more than her fair share of shit, and Mae might be the worst yet, but Charlie was so damn strong. She’d survive. She had to.
Stay strong, bright eyes. Just stay strong.