32. Weston
Weston
“You’ve got movement coming up on the south side of the house,” Sawyer says through the comms, his voice low. “I don’t have a clear shot yet.”
“Don’t engage until they get close enough for Garrison’s charges to go off,” Zane tells him. “They have us in numbers, so we need everything we’ve got.”
“Copy that, Cap,” Sawyer replies.
Normally, it would be me on top of the house, keeping watch and eliminating hostiles as they close in on us, but with Reese in the house, I need to stay nearby. And I trust Sawyer’s shot just like I trust him to run his mouth and get himself hit.
Which has happened on more than one occasion.
My rifle is aimed out of one of the living room windows facing the north side of the house.
Between the five of us, we’ve got eyes on every direction.
Unfortunately, I know this doesn’t necessarily mean we have one hundred percent of the perimeter covered.
Brenda doesn’t work with amateurs. Anyone on her payroll is going to be highly trained and incredibly efficient.
Still, they’re not us. And I have more confidence in my team than I do in an entire army of trained soldiers.
“We’ve got hostiles closing in on the west side,” Ryker says from where he’s situated downstairs in the living room.
“East, too,” Garrison adds. “Twenty-four total by my count.”
“Two dozen. How nice of her to bring the big guns,” I say dryly. “Any word on that SWAT team?” Normally, I wouldn’t mind these odds. In fact, I’d count on my team to go up against an army of thousands and still remain standing, but the cost is so much higher now.
We all have a whole lot more to lose.
“Nothing new,” Zane replies. “We’re on our own for now.” His gaze locks on mine, and in his eyes, I see the same calm I’ve always appreciated about him. No matter what we were facing, Cap never lets fear take hold.
All because of his faith.
I shift my attention to the worn leather Bible Pastor Reeves gave me. It’s sitting on the dining room table, where it’s been all day. And the mere sight of it fills me with a peace that I never would have expected and certainly have never experienced.
The sort of calm that tells me, no matter how this plays out, everything is going to be okay.
Because we’re not alone.
I bow my head and close my eyes. Lord, I know You were with us on that ship just like I know You are here now. You have a plan, and You have given me purpose. Please, Lord, please be with us. Guide our steps and help us to find a way out of this. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
When I raise my head, Zane is nodding appreciatively. “Amen, brother,” he says.
An explosion rocks the house. Glass shatters, and men outside howl in agony.
“Contact!” Sawyer yells. “They hit Garrison’s charge!”
“Take them out!” Zane calls back through the coms.
A .50 caliber sniper rifle fires overhead, the sound barely muted by the distance between us and where Sawyer is situated up on the roof. “They’re rushing the house!” Sawyer yells. Another shot. “Incoming!”
The window right beside Ryker shatters as a grenade lands inside. Smoke fills the room, and we all grab our gas masks, slipping them on with quick efficiency. Men dressed in black tactical gear kick in the front door and pour into the house.
We engage.
I fire two shots, dropping the first two men through the door.
Zane handles the next.
Ryker charges, slamming the full weight of his body into two more and taking them to the ground.
Upstairs, Aragorn lets out a bark. Reese! I turn to rush toward the stairs but am blocked when Max steps between me and where I am desperate to be. A victorious smile on his face. He thinks he’s already won, but he has no idea.
“Miss me?” he asks as he holds his weapon up, the barrel trained on me.
“Oh, just so much.” I lunge forward, dodging out of the way when he fires in my direction.
I hit him with my shoulder, knocking him back onto Vivian’s dining room table.
It splinters beneath our weight, and we fall to the ground.
I rear my fist back and slam it into his face.
Blood spurts from his nose, and he bucks, throwing me to the side and pinning me to the ground.
Stabbing pain shoots through my side, a stark reminder that I am still not healed from the last time I crossed paths with this guy. I’d been chained up, then. And he’s about to find out that letting me live was his biggest mistake.
Aragorn lets out a howl, and the adrenaline already in my system kicks into overdrive.
I have to end this so I can get to Reese.
Max slams his forehead into mine, and pain explodes behind my eyes. But with that pain comes strength. Because I know it hurt him just as badly as it hurt me. I throw him off me and jump to my feet.
He does the same, then spits blood off to the side. “You know, I’ve been dreaming about the chance to take out your entire team after what you did to my brother.”
“So what you’re saying is that we’ve been on your mind, how sweet,” I comment dryly.
“Just your deaths.” Max charges forward, and I move to the side. I grip the backside of his vest when he misses me, then slam him forward into the wall. Sheetrock dust scatters down on top of him as I rip him back and fling him across the room.
“You’re not so tough when my hands aren’t chained above my head, are you?” I snarl as I charge forward. “Your brother made the same mistake.”
Max rips a knife from his belt and gets to his feet.
But he doesn’t see Ryker coming.
Tank wraps an arm around his throat and tightens.
Max thrashes in his hold, clawing at his arm for a few brief moments, before his eyes roll back in his head and he falls limp in Tank’s hold.
Then, because, unlike in movies, the moment blood flow is restored to his brain, he’ll become an issue again, Garrison steps up and zip ties his hands together.
More men rush inside, tearing into Vivian’s once comfortable home. Now, it’s riddled with broken objects, blood, and bodies.
And the night isn’t over yet.
I spin and kick, hitting an attacker with the heel of my boot. He flies backward into her antique cabinet, and the glass shatters.
The man cries out in pain as shards sink into his back. I rush forward, grabbing and throwing him to the ground, then zip-tying his hands.
Eliminate when necessary.
Capture when possible.
Those are our rules of engagement. Because, no matter how Brenda likes to paint the picture of my team, we don’t set out to kill. Not if there is another way a threat can be handled.
Garrison handles the last man, then secures him and drags him over to the side of the house.
He straightens, and we survey the damage, breathing ragged.
Demo’s head is bleeding, right over his brow, and Zane has a cut on the side of his neck, likely from where a blade missed its mark.
Tank stretches his neck from side to side, sporting only a single scrape on his cheek.
I’ve got scrapes and bruises of my own, in addition to my still-healing injuries, but we’re all alive. And that’s what matters.
“Cable Guy, what’s the situation out there?” Zane asks.
Silence.
Oh no.
I start toward the stairs, but a single, female voice over our comms stops me in my tracks.
“Well, well, well.”
I turn toward Zane. He, Ryker, and Garrison have all straightened at the intrusion, and my heart sinks. This is a closed channel. Which means the only way she could have gotten onto it is with one of our comm units.
Sawyer.
“You couldn’t just follow orders, could you, Cowboy? Now I have to start killing people.” A man groans. “How many times do you think Cable Guy here can get shot before he stops talking?”
“You can’t count that high,” Sawyer mutters, his tone strained from pain.
“Let’s find out,” Brenda says. A gunshot echoes through the night, stealing my ability to breathe.
“I’ll kill you.” I shift focus and sprint toward the front door, but Ryker steps in front of me. He shakes his head, then taps his finger to his ear.
“Not so fast, Cowboy. This is still my game. You bring me Max, and I’ll let you have Sawyer—mostly in one piece.
He did take a nasty tumble off the roof.
And is sporting two new holes. I don’t think they’re critical, though.
Who knows, really. I did bring a building down on you, yet you still walked away.
Cockroaches. That’s what you are. Hard to kill,” she adds through gritted teeth.
My heart kicks in my ribs, and I turn toward Zane.
He offers me a single nod, letting me know he has no issues with that deal, either.
There’s not a single thing we wouldn’t give up for one of our own, and it seems to me he’s got the same idea.
Ryker and Garrison both offer the same nod, their expressions just as tense.
“Oh, and before you get any ideas, you should know—Cable Guy here isn’t the only one ready to take a bullet.
Bring him outside—alone—and you better not have any weapons on you.
You’ve got three minutes before I escalate things.
” A high-pitched screech rips through the comm unit, so we all yank them out of our ears, then toss them onto the ground.
“Cable Guy here isn’t the only one ready to take a bullet.” Brenda’s words rip through my mind, shattering all rational thought as I sprint up the stairs.
There’s no way she could have gotten her.
Not up here.
Not while we were downstairs.
I kick the locked door in and hear the whining. Aragorn paws at the closed closet doors—from inside. The window is wide open, curtains flying in the wind. Just outside, there are cable ties that lead down to the ground.
They got her.
They took out Sawyer and got to Reese.
Fury ignites in my veins like dynamite.
Rushing back downstairs, I set my gun on the table and yank Max up from the ground. He’s still dazed, but his eyes are open. “How many did you come with?” I demand.
He doesn’t say a single word. Just grins up at me, blood dripping from his split lip and a gash on his cheek.