Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
T he door to the conference room crashed open, and Matt jumped to his feet.
“Bean, what the fuck?” Gavin shouted.
Ignoring them both, she parked herself at the end of the conference table and whipped open the lid of her laptop. Her fingers were already flying. “Tash apprehended a guy at the diner, but not before they took Scarlet.”
Matt’s blood turned to ice. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Listen,” Bean barked, eyes focused solely on the screen in front of her. “Fifteen minutes ago, Scarlet sent me a 9-1-1 text. I called Tash immediately. She went to find her, but Scarlet was gone. And then there was this fucker with a wicked knife at the diner, and he grabbed Martha. Thankfully, Tash is a badass and was able to get Martha away from the guy unharmed. They fought, but she subdued him and—hang on.” Bean tapped her earpiece.
For the longest five seconds of Matt’s life, she remained silent.
“Copy,” she said at last, meeting his gaze. “Quinn’s crew arrived at the diner, and Tash reconfirmed that Scarlet’s gone.”
Gone.
Matt saw red. “What the fuck, Bean? She texted you fifteen minutes ago, and you’re?—”
“You’re wasting my fucking time, Alvarez, and every damn second counts. I run this fucking show, so sit down, shut the fuck up, and listen.”
Despite how angry and desperate he was, the look Bean sent him had his balls shriveling.
“Breathe, dude,” Gavin said, slapping Matt’s chest. “Trust Bean. This is her thing. She’s got this. She’ll get your girl.”
Still glaring at him, Bean tapped her earpiece. “Esme, you copy?” As she listened to whatever Esme was saying, she slid a small box across the table to them.
Gavin snatched it up.
Earpieces.
“Comms.” Gavin handed Matt one while he placed the other in his ear. “Once B switches us on, we’ll be able to hear everyone. But she controls access.”
“Boss, Esme says the chopper will be ready in five. Owen’s flying.” She glanced at Matt before returning her attention to her computer. “I’m tracking Scarlet’s phone. The last location was right outside the diner. Then it drops. Either it was turned off, or the vehicle she’s in is interfering with the signal, or she’s down by the ferry terminal. It’s shit coverage over there no matter what carrier you have. While we’re waiting for her phone to ping again, I have a number of surveillance programs set up and running.”
He opened his mouth but slammed it shut when Bean leaned back in her chair and held up a hand.
“If it makes you feel any better, your girl’s got skills. She’s smart.” She nodded to the Smartboard as a video popped up. “I tapped into the footage from the main dining area. It has the guy who took Scarlet and the guy Tash apprehended hiding their faces from the cameras.”
“Which means they’ve been scoping out the place,” Gavin said.
“Exactly. But aside from Tash and Scarlet, no one—not even Ray and Martha—knew that we installed a new camera in the hallway to the bathrooms.” Bean crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. “Your girl got him to turn around and face the camera.”
She played the video, pausing when the guy began stalking toward Scarlet. Two mug shots appeared onscreen, one belonging to the man and one belonging to a woman. “Randy Klien and Melissa Aber. Both from South Dakota.”
A second video appeared onscreen. It began playing, and Matt watched a man and woman—presumably, the people from the mug shots—sit at a table in the diner and talk with Scarlet.
“You can see when they point out the guy with the knife.” Bean’s cursor hovered over the guy Martha was serving. “Look at Scarlet’s expression here. Clearly, she’s worried.”
Matt’s stomach dropped.
“I assume those two threatened Martha,” Gavin said.
“Agreed. Because in a minute”—Bean fast-forwarded the video—“Scarlet follows Klien down the hallway. Unfortunately, we can’t see anything once she’s out the door.”
“She left with him willingly to protect Martha.” Matt scrubbed his hands over his face. Of course she would sacrifice herself for the other woman. “I’m gonna wring her neck when I see her,” he muttered.
Gavin chuckled. “Riiight, tough guy.”
“And that’s why you love her, Alvarez,” Bean chimed in.
“Yeah,” he said, dropping his hands to his sides. He leaned back in his chair. “One of the many reasons why I love her.”
“While we wait for Scarlet’s phone to ping, we’ll follow Klien and Aber,” Bean said, then waved at her laptop. “Facial rec has them on the ferry to Whidbey. They’re on a single motorcycle, and I’ll track them with the traffic cams. The ferry took off before the knife guy was apprehended, so I think they’re still sticking to whatever their original plan was. And hopefully, that plan will lead us to Scarlet.”
“This is Esme. Do you copy?”
Bean tapped her earpiece. “Go ahead, Esme. You’re on comms with the boss and Alvarez.”
“Owen’s ready. Wilson, Carmichael, Riviera, and Bonson are all ready to go. Tash is less than five minutes out. There are extra supplies on standby. Who do you want, Gavin?”
His friend looked at him, then said, “Me and Alvarez. Wilson, Tash, Riviera, and Carmichael. I want Bonson to retrieve Xander and Daisy. She comes directly here, and we lock down.”
“Can someone pick up Poppy and bring her here, too?” Matt asked. “I want to make sure Daisy has someone she knows aside from Xander.”
“Of course, Matt,” Esme said. “Gavin, Tash is pulling in through the gates now. Everyone’s ready. I’ll be on standby. Out.”
“Ready?” Gavin asked as he rose.
Matt nodded and stood.
“Wilson and Tash will take lead. Then Carmichael and Riviera. You’re with me.”
While Matt wanted to be the first person to break through whatever door Scarlet was behind, he knew that wasn’t wise. He gave Gavin a chin lift.
“I’ll open comms for everyone once you’re airborne,” Bean said. “As usual, I’ll let you know what I know when I know it.”
Gavin squeezed her shoulder when he walked by. “Thanks, B.”
“You got this, boss.”
“Thanks, Bean,” Matt said, pausing beside her chair. “I’m sorry about earlier. About yelling and losing my shit.”
“No worries, Matt. I get it. And rest assured, I have a shit-ton of programs running on this. We’ll find your girl.”
Ten minutes later, Matt had changed into black tactical gear and strapped himself into his helo seat with a headset covering his ears. He examined the cabin as they took off, and his eyebrows rose.
He knew Hudson Security had a number of helicopters in their fleet, but this one was the largest. The H160 seated twelve passengers in three rows of four seats, but currently, the middle row was removed. In its place was a stretcher, and a couple of duffels holding weapons and equipment rested on top.
Matt hoped to hell they wouldn’t need the stretcher.
Gavin’s voice came through his headset. “Alvarez, you obviously know Tash, Wilson, Carmichael, and Riviera, but have you met Owen?”
The pilot waved a hand. “Nice to meet you, Alvarez. Welcome to the team.”
Matt knew he shouldn’t be surprised that Owen was a woman, but he was. He hadn’t heard of many female combat pilots.
“Well, I’m gonna say it since Owen won’t,” Tash said.
A groan came through his headset, and when the guys around him chuckled, he assumed the disgruntled person was Owen.
Tash continued, “You should count yourself lucky, Alvarez. It’s not every day you get your ass flown by a decorated Night Stalker.”
“No shit?” The Night Stalkers were the best of the best. The specifics of what they did were classified, but it was safe to say that the country’s elite special ops groups worked hand in hand with them. “I appreciate this, Owen.”
“New guy or not, we take care of our own, Alvarez.”
“We have clearance to land at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island,” Gavin said. “Unless we hear from Bean in the next few minutes, we’ll wait there. Once we get the intel, we’ll move.”
Everyone confirmed, and Matt settled in for the short flight. The terror he’d felt when he’d first learned Scarlet was missing lingered in the back of his mind. But his years as a detective had taught him that he needed to lock that shit down. If not for himself, then for his teammates.
He glanced at the men and women around him—all dressed in matching black tactical gear and armed with both lethal and non-lethal weapons—and a sense of calm settled over him. This team, no doubt, was also the best of the best. He trusted them to do their jobs and not let their emotions get in the way. Just like they trusted him to do the same.
They would rescue Scarlet. And then he was never letting her out of his damn sight.