Chapter 30
THIRTY
Shane's hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel as he drove through the storm toward Echo Ridge. Gina sat beside him, her phone glowing in the darkness, fingers flying across the screen as she coordinated the team.
The text with the location had come in an hour ago. Just one hour. Not enough time for proper recon, not enough time to set a perimeter the way Gina liked. But enough time to get there, get in position, and pray the storm covered their approach.
"Flint's got satellite imagery," Gina said, her voice calm despite the chaos. "Maintenance barn, upper lot. Single access road, service road behind. It's exposed."
"Still thinking it's a trap?" Shane said. "You think Konstantin's coming."
"I know he's coming. Dimitri went rogue.
Konstantin doesn't forgive that." She looked out at the rain.
"He'll send a cleanup crew, and he'll want the crypto.
With Capitoline scattered, times are tough for oligarchs these days," she said as she smirked.
"I know he's getting low on funds. Get down to your last billion, you start wondering how you can afford your caviar and the payments on your dozen mansions and pieds-a-terre. "
She grew serious. "The question is, does Dimitri know it, too? Is he counting on letting Konstantin's men and Watchdog kill each other while he walks away with the purse?"
Shane reviewed the contingency plans they'd gone over earlier in the day. Let Konstantin think he's got the upper hand. Position our people where they can adapt fast. When his team shows up, we're ready.
Except…
"One hour isn't enough time—"
"One hour is what we've got." Gina's eyes were hard.
"Bear, Ben, Elias, Waylon—they're Rangers.
They can set up in the dark in a goddamn hurricane if they have to.
Kyle and Lach are SEALs. Charlie's one of the best tactical operators I've ever seen.
And you—" She looked at him. "You're a Swick. You know how to adapt under fire."
"We get April out first. Everything else is secondary."
"Agreed."
The barn loomed out of the rain like a ghost. Shane killed the headlights, coasted into the upper lot. Two other vehicles were already there—dark shapes in the storm.
Ben's voice came over the comm. "In position. North side."
"East perimeter set." Bear.
"South corner. Eyes on door." Charlie.
"Overwatch, ridge above." Pup. "Limited visibility but I've got enough."
One hour. They'd done it in one hour.
Shane looked at Gina. "Ready?"
"Let's go get your girl."
The rain hitting the barn's tin roof sounded like a barrage of bullets—unceasing fire from the sky.
As Shane and Gina approached the barn, lightning flashed in white stabs that turned the world into a black-and-white photograph.
He felt the storm pressing in—a pressure that scraped at his ribs and sharpened his focus to a razor's edge.
The bulletproof vest under his rain jacket was a familiar second skin, heavy and reassuring.
He'd never been so grateful for Gina's paranoia.
His earpiece crackled with quiet confirmations—his team acknowledging positions, ready to move on Gina's signal. Shane carried April's purse in his left hand, keeping his right free.
The big doors were wide open. They stepped inside the dimly-lit barn. It was quieter in there, but not by much.
Dimitri stood beside a card table with an electric lantern, a radio, and a laptop. One hand rested casually on the pistol at his hip. When Shane and Gina got within ten feet, he said, "Stop. That's close enough."
Against the wall behind him, two men in tactical gear flanked April and Vince.
Shane's eyes went straight to April. Her hands were bound behind her back. She looked small between the Russians, wet and exhausted, but her chin was held high. When her eyes found his, he saw fear but also determination.
Hang in there, sweetness. We're getting out of this.
Vince stood beside her, hands free but shaking. His eyes darted between the purse in Shane's hand and the door behind them. He was sweating despite the chilly air.
Over the comm, Shane heard Gina breathe, "Three hostiles visible, west wall. Stay sharp. Over."
"No hostiles on the entrance road, over," Bear responded.
"Maintenance road clear, over," said Lion.
Dimitri's radio crackled—Russian, fast and low. He listened, then smiled.
"You brought friends," Dimitri called over the drumming rain. His English was good, his accent light but unmistakable. "Six, seven people maybe? Scattered around my barn." His smile widened. "It won't matter."
Shane's blood ran cold. Dimitri wanted them here.
Gina's whisper over the comm, deadly quiet. "You have company. Proceed as planned, over."
"You told me to bring the purse," Shane called back. "I brought insurance, too."
Dimitri laughed. "Smart. I would have done the same. Actually, I have." He gestured to the radio. Shane wondered how many of his men waited in the dark.
"Then let's do this," Shane said. "You get the purse. We get April."
"Not quite so simple." Dimitri gestured to the laptop. "Set the purse on the ground. Both of you take ten steps back, hands visible at all times."
Shane started to crouch, but Gina's hand on his arm stopped him.
"No," she said, her voice carrying across the barn. "We exchange April for the purse at the same time."
Dimitri's smile didn't waver. "I'm afraid we can't do that. You can blame Vince Romano for the complications."
Vince made a small, desperate sound.
"Here's how this works," Dimitri continued.
"You set the purse down. Take ten steps back.
Yuri will bring April forward to identify the purse—make sure you didn't bring a decoy.
Once she confirms it's hers, we will verify the contents.
" He tapped the laptop. "Vince will provide the password.
If everything checks out, you get April and walk out of here. Simple."
"What about me?" Vince's voice cracked. "What about my share?"
"If you lie again," Dimitri said matter-of-factly, "you are already dead. If you tell the truth and give the correct password, you go free."
"And my crypto?"
Shane almost laughed. Even now, Romano was putting money above everything else.
"Considering the trouble you've given us, you should get nothing." Dimitri's voice hardened. "But I'm a reasonable man. If you've been truthful about the amount, there is plenty to go around. I'll transfer your share into your wallet right after you give me the password."
Vince's shoulders relaxed visibly. "Yeah. Yeah, okay, Dimitri. That's fair."
The poor bastard actually believes him.
Shane didn't care what happened to Vince Romano. Once he had April free and clear, Dimitri and Vince could kill each other for all he gave a damn.
Shane started to lower the purse to the ground when another voice came over Dimitri's radio, sounding urgent. Dimitri frowned.
At the same time, Moose's surprised voice. "Anyone else hear that?"
"Shit." "Yeah." "Affirmative."
"Direction?" Moose.
"North by northwest." Lion.
That's when Shane heard it. His SWCC training screamed at him before his conscious brain caught up. A vibration that wasn't the storm.
"Spooky, I think we've got incoming, over," Pup said.
"I hear it." Her voice was ice. "Positions, now!"
Dimitri's face went pale. He drew his gun. "Helicopter," he breathed. "That mudak—he sent a fucking helicopter."
Shane watched as Dimitri and Gina locked eyes and an entire conversation passed between them.
They'd both set up for hostiles along the roads.
Both knew Konstantin would send enough firepower to kill everyone in this barn.
Dimitri's crew. Watchdog. April. Vince. No witnesses.
Their only hope was that he wanted the purse enough not to just firebomb the whole fucking barn from the air.
One second. That's all it took.
Gina gave a sharp nod.
Temporary truce.
The world exploded into chaos.
The helo was on them. Shane heard the helicopter come in fast and low, rotors churning the rain into horizontal sheets, and swoop over the barn. The roar drowned out everything—thunder, rain, voices. Wind and spray battered the barn's tin roof.
Shane spun around. The barn's roll-up door faced the clearing where the helicopter hovered, rotors screaming, twenty feet off the ground. The side door opened.
Men in black tactical gear jumped—fast-roping down through the rain. Five of them. Professional. Armed. Moving like they'd done this a thousand times.
"K-Team on site, five tangos, engaging!" Charlie's voice, sharp and controlled.
K-Team. Konstantin's cleanup crew.
Dimitri's weapon shifted—not toward Shane and Gina, but toward the door where Konstantin's men were advancing.
Shane was already moving. He dropped the purse, lunged for April just as gunfire erupted.
Outside, Dimitri's men were already firing on Konstantin's crew. Muzzle flashes lit up the clearing like strobe lights. One of Konstantin's men hit the ground, brought his weapon up, fired into the barn. Bullets punched through corrugated metal. The electric lantern exploded in a shower of glass.
Shane tackled April and rolled, his arms protecting her head. In a flash, his knife was out and her hands were free. His body shielded hers as they rushed toward the corner behind a workbench.
"Stay low." He pulled his Sig.
April nodded. She pressed into him, breathing fast but controlled as they watched the room.
Good girl. Stay with me.
Shane listened to the helicopter lift higher, hovering out of range of return fire. Smart pilot.
K-Team advanced into the barn.
Ben appeared at a side door, weapon up, laying down covering fire. Bear and Elias flanked the main entrance. One of Konstantin's men went down hard.
The storm had eased—rain still falling but the worst of it passed. Lightning flickered in the distance.
Shane heard tires on gravel at the same time his teammates still outside confirmed it over the comm.
K-Team reinforcements coming in.