Chapter 28
Reid
“Let me check your kit,” Ash says, separating us from the group of men taking orders from Jake.
It’s nightfall, and we’re on the perimeter of Barrett’s abandoned estate, dressed head to toe in black combats, face masks, and toting Kevlar vests and utility belts. Our weaponry varies, but it’s all deadly and prepped for use.
“I’m good,” I insist as my older brother starts fixing straps and testing buckles. I feel like a kid being dressed by his mom, and I’m just grateful our men are too focused on Jake to notice. “I don’t need you to do this.”
“No, you don’t. But I need to do this,” Ash fires back. “I don’t like that your first active combat is when the emotional stakes are this high.”
“I’ll stay focused.”
Ash checks the clip in my assault rifle. “Just remember, you’re not leading the charge here, no matter how much you may want to. You stay close to me and you follow my orders. I can’t save Quinn if I’m too busy trying to keep your ass out of trouble. Do you understand?”
“You know I always listen to you,” I say.
“Which is why I haven’t put you with the other two idiots,” Ash agrees.
Mace and Hunter are on the opposite side of Barrett’s estate, tasked with taking control of the entrance gates.
We don’t know how many of Ilya’s men are guarding the place, or how quickly he can send reinforcements.
Ilya’s burner phone gave us no fresh leads, so we’re going in almost blind.
All we know for sure is that two containers have arrived with deliveries in the thirty-six hours since Quinn was taken.
She still hasn’t activated her tracker, and as the hours slip by, the chances of her ever activating it are diminishing. The best I can hope for is that her captors recognized the stud earring for what it was, and it’s not that she’s incapable of activating it because…
Quinn isn’t dead. She can’t be dead.
I have to believe that she’s not only alive, but that she’s part of the shipment to Poulton Springs. I don’t think I’d be able to function if I considered any other alternative. I can’t face another night without her.
Jake comes over, interrupting Ash and his lecture. “The drones are in the air, but we’re not picking up any hotspots outside the gatehouse or the stables.”
“That’s good, right?” I ask, when Ash simply frowns.
“There should be patrols,” he says. “Ilya knows we have a special interest in this site, and the security should be better. I don’t like it when our target doesn’t behave as expected.”
Jake looks just as worried. “It could be a trap, Ash. We need to proceed with caution.”
“Agreed,” he replies. “Let’s hold back the attack at the gates until we have eyes on the stables.”
Jake nods his agreement and the order is disseminated through our ranks. Our numbers are small in comparison to what a crime family like the Barkov’s have at their disposal, but the men we have with us tonight are experienced and highly trained.
It makes me feel like the weakest link. Although I’ve had the training, I’ve seen limited action and nothing on this scale.
I don’t want to be a distraction to my brothers, but stepping aside was never an option.
Quinn offered herself up as bait to lead us to Ilya and her sister.
Whatever my brothers think about my abilities, she has complete faith in me. I can’t let her down.
We breach the perimeter, and as we move silently through the woods, Hunter and Mace monitor our progress. I hear their voices in my earpiece, but now that the mission is active, we keep chatter to a minimum.
Impenetrable darkness gives way to a glow through the trees, and we start to spread out as we approach Ilya’s new lair. Jake separates from us to lead a team to the opposite side of the stable block so the occupants are completely encircled.
Lights are blazing in the guesthouse, which is where the drones had picked up the biggest concentration of heat sources. There are spotlights illuminating the stable block too, but there are no windows to expose the horrors it was built to contain.
“Send a scout for a closer look inside the guesthouse,” Ash tells Jake through our comms.
We listen to Jake give instructions, then wait for feedback.
“No sightings,” the scout says. There’s an edge to his voice. “The rooms on the ground floor look clear.”
I want to see it as a positive, but I can feel the tension emanating from my brother.
“Fuck, it must be a trap,” Ash mutters. “Hunter, prepare to clear the gates once we’re in position. Jake, we’ll go in with minimum force until we know what we’re dealing with.” He looks to me, and cuts off his microphone. “Is there any chance I can convince you to stay back?”
“No.”
“Thought not,” he says with a sigh. “Just be prepared to make a hasty retreat if I call it.”
I nod. I’m not stupid. A trap means Quinn isn’t here, and I can’t help her if I get captured or worse.
When Ash gives the command, we keep low and move fast. Dark shadows join us as we head for the house, Ash leading from the front.
There are no blinds covering the windows, and we don’t see any movement inside as we pass.
Our team carry low grade explosives to blast the door, but Ash turns the handle first. It’s unlocked.
He holds my gaze as he presses a hand to his earpiece. “Check positions.”
A series of confirmations come through that everyone’s in place.
He nods to me once. “Go, go, go!” he says as he crashes through the door.
Five more of us enter a narrow corridor. The air is heavy with dry heat, and sweat trickles from my temples as we kick open doors and cover each other as we search sparsely furnished rooms that offer few hiding places. We move cautiously to the second floor and repeat the process.
One word gets repeated over and over. “Clear.”
The sound tears at my soul, piece by agonizing piece because it’s not only the house that’s empty. The stables are too, and Jake and his men have almost finished their sweep when he bellows down our comms.
“I have eyes on a device! Retreat!”
Despite the scramble to move, the evacuation is efficient and coordinated. Ash stays by the door and ensures every last one of us is out before we head back to the woods.
“Hunter, I need a report. Now,” Ash commands as he takes cover behind a tree.
“We’ve neutralized the situation with no shots fired. The two guards were recruited by Ilya, but they’re not his men. They’re locals,” he says. “We’re on our way over to you. Mace wants to see the device.”
“Fine, but keep the drones in the air in case there’s a counter attack. No one stands down until we figure out what the fuck is going on.”
By the time Hunter and Mace appear, Jake is with us too. We’re all looking at the photo he shared of the device taped to a wall in one of the stalls.
I squint at the image. “It looks like a regular cell phone.”
Mace scoffs, because of course he knows better. “A cell phone being used as a remote.”
“There are cameras in there,” Jake says. “Ilya could be waiting for us to gather around before he sets it off.”
Hunter folds his arms across his chest. “Then he can wait until hell freezes over.”
I wait for someone to offer a new plan, but no one does, leaving me more nervous than I was when we got here. “Is that it? We’re just going to leave?”
“Ilya’s not coming back here,” Ash says. “The intel was a false trail, and getting us here was for Ilya’s private amusement, nothing more. The heating in the house was to cover up an abandoned site. We need to look elsewhere.”
“But where?!” I demand, searching each face in turn and getting nothing back except blank stares.
“We’ve been looking for Ilya for months now.
Quinn and Strider were searching for him for far longer than that.
We can’t fucking find him! And if we can’t find him, it means we can’t…
we can’t…” I run out of breath at the last.
Someone, most likely Ash, puts a hand on my back as I double over, but I have my eyes closed tightly.
I brace my hands against my trembling knees as I try and fail to picture what might be happening to Quinn right now.
Maybe she’s being forced to watch the livestream of our failed rescue attempt.
Or maybe she’s being forced to do something else.
There’s no time to swallow back the wave of nausea, and I throw up all over Mace’s boots. He curses, but he doesn’t berate me, and that only makes me feel worse. Quinn’s situation is dire and he knows it.
“Let’s wrap things up and get out of here,” Hunter says.
Ash practically holds me up by my collar as we thread our way through the trees.
I’m supposed to be leaving here with Quinn in my arms, but instead we’re leaving with worse than nothing.
There are no more breadcrumbs to follow.
Nothing except the one possible clue we’re choosing to leave taped to a wall.
What if Quinn was watching? What if she’s waiting at the end of the line if only someone had the courage to pick the damn phone up?
I straighten my spine. “I’m OK,” I tell Ash. “I just need to catch my breath.”
When he lets me go, I slow my pace. Hunter and Mace are behind us, and I shake my head when they go to join me. I let them pass, then get overtaken by a few more stragglers. I nod to Levi.
“We’ll find her,” he says.
I try to smile. “Knowing Quinn, they’ll be begging us to take her back by the end of the week,” I say because Levi’s one of the few here who’s seen Quinn at her most brilliant worst.
My comment is enough to convince Levi I’m doing OK, and he continues forward.
Once everyone’s ahead of me, it won’t be long before someone questions why.
I know my brothers are going to chase after me, but I was blessed with the longest legs, and I’ve got a head start.
I spin on my heels and break into a sprint.