Page 55 of Lone Star Showdown

She was wearing a Kevlar vest, combat helmet and was wearing an earbud that would allow her to communicate with both Jericho and Ruby, who were monitoring the camera feed via the drones.

Alone with the gear, Rachel was also armed to the proverbial hilt. The killer hadn’t given her any rules about that either, so Jericho had equipped her with two Glocks, a knife, and some Mace. The Mace container was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, and it would hopefully look as if she was merely carrying a set of keys.

For step three, Jericho had donned his own Kevlar and an assortment of weapons, including his slingshot that he’d retrieved from Arnez’s truck. Marco had geared up with his weapons of choice and would be approaching the compound from the opposite side as Jericho.

Rachel would essentially be in the middle.

Right in front of the gate that would be locked. No one from Stronghold would be rushing to her defense. At least not until Jericho had managed to secure Sasha.

Step four was the drones. Two of them. And they’d be staying out of sight until Rachel stepped into the clearing where the killer and his henchmen now had the two hostages. Then, the drones would be ready to spew out some laser lights into the eyes of anyone seeking to harm Rachel and anyone else in the area.

Still, none of these steps felt like nearly enough. And they weren’t. He knew that. So did Rachel. He could see that in her eyes as he drove them to Stronghold.

“As soon as Marco and I have a shot to take out the killer and his sidekick, we’ll go for it,” Jericho spelled out.

That was the gist of the plan. For Marco and him to try to get into place to end this, along with ending the miserable lives of the two holding those hostages. If they couldn’t take a kill shot, then Jericho would use his slingshot and Marco would fire the tranquilizer gun he had with him. Neither would be fatal, but it could immobilize the dickheads to keep Rachel and the hostages safe.

“Remember what I told you to do if shots are fired,” Jericho said, going over something he’d already gone over several times.

“I get down,” she promptly answered.

“And if the killer makes a move to go after one of the hostages?” he pressed.

“I get down.” Her tone turned flat, and she looked at him. “I’m not going gun to gun with these guys,” Rachel spelled out. “But if I have to shoot, I will.”

Jericho could only nod at that. But he knew in his gut that in a gunfight, she’d almost certainly be shot. He only hoped the bullet landed on the protective gear and not a vulnerable spot like her neck.

He had no idea what they were actually up against, but he figured both the killer and the henchmen knew how to shoot. Maybe one of them had even gone sniper and murdered the judge. If so, then they weren’t likely to miss. That’s why it was so important for Rachel to get down.

“Once I’ve reached the end of the road,” Jericho went on, still going over what had already been planned, “I’ll get out and cut through the woods. You drive to the gates, staying in the van until you can get as close to the killer as possible. If you get the chance and the hostages are out of the way, hit the killer and henchmen with the van. Drive right into them as fast as you can.”

That last part likely wouldn’t happen. The hostages were almost certainly being used as human shields. Still, the killer might get sloppy.

Especially if the killer was Jason.

Jericho couldn’t imagine the kid having the skillset needed to pull off something like this. Then again, he couldn’t imagine Manson or Paulie having it either, but it was possible the henchman had been the one with the expertise.

Or rather henchmen.

First, Bodine and now whoever had accompanied the killer on this particular mission from hell.

“What if you have to get in a fight with one of the captors?” Rachel asked. “Your shoulder, the stitches…”

“I’ll be fine,” he said.

At best, that was wishful thinking, but he’d fought hurt before, and he would again. The stakes were higher now than any mission he’d ever done.

Because Rachel was the stakes.

Jericho’s gut tightened another notch when he took the final turn toward the compound. “Spike, are there any updates on the status of hostages?” Jericho asked. “Any change of position?”

“No,” Spike promptly replied, giving Jericho the answer he’d expected.

If there had been any changes, Ruby would have already informed him. That “informing” would continue. Ruby had already let him know that Marco had arrived and was on foot, moving through the woods so he could try to get a visual on the four people and any other goons the killer had brought along. It was possible there were armed backup thugs scattered all around Stronghold.

Jericho stopped the van, and he gave Rachel a long look. No way could he go through the warnings again. She knew the risk, that this could come down to life and death.

And she was taking the risk anyway.

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