Page 14 of How Much For A Broken Heart?

But the wall was close behind me.

I’d get out and kill them all, given my cover was blown already and I didn’t care who knew what I was.

They’d all learn that no one keeps a former SEAL confined.

Chapter Five

RYDER

We saw the moment everything went to shit.

So did Sanctuary.

“He’s been made; we’re moving this up,” Cain advised in our ear. “If it’s clear, you need to go now, before they connect August to Annie.” Luca and I exchanged glances—I doubted August would give anything away, if he was even alive, but we had to go now.

I settled my breathing and pulled my focus to the front. We were moments away from making our entry, the tension between us taut and Cain’s voice crackling in our earpieces, a subtle reminder of the ticking clock.

“You’ve got five minutes with the fence, max, crews could be on edge,” Cain confirmed, an edge of urgency in his tone. “Northeast corner is your entry point. Eyes on the guards.”

I could feel my heartbeat in my throat.

The situation had escalated quickly, and it was just Luca and me.

As we approached the location to get in, every sense was heightened. We had to be ghosts, shadows flitting on the edge of perception. I caught Luca’s eye, giving a slight nod towards the building where Annie was being held. He returned the nod, his expression grim, but determined. We split up, always aware of each other’s position.

“In three,” Cain counted down, and I tightened my grip on my weapon.

“Two.”

Luca’s breath was controlled, and we exchanged brief glances.

“One,” and that was our signal.

Like ghosts, we surged forward, moving quickly and silently towards the breach point. The guards were shifting, lulled into complacency by the monotony of their rounds. We used that to our advantage, slipping through the shadows.

The compound loomed before us, an imposing structure of concrete and steel inside the open spaces with flimsy outbuildings. This was where Annie was, and Cain had cut power to the alarms and to a small part of the fence, but only long enough to get us in. We breached the perimeter, the faint hum of electricity in the surrounding fencing whispering of danger.

The hand signals we used were subtle, but clear. A closed fist to signal stop; two fingers pointing to my eyes, then to a window, to indicate I’ll keep watch; a hand slicing across the throat for no go.

I scanned for any sign we’d been spotted. Luca was a step ahead, and he held up a fist, stopping me in my tracks, indicating one guard and vanishing around the corner. I heard a scuffle, and then, he was back, his fingers in an O. We separated, me to the wall around the yard where the back entrance was, Luca to the side, boosting himself over the wall and vanishing.

Cain’s voice was a constant in our ears, guiding us. “Four-fifty.”

I ducked under a window, pressed against the cold wall. The muffled sounds of the waking compound filtered through the glass, a reminder of the lives inside unaware of our presence.

“Four-thirty,” Cain urged, the seconds falling away like sand through an hourglass.

Our target was close now, the rooms where they held the child. I could picture her in there, unaware that her world was about to change again.

“Four.” Cain’s voice was steady, but the underlying tension was palpable, a static-filled voice that kept us focused as we reached the door, and with a skill borne of countless practice, with Cain backing us up on the tech side, we breached. The room beyond was just as we’d studied—two doors led from it, and in one of those was Annie. I wished we’d been able to get a better idea of which was which, but we took a door each.

“Three-thirty.”

I held up three fingers. Two. One.

We each went into a door, heading straight for the bed. I’d gotten the one with the young woman, Clara, which meant Luca had Annie. I backed away to the door, saw Luca tucking the small child into his arms, a strap across her as we’d planned, as she woke and whimpered. He placed a hand over her mouth, shushed her, and with one heated look, I told him to leave, that I’d be right behind him. We needed to take the nanny, too.

He gestured for me to leave, but I shook my head.

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