Page 112 of Playing With Danger

“Out.”

I shoved my phone in my pocket. Three breaths later, I locked the fear, the panic, the dread down.

With my next breath I made a silent promise to Sophie.

She was coming home by any means necessary.

29

Gordy made the call.

Riddle wasn’t at one with the plan, Chip had ranted his disapproval, but Mereno, Sunny, and Watson agreed.

Triple Canopy would take the lead.

Fewer procedures and rules.

My team was three blocks away with the ACP at a staging area. Hayden was with my team. I was with Luke with strict instructions from my captain not to fire my weapon unless I was in mortal danger. I must’ve agreed though at the time I wasn’t paying enough attention to know exactly what I was agreeing to.

I was going in with TC even if it cost me my job.

During Phoenix’s search of Khloe’s house he found an electric bill that was not for the Maple Street house. Brady ran it and it was an art studio Khloe rented. Phoenix did a drive-by. Khloe’s car was parked out front but he had no visual inside the building. When we arrived I understood why; all the windows ran along the top of the building a few feet down from the eaves. You’d need a ladder to see in. Two doors in. The back door was steel with a metal security door in front of it. Without the ACP to pull that bitch off the hinges, we weren’t getting through.

That left the front door, which would cause every door kicker’s ass to clench. A fatal funnel of potential death with no windows to see where the subjects were inside. The point man couldn’t go in guns a-blazing with no visual on the hostage.

We were working on the assumption Khloe was working alone. That could prove to be a deadly mistake within seconds of entering if we were wrong.

“You straight?” Luke asked as we approached the A-side corner of the building.

Tucker, Liberty, and Logan were on the opposite A-side corner. Drake and Brady were covering the back door. Trey and Matt were the entry team. Liberty would follow Matt in and subdue Khloe. Luke and I would be right behind Liberty.

“Valentine?”

“I’m straight. Just feel naked with my M4.”

I eyed his MP5 and adjusted my grip on my Sig.

“This is over in three minutes.”

He wasn’t wrong.

It would be.

One way or another, in three minutes the world beneath my feet was going to shift.

I’d either come out of the building breathing or my life would be over.

“Setting charge,” Trey said through the comms.

“Copy,” Drake returned for the team in the back.

I took a breath.

We know this drill.

I exhaled.

“Standby,” Trey announced, and Liberty made her way into position.

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