Page 97 of Betrayed

Blake found a handwritten note with an address and a time, nothing more.

Pocketing the note, I escorted Blake back to the car. I relayed the address as I plugged it into the GPS, knowing Maxwell would look it up and tell me what I needed to know.

We had just enough time to get there, but not enough for Jamie and Jay to set up their sniper nests in advance.

Fuck. I didn’t like going in before our snipers were in place.

There was more chatter over comms during the short ride to the exchange location, an abandoned warehouse, as we developed a game plan on the fly.

The exchange would take place in the back lot, out of view from passing traffic, and most of SSI.

They’d chosen well; cutting off our back up while providing plenty of cover for theirs.

We’d be sitting ducks.

They won’t kill her. They need her.Played on repeat in my head. Every so often I squeezed her hand as fear gripped my heart; she squeezed back every time.

Under different circumstances, it’d be cute, her trying to squeeze my hand as much as I was hers. But I was terrified, and probably hurting her.

I forced my hand to relax. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be okay,” she said.

She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than me. I nodded, the knot in my throat making it hard to talk.

Everyone except Jamie and Jay found places to hide and wait. “Sierra Two and Seven are scouting locations. They’ll take up position ASAP,” John said. “Sierra Four, stall if you can.”

“Copy that.”

“What’s happening?”

“Not everyone is ready yet. We have to buy ourselves some time.” I didn’t know how, but I’d figure it out.

Jack’s voice sounded in my ear, “Drive around the building at a crawl, make a show of looking for their backup and snipers. They’ll expect as much.”

“I’ll delay as long as I can.” I didn’t want to do this without backup anymore than he did.

“Be careful.” I heard everything he wasn’t saying. Blake’s life wasn’t the only one on the line if I fucked up.

“Sweetheart, I’m going to come across as mean and uncaring when this goes down.” I swallowed hard, forcing down the fear. “Please know, it’s only to keep myself sane and you safe.”

She nodded as I lifted her hand and kissed it. Sixty seconds later, we turned into the parking lot and I let go. Slowing to a crawl, I made a big show out of craning my neck forward and looking at every window. I relayed the information without moving my lips. “Tango on each corner of the second floor, east side.”

“What’s a ta-”

I cut her off. “Shhh.”

I turned into the back lot at a snail's pace, which wasn’t as easy. “Tangos everywhere in the back. Blacked-out van, no plate, no sign of Cinderella. ETA on Two and Seven?”

“Nesting now,” Jamie answered.

“In place,” Jay said immediately after.

“Show time,” I whispered.

“I’m scared,” Blake confessed.

“So am I.” Too many things could go wrong. “Take a deep breath, square your shoulders, and tell yourself you can do this.”

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