Page 104 of Redemption

Ryder didn’t even notice whatever coconut-mai-tai-breeze kissed the air when they touched down after the warp-speed flight. His mind was still back in Iowa. Iowa, of all places on Earth. The thought brought a stupid-silly smile to his face.

“You can stay here.” Pushing off the top of a rooftop of a nearby beach mansion, Ryder wiped his brow. “It’s hotter than hell here. I’m headed back north to a suitable summer.”

“Yes, you are,” Brock confirmed.

He headed for the makeshift ladder, throwing his leg over the roof access.

“You had a phone call,” Parker said.

Cash laughed. “Take a message.”

“Not you,” Parker followed up.

Ryder half-slid, half-jumped down the remaining rope rungs before he pulled down the proof that he’d been up there. “Me? Didn’t know I’d reached rock star status like Cash.”

“Cut the shit, you two,” Jared snapped.

Pricks of sweats popped down his spine under the hot island sun. Between Parker almost interrupting a job before Cash took a shot and the uneasy edge of Jared’s voice, coupled with who the hell would be calling him at Titan, or ever, trepidation sawed at his muscles. “Who called?”

“You know someone named Seven?” Parker asked.

Ryder stopped mid-step. “Where’s Victoria?”

“She went out to recon a job and hasn’t been home.”

“What did Seven say?” Ryder’s touristy, blend-in-with-the-neighborhood stroll turned into a run as he headed back to the meet-up. The sooner he got into that car, the quicker he and Cash could get into the waiting jet to take them home.

“Victoria thought a local gunrunner was making payments with women,” Parker said.

“And?” Ryder cut down a sandy alley.

“She went to scout a location to see if there were girls.”

“Damn it!” What was she going to do? Rescue them herself? No, Victoria wasn’t crazy. She’d call in for backup. Ryder tried to focus on what he knew. She was trained, a beast at what she did. She knew the players, the politics. Still, she was missing.

“We have the location,” Brock followed up. “Delta’s already airborne, and we’ll head you there first.”

“I’m wherever I’m most useful,” Cash added.

“Roger that,” Jared said. “We’ve pulled everything from Seven. That girl has intel, and we’re in a good place, working both back channels and official routes.”

Roping in the government? Even in an off-the-books manner, that alone said how serious this was. “Meaning?”

“Meaning,” Jared continued, “if this is something more than a neighborhood-level street thug she’s stumbled into, we’ll have intel on how to make our best move.”

“I’m at rendezvous,” Cash announced. “We’ll be coming into the airstrip hot. Let ‘em know we’re less than twenty minutes out.”

“Roger that,” Parker said.

“Be there in less than a minute.” Ryder pushed himself to run faster. Every second counted. He turned down a side street, the binoculars heavy in his board shorts, the two concealed guns, one on the other side of his shorts and one tucked in his back and concealed by the Bahama shirt, felt like a good weight to have, centering him with deadly force in an island of vacation and sunshine.

Ryder closed in on the waiting getaway ride, and when he grabbed the passenger door and threw himself in, Cash had the wheels spinning before Ryder shut the door. Cash looked over, dressed like he was a beach bumming tourist, but his scruffy face and blue eyes seemed more dangerous than Ryder could remember as he blew out a shaky breath.

“You good?” Cash pulled down his battered cowboy hat.

“Fuck no,” Ryder mumbled. “Seven called Titan? I’m not good at all.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

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