Page 133 of Redemption

“We hear you better, brother.” Brock said. “Give me a confirmation. Is anybody hurt?”

“No, just a day of travel to witness some fireworks. And I’ve gotta tell you, impressive ones at that,” Winters said.

If he was giving the rigging a thumbs-up, that said something since Colby Winters was Titan Group’s go-to demolition and explosives guy.

“I hate to be impressed with something that almost cooked me,” Winters chuckled. “But that was some solid shit. Would’ve appreciated the abort call, I don’t know, a little earlier. But a little heat felt good under the summer sun.”

In the background, sarcastic laughs and jabs were exchanged, and Ryder knew they were coming off the adrenaline high of the op. He watched Parker and Brock exchange glances, expertly communicating without saying a word. It was impressive, and Ryder hoped to God the next words out of his mouth had something to do with Victoria.

“Get Boss Man on the line,” Brock ordered.

A jumbled, crackling minute later, Jared grumbled, “You’d better hope Sugar doesn’t find out how close that was.”

“She did,” Sugar snapped.

“Baby Cakes, bite no one’s head off.”

“I bite whatever the fuck I want to bite, Jared,” Sugar snipped.

Boss Man chuckled. “Take it out on me later. I’ll be ready for you.”

That seemed to calm his wife down, and Ryder found the whole thing far too much info and still endearing. Damn, he needed Victoria in his arms.

“What’s up, Brock?” Jared asked.

“The team’s geared up. Nothing to do.” The flat-screen TV switched to a new map with an approximate location for where Titan had been and where Devil’s Backbone was located. “Feel like being rerouted?”

“My itchy trigger finger never even got a chance today, so that’d be a hell yeah.”

Ryder stepped toward Brock. “If they’re going, I want in.” He wanted to be there. Hell, heneededto be there. “We’re closer. Titan can be back up.” Ryder spun back to the map and then pivoted to his boss. “We mobilize first and wait. You can’t sideline me while someone else gets my girl. It’s fucked up.”

Javier came back into the room, glancing around. “What’s up?”

“The team’s back online. Everybody’s fine, and they’re going in to go get Victoria.” Ryder crossed his arms, chewing the inside of his cheeks while he waited on Brock to make the right decision. “I want Delta to get in there first, and the other guys can be back up.”

Javier stopped and leaned against the wall, shaking his head and rubbing his hand over his face.

“What’s that look for?” Ryder flexed his fists against his folded arms, trying to hide his irritation at Javier’s apparent hesitation.

His teammate dropped his hand. “Don’t read that wrong, I’m not saying don’t go after Victoria.”

“Then you’re saying what?” Ryder stared at Javier’s revenge tattoo and knew there was no way the tatted-up street fighter would try to justify anything other than what Ryder had suggested.

Javier didn’t just hate human trafficking—how women and girls were pimped and prostituted in a theoretical sense. He’d been personally affected like Ryder and others in the room. REVENGE stood out loud against the guy’s skin as an inked reminder. What reluctance could he possibly have?

“Just like the Russians, these Mayhem fucks…” Javier scrubbed his hands over his face again. “I just walked out of here so I wouldn’t tear this room apart.”

Ryder knew there was a rage always boiling under Javier’s skin. Brock let him take off to box or fight whenever he needed to take the edge off.

His dark, Brazilian complexion flushed as Javier paced. “I came back, and it’s still there. These assholes want to sell women. They want to sell them the way they sell their drugs and their guns?” He stopped, shaking his dark hair. “I say we blow Mayhem sky-high like they tried knock off our boys.”

He pushed past Ryder to Brock, with that same hatred Delta saw surface any time a reminder of his history came into play. A sister sold into the sex trade. A mother who was a junkie. A father who was nothing more than a pimp and gambler. Trafficking jobs made Javier rage like they made Luke worry over Maddy and haunted Ryder over Zoe. The world was an evil, evil place.

“Boss,” Javier’s low voice rumbled. “We scorch their world and get Victoria.”

“Scorch their world?” Seven questioned quietly, trembling.

“Scorch it,” Javier reaffirmed.

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