Page 160 of Lethal Abduction

“How many more girls are coming?” Luke’s low voice comes through my earpiece. “We have three minutes.”

We took the guard towers half an hour ago. The guard changes in three minutes, at which point they’ll know we’re here.

“Last dorm cleared,” I mutter into my comms. “Thirty incoming. Over there,” I whisper to the terrified group of inmates creeping out of the dormitory. “Hurry,” I add, twirling my finger to indicate the need for speed.

Clutching their meager possessions, the girls sprint across the yard behind the programmer who’s helping get them to the fence. Alexei is waiting behind it. It’s the job of his crew to get the escapees safely across the border, where Zinaida Melikov has a team waiting for them.

As soon as they’re out, Paddy will blow the dormitories,which should occupy the security forces while we go to the auction room.

Should.But first, we need to know who we’re looking for.

Roman shoots me a cautionary look and points to his watch.

I know, I think furiously.I fucking know.

“Mak.” I try to keep my voice low. “Tell me you know which man in that fucking room is him.”

The minute the dead guards in the towers are discovered, all hell will break loose.

And every minute Abby is in that room is one too fucking many.

I know I agreed to this.

I also know that if it goes tits up, I won’t ever forgive myself.

“We’ve got a number.” Mak’s voice comes calmly through the comms. “Eleven.”

Mentally I run through the table layout in the auction room.Number eleven is in the corner.

“Got it,” I say. “Moving into position now.” Roman and I head toward the auction room, hugging the shadows and concrete walls. “Tell Pavel to drop the hammer as soon as he can.”

There’s a momentary pause.

Then Mak’s voice crackles into life again. “Hammer dropped.”

Here we go.

I touch my earpiece. “Go time, boys.”

“Copy that.” Luke’s response is quiet and calm.

“Fág seo” comes Paddy’s voice immediately after his. Prick sounds ridiculously happy, so I assume thatFág seois Gaelic forlet’s fuck shit up.

“Da.” Alexei’s Russian rasps down the radio.

“Bryce?” I murmur.

“On it” comes the stolid response. I breathe a sigh of relief.It’s Bryce I’ve been the most worried about, since he’s the most visible of us all. He came to the compound earlier with Rodrigo and the Cardeñas men. They’re supposedly drinking in one of the bars adjoining the hotel where the auction is being held. In reality, Bryce has spent the past several hours wiring whatever parts of the compound Paddy hasn’t been able to reach. We just have to hope he hasn’t been spotted.

The place will blow the moment we’re done.

I switch channels to the auction link, which we agreed we wouldn’t use until Pavel and Leon were finished. “Pavel. Talk to me.”

Nothing.

Roman glances at me with raised eyebrows. I give a brief shake of my head.

He tenses, but doesn’t comment.

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