Page 61 of Embracing the Consequences

“Jack, the door’s locked,” Johnny muttered with a finger pressed to his earpiece.

Marcos didn’t hear the response, but a moment later, Johnny tried the door again and it opened silently.

They entered a dimly lit warehouse. Pallets of boxes sat gathering dust in the large open space. Dark, narrow aisles went between the pallets, which were stacked taller than Marcos. “This way,” Johnny muttered, turning left and staying against the wall instead of venturing into the maze of boxes.

They trudged along silently, looking down each and every aisle for anyone coming their way, rifles out in front of them. The warehouse was eerily quiet. When they reached another outside wall, they turned right and continued forward.

Up ahead, a light shone brightly in the darkness, spotlighting a metal stairwell that led down. Johnny paused, still in the ring of darkness, and held up a hand signal that Marcos assumed meant stop. They waited and watched as two guards armed with assault rifles came up the steps from the basement with their backs to them.

Johnny motioned toward an aisle, and the six of them moved swiftly and silently behind the cover of boxes. Marcos waited, his skin crawling, as quiet footsteps headed their way.

Johnny and Rockstar jumped into action as the two guards started to pass by. Both men were fast and lethal as they grabbed the men from behind and made quick and silent work of snapping their necks.

Marcos’s mouth dropped open in shock as they lowered the dead silently to the ground and then pulled them down the aisle and away from the main alley. Johnny and Kevin stripped the guards of their assault rifles and radios, and then they were moving forward again.

Johnny leaned out, making sure the coast was clear, before he led the way toward the stairs again.

It amazed Marcos how silently the six of them moved, how quickly they managed to descend the stairs. Johnny pressed forward at the bottom, not even pausing to verify direction; he was being led via earpiece by his hacker, who was watching through the cameras.

As smoothly as they had been moving, things quickly turned to shit. A shot rang out from behind them, and Dagger cursed as he went down. “Fuck.” He groaned, clutching his shoulder.

Marcos covered his brother and shot down the hallway toward the stairs they had come down, where two guards were moving quickly. Marcos shot once more, hitting one in the head just as the other one fell to the ground, shot by someone on his team.

“Are we good?” Johnny asked, moving toward Dagger.

“Fine,” Dagger replied. “Keep moving. They know we’re here now.”

Johnny nodded once, and they moved on, running now that there was no more need to be quiet.

Marcos hung back a moment to check in with Dagger. “I’m fine. Go get her,” Dagger said.

“Go,” Stone told Marcos. “I’ll stay with him.”

Marcos nodded once and took off after Johnny and his boys. He hated leaving his own team behind, but his sister needed him. He needed to get to her. He only prayed they found her in time.

Gunshots echoed in thedistance.

Kara startled out of her meditative state, jostling her ribs and making her groan. She was sick of her body constantly being hurt. She needed to get up. She slowly uncurled, her ribs screaming in protest. The pain was an old friend at this point.

When she was flat on her back, she turned her head toward the door. Mr. Dead Eyes was still watching her, unblinking.

Gunshots echoed in the hall again, this time closer. She prayed it was her guys coming to save her. She never used to be one of those women who needed saving—she used to laugh about damsels in distress. But here she was hoping her men would come save her from this hell.

She rolled over onto her uninjured side and, using the move she learned in physical therapy, pushed herself into a sittingposition just as the door banged opened. It flew against the concrete wall, and Kara gasped.

“Kara!” Johnny shouted as he led the way into the room.

Kevin was hot on his heels. He turned as he entered and saw Mr. Dead Eyes sitting there. Kevin shot twice before Mr. Dead Eyes even shifted his eyes from Kara. Two rounds, right in the chest.

Kara let out a small shriek as her captor fell sideways out of his chair.

“Baby girl, are you hurt?” Derrick rushed to her side as Johnny crouched before her.

She stared at the vacant expression in Mr. Dead Eyes’s…dead eyes. Her heart beat uncontrollably, her hands shook, and she heard the blood rushing in her ears. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. His empty gaze would be burned in her memory for the rest of her life.

Even in death, he still stared.

“Princess, we need you with us,” Johnny’s gruff voice said. Then his face was in front of hers, blocking her view of the man in the corner. “How badly are you hurt?” he asked.

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