“Well now, how do you like that? What a stroke of luck. We’re going to crash their little party. Get me the details and coordinates of that meeting. I want all of them behind bars sooner rather than later.” Jared stomped toward the stairs. “Cruz and Tanner will be here early tomorrow morning to set you up for yourfakedeath.”
He cast a dead eye at Luca.
“Fuck this up, little brother, and it won’t be pretend anymore. I will personally end your useless life.”
Chapter Seventeen
The Boneiro cabin on the western slope of San Bruno Mountain…
“Good to go for an ingress through the woods,” Cruz’s voice buzzed over the comms. “There are guards on every corner of the cabin with two more players on the front porch.”
“I still don’t know why I was chosen to babysit Cruz.”
Kezlin bemoaning her fate brought a grim smile to Jared’s lips. “Because you are an expert at identifying escape routes, little sister and—”
“And you’re babying me after I was kidnapped by your asshole of a brother not so long ago. The same one you’re now absolving in favor of… oh okay,” she snapped as Cruz’s warning droned in the background over the comms.
“Cruz, check that Luca’s crew disconnected the CCTV cameras. I don’t trust that asshole,” Jordan said as she hunched beside Brock who studied the cabin in the distance through binoculars. “Do you see any motion detectors?”
“None yet. I suppose they don’t expect their hideout to be found, even less to be breached,” Brock said.
“I count seven heat signatures inside the property which means there’s one person missing if Luca was correct that all five of the leaders would be present apart from him. How do we know if Fadhil and Abu have already arrived?” Cruz’s voice hissed over the comms.
“Let’s wait another five minutes. Luca is supposed to come out on the porch and greenlight us.” Jared looked around searching for Paxton and Knox who were lying flat behind a tree stump, armed and ready.
“Let me remind you,” he said with a grim expression. “The three of you are here as backup only. FBI Agent Bill Simms and his recovery team will approach from the west side of the cabin. You are not to move from this spot. Is that understood?”
“We’ll agree to stay put. But at the first sign that any of you are in immediate danger, you should know that we will come out with guns blazing, Commander. We are your backup.” Paxton stared him down until he conceded with a sigh.
“Alright. Agreed.” He took her in his arms and held her tightly. “I’m in awe of your strength and skill, baby, but I love you too much to expose you to direct danger. I need to know you’ll be careful and not take any chances because you think I might be in danger.”
“We’ll be careful, Jared. Don’t forget this is the kind of thing we were trained for. We are the best at asymmetric warfare.”
“Head’s up, Commander. Luca just walked out onto the porch and lit a cigar,” Tanner interjected.
Jared tapped the comms in his ear twice to open the line to the FBI team. “Alpha team, stand by?”
“Alpha team ready, Commander,” Bill’s deep voice crackled over the comms.
Brock brought Jordan up against him and kissed her hard. His eyes glowed like molten silver. “Stay safe. I need you here when I return.”
“Right back at ya, honeybuns.”
He glared at the pet name. “Keep it real, Jordan. This is not the place. I need to know that you’re tuned in.” Another brief kiss and then he was gone, along with Jared, Tanner, and the rest of their team.
“Hey! Where’re you going?” Jordan whispered as Knox scampered up an oak tree.
“They said we must stay put and I am— just higher up. I’ll have a better view from up here should they need cover.”
“Good thinking.”
“Settle down, you two. Your comms are active and your chatting is disruptive to the teams,” Paxton’s voice clipped over the gentle rustling of leaves.
“Sorry,” they said in unison as they watched the team silently and quickly eliminate the guards on the outside. The two on the porch had gone back inside with Luca.
Jordan hunched down as she scanned the perimeter before her eyes locked on Brock’s frame pressed against a wall of the cabin.
“Trust Boneiro to have a fucking mansion in the mountains,” she muttered as she watched Brock pry open a sliding door with a knife.