“How much time do you need?”
“Less than fifteen minutes.”
“Perfect.” Greg smiled, excited to finally have the nightmare he’d been living with about to conclude. “I’ll call you as soon as I need your help with the next step.” He disconnected the call and leaned his head back against the seat cushion. He couldn’t wait for the tension of the last several weeks to finally fall off his shoulders. More than anything, though, he couldn’t wait to see the look on Evie’s face when she saw him.
* * *
“We’re still no closer to figuring out who might be after Evie,” Santo sighed, staring out at the passing scenery. They had been supplied with a truck to return to the ranch, even though it would take them nearly four hours on the road before they could call an end to their day.
“No. But we stopped a massive arms deal from going down. I say we take whatever wins we can get right now.” Snap drove, and, though his words were light, he seemed frustrated as well.
“They knew we were coming. Greg’s been manipulating this sale from day one. That’s why no one connected to him attended.” Santo felt as if they had a vital clue directly under their nose but hadn’t been able to see it.
“We knew the risks going in,” Brusco pointed out.
“There’s something that’s been eating at me,” Lobo said, scratching his cheek thoughtfully. “I didn’t notice any form of payment with anyone. There were no briefcases of money. There wasn’t even a computer set up for them to wire the money over. How was the person going to pay if they won the auction?”
Santo’s frown deepened. “They could have been running everything offsite. That explains why no one stood out on our list of potential threats. It could be they had people low in their organization present or even people they hire just to handle auction transactions. Almost like the way mercenaries hire out their expertise.”
Lobo’s frown matched Santo’s. “Then that means that place would have been wired for sound. Wouldn’t Buzz have picked up on that, though?”
“Not necessarily. If they brought in the communication device tonight for the auction, it wouldn’t have been there yesterday for us to lock on to their frequency.”
“If they were operating with live sound, Buzz should still be able to tell if something is transmitting from that location, right? The people we’re after very well could have been there—virtually. They could have been listening in on everything remotely.” Snap glanced over his shoulder at Santo.
Santo pulled out his phone and hit his speed-dial for Buzz. The other end of the line only rang once. “Hey, Santo, good to hear from you. What can I do you for?”
“Can you check all of the Wi-Fi and communications networks that were up and running at the time the auction started?”
“On it. You all getting close to home?”
Santo froze. They had talked to him as soon as the mission had been completed and let him know they were getting on the road. Buzz knew it would take them at least four hours to get to the ranch. Unease slid down Santo’s back and he made eye contact with Brusco, who immediately went on the alert. “Shouldn’t be that much longer,” Santo said cryptically.
“You know Evie can’t wait to see you.”
They knew each other well enough to be able to hear the slightest amount of tension in each other’s voices, and Buzz sounded extremely tense. His words were meant as a warning to Santo… The line wasn’t secure. Somehow they had been compromised. “I thought she’d be gone by now,” Santo hedged. “Wasn’t she due back in Corpus?”
“You know how stubborn she is.”
It had to do with Evie. They had checked security multiple times. It could only be the work of David, which meant the involvement of Greg. “She couldn’t get over how good Snap makes coffee in the morning,” Santo said with a forced chuckle.
Snap looked up and over at Santo, his eyes narrowed. By this point, everyone in the truck knew something wasn’t right. “That’s exactly it,” Buzz chuckled. “Yeah, boss man, I’m looking around, and I’m not finding anything. Could be the networks were terminated as soon as the call ended.”
Hell. Santo hadn’t told him anything about a call. Buzz was warning him they were about to lose all forms of communication. He had to keep him on the line longer. He had to get more information from him. “It was worth a shot.”
“Yeah, a real long-shot.”
Whoever moved in on them hadn’t breached their location yet. But if they were being taken out systematically, they didn’t have four hours to wait for them to arrive. “Yeah, well, I didn’t have anything else to fall back on.” He hoped Buzz picked up the hint. The team had a fall back plan if a crisis ever hit the ranch. Stryker had put it into place when he had first re-built the home and their training area. He contracted the construction of a safety bunker located on the other side of the ranch. It might be their only hope.
“Yeah. Roger that. So we’ll see you all soon.”
“Sure thing, Buzz. Soon.” Santo waited for several seconds, and then the line went dead. “Shit!” he nearly threw his phone within the cab of the truck. Distantly he realized that Snap had gunned the truck and they were flying down the highway. “Turn around.”
“What are you talking about? We need to get there ASAP based on what little I heard from your side of the conversation.”
“What’s happening?” Lobo watched him with narrowed eyes as Snap barely slowed the truck and whipped it across the lanes of traffic, ignoring the blaring of horns and gunned it back towards Galveston.
“We’ve been compromised. We’ve lost all lines of communication with the house. Buzz just confirmed it’s someone after Evie, though I don’t know how he knows that.”
“Have they breached the home?” Snap pushed the gas pedal down further.
“Not yet. It sounds like they can still make it to the safety bunker.”
“We’re the only hope they have left,” Brusco said.
“I hope you have some incredible plan to have us headed the wrong way,” Snap growled.
“I have an old friend who owes me a favor. Just trust me.”
Chapter 32
Evie felt the tension as soon as Buzz entered the room. And it only became more intense when Stryker quickly followed behind him. She left the conference room slowly and walked to the communications room door, hovering just inside, listening to the curt way they talked.
“How bad is it?” Stryker leaned forward over Buzz’s console.
“Rapidly declining. They haven’t breached the perimeter yet, but that will be their next step. They’re slowly taking us down.”
“We have to evacuate, immediately,” Stryker said, shaking his head. “The women are the priority. Are we able to draw fire long enough to get them to safety?”
“Santo just reminded me of the bunker.”
“We can’t all go down in the bunker. Someone has to lure them away from the rest so that they can get to safety. Otherwise, it will be just a matter of time before they figure out how to blast into the bunker. We can’t let them even find it.”
Evie’s heart lurched in her chest. Whoever needed the information from her had found her. It had to be David. Only David would be able to crack Buzz’s security, and he had been given a glimpse into the system when she had tried to access the dark web files. Now, with half of the team on a mission, they were more vulnerable than ever. Somehow David had known when to strike.
An odd calm settled over her. The people in the home had become her family, and she couldn’t let them die. Not because of a terrible mistake she had made two years ago. She had to take action quickly.
Buzz pulled up the security camera footage around the ranch perimeter and pointed to different screens as he talked rapidly. He also opened a phone line and an odd crackling sound filled the room, telling them all they had no way of contacting anyone without using their cell phones. She overheard Buzz speaking over the noise telling Stryker their com system had been taken down, too.
Using the noise to her advantage, she slipped past them and rushed down the stairs. She ran into Santo’s bedroom and yanked open a drawer. Inside she found the tracker Buzz had given her a couple of days prior, and pressed a quick kiss to it, saying a silent prayer.
“Hey, Elena… Where do the guys keep the keys for the trucks? I need to look for something in Santo’s truck.” She kept her tone casual as she stepped into the kitchen.
Elena straightened from where she had been putting up ice cream she and Phantom had just finished eating and she glanced up at Evie briefly. “Umm… Big drawer in the foyer. There’s a hook for each one, so it may be trial and error to find which one belongs to Santo’s truck. Do you need some help?”
“No, no. I’ll figure it out. Thanks.” She turned on her heel and rushed into the foyer and gathered up all of the keys in the drawer. She would figure out which one she needed once she got into his truck.
Directly inside the foyer stood the gun rack displaying their hunting rifles and shotguns. She popped open the drawer connected to the rack and grabbed the boxes of ammunition. She needed more hands to carry everything, she realized with frustration.
She glanced down and let out a relieved breath. One of Anya’s vet bags sat by the door. It would work perfectly. She threw the boxes of ammunition in the bag, along with all of the keys. Then she grabbed two rifles and a shotgun.
She turned for a moment and looked back at the house. She heard Anya and Elena laugh at something, then heard Phantom growling at Elena, and her laughter grew louder. Her heart thudded slowly. She had to save them.
Suddenly she heard Buzz and Stryker talking as they approached the stairs. She couldn’t risk them stopping her. She knew exactly what had to be done. “Goodbye,” she whispered and fled out the front door.
Chapter 33
“Phantom!” Stryker yelled as he heard the front door open. None of them could go outside. He and Buzz knew they were at a serious disadvantage operating in the blind. The security footage had just gone down, which meant a breach could happen at any moment. Phantom recognized the urgency in Stryker’s voice and appeared at the foot of stairs almost instantly, though his eyes were being pulled towards the door that hung open.
Stryker landed at the foot of the stairs with Buzz hot on his heels. “Who just left?” he demanded.
“Anya and Elena are with me. It must have been Evie, but…” His eyes took in everything in the foyer all at once and he shook his head. “What the hell is she doing?”
“Son of a bitch!” Buzz cursed, slamming the drawer that had held all of the keys. Seconds later they heard Santo’s truck roar to life. “She must have been upstairs. She probably heard everything.”
“She’s going to try to save us.” Stryker plowed his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t get to her fast enough to stop her. His gut churned painfully.
“Save us from what?” Phantom glared at both of them.
“Greg is making his move. In one form or another, whether with his hitmen or with an entire army, he’s going to breach the perimeter and storm the house. We don’t have much time to get to the bunker.”
“Evie…” Phantom closed his eyes as realization washed over him.
“She’s going to provide the distraction so we can get to the bunker without them finding us.”
“Anya!” Stryker yelled.
“Elena!” Phantom yelled at the same time. The two women came running, fear on their faces. They knew their men would never yell for them, their voices laced with tension.
“Get strong shoes on and grab the go-bags we taught you to pack.” Stryker looked at both of them in turn, his tone firm.
The two women exchanged glances but said nothing as they turned and ran for their rooms. They had been taught to be ready in case an emergency ever hit and knew what to do. Stryker still couldn’t believe, after all the precautions Buzz had taken over the past few days, that David had been able to hack the system. Their assignment could very well be at an end, now that their enemies knew their location.
He turned to Phantom and Buzz. “We need to do the same. Strong shoes and our go-bags. We’ll leave out the back door. We need to cover our tracks as best as possible. We can’t afford to take the four-wheelers. We’ll use the horses to go most of the way, then we’ll go on foot.”
The men nodded, then took off to their rooms. Stryker paused and stared out the door as Santo’s truck rumbled down the road to the gate—the entrance that Gregory would brazenly use as soon as he had the security systems down completely.
She had decided to sacrifice herself for all of them. He knew why she had. He couldn’t do anything other than make sure her sacrifice wasn’t in vain and get everyone to safety.
* * *
Evie’s heart hammered in her chest. David wanted her. If her plan worked, she’d put herself directly in their path. She just hoped they would take the bait.
I just need to keep them away long enough for Stryker to get everyone to the bunker. How long will it take? She didn’t know. She would give them as much time as possible.
She pulled the truck off of the road that led to the ranch house, several hundred yards from the gated entrance. She knew Stryker would get everyone out of the house. She had come to admire his effortless leadership ability and had heard them talk about go-bags before. They would be out of the house within less than five minutes.
She grabbed the first rifle and smiled when she discovered it fully loaded. She took the safety off and proceeded to do the same with the other rifle and the shotgun. As an avid hunter, her father had instilled great knowledge about guns. She had her handgun locked in the safe at her apartment he had given to her when she’d moved out on her own.
Headlights bobbed at the gate. Would she face off the person hunting her down, or had another hitman been sent to do the job? She knew odds were not in her favor. But she would rather perish than watch the people she cared about suffer due to no fault of their own.
Santo’s scent wrapped around her and she realized she still wore one of his t-shirts. She knew her choice to fight meant she might never see him again. She prayed if she succeeded, no one would ever come after him, her friends, or the team ever again.
She focused on the headlights, the blinked hard when a second set of headlights pulled up behind the first. Two trucks. It could be several men with the intention of killing everyone, including Santo and the others when they returned, unaware of the danger they faced.
She drew a deep breath. She wouldn’t let it happen. She grabbed the tracker Buzz had given her and saw the tiny red strip that showed it active, then slipped it inside the waistband of her underwear. If they caught her, they’d probably search her, though she hoped they didn’t strip her. She didn’t know what kind of criminals she faced on the other side of the gate. If the tracker worked, though, she held a sliver of hope she might return to Santo.
With a steady hand, she hit the button to lower the passenger side window. Then she leveled the rifle, carefully aiming as someone stepped out of the first truck. She let her breath out slowly and pulled the trigger.
* * *
Gregory smiled as he watched one of his mercenaries get down from the truck in front of them and begin to push the gate open with ease because the locks had been disabled. His smile quickly turned to an angry shout as he heard the rapport of a gun, saw the man jerk, then crumple to the ground. He drew in a slow, deep breath. He had expected resistance, but not so soon.
He grabbed the walkie-talkie on the seat next to him. “Leave him. Just drive!” He knew yelling wouldn’t help, but he felt a little better after venting his anger.
Someone closed the passenger door left open and the truck lurched forward, slamming into the gate and running over the fallen man. If he hadn’t been killed by the shot, the truck had certainly crushed him to death. He had expected casualties. He just hoped there wouldn't be more to follow. He needed these men to take down the people he knew lived at the home.
As the t
ruck rolled forward, he saw movement ahead of them, and squinted into the darkness, trying to discern what it could be. The headlights of the truck hit it, and he nearly quaked with fury. Evie. He’d never forget her golden hair and porcelain skin. She aimed a rifle directly at the truck in front of his.
She fired off a round, then another, and again. He grabbed the walkie-talkie and shouted into it. “Stop her! She’s the one that we want. Don’t just sit there!”
The truck surged forward, then coasted slowly as she continued shooting. To his dismay, he watched as the driver-side door of the truck in front of him flew open and another body landed on the ground. He only had three men left. If she had the capability of stopping them this early in his game, what would happen once the men inside the house engaged?
Fortunately, someone within the truck had taken the driver’s spot and gunned the truck forward, racing directly towards her. She dropped the rifle and put the truck in gear and slammed on the gas, and it surged over the road and into the rough terrain surrounding them. “Follow her!” he shouted into the walkie-talkie.
His driver hit the gas and they jumped forward, racing along as fast as they could in the muddy terrain. She had to be flying by the seat of her pants, because she continued to dodge mesquite trees at the very last minute, before, suddenly, they came to another road, though this one was rough and slightly overgrown.
She has nowhere to go. The fact that she had guns and knew how to use them presented the real problem. Once they finally did corner her, she could simply lie low in the cab of the truck and take them out one-by-one as they approached to capture her. His mind raced. The only thing they could do was incapacitate her somehow. Which meant, more than likely, they would have to wound her to the point that she could no longer defend herself.
Protected in His Arms: Elite Texas SEALs Page 31
