A few of the tight lines digging into Verity’s forehead eased. “How did you find it?”
Mason shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”
Sara glanced down at the floor. It was probably better for everyone if they left the discussion about James for another day. They’d have to do it eventually. She couldn’t shake the feeling that they hadn’t seen the last of the man.
“Fine,” Verity said, putting out her hand. “All that matters is that the Evening Star gets back where it belongs.”
Mason let go of his jacket, letting it swing back toward his body.
“But we’re not handing it over. Not yet,” he said. “We still need it to get Sara’s parents back.”
“What?” The lines were back on Verity’s brow, deeper now. “I thought that’s why you had Rhys pick up those guys in there. Once you know where the kidnapper is hiding the Baumgartners, aren’t the pack of you going to rush in there, all commando-style?”
“Not at first,” Sara answered. “Malcolm will see a direct attack coming a mile away. He’s a career criminal. He’s used to raids, government or otherwise. If he believes, even for a second, that something is jeopardizing his plans, he’ll eliminate any loose ends.”
“So, your plan is what? Just to give him what he wants?” Verity asked. “No matter if it’s a priceless cultural treasure?”
“No,” Sara said. “I just have to make him believe that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I don’t understand,” Verity said.
“Even after I hand over the necklace, Malcolm still needs me to go to the police to turn myself in,” Sara explained. “Knowing him, he’ll take Mason captive as extra leverage against me, and once they do, he can help them escape.”
“And if he can’t?” Verity asked.
“Then that’s where we come in,” Jake said. “We’ll set up surveillance a safe distance away. And if everything goes to plan, we’ll alert the authorities as soon as we get the all clear from Mason.”
Even Sara had to admit, it was risky. She hated the idea of using Mason as bait, but what other choice did she have? Of course, there was always the risk that Malcolm wouldn’t bite and take him prisoner, but Mason was confident he could talk him into doing it. And the strange thing was, she believed it. The man was a hell of a con man…no matter how much he insisted that he wasn’t.
Sara could only hope that she wasn’t leading them down a path they’d never come back from.
“And if everything doesn’t go to plan?” Verity asked.
“Then the whole team will be close enough to swoop in, save the prisoners, and recover the necklace.”
“So, you are planning to go all commando,” Verity said. “I knew it.”
Verity’s tone might have lost a little of its edge when she spoke to Jake, but Sara didn’t miss the skeptical light shining in the woman’s eyes.
Sara didn’t blame her. It might have been the best plan that Sara could come up with, but it was far from foolproof. Too much could go wrong.
Not the least of which was the fact that none of it was ever going to happen because they were never going to get the location out of Malcolm’s men.
Just then the office door in front of them flew open, and Rhys stepped out, wiping his hands on the side of his pants.
“I got it,” he said.
Sara’s jaw dropped. Out of the corner of her eye she spied Mason giving her an I told you so look. At least, he had the good sense to keep his mouth closed.
“H-how did you manage that?” Sara asked in amazement.
“Do you really want to know?” Rhys didn’t even turn his head her way as he strode past her to the cubicle in front of him.
Man, she was getting sick of that non-answer.
Rhys sat in the chair and quickly brought the computer to life. He typed an address into the search bar and a satellite map appeared on the screen. A few more clicks and he zoomed in on the image.
“That’s where Malcolm is holding them,” Rhys said, rolling back the chair a few inches to give everyone a good look.
Sara pushed her way to the front, but all she saw was the long, flat roof of what appeared to be a rundown building. A big one, by the looks of it. And it wasn’t just the building that was in bad shape. The parking lot was equally dilapidated, totally empty except for the large tufts of greenery that sprouted from the cracks in the blacktop.
“What is this?” she asked.
“An abandoned strip mall down on the peninsula, off a side road near the airport,” Rhys said. “Not a great neighborhood, so no foot traffic going by. Backside butts up against the waterfront, so no peering eyes that way. It’s perfect.”
Sure, for most people, but her parents weren’t most people.
She turned toward Rhys. “You’re positive they told you the right place?”
“I am,” he said, meeting her gaze.
He certainly looked sure, but…
“What is it?” Mason asked.
Sara let out a long breath as she turned back to the computer.
“It’s just that once my mom and dad broke in and out of the Prado in five minutes flat. They did the Louvre in less than eight. There is no way they’re stuck in a plate glass-fronted strip mall for nearly a week, not even with their hands tied behind their backs.”
“But what about a vault?” Charlie’s voice called out. Sara turned around to see her sitting in the next cubicle over, working furiously on another computer. “It looks like the unit on the far end of the mall used to be a bank. Malcolm could be keeping them in there.”
“That has to be it,” Sara said. It was the only place that made sense. Stripped of all their tools and resources, a solid steel bank vault might just be the only thing that could keep her parents trapped.
Mason turned toward her. “Of course, that means we’re going to have to change our plans a little. What am I going to need to break out of a bank vault?”
Sara bit her lower lip, as her heart sunk. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Bank vaults are tough, especially the old school ones.”
She’d know what to do if she had hours, lots of time and equipment to painstakingly cut and drill through the door’s intricate locking mechanism, but with just minutes to get out? They were going to need something big.
“There has to be something,” Charlie said.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Vaults are basically impenetrable boxes, built to withstand nothing short of a military attack.”
A wide smile started to spread across Mason’s face.
“Then that’s exactly what we bring,” he said. He asked Carter, “How much plastic explosive do we have hanging around the office?”
Chapter Twelve
They left the office in waves to avoid suspicion. Jake and Rhys first. Then Bowie. Carter went last, prepping to take Malcolm’s men to the police station. They’d all check in when they were in place and ready to go. Mason figured that gave him and Sara at least twenty minutes to check their equipment and go over their new plan.
That was fine by him. He wasn’t about to let Sara take a single step out the door before he knew everything was going to plan. He didn’t want her out in the open and exposed any longer than she had to be.
Hell, the truth was he didn’t want her out there at all.
A strange unsettled feeling grew deep within his gut. He didn’t want to call it a premonition or a bad vibe, not when he didn’t believe in such things. Chances were it was just nerves, but it had been so long since he’d felt this way that he couldn’t be sure.
“You sure I can’t take the necklace down to Malcolm on my own?” Was that a note of apprehension in his voice?
Maybe it was, because when Sara turned around in the empty office to face him, there was a sympathetic look shining in her bright eyes.
“You know that wouldn’t work,” she said. “It’s bad enough that we’re deviating from his plan as much as we are. I’m going to have a rough time trying to talk my way out of it.”
>
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about,” he said. There was no denying his anxiety now. It rung out in his voice, crystal clear.
Sara’s shoulders rose and fell as she took in a deep breath. A tight smile appeared on her face as she moved toward him.
“Don’t worry,” she said, placing her hands over his. “It’s just like you said, Malcolm isn’t likely to hurt any of us until we’ve worn out our usefulness. That isn’t going to happen in the next thirty minutes.”
Strange, he’d been through the negotiation training. He knew the logic was sound. Hell, he’d seen the success rate first hand, but this time, for some reason, this situation felt different. It was as if his head didn’t want to listen to logic.
It wanted to listen to something else now. Something that pounded deep within his chest. Something that wanted nothing more than to lock Sara up in Carter’s office and not let her out until he’d put a bullet in Malcolm’s brain.
Of course, that wouldn’t work…for so many reasons. Not the least of which no matter where he locked Sara away she would simply break out.
So, for now, he would have to go along with this plan and pray that he could get her out of Malcolm’s presence as quickly as possible.
“I know,” he said, hoping that he sounded more convinced than he felt.
He must not have put on a good enough show, because the worried crinkles around her eyes only deepened.
“You’re not allowed to worry about me,” she said. “Not when I’m spending all of my time worrying about you. Do you have everything you need?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’ve looked over the vault schematics that Charlie pulled up for you? You’re sure you know where to place the charge?”
“Bowie and I have done the calculations several times,” he tried to reassure her. “If I pack just enough C4 past the bend in the interior vault vent and block the exhaust pipe with a smaller safety deposit box, that should funnel just enough force the right way to blow an escape route out of the building.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It sounds dangerous. What if the explosion is too strong? What if it takes you out too?”
“It won’t, Sara. I promise,” he said. “I’ve been on dozens of ops just like this. I would never do anything to jeopardize your parents’ lives.”
“It’s not just my parents I’m worried about,” she said. Her grip tightened around his hands. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you, Mason. You…you’re…” She stumbled over her words, her eyes flickering to the side before coming back to meet his. “You’re important to me.”
Important.
Exactly. That’s how he felt about her. That’s why his heart was pounding in fear. She was important. Not merely interesting or fascinating, but important. How long had it been since he’d had someone important in his life?
He pulled his right hand from hers and lifted it up to her cheek. “Nothing is going to happen to me, Sara. I swear it.”
She nodded, but Mason caught a little mist forming in her eyes.
Damn it.
He wasn’t going to let her cry. Not because she was worried about him. He leaned in and gently kissed her tears. She tasted sweet and salty all at once, and the twisting in his gut intensified.
The kiss didn’t last long. A moment later, his phone began to ring.
He moved away and pulled it out of his pocket. He turned to the side as he pressed the button to talk, but he still caught Sara wiping at her eyes in his peripheral vision.
“Go,” he said.
Jake’s voice came through, loud and clear on the other end, saying everyone was in position on his end. Everything looked good. They were clear to go.
Mason thanked him, even as his belly churned. He ended the call.
“It’s time,” he said.
Sara took a moment before straightening her shoulders.
“Let’s get this over with,” she said.
Mason nodded. He couldn’t agree more. He might not be looking forward to today, but what came after…the prospect of spending more time with Sara, of getting to know her without the pressure of people firing at them through windows or crashing through their front doors, well, that thought was more exciting than any op.
They didn’t talk much as they walked out of the office. About halfway down the hall, she slipped her palm into his, and it stayed there all the way down in the elevator, and out into the garage. The longer he held it the less she trembled. By the time they separated to get into his car, it barely quivered.
Mason started up the engine, and looked over at Sara. He could still see the fear pulling at the corners of her eyes, making her expression tight, but there was less now. So much less. Now, front and center on her brow was a look of steely resolve.
Mason knew that look. He’d seen it before, when he’d seen her on Verity’s security monitor. The focus in her gaze. The determined line of her mouth. She was ready to do this. She might not like it, but by God, she was going to do it.
He couldn’t help his smile as he pulled out of the garage.
Of course, he was falling hard for a woman like that. Who in their right mind wouldn’t?
***
Breathe.
Just breathe and this will all be over soon.
Sara kept repeating the mantra over and over in her head as Mason drove through the maze of crowded city streets and onto the freeway.
Breathe.
It will all be over…one way or the other.
Okay, that one was less helpful.
You’re only trying to do the impossible after all.
Take down a man that’s been untouchable for longer than you’ve been alive.
But sure, go ahead and breathe, if it makes you feel better.
Sara closed her eyes, clamping them shut tight for just a second. She took in one deep breath. Then another. And like always, her thoughts came back under her control.
There you go.
Breathe, and this will all be over soon.
She rested her temple against the window, letting the near-freezing glass cool her overheated head. She cracked open her lids. Her eyes focused on the car’s side mirror.
She watched the cars in the traffic behind them. Some seemed content to travel along peacefully with the flow of traffic. Some surged ahead; some fell behind.
Breathe.
She let the air slowly fill her lungs as she watched, letting their predictable movements soothe her even more.
A handful of minutes passed before Mason steered the car toward the freeway exit. Sara knew she should lift her head. They had to be almost there. The abandoned strip mall wasn’t far from the freeway, but she didn’t want to.
Not yet.
Besides, the car that had been behind them was still there.
And the one behind them.
Another a few back.
Sara cocked her head to the side.
What were the odds that so many nice, heavily-tinted cars needed to get off at the same crappy freeway exit?
She turned to ask Mason, but the question never made it past her lips. It didn’t have to. The look on his face told her everything that she needed to know.
His eyes were already focused on the rearview mirror, his forehead furrowed, his mouth a straight, flat line.
“Looks like we might have complications,” he said, taking the right turn at the end of the off ramp harder than necessary.
She spun around in her seat just in time to see the three cars behind them follow suit.
Shit.
Sara wasn’t sure if she said the curse or merely thought it. She didn’t really care. The sentiment stood. How many things could go wrong in one day?
No. Wait. She really didn’t want to know the answer to that.
“The Russians?” Mason asked. “South Africans?”
Hell, she didn’t know, and there was no way she could see through windows tinted that dark.
“Probably both, knowing our
luck,” she answered. “What do we do now?”
“We get backup,” he said. “Let them chase us for a couple of blocks until we lead them to the rest of the team. The five of us together shouldn’t have any trouble taking out a few cars.”
No trouble? Well, he was confident. God only knew how many men were waiting for them in those three cars.
Three cars.
Shit.
Sara was certain she’d said that last one out loud. She spun back around in her seat.
“No,” she said.
“What?” Mason took his gaze off the road, just enough time to shoot her a look that made it clear he was questioning whether she’d gone off the deep end.
“There are three cars back there, Mason,” she said. “Three.”
“So?”
“So, let’s say the Russians are in one, and the South Africans are in the other. That still leaves one for—”
“Malcolm’s men,” he finished for her.
Exactly.
Mason tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Sara could practically see the wheels spinning in his mind.
“All right,” he said. “Even if those are his men, we can still take them, just like we did the other car this morning.”
Sara shook her head. “No, we can’t. Your friends caught Malcolm’s men unaware this morning. We have to assume he knows his guys are missing now. He’ll be on edge.”
“And in contact with all his men.” Mason’s jaw tightened as he nodded. He might not like the logic but at least he was listening to her. “So, if we lead the cars to the rest of the guys then we blow our only advantage.”
“Exactly.”
Mason took another few quick turns, forcing the cars behind them to slow but not stop. The move only bought them a little time, but right now, that was the best that they could hope for.
“So, what do we do now?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the road.
Sara sucked in a deep breath. She was afraid he was going to ask that.
“Now you give me the necklace, and I do the rest of this alone.”
Mason spun toward her. “What? Absolutely not,” he shouted.
Mason: The Sinner Saints #4 Page 15
