Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Redemption for Avery (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Ryker Townsend FBI Profiler Book 2)

by Jordan Dane

  Grayson Barbour’s body fell hard to the floor. Deputy Zander Lovell had murdered him in cold blood.

  Chapter 14

  True Light Ministry

  12:40 a.m.

  Ryker Townsend

  “This is it,” Mozart said. “The GPS coordinates where your agent called you.”

  A large Christian cross, more than two stories high, stood on the crest of a hill, flooded by light. If Lucinda had seen it after leaving the Barbour residence, I knew it would have drawn her. Two seconds. Why had her call lasted only two seconds, and why hadn’t she left me a message?

  “What’s your gut tell you?” Mozart must’ve read my doubts as we pulled up to the church.

  “She would’ve come here. It’s too close to Grayson Barbour’s house not to check it out.”

  He nodded and cut off the engine.

  “Then let’s do this,” Mozart said. “Never give up. Never surrender.”

  “Did you just quote Galaxy Quest?”

  “That depends. Did it work?”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Let’s get you suited up for church,” he said.

  In the back seat of his Dodge Ram—under his Snuggy Ride baby seat—Mozart had a custom weapons locker welded into the floorboard of his vehicle. When he opened the secret compartment, he yanked out a Kevlar vest and tossed it to me.

  “Pick what you want. Weapons are loaded,” he said as he shrugged into his own body armor.

  Mozart hadn’t been kidding when he claimed to have a mobile armory. I carried my FBI-issued Glock 21, but he had other weapons, ammunition, and flashbangs—M84 stun grenades used in hostage rescue operations. We had enough to start a small war.

  Geared up, we headed for the church and its well-lit entrance. From the schematic Sinead had sent to my phone, I knew where Elias Fenton had his private quarters on the property of True Light Ministry. This time of night, I expected the reverend to be in his residence, quarters located behind the altar inside the church. We climbed the steps and I rang the doorbell.

  In the distance, I heard the sound of a dog barking. The animal sounded agitated. I flashed on the grating noise of gnashing teeth and remembered the sound from my vision. The pieces to my disturbing dream flooded my mind. When I looked up at the steeple, a large bell hung in the belfry—the exact one I’d seen in my waking nightmare with its incessant ringing.

  This has to be it.

  After several long minutes, Elias Fenton answered the door, dressed in pajamas and a robe with his hair tousled.

  “What is it? Is something wrong?” He squinted and blinked under the light as he wrapped his robe around him.

  “Sorry to bother you, sir, but one of my agents is missing. I have reason to believe she’d been on your property when she placed a call to me. Have you seen Agent Lucinda Crowley?”

  “I remember meeting her at the Hubbard home, but no. I haven’t seen her this evening. Surely she would’ve come to me if she were on church property.”

  “Do you mind if we come inside to look around?” I wanted access to the church and his private quarters behind the altar.

  “No, please. Everyone is welcome.” He stood aside to let us enter. “Please look wherever you must.”

  Mozart didn’t waste time with the formality of an introduction. Once we stepped through the door, he searched the building. The preacher stayed with me as I looked around. My boots echoed on wooden floor planks as I walked toward the altar and the pulpit. Huge stained glass windows cast eerie distortions of moonlight into the shadowy place of worship.

  My heart sank when I didn’t see any sign of Lucinda. I sensed a hollow emptiness in the building. I didn’t feel her there. Mozart returned and shook his head without saying a word. He hadn’t found any indication she had been there, but before we left, I had a question for the reverend.

  “That dog I hear barking. Is it yours?”

  “In a manner of speaking, I suppose it is. He’s a guard dog for the property. I inherited him from the previous owners.”

  “What’s the dog’s name?”

  “Sade. From what I understand, he’s Sade the fourth. The previous owners had a winery and the name carried meaning for them. They must’ve named their dogs after the vineyard.”

  I fought hard to keep my face stoic after hearing the name of the dog I remembered from my waking dream, when thirty-four dead souls appeared in my vision.

  “La Maison de Sade Cellars. That’s French, for House of Sade.”

  “Yes, I believe so.” The minister smiled. “My, you have come prepared. Are you a lover of history, agent?”

  “The name of Sade rings a bell. It’s not the first time I’ve heard it.”

  Questions coiled through my mind like a tempest. How long had Elias Fenton been in Big Bear? Had he known the previous owners or had they been related to him? He fit the age of the UNSUB I hunted. When I glanced at Mozart, he shot me a questioning look, but doubt kept me rooted. I had no proof—only a waking dream and the name of a dog.

  Could this man standing in front of me be Avery’s killer? Or could the missing girls and the deaths be linked to the family who had owned the winery? I had nothing but my indefinable instinct raising the hair on my neck.

  “Well, don’t let me delay you,” the reverend said. “I’m sure you’ll want to keep searching for your missing agent. I will pray for her safe return.”

  “Thanks for your time. I’m sorry we woke you.”

  I nodded and turned my back on the man, with Reed at my side. When we got far enough away from the church to speak openly, Mozart spoke first.

  “That man’s a liar,” he said.

  “Yep.” I didn’t break stride. “Like I said to Fenton, the name Sade, it’s not the first time I’ve heard it.”

  I couldn’t tell him about the dog and its master in my vision—and the role the dog had played in Avery’s abduction—but something I’d read in a history book had surfaced in my mind.

  “Fenton failed to mention Sade is the name of a controversial French writer and ‘killer of God’—the Marquis de Sade. The word ‘sadism’ comes from his name.”

  “I bet you’d clean up on Jeopardy.”

  “Given how Lily died, that’s too much coincidence for me.”

  “I take it you have a plan?” Mozart asked.

  “This place had been named for its wine cellar. Where do you suppose that cellar is?”

  I remembered something on Sinead’s blueprints of the property, part of the old winery’s cellar. The church had been a new build, but sections of the old vineyard remained, especially a hard to dispose of underground storage vault.

  “I have to know, for sure.”

  If Lucinda came here, what did she find? My gut tortured me when I realized—she could already be dead. But if she were alive, leaving without her would be signing her death warrant.

  I had no choice.

  ***

  Minutes later

  Ryker Townsend

  Mozart parked the truck down the road and we doubled back in the dark, armed with everything we could carry. I upgraded to an M4 carbine assault rifle and Mozart brought a breaching shotgun with Hatton rounds, designed to destroy locks, deadbolts, and hinges. With M84 stun grenades on our duty belts, and NVG headgear—thermal imaging night vision goggles—we were ready for a hostage rescue mission.

  I thought about calling for backup, but if our wine cellar invasion went sideways, I wouldn’t have brought Hutch and Cam into our covert op and I didn’t trust Deputy Lovell to get it right. Since I didn’t have legitimate probable cause, I wouldn’t take the chance of dragging my team or anyone else into the mud.

  I would take the heat—no one else.

  From the corner of my eye, I kept Mozart in view. His body heat registered on my NVG as he drifted by me in silence like a shark in deep water. We kept to the shadows past the church as we headed toward the back of the wooded acreage.

  When we approached the old garage, I gave Mozart a hand si
gnal and we both checked it out. I wiped the dirt off a window and saw the garage was empty. After we cleared the building for any threats, I gave another hand signal for us to move out.

  In a shadowy circle of trees, in a secluded corner of the property, one structure remained—the old wine cellar. We scrambled across an open field until our backs were up against a stone wall. I inched closer to an opening and peered into an antechamber. In my vision in the clearing, I endured the sensations of being underground. I thought the nightmarish recollection had been from last year when I almost died, but now I knew.

  My dream had foreshadowed this moment.

  A wooden door dominated what remained of the dilapidated room—the cellar. I signaled a game plan to Mozart and he followed me in. I inched toward the entrance and, with a hand, I nudged the door handle. It wouldn’t budge.

  Locked.

  I let out the breath I’d been holding and cocked my head toward the door. Mozart had the master key in his hands—his breaching shotgun with Hatton rounds. Once he started shooting, our element of surprise would end.

  “Avon calling,” I whispered. “Make every shot count.”

  If Lucinda were being held inside, every second mattered. We had to breach the door and make it fast. I trusted Mozart with Lucinda’s life. I had to.

  ***

  “You can’t get away with this. Ryker will figure it out.” Lucinda struggled against her restraints. The rope rubbed her skin raw and fresh blood drained down her arms.

  “He’s already gone and he bought everything I told him,” Fenton said. “No one will save you, not even God.”

  “How will you explain Grayson Barbour? When they find his body—”

  “No one will find him or his car. We’ve already planted enough evidence to place the blame for Lily’s death. Deputy Lovell will see to the rest.”

  “The little bastard tried to rape her. He chased her to the church and—” Lovell glanced toward the preacher. “—we intervened.”

  “Grayson didn’t kill her, did he?” she asked. “Which one of you did it? He was off his meds. You convinced him he did it, after you covered him in her blood and put the knife in his hands.”

  “It was easier to control him when he thought we were helping him get away with murder. That’s all you need to know,” Fenton said, as he lit a cigarette and drew smoke into his lungs.

  “Ben Hurst and Wade Thomas Altamonte, what were they to you?” she asked.

  “Insurance. Hurst was too stupid to last. He liked ‘em older and he got caught, but the teacher was another story.” Lovell grinned. “You might say we recruited Altamonte, made it easy for him to live the life he wanted to. We kept an eye on him. Couldn’t have him drawing attention, but once he got a steady diet of young meat, he stayed in line.”

  “Were you surprised when we found out his real name and had him arrested?”

  “Yeah, but we landed on our feet. We were prepared to throw him under the bus to misdirect your investigation. Your boss bought Lovell’s lie about that pervert visiting an aunt as a kid,” Elias said. “All the good deputy had to do was plant a few trophies and trace evidence, and your team would be satisfied. We were Teflon all the way.”

  “Until Grayson brought me here.”

  “Little bastard.” Lovell kicked the kid’s body to roll him and pulled Barbour’s pockets inside out. When he found a keychain, the deputy grimaced. “I didn’t think he even knew about the cellar, until I lost my keys. Turns out the little asshole found ‘em and lied about it. You can’t trust anyone.”

  Prolific killers got into a complacent rhythm with their kills after everything turned routine. Lucinda cringed at the thought. Grayson Barbour died, and dragged her into the line of fire, because Lovell had gotten careless with his keys.

  “Your Barney Fife routine, it was an act, wasn’t it?”

  Lovell smirked.

  “You and that boss of yours, you think I’m a dumb jackass who can’t count his balls. You think I didn’t notice the insults?” He spat at her feet and glared at her. “Well, you were right about one thing. Your UNSUB has something against women. After Elias treats you like the meat you are, I’ll slit you open from cunt to beating heart, while you scream. You’re gonna wish I put a bullet in your head.”

  Lovell shook with contempt.

  He and Elias Fenton were stone cold killers, operating in plain sight and covering for each other. They had back-up plans if anyone came too close. If they killed her now, Ryker might buy their story that Grayson Barbour had killed Lily and lured Lucinda to follow him into a trap. No matter how they spun the tale, they had their rehearsed responses and would lie to protect each other.

  They could get away with everything.

  Elias tossed his cigarette as he approached her and pulled a knife. He cut through her clothes—taking his time—and enjoyed every degrading moment of her shame.

  “You’ll serve the purpose for which you were truly intended.” Elias Fenton ran a hand over her breasts and leered at his handiwork. “I invite you to scream. It makes me hard, but down here, no one will hear you.”

  Elias stripped off every stitch of his clothes, revealing his erect penis and a body covered in tattoos—horrific images in ink of his sadistic perversions. Zander Lovell moved toward a switch and turned on a light. A pale glow spread across the surface of a table, glinting off the shiny tools of his trade—chains saws, knives, and bone spreaders.

  Lucinda wanted to curse and rage at the men who would kill her, but nothing came out.

  ***

  Ryker Townsend

  Mozart blew the lock and the door shattered in a hail of splinters. I yanked the cellar door open, pulled the pin on a flashbang and tossed the stun grenade into the pitch-black chamber. We flipped up our NVGs and shielded our eyes and ears.

  After a one-second delay, an ear-piercing blast rumbled underground. The percussion from the grenade jarred the door and a blinding light from the flash powder erupted through the cracks. Anyone on the receiving end of the explosion would be deaf, disoriented and blind. We had six seconds before the effects would wear off. I secured my NVG and breached the door.

  Through smoke, I yelled, “Moving,” and clambered down the stone steps with my assault rifle. Mozart put his hand on my back as I passed him, to make a tight stack. He squeezed my shoulder to signal me and he closed in on my boot heels.

  “Ryker!”

  I heard Lucinda shout to warn me. A man cursed and she cried out in pain.

  Please…don’t let her die.

  “Your woman is getting out of here alive,” Mozart cursed under his breath. “Count on it.”

  At the end of a corridor, a dim light glowed. Thermal images flashed across my eyes before shots rang out. I slammed my back to a wall and took cover with Mozart across from me.

  Reed had a better look into the dead-end chamber. He gave me a hand signal to let me know where I would find Lucinda. Two men had her pinned down. I nodded and we deployed a double bang—one stun grenade landed near the opening and the other rolled deeper.

  Balls of light rocked the room with percussive blasts that hit my chest, hard enough to make me wince. We had only seconds to scramble.

  “FBI,” I yelled and rushed in. “Drop your weapons!”

  “Get down! Stay down!” Mozart bellowed, with weapon aimed.

  One man staggered to his feet and pulled a gun, but he didn’t aim at me. He had the muzzle pointed at Lucinda.

  “No!” I stepped in front of the blast and took the hit to my chest. I stumbled back, but not before getting off two shots.

  “Ryker, no!”

  Lucinda’s voice—the last sound I heard.

  Chapter 15

  True Light Ministry

  1:45 a.m.

  Ryker Townsend

  “You’re one lucky bastard.” Mozart’s face hovered over me. He flashed a grin and patted my cheek.

  “Lucinda?” I gasped and tried to sit up, but he pushed me back down.

&nbs
p; “Your woman is good, man. EMTs are checking her out. She’s got a concussion, but she’s okay.”

  With the efficiency of a field medic, he peeled off my body armor and let me breathe.

  “I have to see her.” When I tried to sit up again, I winced. “Ow.”

  “You took one to the chest and you lived to tell about it. You should consider a trip to Vegas. You have seriously wicked karma.”

  My chest ached and it hurt to breathe.

  “I got off a shot.”

  “You did more than that. You took out Deputy Lovell, one to the pump, the other between his eyes. He’s dead, but preacher man is alive and will answer for his crimes.”

  I could’ve kept my secret about Avery and the dog and my waking dream, but I owed it to Mozart—who’d risked his life to save Lucinda. He deserved the truth about his sister.

  “Elias Fenton killed Avery.”

  Reed stopped cold and swallowed hard. When his eyes watered, he couldn’t speak. I let him find his way back through the years of loss and unanswered questions.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  I hoped he wouldn’t ask me any more questions, but I would find a way to force a legitimate confession out of Fenton, for Mozart’s sake—and when we found Fenton and Lovell’s stash of trophies, I knew a familiar bear belly badge with ears would be among them.

  Mozart nodded and heaved a ragged sigh.

  “Come on. I’ll help you.” He hoisted me off the ground and helped me stand.

  When I saw Lucinda covered in blankets on a gurney near an ambulance, nothing else mattered. The lights, the uniforms, the barrage of questions, everything faded to black. Mozart slung my arm around his shoulder and he led me to the only woman I wanted to see.

  “You asked me how I knew Summer was the woman I wanted to marry,” Mozart said, with a bittersweet smile. “Well, what you just did? That’s how you know. I’d say if a guy is willing to die for a woman, it’s the real thing, man.” He winked. “Hallmark doesn’t make a card for guys like us.”

  Mozart left us alone and the paramedics cleared a path for me. Lucinda grabbed my shirt and pulled me into her arms. I cradled her head in my hands and kissed her deeply, not caring who saw. I held her in my arms and nuzzled her neck and ears. I couldn’t get enough of her, but when she pulled from my embrace, she stared into my eyes.