It was hard enough to do the work they did, but when one of their own, someone they believed they could trust, turned on them, it made Razor want to seek them out and kill them himself.
“What about Monk?”
“As you know, he’s still in town, waiting for word on where the hell you are.”
“He’ll know soon enough.”
“Yep,” said Doc, “your twenty just registered.”
“I’ll be in touch,” he said before ending the call.
“You damn well better be,” Doc said as his parting shot.
When he came around the side of the house, he found Ava with his mom, sister, and nieces. She had on a pair of the jeans he’d bought her, along with a Yachats long-sleeve t-shirt that Saylor must’ve thrown in. With her sandy-blonde hair, she looked like she could be Savannah and Sierra’s mom more than Saylor did with her dark black hair like his.
As he watched them from a distance, he felt as though his heart would burst with happiness. Yeah, the situation they were in was about as shitty as it could be. Ava was in far more danger than she realized; her sister and two of her best friends had been abducted by some crazy Armenians who meant to grab Ava instead.
On top of that, those same Armenians wanted to draw out and kill the twins’ father, who wasn’t Conor McNamara at all, like his two daughters believed. Instead, he was Makar Petrov, a Russian arms’ dealer who’d disappeared a couple of years before they were born, and was believed to be dead. Talk about a clusterfuck.
And still, his heart was full because he’d met the love of his life—Avarie McNamara. No matter what happened in the next few days, he’d never, ever let her go.
Once they knew Aine, Penelope, and Tara were safe, and Petrov was no longer a threat to either of his daughters, Razor planned to ask Ava to marry him, and he didn’t intend to take no for an answer. When his sister told him that Ava had admitted to loving him too, he knew exactly how he wanted his life to play out—with her by his side.
“I am seriously outnumbered,” he said, joining the five females who meant the world to him.
“You could invite Monk to join us.”
“He already did,” said the man walking out of the forest and scaring the shit out of all of them, except Razor.
“I told him we needed a cook,” said Razor.
“Chef.”
“Right. Mom, meet Monk. He’s a chef, and Saylor has a mad crush on him.”
“Monk, this is my mom, Sally.”
The man stepped forward and shook his mom’s hand, and then turned to Saylor.
“I already know who you are,” he said and winked, to which Saylor put her hand on her heart and smiled at Razor.
He smiled too, but in the back of his mind, he knew the idyllic scene before him was temporary. After dinner, he and Ava would be leaving again, and their time at his dad’s cabin would come to an end far too soon.
“Your mom is great,” Ava said when he walked up, sat next to her, and handed her the new phone.
“I’d have to agree.”
“So much more so than my mom. And your dad sounds like he was pretty awesome too.”
“Amazing how forgiving memories can be,” he murmured, leaning forward to brush Ava’s lips with his.
The look on her face was questioning, but quickly changed to the haunted smile Razor was used to seeing.
“They’re sweet together,” she said, pointing to Monk and Saylor.
“Yeah. About that, it’s never easy for a guy to see his sister with someone he works with. At least I know Monk is a better guy than her asshole husband was.”
This time Ava leaned forward to kiss him.
“Sorry,” he said.
“Don’t be. We all have people in our families who we aren’t proud of.”
“Come here,” he said, pulling her over to sit on his lap. “I need you close.”
“Is everything okay?”
Razor thought about saying it was, but he’d be lying, and it seemed that was the worst thing he could do with Ava.
“We need to leave tonight,” he told her.
“I think I knew that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m the one taking you away from your family, Tabon.”
He came so close to telling her that she was his family, and that as long as they were together, he’d be okay. But Ava wouldn’t look at it the same way he did. He wasn’t her family; her sister was, and until Aine was safe, there’d be no professions of love and no conversations about their future. There was still the chance, too, that Saylor was wrong, and Ava didn’t love him as much as his sister thought, and once this ordeal was over with, she’d go back to the life she had before, the one that he wasn’t a part of.
Razor looked over at Monk, who was staring at his phone. When the man’s eyes met his, he nodded.
Shit. Time to go already.
“I hate to cut the party short, but we need to leave.”
Both his sister and mother looked shocked but only momentarily. Ava stood, but didn’t move until Razor’s sister hugged her goodbye, followed by his mom and both of his nieces.
“Monk will grab your bag when you’ve gotten your stuff together, and then we’ll go.”
—:—
For the briefest of moments, Ava had let herself forget the nightmare that her life had become, and was enjoying the conversation she was having with Tabon’s family. She’d even allowed herself to think about how much Aine would like them, while pushing all the bad thoughts about what her sister was going through out of her head.
And then, just like that, she felt the rug being ripped from under her feet when Tabon said they had to leave. She knew it would be tonight sometime, but she’d thought they’d be able to have dinner at least. She’d barely had time to say goodbye to Tabon’s family.
As if in a trance, Ava walked into the cabin. She’d taken her toiletries into the bathroom; Monk probably wouldn’t think to grab them.
As she walked by the back door, something caught her eye. What was that? Was that Monk lying on the ground? And was that blood?
Before she could scream, a gloved hand covered her mouth and an arm wrapped around her waist, knocking the wind out of her.
“Not a sound, or the little girls will be next,” a heavily accented voice warned her. “Nod if you understand what I’m telling you.”
She did as he said, praying that he’d just take her and leave Tabon’s nieces alone. And what about his mother and sister? It was just like when she learned someone had Aine. She’d offered herself then, just like she would now. She wouldn’t scream. She wouldn’t fight. She’d go along willingly, praying no one else would get hurt.
The man led her to the back of the house and through the woods, but not in the direction she and Tabon or Monk had come from.
—:—
“Ava’s really lovely,” Razor’s mother said as she put her arms around his waist to say goodbye. “I’m so glad we got to meet her today, even though it was brief.”
“I’ll bring her back again soon, I promise.”
Saylor mouthed “sorry,” as both of his nieces hung on his neck so long he had to pry their arms from around him.
“Bye, Bro,” said Saylor, hugging him equally as hard. “Take care of that woman, and no more lying to her.” She wagged her finger at him, but the smile never left her face.
As he watched Saylor climb inside her car and drive away, a feeling of dread overcame him. How long would it be until he saw them all again? How long would it be until he could bring Ava back here? Never before had he hated his life as much as he did in this minute.
He went inside to see what was taking Monk and Ava so long. Maybe they’d wanted to give him privacy to say goodbye, but they really needed to get on the move.
“Avarie,” he shouted. “Time to go, sweetheart.”
In the same moment Razor realized the cabin was completely silent, he noticed the back door was partially propped open.
He ran o
ver and found Monk lying just outside of it. He knelt down, checking for a pulse. He found one, thank God, but where in the hell was Ava?
He scanned the area behind the cabin. To the left, he saw where the grass had been flattened in an almost perfect path into the woods.
“Monk,” he yelled, shaking him.
The man groaned and opened his eyes, pointing toward the forest. “They got Ava. One of them nailed me from behind.”
Razor’s heart pounded in his chest as he ran in the direction of the beaten pathway into the woods.
How could he have been so fucking careless? So stupid? He was a trained operative, and he’d let his goddamn guard down for five minutes, and now, the woman he was supposed to protect with his own life, was gone.
He saw a clearing and ran toward it. Just as he came out of the woods, he saw the same black SUV that he’d seen earlier, speeding away.
The Armenians had Ava and were taking her God knows where, while Razor stood by the side of the road, with no way to follow them.
—:—
The man shoved Ava into the back seat of the SUV face down. She could hear him talking to another man, but couldn’t understand what they were saying.
“Go!” she heard one of them yell, and the SUV lurched into gear as the driver pulled onto the road.
“Tabon,” she whispered as she felt a needle penetrate her thigh, right before everything went black.
—:—
“Doc, the Armenians have Ava. They fucking took her, right from the cabin. Monk is down,” he yelled through the phone as he ran through the woods back to the cabin. “They’re at least five minutes ahead of me.”
“Raze, slow down. You’re breaking up. I’m only getting bits and pieces of what you’re saying.”
Fucking cell coverage. “She’s gone. They have Ava,” he yelled into the phone.
“Got it. Sending backup now.”
When Razor ran back through the woods, Monk was already pulling up in the SUV.
“They went east,” he yelled, jumping into the vehicle and slamming the door closed as Monk peeled away.
There were no turnoffs from this mountain road, until it hit the highway ten miles from here. Their only hope to catch them was speed.
His phone pinged and he grabbed it, thinking that it was Doc with an update. Instead, he saw it was from the tracker app.
“We’ve got her,” he told Monk. “At least until they find her phone.”
“We’ve got her,” said Doc, calling back.
“We do too, but I doubt it’ll be for long.”
“Gunner just made contact.”
“And?”
“When he and the rest of the team arrived, the girls were gone.”
“But they’d been there?”
“Affirmative. His best guess is they’d missed them by hours. Razor, we need to—”
“No. I can’t do this yet.” He disconnected the call. He knew what Doc was going to say, and he wasn’t ready to hear it, or agree to it.
“It’s the most viable option,” said Monk, without turning to look at him.
“Just fucking drive,” he shouted.
Maybe it was for now, but he would damn well come up with a better plan than the one he knew everyone on the K19 team was going to try to convince him to carry out.
18
Razor watched his phone and knew the minute Ava’s captors found her phone. Less than a mile from where the road hit the highway, the tracking device lost contact. They no longer had a way to know which direction the SUV would take once it got to the main road.
“Fuck,” he seethed, knowing he had no choice but to carry out the plan Doc would suggest.
“There’s no point in trying to track them now,” Doc said when Razor called back.
He knew that. In fact he knew every fucking thing his teammate was about to say.
Razor stalked onto the plane, not bothering to make eye contact with Onyx or Alegria. He heard voices and knew Monk was briefing them, but he didn’t give a shit.
Walking past the two seats where he and Ava last sat almost brought him to his knees. Holding the seat backs for support, he made his way to the very back of the plane where there were two privacy rooms. He entered the one on the left, slammed the door closed behind him, and threw himself on the bed.
He’d never been a praying man, but he’d sure as hell pray now. He had a lot to ask for.
First, that the bastards who took Ava, didn’t hurt her—or worse.
Next, that Gunner was working out where the Armenians had moved the girls, so when this plane landed, Razor could meet up with them and get into position, waiting for Ava’s captors to arrive.
Last, he prayed that Makar Petrov had gone underground and had no idea where either of his daughters was. If he did, then they’d not only be dealing with the Armenians, they’d also have to keep Petrov from getting his hands on Ava.
Would he kill her? God knew. For now, the only thing keeping him from going completely mad was his belief that the Armenians wanted Petrov bad enough that they’d keep his daughter alive, at least until they found out what she had on her father. When that happened, she, her sister, and their two friends, would, without a doubt, be eliminated.
He hated leaving Oregon not knowing for certain if her captors would bring Ava to Washington, but his gut, along with Doc’s, Gunner’s, and even Monk’s, was telling him that was what they’d do. He had to trust it.
His phone pinged with a call from Doc.
“Yeah?”
“I want you to know that I’ve asked Shiver to stay put in Eugene for the time being. We’ve identified the vehicle Ava was in via security footage along the highway. We’ve put advance-tracking into place, but so far this morning, we haven’t picked up anything.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“I understand how difficult this is for you, Razor. Believe me.”
Several months ago, Doc’s wife, Merrigan, had been abducted by a known Russian assassin, Sergei Orlov. Rescuing her had been a mission the entire team, the CIA, plus MI6 operatives had undertaken. There were few who could be as empathetic to what Razor was feeling as Doc could be.
“I appreciate it, and as hard as it is for me to leave, my gut is telling me to go just as much as you are.”
“We have everyone on this except Merrigan and me. While she cannot get involved, I can. Say the word and I will.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. For now, all I ask is that you try your damnedest to locate the Armenians and Petrov.”
“Roger that.”
—:—
Ava’s head was throbbing. Just opening her eyes seemed like it would be far too painful. She groaned and tried to move but she couldn’t; her hands and legs were bound.
When she did pry her eyes open, she saw they’d put her prostrate on the back seat of the SUV, and it was dark outside.
“Well, well. The princess has decided to wake up,” said a man in the same accent as her kidnapper.
She closed her eyes. They probably expected her to struggle, but she wouldn’t. No matter what they told her to do, she would, until she knew her sister and friends were safe.
—:—
We’re on the ground, Razor texted Gunner when the plane was taxiing in.
Within seconds he received GPS coordinates in response.
The adrenaline began pumping through his body like it did whenever he prepped for a mission, only this time it wasn’t just any mission. Its success or failure would have far-reaching ramifications for his own future. There were few ops that didn’t involve risking his own life, but this one risked Ava’s, her sister’s, and the lives of two of their best friends. There’d be no chances taken that weren’t well thought-out and planned.
He’d make sure Gunner and everyone else understood that. As soon as he arrived at the coordinates, Razor also intended to let the team know his word was final, even above Gunner’s.
K19 carried tactical gear on the plane at all times, so Razor had alr
eady suited up. Monk as in the process of doing so, and once the plane was parked, Onyx and Alegria would do the same.
If their assumption was correct and Ava’s captors were transporting her to Seattle, they would only be about another hour out, two at the most. They didn’t have a lot of time to put a plan in place, but they’d been under far tighter time constraints.
Dutch met them on their way in and gave them a rundown of what they were up against.
“There are six still on the ground here. There were originally nine.”
Which likely meant there were three Armenians transporting Ava. Between K19 and the agency, they numbered eight. With Raketa, they were equal. Razor wasn’t convinced yet that she could be trusted. It would be up to Gunner to change his mind.
“Hey, Raze,” said Gunner when he approached the stakeout area. The two men embraced and patted each other’s backs. “Did Dutch brief you on your way in?”
“Affirmative,” answered Razor.
Under different circumstances, Dutch and Striker could have gone in and gotten Aine and the other two girls out already, even outnumbered two to one. However, if they had, the men who had Ava wouldn’t bring her here, and finding her would be close to impossible.
“Any idea what the girls’ condition is?” Razor asked.
“All three are actively moving around,” Dutch reported.
“Gunner, got a minute?”
“Yep,” he said, walking away from the others.
“Where are Striker and Raketa positioned?”
Gunner used a stick to draw an outline in the dirt and then pointed to different places along a circle’s perimeter. “Here and here,” he said. “We’ll send Dutch and Monk out to join them. I want Onyx to stick with us and Alegria to go switch places with Raketa.”
“Why? Isn’t Raketa a better sniper than Alegria?”
“She messaged that she heard chatter about Petrov.”
Razor nodded. “Do you think that’s why she’s really here?”
“It’s definitely crossed my mind more than once.”
Razor Page 16
