“We have the blueprints of the two possible targets.”
I stood behind him, trying my hardest to calm my breathing and the erratic pace of my heart, knowing he’d be able to hear it if he concentrated. And all this without allowing myself to inhale his scent. Proximity was always a struggle with Thatch at the best of times. That added to the jealousy churning in my gut didn’t make for the best of situations.
“Do you want to take a look at this one?” He pointed at the screen, and I quickly refocussed, getting back to the mission. “This one’s down at Pier’s Head.”
I bobbed my head. “You’ve got it. Send them on over.” I stepped away and began to turn. His voice stopped me.
“Let’s head into the conference room. That way we can bounce ideas around while I focus on the second location at Madison Rock.”
“Got it.”
“Meet you in five. I’ll get the memo out to everyone to meet us there in twenty-five.”
“Got it, boss man.” I winced a little at that and refused to look in his direction. Distance was going to be as impossible as unwanted, truth be told. But reminders of why I was here and our roles in it would have to work.
There was too much at stake for bullshit.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I’D MANAGED three hours of sleep and then had frogmarched Thatch to a room to make sure he followed suit. He did so with the expected grumble, but when he’d appeared back in the conference room just over three hours later looking at least a little refreshed, my shoulders had eased.
One of many things I’d learned about Thatch over the past few weeks was that he rarely prioritised himself or his needs. I’d taken it upon myself to make sure that wasn’t always the case. There was no point analysing the whys of it either, since my reasons were obvious.
Surprise hit me whenever he didn’t fight back too extremely. Yeah, he complained, but he let me get on and take care of him, often in the smallest of ways. Most probably because it shut me the hell up. Whatever his reasoning, it reduced my worry a little, and the rest he’d managed was no different.
A few hours later, we had the confirmed location of Pier’s Head, a plan for extraction, and a secondary team on standby. The logistics of such things due to the anonymity of the team blew my mind, but for years they’d had this gig, had multiple aliases even with the SICB that worked.
Thatch was taking point. I was moving in with Jenson through entrance point B, while Michaels had Thatch’s back.
There was no chance of a large, loud hit. Not with the girls at risk. And there was certainly no room for mistakes. We had heat signatures on seven in the east of the old factory building. Three more were to the west, and eight to the south, which was where Jenson and I were entering.
Armed with IH darts rather than live rounds due to the nature of our rescue mission, I double-checked my weapon, ensuring the IH setting. I was sure all of us would have happily gone for kill shots, but with so many bad guys on the move and us still not 100 percent sure of the girls’ location in the premises, the immobilising tranq darts would have to suffice. They were instant acting and got the job done.
“Quiet and swift.” Kent’s calm voice filtered through our comms.
I nodded at Jenson, who gave me a chin lift before, together, we edged towards the entry point we’d selected.
With no heat signatures evident in the small room, we’d chosen the large window. Jenson pulled out the WGS knife, a small, sharp, laser-edged blade that was engineered specifically for getting our arse through locked windows quick.
“Got it,” Jenson said, indicating for me to grab the left of the glass so we could safely place it on the ground.
Once positioned, I checked out the room, my shifter vision cutting through the shadows. “B clear,” I whispered. Jenson bobbed his head, no doubt looking for heat signatures via his thermal imaging goggles. We were both inside a moment later, as were Thatch and Michaels, the former giving the all-clear.
I focused on what I could hear. There was movement a few metres away, likely in the next room, which Jenson confirmed with “Four to the right.” I bobbed my head in understanding.
Gun positioned, I edged towards the open doorway, scenting the air as I went. The distinct scent of a tiger shifter was present, but other than that one, I could only smell humans in close proximity. The tiger would be on us before we knew it, so it was necessary to work fast.
As soon as Jenson gave me his signal that he was in position, we made our move.
Stepping out of the room, Jenson going low and at my heels, I took in the four guards. Immediately I targeted the shifter with two fast-fired darts. His eyes flared, not a sound escaping his gaping mouth before he slumped to the tiled floor.
By the time he was down, a second man was following suit, courtesy of Jenson’s quick trigger finger, and I pointed at a young, blond-haired guy who fumbled with his weapon. The human didn’t even have enough time to brace himself for my next dart before he collapsed.
The final guy seemed to snap out of his surprise, gun raised and mouth open. The dart between his eyes would leave a hell of a sting. My lips twitched as I looked at Jenson, throwing him a wink, impressed with his shot.
We edged to the next door and stood opposite each other. I glanced at Jenson in anticipation. He indicated four again, but this time that he expected them to be the girls.
My heart spiked and I worked hard at controlling it, at
