I expelled a heavy, frustrated sigh. Thatch’s words rang true, disappointingly so. Lentwood being a loose cannon was worrisome. “So, we move in and aim to take them all down.”
“In an ideal world, yes. We also need to ensure we find any additional data of shifter experimentations and labs so no one is left behind, and no one can start this up again,” Thatch clarified.
“When do we roll out?” Michaels stood, eagerness practically vibrating through him.
A quick glance at the clock, and Thatch said, “Roll out in twenty.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
WIDE-EYED AND WITH my heart stuttering, I allowed the scene to wash over me. In the single flickering light visible through the grimy window of the warehouse on the dock, I counted six bodies. That didn’t mean they would be the only ones.
All prone forms were men, all in human form. Unsure of the cause of death, a bullet to their heads was likely. But what made me react was Lennon Blackheath. On his knees, bloody and cowering, he looked a far cry from the tyrant father and alpha I knew. A pang of foreign emotion hit me hard, making my hands shake and my breathing unsteady.
“Holy shit,” Lucas whispered beside me.
I flinched at the sound of his voice, and my eyes roamed the heavy fans and air ducts kicking out so much sound there was no chance anyone inside could hear us.
For a moment longer, I remained frozen, my blood turning to ice, still unsure how to react. What was the right response when you saw your father about to die? The same man who’d brutalised me as a child, as well as countless others?
“Copy, Callen?” Thatch’s voice came through the comms, and my heart stuttered to life.
“Yeah, copy.”
“You have eyes on Lentwood?”
After glancing at Lucas, who shook his head, I answered, “That’s a negative.” With the whirl of the fans reaching my ears, I refocussed on what mattered, saying, “We’ve got eyes on Blackheath.”
Dead silence followed. Surprised by the lack of response, I continued. “We haven’t seen Brent yet, but my gut’s saying here’s here.” While I hadn’t discussed that with Lucas, he didn’t offer any dispute. “There are six dead,” I added.
Thatch’s rich and familiar voice appeared, his tone holding a softness I wasn’t prepared for when he asked, “He alive?”
“Barely.” Matter-of-factly, the truth of the statement was out there, along with the unspoken answer to the question no one voiced: Would we be stepping in?
Unless it would help take Lentwood down, unless Blackheath’s death interfered with the investigation, the answer would be a resounding no. In the quiet that followed, I knew gut-deep that Thatch wanted to ask, wanted my approval, even though it went against every protocol, and in many ways every instinct we had.
We all knew exactly what Blackheath was capable of—me more than anyone. But Thatch’s concern for me was what drove the tension in the air, made it ripple and reassure me that after all the crap, he would be by my side and we’d make a go of life without this threat hanging over us.
Wanting to reassure him, I clarified, “We’ll wait for your signal. We’re good to hold.” While we wanted both Brent and my dad, Lentwood was my mission. There was no way I’d be stepping in and potentially spooking Lentwood.
His response was immediate. “Okay. If anything changes, let us know.”
“Roger that,” I said with a grin and visualised him rolling his intense, gorgeous eyes at me.
“Shall we head to the next window?” Lucas gestured to our right.
With a nod and a quick scan of our surrounds, we dashed over to take another look. Lucas and I were focusing on the north and east walls of the large building situated within the dockyards. When we’d arrived at the ship still loading containers, we’d followed a human carrying firearms to this building. It hadn’t taken us long to discover the scene we’d just shared with Thatch.
With the next room clear, we continued around, spotting two guards, but still no Brent or Lentwood. It was time to go high. Up the fire escape to the first floor, I tapped my comms. “Copy, Kent?”
“Yep, copy.”
“Can you get eyes on the first floor? Any movement?” Remaining hunched low, grip on the handle, I waited for her go-ahead.
“Give me a second.”
I kept my eyes on the door, trusting Lucas to have my back while we waited in silence. Despite the adrenaline pumping through my veins, calm eased through me. Completely in my element with the anticipation of taking down scumbags and kicking arse at the same time, I breathed easily, eager to get going.
“Callen.” Kent’s voice came over the comms.
“Copy.”
“Two bodies three rooms to the east. There’s movement at the south that you need to check out, Thatch,” Kent added.
“Got it,” Thatch said.
“Thanks,” I added. With that, I signalled to Lucas to open the door. Three steps later, we were inside and heading east. I checked my weapon, selecting the potent darts and making them active. While bullets would have been my preference, we still needed answers and locations. Dead bodies wouldn’t be able to provide us with that. Our footsteps remained muffled by the industrial vents and fans as we headed through the first, then the second room. Stilling, I tilted my head, hearing muted voices. From what I could tell, it was two men shooting the shit.
As I signalled at Lucas to enter, Kent’s “Wait,” made me
