“Where did Phillips take the woman and the girl?”
The militia man clenched his jaw, glaring at Brent.
Eli sighed, shaking his head. “Not smart, Judd. You don’t want to go up against us. You’ll lose.”
The man’s gaze searched the room as though seeking an escape. Brent’s lips curled. There wasn’t one. He glanced at Jon who shifted to another pressure point.
A loud groan escaped.
“The pain will escalate,” Jon murmured. “Answer his question and the pain stops.”
Judd shook his head.
A subtle movement from Jon and the living room filled with the militia man’s screams. When his screams died down to soft moans, Brent crossed the room to stand in front of Judd.
He waited until the soldier’s gaze met his. “Here’s what you need to know to survive the next ten minutes,” he said, his voice soft. “The woman Phillips took is my woman. I will do anything necessary to find her and bring her home. Nothing and no one will stand in my way. Not Phillips, not you, and none of your militia buddies. Unless you want to die for a man who left you to face us and the cops, you’ll tell me everything you know right now. Otherwise, I turn my friend loose on you. You’ll talk, then die in excruciating pain.”
He cocked his head. “Do you want to live or die, Judd?”
Another movement from Jon elicited a second round of screams. Brent flicked a glance at the sniper. The screams died off to moans. He waited, arms crossed, for the militia man to make his choice.
A glare of hatred came his way.
Brent raised a brow.
A short nod was his answer.
“Lie to me and I’ll leave you in my friend’s capable hands. You hear me?”
Another nod.
“Where is Phillips taking my woman, Judd?”
“Mexico.”
Brent’s blood ran cold through his veins though he made sure his expression revealed nothing. “Kind of vague, Judd. Mexico is a big place. Where in Mexico?”
“I don’t know. I swear,” his voice rose as Jon shifted his hold.
“Not good enough, Judd,” Jon murmured.
“Please. Wait.” Walters was silent a moment, obviously thinking hard. “The boss mentioned something about going to the people he’s been doing business with.” His lip curled.
Crap. Not what Brent wanted to hear. The woman he loved with every beat of his heart was heading into Chihuahua province, into the hands of the cartel that hated Brent and Fortress. “Did Phillips mention a name?”
“Some guy named Navarro. I don’t see how that can help. There must be a million people with that last name in Mexico.” Walters looked resigned to his fate.
“It’s enough,” Brent said.
Jon stepped away and crossed the room to stand at Eli’s side.
Brent’s cell signaled an incoming text message. After a glance, he moved toward the front door.
“Hey, what about me?” Judd protested.
“Find another line of work. You aren’t cut out for this one.” Brent didn’t break stride. Outside, he said, “Chopper is two minutes out.”
“How many teams are available?” Eli asked as they climbed into the SUV.
“Not enough.”
“On-the-job training?”
Brent blinked. “Maybe.” He pulled out his phone and called Zane.
“What do you need?” his tech guru asked.
“Contact Greer at PSI. The training class is in their last week, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Phillips is taking Rowan and Alexa to Navarro territory.”
“Oh, man. He’s taking them to Lucero, isn’t he?”
“That would be my guess since that’s where Garcia has his hacienda and headquarters. Has Durango boarded the jet?”
“Not yet. The plane should land in twenty minutes.”
“Tell the pilot to wait. I need volunteers to go with Durango. Only those who trained as units, Zane. Emphasize that this is a volunteer assignment. However, if they go, they’ll be exempt from the last week of training at PSI. Tell Greer to have them pack heavy. We’re destroying the viper nest.”
“Copy that. Other orders?”
“Tell Roberts to pick up our SUV when he’s clear. We’ll leave it at the landing zone.” He hesitated a second. “You still have Rowan?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“I’ve got her, Brent. The signal is clear and strong.”
The invisible band around his chest loosened a fraction. “Are the planes ready at John C. Tune?”
“Yes, sir. One plane has two teams aboard, fully equipped and ready to go. Another team is on the second plane, waiting for you to arrive. Adam is also on board the second plane.”
“Tell the first plane to take off. I want a list of team leaders. We’ll coordinate our plan of attack in the air.”
“Roger that.”
Eli parked the SUV in the field at the edge of the landing zone. Within two minutes the chopper flew into sight and set down as though light as a feather. They each grabbed their Go bags and climbed inside.
Brent put on the headset. “Go.”
Immediately the pilot lifted off the ground, heading toward the airport where the Fortress jets were housed. When they landed at John C. Tune, Brent and the others unloaded quickly and jogged across the tarmac to the waiting jet.
He dropped into a seat next to Adam and activated the intercom. “Take off as soon as we have clearance. Push this baby as fast as she’ll go.”
“Yes, sir.”
Five minutes later, the plane powered up and taxied down the runway. Soon, they were airborne. When they leveled out, he unbuckled his seatbelt and motioned for Jon, Eli, and Adam to follow him to the conference table.
After they were seated, he said, “We have a few hours to nail down a plan. I don’t have to tell you how important this is. We can’t make any mistakes.”
“What’s the mission?” Adam asked. “Rowan and Alexa?”
“They’re my primary mission, but we have two others. St. Claire’s team is on the ground, scoping out the situation with the ambassador’s wife and kids. The last word we received from him indicated the situation was heating up fast. The president has also ordered us to take out Navarro, and shut down their drug and terrorist pipeline to the States.” A wry smile curved his lips. “Without anyone finding out this is a sanctioned operation.”
“Of course.” Eli blew out a breath.
