Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
I nodded curtly, Marcus and Julian also remaining quiet.
“He’s not answering your calls, Damien, so we have to go in with him there.”
“Deb says she tried to call him as well, and he isn’t picking up,” I replied, my eyes stuck to the tiny mark on the screen. The one I knew was Raven.
“We can handle him. We’ll go in and separate. Damien—what do you want, to rescue Raven or kill Andy? You might not be able to do both.”
“I want both, but Raven comes first. Whoever gets the kill shot, take it.”
Julian’s hand was heavy on my shoulder. “You took out the man threatening Tally. Let me return the favor.”
“Fine.”
Egan spoke again, changing screens. “You’ll go in here.” He indicated the grainy image. “Stay low until you get to the back of the garage. There is a door, and once inside, you should find another door that leads you down the steps. What is down there, I have no idea.” He glanced up. “He’s not expecting us, and although he has the house monitored at the front, there is little out back. He isn’t anticipating anyone showing up.”
“He thinks he’s invisible. Undetectable.”
“We need to wait so I can tap into his security feed and create a loop. I’m hoping with the rain, he’ll assume it’s a little glitch.”
“How long?”
“As soon as I can, Damien. You know we have to do this right.”
I tightened my hands on my gun. I knew he was right, but my anxiety was high. I wanted to get to her as soon as possible.
Marcus met my eyes. “Patience, Damien.”
Egan kept talking as he typed. “I want to hack into his system and see what he’s got going on. Knowing how he likes to stalk her, I’m sure he has a camera trained on her.”
I let my head hang, rolling my shoulders. Outside, the rain picked up, the sound of the water hitting the roof loud. Thunder rolled, and Egan grinned. “Perfect.”
A few moments later, he grunted. “I’m in.”
I watched over his shoulder as his fingers flew and he set up the loop, fed it into the grid, and then moved on to hacking into Andy’s system.
His annoyance was evident as his fingers hit the keys in hard thumps. “Bastard is good. I’ll give him that,” he muttered. “But I’m better.” He glanced up. “We’re in.”
Then he sucked in his breath. “Jesus.”
I froze as I looked at the screen. Raven was visible, her body curled up into itself on the ground. The room flashed with lights. She had her ears covered, and the sight of the heavy chains and clamps around her wrists made me curse. Her eyes were shut against the lights. Her entire body trembled. Then the room went dark.
“He’s trying to break her. Sight and sound deprivation,” Julian muttered. “Then he’ll retrain her. That sick bastard.”
“He’s not going to have a chance. He’s a dead man walking, and his time is about to expire. We ready?” I snarled.
“Five minutes. Get her and get back. Sofia is on standby, and we’ll treat any injuries as best we can until we get her there.”
I checked my gun. “Let’s do this.”
Something I learned during my time with Hidden Justice was all criminals have a weak point. Often it was their ego. Andy was a master at manipulation. At pretending to be someone else. Hiding in plain sight and enjoying the twisted satisfaction of doing so.
But he also underestimated those around him. And thought because he was so smart, he couldn’t be found. He was careless with the fact that he left the back of the house vulnerable. He’d been playing his game so long and so well that he assumed no one would ever put the pieces together and find him.
But we did, and we walked right into his hideaway. The security on the back door was simple to override. Egan blocked it, and Marcus had the lock open in only a few seconds. The double garage was black inside, our night vision goggles letting us see what we needed. One car, a nondescript dark sedan, was parked to one side, closest to the house entrance. There were two doors. One leading in and one leading down. Just as we advanced, the loud music ceased. Marcus held up his arm, signaling for us to stop, and we waited but heard nothing.
Egan breathed in our ears. “Proceed with caution. He’s on the move.”
Julian pulled out a knife, slashing the tires on the car. “He can’t go far now.”
“He’ll head for her once he knows we’re here.”
“I’ll cut him off,” Julian whispered. “Go get her. Be alert, boys. I have a feeling he has some surprises in store.”
The cellar was freezing. Damp. It smelled of mold and decay. The metal door ahead of us had a bar across it that we lifted, opening the heavy door with caution. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of Raven lying on the hard, cold ground. The darkness around us burst into light, and I tore off my goggles as it exploded in front of my eyes, leaving me stunned for a moment. I stumbled as I headed to Raven, calling her name. She remained motionless on the ground. Falling to my knees, I dropped my gun and gathered her up, carefully lifting her into my arms. She winced, her eyes firmly shut.