"How many hostiles?" I asked, taking the turn hard enough to make the tires hiss.
"Still assessing," Walker replied through the comm. "The Lexus is parked outside Building C. The SUV that was following them is nowhere to be seen, but that doesn't mean they're not there."
I pulled up two blocks away, killing the engine. Through the windshield, I could see the skeletal remains of the warehouse complex with its broken windows.
"We all know Rice is using Emily and her mother as bait," I said, checking my weapon. "He wants to eliminate the threat we pose."
Gideon nodded grimly. "Classic trap. Lure us in, take us all out at once."
Walker's voice came through our earpieces. "I've got movement at the east entrance. Two armed men."
"Any visual on Emily?" I demanded, scanning the building's broken facade.
"Negative."
I closed my eyes briefly, centering myself. This wasn't just another mission. This was Emily—my Emily—who'd walked right into danger because I'd failed to be what she needed.
"Dion," Gideon said quietly, reading my expression. "We'll get her back."
"Damn right we will." I turned to him. "Standard extraction. I'll take point, you cover the rear. Walker, maintain position and watch for reinforcements."
"Copy that," Walker confirmed. "Xavier, Trevor, and TJ on their way. ETA four minutes."
We moved silently toward the warehouse, keeping to the shadows. The building loomed before us, a hulking monument to urban decay. Perfect for an ambush.
"Two hostiles at the east entrance," Walker reported. "Another patrolling the perimeter. Looks like they're expecting company."
"They're expecting us," I corrected. "Let's not disappoint them."
We approached from the west side, where the building's dilapidated loading dock offered cover. I could feel my training taking over, my senses sharpening as adrenaline coursed through my veins.
"On my mark," I whispered, signaling to Gideon.
We moved in perfect sync, years of working together making words unnecessary. The first guard never saw us coming. Gideon took him down with a silent chokehold while I secured his weapon.
"One down," I breathed into the comm. "Moving into position."
We entered through a broken window, glass crunching beneath our boots despite our care. The interior was a mazeof fallen beams and debris, shadows stretching like grasping fingers across the concrete floor.
We found the stairwell, checking corners as we ascended. At the top, voices drifted through a partially open door.
"—told you she'd come alone." A woman's voice, tight with fear. Vivienne.
My blood froze. Emily wouldn't ever be alone. As long as I was alive.
Chapter Seventeen
Dion
"I didn't know," Vivienne protested. "I swear, I just did what you told me to do. Please let my husband go."
"Mother, for god’s sake just shut up," Emily's voice came next, steady despite the circumstances.
I motioned to Gideon, indicating my plan. He nodded once, moving to position himself at the other entrance I could see through the broken wall.
"Your boyfriend and his team are already here," Rice said, his voice amused. "Predictable. Military men always think alike."
"He's not my boyfriend," Emily replied, and something in her tone made my chest tighten. It was true. She hadn’t trusted me, and it had gotten her a gun to her head. Some Daddy I was.
