In the hour they’d spent in the manor, the cloud cover had dissipated, and the moon shone bright through the wall of glass. One by one, they filed out the kitchen door, and bringing up the rear, Zander left it unlocked in the same way they’d found it.
Adam would notify the LAPD of the homicide once they were back at the airport and ready for take-off. Under the circumstances, it was the best he could do.
Eve’s hand in his, they stepped off the brick patio and onto the lawn. Halfway across, she froze. Her head shot up, and she looked around, her gaze landing on the large outline of the garage sitting about a hundred feet from the main house.
The group behind them paused, and Doc keyed his mic. “Hold up, Kincaid.”
“Eve?” Adam kept his voice low, his tone soft. He didn’t want to spook her but stopping in the middle of the yard, the moonlight exposing them to anyone hiding nearby, left them in a vulnerable position. “We need to keep moving.”
Her gaze still on the garage, she shuffled a few steps forward and paused again.
Adam let go of her hand and turned her to face him. “What is it?”
“The cell…” Eyes wide, she lifted her chin to look him in the eye, and the heartbreak he saw in hers broke his. “We didn’t check the cell.”
“You said the judge would have gotten rid of any evidence.”
“He definitely got rid of the evidence, but…” She bit her lip.
“But what?”
“Bryan…” She swiveled back around to face the dark building once more. “He doesn’t leave the manor.”
Oh God!Eve’s heart pounded, the painful thumping loud enough she could hear it in her ears. The unlocked kitchen door made sense now. Her skin prickled. A flush of goose bumps causing the fine hairs on her forearms to rise.
Bryan wasn’tinthe house.
But he hadn’tleftthe manor.
Adrenaline spiking, she started running. Her destination—the cell beneath the garage. Shouts sounded behind her. She ignored them all. She had no capacity to process. No thoughts for anyone but her brother.
Across the lawn. Onto the asphalt. To the side door. She reached for the knob and was yanked off her feet by the arms that circled her waist. She cried out. Fought Adam’s hold. He pulled her closer. She twisted, bucked, tried to pry his hands apart. His grip tightened.
“Stop.”
She recognized the command, but the image of the judge brutally murdered in his own bed, spurred her on. Eve couldn’t stop. She had to find Bryan. Had to make sure he was alive. Had to know the truth.
Had he killed his father?
“Let me go!” Arm straining to reach the handle, she jerked to get free. “He’s in there. I know it. Bryan never leaves the manor. He—”
From one second to the next Eve went from looking at the closed garage door to staring into the eyes of a man who appeared to be on the verge of smacking a hard you’re-not-the-one-in-charge-here reminder to her ass.
Adam had a solid grip on her biceps, but her butt cheek tingled at the nonverbal warning in his expression, and she came to her senses quick. Unless she wanted to find herself upside down over his shoulder while he hauled her back to the vans, she had no choice but to play by his rules.
She took a shaky breath. And another. It did little to slow her racing pulse. “He’s in there.” Despite her efforts to control her emotions, her voice cracked. “He’s in there, I swear.”
“I believe you.” His tone held the bite of his anger, but his hold on her loosened. “We’re going in, but we do this my way.”
Eve’s gaze darted around and for the first time she noticed the soldiers surrounding them. Grant, Cody, Zander, and Doc stood close by, automatic rifles at the ready. “You won’t hurt him?”
“My orders haven’t changed.”
Zero body count unless necessary.She nodded to indicate she understood.
The safety of Adam’s team came first.
“Alright, let’s do this,” he said, addressing his men. “From the intel Eve provided, space below ground will be tight. Kincaid and I will breach the cell and secure the target.” He signaled to Cody and Zander. “You two take the flank and keep watch in the garage, Eve’s with you. Doc, you stay here and cover the door. On my mark.”
