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The adrenalin pumps through my veins as we get closer to the house. The three of us stick together, closely following the lieutenant in charge of team Alpha while his boys stealthily surround the building and prepare for a flashy entrance. Front door, back door, and the side windows are the main points of ingress.
The SWAT lieutenant takes out his heat signature scanner and points it at the house. We watch the small black screen of the device as it comes alive, moving strips of red and yellow catch our eyes. Cicadas chirp in the dry field while a steady wind rises and blows through, chilling my cheeks. My jaw is tense with days’ worth of pressure gathered in an almost painful knot that won’t go away until I have Nadia back in my arms.
This could go either way, and I’ve yet to make my peace with that.
“Eighteen inside,” the SWAT lieutenant mutters.
“But twenty bikes,” I whisper.
He presses a button on his earpiece; its light blinks blue. The message comes through to us, too, as he opens the channel for everyone to hear. “Two DOA behind the ranch,” one of the Alpha boys says in a hushed voice. “Gunshot wounds to the head and chest for both.”
“Do you recognize them?” the lieutenant asks.
“Sea Snakes, sir.”
“He’s starting to execute them,” Kai says. “They’re probably trying to negotiate with Colton, but there’s no negotiating with that psychopath.”
“We’re going in. Ten seconds,” the lieutenant replies, making sure the order is heard throughout the comms network. He receives plenty of beeping confirmations in return as the SWAT crew prepares to breach. “You three will be going with Roger,” he adds, looking at us.
Roger is a stocky dude who catches up from behind, bearing a dark green band on his upper arm. He’s part of team Beta, who are already slithering along the fence line about to cross the northwestern quarter of the property, having just disabled the sensors on that side. “Come on, time to get your girlfriend back,” Roger whispers.
“Good luck, Lieutenant,” I tell the Alpha leader, and he gives me an encouraging nod.
“You, too.”
We leave the Alpha crew in place and follow Roger over to the Beta team. Out here, it’s much darker. The ranch house at least had porch lights that cast a fickle glow around its whitewashed walls, but in the middle of the field, it was different. I welcome the darkness, though. I find comfort in its merciless arms as I run across the dry land and cut my way through the northwestern fence.
Seconds later, just as we begin our two-mile journey into the thickening woods, we hear a flurry of bangs and gunshots from behind. I look back and hold my breath for a moment.
“Holy shit,” Kai mumbles, equally fascinated.
Lights flash inside the ranch house. Smoke rises and fills the whole place as the SWAT officers go in, shouting orders to discourage the MC seniors from retaliating. But they retaliate anyway. And one by one, they go down. They should’ve seen this coming and I don’t feel sorry for any of them.
“Move, move,” Roger orders.
We’re running now, making our way up a narrow trail through the redwood patch. Ancient giants rise around us with their enormous trunks, shielding us from the stars with thick, dark crowns that rustle in the night’s cool breeze. On any other occasion, I would’ve gladly enjoyed a stroll through these woods.
We’re running and listening to a string of updates coming through our earpieces. Some of the club members have surrendered, but six went down fighting.
The closer we get to the cabin, the darker the forest becomes.
There’s still no news about Colton. I give Roger a wondering glance, the hunting lodge rising ahead between the massive redwoods. “They haven’t found him yet?” I ask.
“He wasn’t in the house,” Roger replies, his brow furrowed with grim concern.
We all know what that means, and it makes my stomach churn. I had a hard time pulling away from the opportunity to kill the bastard so I could focus on saving Nadia. If he’s not at the house, then he’s probably up at the cabin—with Nadia.
Fuck.
Kai moves closer and gives me a nudge with his heavily padded shoulder. “We’re ready,” he whispers, then looks at Roger. “The signal jammers are on, right?”
“Yes,” Roger confirms, then raises his fist in the air.
Every Beta officer knows to stop their advance as they await his signed orders. We know the drill, too, recognizing every movement of his hand and understanding our next steps. The first wave of SWAT officers carefully approaches the cabin. Lights flicker inside, silhouettes moving through the windows as our guys prepare the flash bang and smoke grenades.
My heart’s the size of a pea as Drake, Kai, and I tiptoe up the front steps, our automatic weapons locked and loaded, fingers aside the triggers. The others take their positions around the cabin, but unexpectedly, one of the Black Devils henchmen opens a window to smoke and spots us.
A bullet pierces his head before he can run his mouth off.
