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Everyone looked at him like he’d lost his mind. And maybe he had, but he was out of good ideas.
After several tense seconds, Zak nodded and asked into the phone, “Gabe, can you make that happen?”
Gabe groaned softly. “All right. Let me make a call and get back to you.”
The line went dead, and the team exchanged glances.
“What the fuck are we getting into?” Donovan muttered.
“I think we’ve already been in it for a while,” Cal said and leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
A knot of tension hardened in Rylan’s gut. Whoever these people were, they were dangerous enough to have HORNET nervous.
The tension in the room ramped up to unbearable levels as they waited for Gabe’s call back. Rylan paced restlessly. His prosthetic arm whirred with each movement—loudly to his ears, though the others didn’t seem to notice.
It was driving him crazy.
He wanted to rip the fucking thing off and throw it across the room.
Izzy sat silently beside Ash, watching him pace with a worried frown. He had the inexplicable urge to go to her, to seek comfort in her arms.
But that was ridiculous.
Rylan forced himself to stop pacing and took a deep breath. He caught Izzy’s eye and gave her a small nod, trying to convey that he was okay. She returned the nod, but the concern didn’t leave her face.
After what felt like an eternity, Zak’s phone buzzed. He snatched it up and put it on speaker again. “Gabe?”
“I’ve got someone here who can help,” Gabe said. “Ethan, you’re on with Zak Hendricks and Redwood Coast Rescue.”
A new voice, deep and authoritative, came through the speaker. “We’ve met.”
“Have we?” Zak asked even as Sawyer’s head snapped up, his unseeing eyes wide.
“Well, I’ve met your man, Sawyer.”
“I don’t need to be here for this. Good luck,” Gabe said to nobody in particular and hung up.
“Ethan?” Sawyer breathed as if suddenly connecting a bunch of dots. “What the fuck? We thought you were dead.”
There was a pause. “Hello, Sawyer. I’m glad you and Lucy made it off the mountain okay.”
Sawyer pushed to his feet. “No thanks to you.”
Rylan’s gaze darted between Sawyer and the phone. “You know him?”
“Yeah, he said he was a fire watchman stationed on the mountain. We stayed in his lookout tower after the quake. But that was all a lie, wasn’t it? You left us up there with a bunch of lunatics.”
Ethan’s voice remained steady. “I did what was necessary to complete the mission. I lost an operative, and I owed it to her to get her home.”
“Maya was one of yours?” Sawyer asked, the anger fading from his voice and posture. “That’s why she gave us a fake name when we found her.”
“She was. We were separated during the quake. I appreciate that you and Lucy took care of her when she was injured. Thank you for bringing her back to me. I owe you one.”
There was an almost imperceptible softening to Ethan’s voice. The others might not have heard it, but Rylan was a trained listener, and he did, loud and clear. Ethan had cared deeply about this Maya woman—and as more than a fellow operative. He was heartbroken by her loss.
“We have your man, Pierce St. James,” Ethan continued, his tone once again all business. “And the woman, Rhiannon Cross.”
Rylan’s heart leaped into his throat. “Are you going to hurt my sister?”
