AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hands gripped his shoulders. Fenn grinned down at him. “How about we blow this popsicle stand?”
While Graham and Kate helped Paul to his feet, Mason clambered upright. Though pale and dirt-streaked, Paul looked none the worse for wear. Just facial bruising. No obvious deep wounds. “You good to go?”
Paul offered a wobbly grin. “If we have to.”
With his arm wrapped around Paul, Graham guided him out. “Unless you got snacks, I’m gonna vote we boogey.”
Fenn hung back long enough to sweep the area with his light. “Place is clean,” he said.
It didn’t take two seconds for the team to make it back across the empty lot and through the hole in the fence. Once out of sight of the property, Mason stopped to fumble for his phone, his fingers clumsy with excess adrenaline. He needed to text Avery, needed to let her know that Paul was safe, that they were on their way back.
But before he could even unlock the screen, Paige’s voice crackled over the comms. “Already done,” she said, her voice warm with amusement. “I’ve got your six.”
A rush of gratitude and affection washed over him. His team, his family, they had his back, no matter what.
And Avery, too, he realized, his chest tightening with emotion. She hadn’t wanted him homing in on her investigation, but even at first, when she had no reason to trust him, she’d been a calm, steadying force. And a welcome one.
He needed to tell her that, needed to let her know how much she meant to him. But first, they had to regroup and plan their next move.
Paul might be safe, but no way he’d let Avery go up against these jokers on her own. And he knew she would. Agent Avery Ellis could match him stubborn for stubborn.
31
Mason ignoredthe reheated bowl of chili in front of him, eyes fixed on Paul as he recounted his ordeal. The team had gathered in Bridger’s spacious living room, the air thick with tension and anticipation as they listened to Paul’s story.
“Except for the guy that locked me in the container, I never saw their faces,” Paul said, his voice shaking slightly. “They kept a hood over my head until just that one guy was left. He had tattoos, like gang tattoos, on his arms.”
Mason exchanged a glance with Tai, his brow furrowed in thought. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was something. He turned to Avery, expecting to see the same look of determination on her face, but instead he found her staring off into the distance, her expression preoccupied.
“Avery?” he said softly, his voice tinged with concern. “Everything okay?”
She blinked, seeming to come back to herself. “Yeah, sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I just … I don’t understand. Why go to all the trouble of kidnapping Paul if they were just going to lead us to him with that text? It doesn’t make sense.”
No. It didn’t.
“These folks haven’t been sloppy so far, so why start now?” she added.
Tai tucked a hank of hair behind his ear, his gaze on the middle distance. “Maybe it was a distraction. You know, like a magician waving his right hand so you don’t see what he’s doing with the left.”
While the others nodded in agreement, Avery stared at her hands.
Mason watched her closely, his suspicion growing with every passing moment. She was onto something. He recognized the energy radiating off her.
Before he could question her further, Paige looked up from her computer. “Guys, I found something.”
The team gathered around her, their eyes fixed on the screen as she pulled up a series of files and documents. “I’ve been digging into the backgrounds of the Rain Bay executives,” she said, her voice tight. “Lars Stenberg about drove the company into bankruptcy two years ago, and then, all of a sudden, the place jumps into hyper-mode.”
“Can you trace the new funds?” Mason asked Paige. They’d failed to get into the onsite computer, but maybe there were public records available.
She shook her head. “Nothing obvious. I’ll keep searching, but …”
“How about checking tax records?” Kate prompted.
While the rest of them converged on Paige, Avery stepped away, heading for the far side of the kitchen, phone to her ear. Mason stared at her back while she talked––or most likely listened––her body growing more tense with each second. The call ended quickly, but when she turned back around, the grim set to her face told him plenty.
He stepped in front of her. “Avery, what’s going on? I know you’re onto something, I can see it in your eyes.”
She hesitated, her gaze darting away from his. “It’s nothing,” she said, her voice unconvincing. “I just … I have a bad feeling about all of this.”
