Page 51 of Lethal Justice

Chapter Twenty-Six

Malco hadto get out of his shackles. Alex was still unconscious, and that alone almost made him lose his mind. Could his injuries have caused complications or a brain hemorrhage? There was no way he could do anything about it unless he got them both free. His thoughts went to Frida, but he pushed that away. His team would keep her safe, he had to believe that otherwise, he’d go mad.

The room was bare, except for two doors—the first the door Kasten had disappeared behind, the second on the far side of the room—and a window blocked with a piece of board. The lights were hanging high above unreachable metal beams.

He knew it would hurt like a bitch, but there wasn’t another choice. With Alex out, he had to get his hands in front of his body.

Shoulders flexing, Malco ground his teeth, focusing on his body. It took more minutes that he’d have liked, and he definitely lost a lot of blood and sweat, not to mention the agonizing pain, but he finally passed his handcuffed wrists from his back to his front.

With dots dancing in front of his eyes, he shook himself off, and crawled to Alex. On first examination, his heartbeat was steady, and he was breathing fine. When he finished checking him, Alex moaned a little.

“Hey, Alex! Wake up!” Malco slapped him a little, and the man frowned. He didn’t open his eyes yet, but his lips moved.

“Hell, I think I drank too much.”

Malco exhaled sharply at the raspy sound of his voice. “Don’t fall back asleep, dumbass.”

Leaving Alex as he was slowly coming around, Malco went to the door. Beyond, he could hear Kasten’s voice, but couldn’t tell if he was alone or not.

He moved to the window next. The window was nailed shut, but he grinned when he saw a few staples hanging on the planks. That was all he needed.

Pulling one out, it took only a second to get out of his handcuffs. Alex was next, and once his friend was free, he helped him to sit against the wall, showing him two fingers.

“How many do you see?”

Through his half-shut eyes and bloody lips, Alex’s mouth quirked up. “Two fingers and an asshole. Sitrep.”

“Glad to see you didn’t leave your brain at Rina’s place along with your dick.”

The reminder was all Alex seemed to need to put his thoughts in order and he winced. “Damn women. I finally give in to her and it turns out she’s one of the bad guys.”

“We’ll discuss your bad choices later. Right now, I need your help to get out of this mess. Kasten is outside, and I don’t know how long he intends to keep us alive. Let’s turn the tables on that bastard.”

Alex grabbed his arm as he pulled him up. He was far from steady, but they didn’t have the luxury of time. Malco went to the second door. The first one was bolted. He’d heard Kasten slide it into place when he left. The other door was locked, but from the way he could shake it, there wasn’t a deadbolt. But there was no way he could break open without alerting Kasten, or anyone else inside the building.

When he kneeled to analyze the doorknob, his hunch was confirmed; they’d installed the door in a rush and hadn’t fitted it correctly. As quietly as possible, he played with the knob until he heard a piece of metal fall. The knob turned and the door opened without a sound.

With Alex on his heels and putting a hand on his back to steady himself, Malco cracked the door open. The space seemed empty. From what he could gather, they were around the corner from where Kasten must be. Even worse, they couldn’t make it to the exit without being spotted.

One look at Alex told him that the operative wasn’t a hundred percent, but he knew the odds as much as Malco did. Their options were limited and waiting for the cavalry wasn’t one of them. Following the wall, Malco stopped at the corner to peek around it.

Kasten was with two men, one was the fake cop who’d arrested him and bludgeoned Alex. They faced at least three guns and unknown blades or back-up nearby.

Malco gestured his findings to Alex, who tapped his back in acknowledgment.

Kasten was sitting at a makeshift table, a laptop in front of him. He said something to his men, snapped the laptop closed, and picked it up as he went for the door.

Although unable to act, letting Kasten out of his sight ate at Malco—all he wanted was to kill the man with his bare hands. It took all his self-control to keep back and wait, but with Alex’s weight becoming heavier on him, he had to make a choice so Kasten would live… for now.

Malco had to tear himself away from trying to come with a plan of attack when he felt Alex begin to fall. He turned on reflex and grabbed Alex before he hit the ground and made a ruckus. From his glassy eyes and pale, sweaty face, it was clear Alex was about to lose consciousness again. Malco was on his own as far as getting them out.

If only he had a phone. Conscious of their dire situation, Malco returned to check on their jailor when a shadow coming through the main door caught his eye. Before he could search for cover, a new shadow appeared, this time wearing a cowboy hat and Malco relaxed. The only operative he knew that wore a cowboy hat during an op was Wolf Murdock. That meant the Agency had found them, and a rescue was about to go down.

Knowing the drill, Malco moved fast, taking Alex by the armpits, and pulling him back. It was perfect timing, as an explosion sounded around the corner. Malco covered his friend with his body, trying to keep an eye on what was going on. The sound was deafening with gunfire echoing around him, making it impossible to pinpoint the direction it was coming from.

Just as it died down, he heard footsteps running. Malco braced himself against the wall until he recognized Emme, quickly followed by Shane.

“Malco! Alex!” Emme went to them, holstering her weapon as she dug into her backpack, getting her medical kit. “Shit. You’re both bleeding. We need to get you to the hospital.”