Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67711 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
“Who was it?”
“They have Ford, and they want to meet to negotiate. Tonight. Our timeline just got moved up.”
“We have to save him,” I said.
Carter nodded. “We will. Right now, we need to get back to headquarters and come up with a plan. I’m going to make two quick phone calls.”
I barely heard anything Carter said as he spoke into the phone.
Miles placed a hand on my shoulder. “Take your hat.”
“We’re not calling the police, are we?”
Miles shook his head. “No, we’re taking care of this our way.”
“And then what? You just make all the evidence go away?”
He nodded. “You may not like it, but it’s going to keep us all out of jail. You’re in this now.”
I nodded. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Ford safe.”
“Good.”
I picked up the hat and squeezed it tightly, which made me want to hold Ford against me. Please let me be able to do that again. I can’t lose him.
Carter ended his call. “I’ve got my guys working on finding us a location, trying to trace their call, and searching for any other clues we can get.” He turned to Miles. “When you call the asshole back, insist he bring Ford. They’ll be no negotiation if you don’t see him alive and well.”
Miles nodded.
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
“We’re going to bring them all together, then we’re going to take them out once we have Ford back.”
“You can’t kill them all of them.”
“If we get rid of the major players, the rest will scatter.”
What would it be like to have that kind of money and power?
As if he read my thoughts, Carter said, “We use it for nicer things too.”
“I’ll have to talk to Ford about that.”
“I’ll make sure you get that chance.”
30
JAY
Back at headquarters, they once again tried to convince me I should go to a safehouse or somewhere with guards, but I refused. “I want to know what the plan is.”
“Fine,” Miles sighed. “You can stay with us while we make plans, but you’re not going with us tonight. Ford would kill me for putting you in that kind of danger.”
Carter nodded. “You are not prepared for the kind of battle we’re walking into.”
“Okay.” I hated how right he was. I’d always thought of myself as strong and capable, but I didn’t have the skills that they did.
“We’ll get Worth to stay with you,” Carter said.
“He won’t be going with you?”
“Did you meet him?”
I smiled. “I met Ford too, but I didn’t know he was some kind of skilled warrior.”
“Ford has been trained on the shooting range,” Carter said. “He’s a good shot, but he’s not the first person I would send out in the field.”
“And you?” I said turning to Miles.
“I’m better than Ford, but most of my skill is just blustering my way through. Occasionally I even follow Carter’s directions.”
Carter huffed.
When we sat down in Miles’s office, I kept wishing I would wake up and discover this was all a dream. It felt so unreal. When they mentioned a man named Matteo, I could tell there was something there I needed to know.
Reluctantly, Carter explained their connection.
“What if he’s there tonight?” Would Carter be willing to kill him?
“I’m counting on him being there,” Carter said.
I didn’t say anything else. Matteo had betrayed their SEAL platoon. The fact that he’d let Carter escape didn’t change that.
Mostly, I just listened, not even trying to comprehend everything except the location and the main logistics of the plan. I knew I had no business being involved in such a dangerous operation, but I wasn’t sure I could sit on my ass waiting for them to save the man I’d fallen for.
My sister had always said once I decided I wanted something I went all in, and apparently this was no exception.
“Jay?” I turned to look at Carter. “We’re going to have you wait at Ford’s house. Worth is going to stay with you, along with a number of security guards.”
“Why there? You know these men know how to find his house.”
“Yes, but they have no reason to be watching it now, and they won’t expect us to go back to the place where Ford was taken.”
“It’s easier to defend than many other places,” Miles said. “And I have a feeling you weren’t going to agree to a safehouse outside the city.”
“Fuck no.”
“This way you’ll be there when we bring Ford home.”
When, not if. I had to keep thinking that way.
I also knew Ford’s house, and I knew how to get from there to the location where everything would go down. Would I be able to get past the guards if I wanted to leave? I’d have to see what the set up was and if I could stand waiting and wondering what was happening.
“I need a drink,” I said when Carter and Miles dropped us off at Ford’s house.