Page 129

“Marsh, take the east side. Knight, the west. Noah, cover the back. I’m on the guy in front.” He was pretty sure the intruder at the front was good old Jerry. “Bowen, you and Teagan set up an interrogation area in the kitchen. The rest of you set up interrogation areas as well. Violet, get your mike bag. We may need your services before the night is over. If these guys get past the four of us, you three capture and contain. Get everything they know. I don’t care how you do it.”
“Copy that.”
His teammates split up, and Seth turned his attention to Jerry. As the other man approached the house, he walked through a large area of ground lit by moonlight. Instead of going around it, Jerry continued through the area as though it didn’t exist.
Seth shook his head in disgust. And Jerry thought he was fit to be an enforcer? He’d never make the cut in Special Forces. Jerry’s arrogance made it easy for Seth to see his opponent wasn’t carrying anything more lethal than a knife and gun.
Intercept or let him break in? Take Jerry down inside, he decided. Although he’d only seen four men, more could be stationed in the trees in case Jerry and his crew flushed Seth’s team from the house.
Seth positioned himself behind the door and waited. A minute later, he heard sounds of someone picking the lock. Morewaiting as he listened to Jerry swearing softly on the other side of the door.
Seth rolled his eyes. Though he hadn’t admitted the truth to Teagan, he had skills at breaking and entering, too. Although not as skilled as his woman, Seth’s skills were miles better than Jerry’s.Come on, Jerry. Get the job done.
Finally, Jerry manipulated the lock and slowly turned the knob. He eased the door open and peered into the dark room. Satisfied he hadn’t been observed, he closed the door with a soft snick, and walked further into the room.
As Jerry reached for his pistol, Seth wrapped his arm around the other man’s neck and squeezed. His opponent was out in seconds. Sleeper hold for the win.
Seth cinched Jerry’s wrists behind his back with zip ties and slapped a piece of duct tape over his mouth to keep him from warning his buddies. He made his way to the east side of the house in case Marsh needed a hand. Unnecessary, he realized. Marsh had already captured Shane and used zip ties and duct tape to contain him. “Set up an interrogation area.”
“Yes, sir.” Marsh smiled at Shane. “Hear that, Shane? You’ll have a nice, long conversation with us tonight. Too bad you chose the wrong side of this fight.”
Shane glowered at Marsh and Seth.
He retraced his steps and checked in with Knight. His prisoner, a man named Ron, struggled to free himself from the zip ties and continuously mumbled behind the tape over his mouth while glaring at both men.
Seth glanced around the empty room. “Perfect place for an interrogation, don’t you think, Ron?”
More mumbled cursing.
“Glad you agree.” He turned to Knight. “Need a hand setting everything up?”
“Nope. I’ve got it. What about your man?”
“Out and restrained.”
“Nice. You haven’t lost your touch, Major. I didn’t hear a thing.”
“I’ll check with Teagan and the others. Let’s finish this.”
“Copy that, sir.”
Seth walked into the kitchen in time to see Noah perp-walking Joel in through the back door. Excellent. He signaled Bowen to follow him.
His teammate fell into step behind Seth. He carried a chair they’d use for Seth’s prisoner. Together they hauled Jerry to his feet, shoved him into the chair, and secured his arms and legs to it.
By the time they finished, Jerry was coming around. He struggled to free himself to no avail.
“You shouldn’t have come here, Jerry.” Seth watched him fight his bonds harder. “Wasting your time, man. But since you’re here, let’s talk.”
Although Jerry held out longer than Seth expected, he caved and spilled everything he knew which wasn’t as much as Seth’s team needed. “What’s the target, Jerry? We need to know. Don’t want my team caught in something we’re not prepared for.”
A snort. “You’re supposed to be Special Forces. You can do anything.”
“With the right information, we have a better chance of survival. And make no mistake, Jerry. My priority is the safety of my team. You, my friend, are collateral damage. I don’t care if you live or die.”
Jerry’s face grew pale. “You’re going to kill me?”
“You planned to kill me and my team while we slept. How would you have explained our deaths?”