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With a gentle shove, Brick pushed her to the side, twisted his head and yelled in a voice so loud it pierced her ear drums.

“Delta, in here! They’re under the floor. Bring anything we can use to get to them. Double time it!”

Bridget was shoved further out of the way by five well-muscled guys who moved like their clothes had been set on fire. As they worked to figure out a plan, she stood to the side, chewing on her non-existent nails, and prayed.

She bargained with God to spare the lives of Maggie and the children. She asked Jennifer and Dean for forgiveness for exposing their kids to danger. She swore to find a job which would keep her at home more often. She promised to only bring people into their lives who would serve as role models for Marlowe and Mathias. When her nerves got the better of her, she started pacing. Her mind went to a dark place, and she kept her eyes averted, certain by the time they got to Maggie and the kids, they would be pulling corpses from the crawl space.

“What the hell?” she heard one of them shout, and she squeezed her eyes tight at the sound. “This section is not concrete. It’s painted and textured to appear like it, but it’s not as solid.”

“Brick, wait!” another shouted. “Wait. I think I’ve got it. The damn thing is mechanized. Everybody move back!”

Despite her fear choking off her oxygen and causing her heart to pound in her chest, Bridget whirled around to find out exactly why they were moving back. They couldn’t stop working. They had to get to them. Dead or alive, Maggie and the kids could not stay in the godforsaken spot their kidnapper put them in.

Brick was eyeing something on the wall, hidden behind a rack of tools which had been disturbed during the search but deemed irrelevant. “It’s a bio scanner. Probably programmed specifically to Singer.”

“I got it.”

Bridget jumped, not realizing anyone had walked into the garage behind her. But there they were – Jay, Cole, Wings, BB and Zane. BB brushed passed her, slipping a pack off his back, but Bridget only had eyes for Zane. He was sandwiched between Jay and Cole, and she’d never seen him appear so broken. He didn’t meet her gaze and his broad shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world threatened to crush him. She thought she was all out of tears, but fresh droplets pricked her eyes.

She wanted to go to him. Was he imaging the worst as well? Was the guilt and grief becoming too overwhelming to bear? He was hurting, just as she was, but she held back, a small part of her still blaming him for endangering her children.

“That’s it! We’re in!”

Bridget jerked her head around in time to hear the scanner give a distinctive beep as the floor groaned and popped open like it was on a spring. The men ascended on the spot, and she couldn’t see what was happening. Voices mingled to create a deafening cacophony. She couldn’t distinguish the words being said.

Then they parted, and Bridget’s hands flew to cover her mouth. Dusty with her hair falling from its ponytail, Marlowe stepped from the group and ran toward her sobbing. Bridget scooped the girl into her arms, the weight of her niece’s body coupled with the relief flooding through her brought her to her knees. She ignored the jolt of pain that came from hitting the concrete floor. She clung to Marlowe with the intention to never let her go.

Then she saw Rigger gripping a hand and helping someone else crawl out of the space. And Mathias stood tall, his clothes dirty and ripped in a couple of places, his face pale, but the sight of him one of the best Bridget had ever seen. She extended one arm toward him while the other clutched her niece. Mathias stepped into her embrace, the group hug awkward but something none of them wanted to break. She had so much to ask them, so much to say, but all she could do was hug them close and sob.

Zane broke away from his team to rush over to the open space. He reached in and pulled his mother through the opening and crushed her in a bear hug. She watched him pull away for a moment.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? Everything okay?”

Maggie placed a loving hand to her son’s cheek, her own tears leaving wide paths in the dust on her face. “I’m fine, sweetheart. The men weren’t very nice, but they were careful not to hurt us.”

Bridget collected herself enough to pull back and ask her kids the same question. “What about you two? Are you alright?”

Marlowe studied her with wide eyes which weren’t blinking. “I was afraid. I tried to be brave, but they scared me. I didn’t think I would see you again. I…”

Her voice broke, and Bridget wrapped her in a tight hug. “Oh, my girl. You are so brave. I know you were scared. I was too. But you figured out how to send us a signal to find you. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Marlowe nodded against her shoulder, but when words failed the young girl, Mathias patted her on the back and picked up the explanation.

“She said she thought she could link the TV satellite here with the one at Mrs. Maggie’s. We weren’t sure it was going to work, but we figured we could at least try. She used a remote control we found in the house before they moved us out here, but we couldn’t be sure it actually worked.”

“It did work. But why are your clothes torn?”

He glanced down at his ripped jeans and T-shirt as if seeing them for the first time. “We couldn’t risk them catching on to what Lowe was doing. So I was the distraction. I ran away. I knew I couldn’t outrun them, but I kept them occupied while Lowe did what she needed to. They tackled me, and my clothes got torn. That’s when they decided to move us out here.”

“Mat! You shouldn’t have done that. They could have hurt you for trying to escape.”

He shook his head. “Mrs. Maggie heard them say they were ordered not to hurt us. I didn’t put up a fight when they caught me to make sure. We’re alright. I promise.”

“We’re getting you guys to the hospital anyway to be checked out.” Jay moved forward to drop an arm around Mathias’ shoulders and placed his other hand on Marlowe’s back. “I’m glad you’re okay. And you don’t have to worry about the guy who did this. He won’t be bothering you ever again.”

Bridget caught the meaning behind Jay’s words. She’d dedicated her life to helping people and saving lives, but she couldn’t be sorry at knowing Singer was dead.

She shifted to try and stand when Cole was behind her to lift her and then Marlowe up to their feet. They moved as a group to where they’d left the surveillance van and SUVs. Jay spoke with one of the guys from the other team, who was staying behind to coordinate with local authorities to secure the crime scene and take care of the men who were apprehended during the takedown.