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That was likely the truth. Xavier had seen more than his share of mercenaries who went from one high-risk job to another. Not only did these jobs often pay well, some people got off on the adrenaline rush.
Pulling an unused burner phone from his pocket, he asked, “What’s the number?”
The man called out the digits.
“Any particular words you were supposed to use?”
“Not that I know of. Just that we had the package.”
Hearing Jazz referred to as “the package” infuriated him, but these people were soulless.
Punching in the number, he held his breath until it was answered. “Report,” a mechanical voice said.
“We have the package secured,” Xavier growled into the phone.
“Excellent. The client will be notified for pickup in two days.”
The line went dead.
His teeth grinding together, he went back to the soldier. “They didn’t tell me a location.” Pressing his gun against the man’s forehead, he growled, “What is it?”
His eyes wide, his mouth trembling, he said hoarsely, “I promise you, man. I don’t know where we were supposed to take her.”
Wanting to pull his hair out by the roots, Xavier walked away from the guy and holstered his weapon. If he didn’t get far away from him, he would take out his frustration on him. There had to be a way to?—
Striding to the house, he ran up the steps and called out to Serena, who was standing in the hallway, tapping out something on her phone. “Hey, did we collect all the phones?”
She scrunched her nose in a grimace. “Yes. They’re all burner phones with nothing on them. The men carried no ID.”
“Maybe facial identification will give us something.”
“It might, but that could take a while. And it won’t get us the drop-off location.”
“We still have eyes on Oscar Sullivan. Right?”
“Yes. I have Blue Cagney’s team out of Los Angeles on him.”
Cagney’s team was good. OZ had used them several times in the past. “Can you let them know to stick like glue to Sullivan? If he’s the culprit, chances are he’ll try to do the pickup himself.”
“What do you want them to do with him if he’s the one?”
“Just tell them to hold on to him until further notice.”
“Will do.”
“Where’s Jazz?”
“I think she’s still helping with the cleanup at the side of the house.”
The sudden need to have Jazz in his arms and assure himself that she was okay almost overwhelmed him. Until this bastard was caught and dealt with, having her out of his sight for more than a few minutes wasn’t something he wanted to risk.
“So you don’t know where they were supposed to take me?” Jazz asked.
Sighing, Xavier pushed his fingers through his hair, his frustration obvious. “No. Apparently, one of the men who died knew the location, and the idiot didn’t bother to share it with anyone else.”
Even as aggravating as it was not to know where to go to face the man who’d ordered her abduction, Jazz couldn’t find it within herself to feel major disappointment. No one in Serena’s family had been hurt. Yes, there was massive property damage, but the instant the shooting had stopped and they’d known everyone was safe, the cleanup had begun. With dozens of people pitching in, it had taken only a few hours. Windows needed to be replaced and a few outer walls needed repairs, but by the time the sun rose, it was hard to tell there had even been a battle.
The dead men had been transported to a barn a couple miles down the road, and Serena’s brothers were there now with someone from the sheriff’s office. Since two of Serena’s cousins were on the police force, they had the credibility needed to explain exactly what had happened, that Serena’s family had defended their homes from armed intruders.