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“Roger that,” Gideon answered.
“I’m on it,” Eve said.
“Okay, on my count, let’s go. Three, two, one!”
They were shooting before they left cover. Hearing the gunfire from either side he knew Gideon and Xavier were doing the same. Reaching the door to the motel lobby, Liam went on one side, Ash landed on the other. Giving him a nod, Ash fired three shots through the door, and then Liam made a mad dash inside. Two men lay near the entrance. Keeping his gun at the ready, he kicked their guns out of the way and kept going. Ash would make sure they were out of commission, one way or the other.
“Serena, you copy?”
“Yes! Good to hear your voice. We’re secure.”
“Where are you?”
“Last room on the left, south side of the building.”
“How many do you have?”
“Nine women, three children, two young men.”
“Good work. Keep them there until I give the all clear.”
“Roger that.”
“Xavier, you guys make out okay?”
“We’re good. Took care of two of them.”
“Excellent. Let’s clear this dump of any remaining vermin.”
It took all his discipline not to hurry through the process. Ensuring the motel had indeed
been cleared of all traffickers was the priority. When he was sure, then he’d take the opportunity to check on the victims.
Still on alert, he took a step through a door. He spotted the trip wire a half second too late. His ears barely registered a boom before rancid smoke filled the room. Liam jumped back, hacking and coughing. Dammit, somebody had booby-trapped the door. His nose and lungs burning like fire, he ran outside.
Coughing like he was hacking up a lung, Liam fought for every breath. What the hell had that been?
A hand slapped him on the back. He looked up to see Ash holding out a bottle of water. Grabbing it, Liam took a long gulp and then poured the rest over his face. The relief was instantaneous.
“You okay?”
His voice raspy from coughing, he said, “I will be. Stupid mistake. Hit a trip wire.”
“Yeah. We found three more. Nothing dangerous. Just a smoke bomb. Probably set to keep anyone from escaping. Didn’t think to look for them until you tripped over one. So thanks for that.”
In between coughs, he threw Ash a crooked grin. “Anything—” cough, cough—
“to help the cause.”
“Building’s clear. Relief workers are here to transport the victims. They’re gathered at the back. You’ll want to see them first.”
“Have you seen them?”
“Not yet.”
Accepting another water bottle from Ash, Liam took several more swallows and felt halfway human again. Although his eyes were still swimming with tears and his throat felt as though he’d smoked a carton of cigarettes in one sitting, he knew he was lucky that was all the damage he’d incurred. Stupid of him, because it could’ve been a lot worse.
“Serena and Jazz, we’re coming your way.”