Page 64

Now under the darkest of sky he stands before us tall, broad, rich umber brown skin, and a stiff sharp jawline. I do wish I can get a read on him to understand his ‘loyalty.’
“Not a minute before, not a second later.” Ronan checks his watch. “Time has worked in your favor.”
Jax places his hands on his hips. “Figured I don’t want to get on your bad side.”
“Or meet death,” Mal adds, adjusting her bulletproof vest.
Jax doesn’t bite back. He only keeps a tight stare, slowly looking at her then back at everyone. Mainly because he knows it won’t end well for him. I will chop him in the neck if he so much as utters an insult.
Ronan ignores it all and opens the map. Red comes forward with his team; they’re the ones that will go into the building with us. The rest of the men who will be on the lookout and gather the kids getting them on the bus stay behind. They’ll also make sure Victor doesn’t attempt to escape.
Red’s large frame comes up to his with that squinted eye and his wavy brown locks. His stern gaze lands on me, but this time he grins. “Venom, it's been a while. I barely see you around,” Red says in his drooling voice as he steps beside me.
I shrug. “I like to stay hidden.”
He hums. “Maybe you should come out of hiding then.”
“Or perhaps she doesn’t need to be found,” Ronan interrupts, his attention remaining focused on the map.
I almost choke on my spit at his response.
He chuckles, still watching me. “Might be so.”
I grin stiffly, moving my focus from his naturally hooded eyes to the map. I hold the other end of the worn paper while Red grabs the other to straighten it and make it clearer to read. Boone takes his flashlight and aims in on the map, getting a good view of the way in.
Jax points his finger at the edge of the map. “We enter through here.”
I squint at where he’s pointing. My internal alarm bells are blaring. “Why not here?” I point at the other end, where it is clearly an entering point.
“Entering here will lead to more men standing guard. In the back, he doesn’t have as many. Six, to be exact. The hostages are right here.” Close to where fewer men are. “Here the other men are posted. Victor is right here in this building.” He points to the back, where it looks like a smaller section. Victor sits on the red X. I nod at his answer; it checks out. “In order to not alert Victor, we must be as quiet as possible.”
I shake my head, not liking this. “That’ll be hard if the men are carrying firearms. What about the roof? Is it clear of men?”
Jax points to it. “None.”
Ronan nods. “This could be a good entrance, and we have the equipment to make it happen.”
Jax taps the side of the building. “This is an ideal spot—no eyes, no window.”
Ronan nods. “Are we good with that?”
Everyone agrees with nods and murmurs. I interrupt. “Except Wicked. She should go with Red.”
She whips her head at me. “What?”
I point to the hill. “You cannot walk up that wall; you’re wounded. Unless you want your stitches to come loose causing you to bleed everywhere, you need to go with them.”
She snarls. “I’m fine—”
“Anita is right,” Ronan says. A tiny wave of relief washes over me at his agreeance. “You go with Red, and we’ll take Levon.”
Wicked throws her hand up in a scowl and gives me the meanest grill she can muster. I ignore it.
Ronan focuses back on the map. “Are there cameras?” he asks, still studying the layout of the building.
Jax quickly answers, “Here.” He touches one spot at the entrance. “Here. The cameras are set to see the outside and trigger with every movement—and this one is directly on the kids.”
“That's where you come in,” Red adds.