Page 37

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Oh, God, everything hurt. What the hell?

Jay’s head throbbed, and his body protested every movement.

Had he been hit by a truck? Oh, no, wait, not him.

The van he’d been in had been hit by a truck.

It all came back. The attack on the van, the gas choking him, and that son of a bitch slinging him over his shoulder like he wasn’t a damned human being.

Cautiously, Jay opened his eyes, jaw clenching at the pain in his wrists from the zip ties biting into his skin.

His arms ached from having them bound behind his back and the awkward position he was in, on his side, his cheek pressed against the cold concrete floor.

They hadn’t gagged him or tied his feet.

Then again, they probably figured there was no point since he wasn’t going anywhere.

Jay blinked, his eyes adjusting to the dim lighting.

Where was he? Somewhere industrial, judging by the super high ceilings covered in pipes with hanging steel lamps.

Scanning the area, he spotted unusual scaffolding propping up doors, some of which were partially boxed and wrapped, while others were not.

There were also numerous wooden pallets with what appeared to be windows in various styles.

The place was cavernous in size, with packing material everywhere.

Checking his surroundings, Jay realized he was in between two rows of steel shelving, like the kind used in home improvement stores or those big-box warehouse stores where you could get a sixty-pound tub of honey and a funeral casket under the same roof.

The shelves were stacked with a wide variety of materials, and the place smelled of wood dust and chemicals, maybe paint or glue?

There were also forklifts and stacks of wooden pallets everywhere.

He remembered there was a home renovation company in the port.

Relief washed over him. They were still in the port.

Jay closed his eyes and breathed, remembering what he’d learned over the years from his calming app and his training with the Kings.

Steady your breathing and thoughts. Keep calm.

The guys were somewhere out there, and they were coming for him.

He believed that with every fiber of his being. Ryden was coming for him.

A shadow moved somewhere to his left, and he froze.

The lack of sound was terrifying, and Jay’s heart hammered, but he forced himself to remain calm.

Two men, dressed in tactical gear and carrying rifles, stepped into the circle of light.

Jay recalled the screen in the conference room that had displayed images of the five ex-Marines.

In his mind, he could see his brother pointing them out and saying their names.

Jay had an exceptional memory, particularly when it came to names, faces, and voices.

The first guy, Jones, muttered something Jay couldn’t quite catch.

He strained to hear them. The second guy was Fleming.

When they started to argue quietly, Jay was able to listen in.

“This is fucked,” Jones growled. “We should never have taken him.”

“How else are we going to get those Snake Eaters off our asses?” Fleming shot back.

“This op has been a goddamn disaster from day one because of that dumb fuck. If he hadn’t screwed things up with Gibson, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

And then he made it worse by getting Foster’s attention and hiring some street thugs to kidnap his boyfriend, knowing who these guys work for?

Are you fucking kidding me? Walton made the right call in getting rid of him. Fucking liability.”

Was Walton the one leading them? Someone had to be giving the orders, and something told Jay it wasn’t Jones or Fleming.

Jones started pacing. “I knew we shouldn’t have gotten into bed with the goddamn cartel. If we don’t get that shipment out, Munoz and his men are going to hunt us down and string us up by our balls!”

Fleming threw an arm out in Jay’s direction. “Why do you think we have him for, asshole? And keep your fucking voice down. If Walton finds out you’re losing it now, he might start thinking you’re a liability too.”

“Fuck Walton. He’s the one who got us into this shit. I’m so fucking tired of his?—”

“His what?” Walton asked smoothly, emerging from the shadows and stepping up to Jones, toe to toe. He was a large man who looked like he had no problem putting a bullet in someone, or blowing them up, in Martin’s case. “Finish that sentence, Jones.”

Jones shook his head.

“You sure?” Walton grabbed Jones by the throat, practically lifting him off his feet. “If you so much as fucking think of bailing on us, the Snake Eaters are gonna have themselves a plus one. You got me?”

Jones made a choking sound and nodded before Walton dropped him. He coughed and rubbed at his throat, his glare intense.

“Go make yourself useful and help Dennis,” Walton hissed. “He should have been done by now.”

Jones turned and marched off without a word.

They were setting a trap.

Jay’s mind raced. They were waiting for King and the others.

Jay had no idea how long he’d been out for, but the guys had to be close by.

Somewhere in the row behind him, he heard faint voices and the sound of movement.

It had to be Jones and Dennis. He craned his neck to peer through a stack of PVC pipes.

He could only see their legs, but he was more concerned about the wooden crate on the floor and the brick of C4 one of them pulled out.

Oh hell . Jay’s breath caught. Don’t panic .

They had explosives and were planning on blowing this place up with Jay and the guys in it.

He had to do something. Not because the guys were unknowingly walking into a trap, but because they knew it was a trap and were coming anyway.

The back of Jay’s eyes stung. He was not going to lie here while those assholes killed his family.

“Where’s Rivera?” Walton asked.

“Upstairs, like you ordered.”

“Good. Keep an eye on Jones and the kid.” Walton walked off, and Jay closed his eyes in case they looked his way. After a few seconds, he snuck a peek. Walton was gone.

The zip ties around his wrists weren’t a problem.

Getting out of them was the first thing King had taught him.

You couldn’t work security without knowing how to use zip ties to restrain someone and escape them should you find yourself restrained.

No, the problem was what to do once he was out of them.

The warehouse was big enough for him to find himself a hiding spot long enough to get a message to Ryden.

Memories of him and his brother playing hide and seek when they were kids popped into his mind. Jay had been an expert at hiding. The fact that he’d been so much smaller than his brother probably had something to do with it. Now, he could use his size and agility to his advantage.

Walton had left Fleming to stand watch, except Fleming didn’t think much of Jay because he was paying more attention to Jones.

Scanning his surroundings, the only thing close enough to Jay was the PVC pipes stacked on the shelf behind him.

Wait, there was something on the other side.

About five or six PVC pipes had been propped against the stack. If he could time it right….

Keeping his eyes on Fleming, Jay gingerly shifted his body and rolled onto his back, then pulled his knees up and kicked out as hard as he could.

His boots struck a cluster of PVC pipes on the shelf, and they shot forward, hitting the propped-up pipes on the other side.

They fell over, hitting the floor with an echoing clatter, bouncing and rolling everywhere.

“What the hell?” Jones shouted, which had Fleming hurrying over.

Now was his chance. Jay tucked his knees up against his chest and pulled his arms down.

It was awkward and uncomfortable, but he quickly pulled his arms under his ass to his knees then sat up to pull his legs out so his hands were in front of him.

Getting to his feet, he remained in a crouch.

While Fleming and Jones argued over what happened, Jay silently hurried to the other side of the next row away from them.

He stayed in a low crouch and darted across and behind the next row of shelving.

Time to get out of these zip ties .

When he was sure he wasn’t followed, he used his teeth to make sure the lock of the zip ties was in the center, then pulled the extra plastic hanging out as tight as it would go. He brought his elbows down and back as hard and fast as he could and snap .

Thank you, adrenaline .

Jay made his way through the warehouse when the shouting started.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Walton bellowed. “Do I have to fucking do everything around here? How did you lose him? I swear to Christ, Fleming, if you’ve fucked us, you’re a dead man. Find him !”

Shit. Jay had to hide and fast. He looked around him, then up.

There was a lot of shelving stacked high.

He grabbed the steel bar of the shelving unit to his right and used the cement bags piled on the bottom shelf to climb up to the second shelf.

Then, onto the third, where he was able to slide in on his stomach onto the bags beneath the final shelf, which provided enough shadow for him to hide.

That didn’t mean they wouldn’t be able to see him. Now what?

You can do this .

Jay had not spent the last six years losing romance novels to a man he had no idea he’d been falling in love with to die now.

Walton had no intention of letting Jay and the others walk out of here alive, or he would have taken Jay’s watch or jammed the signal.

The guy was too careful for anything else.

Tapping his watch, he brought up his messaging app and sent a text to Ryden.

Trap. C4. Got free. Hiding.

Jay waited. When Ryden’s response came through, Jay was so happy he could cry.

Stay put. Upstairs. Luv u.