Page 36

THIRTY-SIX

ZEKE

“WHAT DO YOU mean Maddox’s phone is off?” I push my foot closer to the floorboard, accelerating as I fly down the interstate, the rest of my team following in a line behind me.

“I mean his phone is off.” Isaac’s voice is tense. “I’m pulling up his last calls and searches now to see if we can find out where they were going.”

“Do it fucking faster.” Maddox is with Savannah. He never would have left her side, so if we can figure out where he’s at, we’ll figure out where she is.

Luca’s phone starts to ring beside me. He shows me the screen displaying Christian’s name before answering it. He listens for a second, brows lifting. “You did? Give it to me.” He reaches for the GPS displayed on the screen in the dash, typing in an address as Christian feeds it to him. After calculating for a second, it displays our route options and the time each one will take us. Luca chooses the fastest route, shaving ten minutes off the ETA before giving it to Christian.

I grip the wheel tighter, making it creak as I weave through traffic.

“Do you want me to alert the authorities?” Isaac asks.

If I knew the cops would handle this the way I would, I wouldn’t hesitate. But if this turns into a hostage situation, it won’t end well. “No. They’ll just get them killed.”

I don’t know exactly who is behind this, but I can narrow it down. There’s only one reason anyone would be after Savannah, so this must be connected to Ivan and the group that attempted to blackmail Sadie into helping them smuggle drugs and weapons into Russia. I can’t imagine they’re attempting to pull off the same thing twice, so it’s got to be retaliation.

That means the only way Savannah and Lydia will survive this is if I get to them before they’re killed. There is no way they will let the women live through this, so I have to take the pricks out first.

Beside me, Luca ends his call with Christian, immediately connecting to another incoming, brows pinched together as he answers.

“Fuck.” He swears loudly, raking one hand through his hair. “When did this happen?” He swears again before turning to me. “Drive fucking faster.”

“Who is that? What’s happening?” My foot is on the floor and I lay on the horn, trying to get some asshole in a Mustang out of my way. Giving up on him moving, I jump onto the shoulder to go around him.

“Someone just sent Sadie a video of Savannah.”

My heart stutters to a stop. “Is she alive?” If she’s not, the next drive I take will be right into one of the concrete dividers.

“In the video she is alive.” Luca says it carefully, because unless it’s a live stream, there are no guarantees.

“Send Jamison the address. I want as many people there as we can get, because I’m getting her out of there alive.” There is no alternative. I can’t go through this again. I can’t lose her. I won’t survive it.

I loved Kendra. Would have probably married her if things had been different.

But Savannah... There’s no way I could go on without her here.

Beside me, Luca rattles off the address then ends the call.

“Heidi and Harlow are trying their best to get eyes on the place, but it’s in the middle of nowhere.” Isaac’s voice startles me. I’d all but forgotten he was still on the line.

“Keep trying. Get me all the information you can. I want to go in immediately.” I disconnect the call because I can’t sit here not getting anything new from him without losing my mind.

The timer on my GPS continues ticking down, the estimated arrival creeping lower as I close the distance between us. With five minutes left, Isaac sends Luca the county schematic of the property. Luca sends it to Christian and Jamison and then we designate a location to meet since we’re all set to arrive within minutes of each other.

As soon as I reach the vacant property we chose, I jerk the SUV to a stop, climbing out and going to the back to retrieve my rifle. The rest of my team is right behind me, and Jamison and Sadie pull in as we finish gearing up.

“I swear to God, I’m going to kill these motherfuckers.” Sadie’s jaw is set and there’s a vicious glint in her eye. I’ve seen her in action before, and I’m glad she’s here now. There’s no one else who would be as ruthless in this moment. No one else willing to go to the same lengths I am to get Savannah out safely.

“We have to be smart about this.” Luca is the voice of reason today, and I’m fine with that. I’m so far beyond unreasonable there’s no way I could or should be in charge.

“The house we’re looking for is there.” He points in the distance. “It’s surrounded by overgrown trees, so we might be able to get close before anyone notices us.” Luca lays out his plan. It’s one I would have been able to come up with if I was in my right mind.

But I’m not. And thank God I’m smart enough to know it, because anything I do would likely get Savannah killed. I would be too aggressive. Too careless. Too enraged.

Once everyone has their orders, we separate ways, setting off just as Christian arrives with a handful of his brothers. Luca sends Bryce to fill them in as the rest of us move out. Sadie, Jamison, and I stick together, cutting through the trees as the rest of the team surrounds the property so we can all move in at once. It’s our only hope to get Savannah and Lydia out alive. We have to overwhelm them. Catch them off guard and take out anyone in our way.

By the time I can see the house, I’ve got tunnel vision. Jamison grips my shoulder, holding me back when I start for the door. He shakes his head, expression stern. Sadie stands next to me, her smaller body laced with tension, weapon up and ready as we wait for Luca’s signal.

My muscles start shaking from the exertion it takes to hold myself back. I’m reaching for the mic on my earpiece to ask everyone’s location when a single gunshot rings out, sending the birds scattering from the trees around the house.

“Move in.” Luca’s demand is immediate and sharp and late, because I’m already halfway across the yard with Sadie hot on my heels. A single kick takes down the back door and I’m inside, steps fast and long as they eat up the distance. I round the corner just as a gun swings my way.

But the man holding it doesn’t stand a chance. I put a bullet between his eyes before his finger can even twitch on the trigger. Sadie does the same to the man next to him, taking him out with a single shot. Jamison and the rest of the team flood the building, moving through in search of anyone else. I hear a few more shots, but they barely register as I run to Savannah. She’s pale and shaking, but unharmed.

“He was trying to make me beg for my life and I wouldn’t.” Savannah’s words are a whisper. “He wanted me to tell Sadie this was her fault. That if she’d just gotten here sooner?—”

“Shhh.” I cut the last tie holding her in place and pull her into my arms. “You did a good job, Sweetheart.”

Sadie finishes freeing Lydia and passes her off to Christian before launching herself at Savannah. I reluctantly let her move in, hovering close as they embrace. Both women start to sob as they cling to each other, half coherent apologies breaking up their cries.

I don’t want to take this moment from them, but we need to get the fuck out of here. After the explosion at the warehouse, I don’t put it past these dicks to have this place rigged up too.

“We need to get out of here.” I say it gently. Sadie doesn’t know me as well as Savannah and I don’t want her to think I’m an asshole.

It’s a new leaf for me. Usually I don’t care what people think, but I guess if I’m going to have a family, I should at least try to give a shit about their opinion of me.