Page 103 of Duty Devoted

“Copy.”

I turned to my team. “Ty, overwatch. Ben and Jace, with me.”

We crossed the open ground in seconds. The guards never saw us coming as we shot near silently through our suppressors. I caught the first guard before he hit the ground, easing him down silently. The second collapsed, his AK clattering against concrete as it was trapped under his body.

We froze. Ten seconds. Twenty. Eyes scanning, weapons ready. No movement from the compound. No shouts of alarm.

“Clear,” Ben whispered.

I moved to the opposite side of the door while Ben and Jace stood close, weapons ready. I held up three fingers. Two. One.

Then I noticed the lock. “Fuck. Check them for a key.”

Ben and Jace patted down the guards with quick efficiency while I stood watch, Jace suddenly holding up a key.

Seconds later, a soft click.

Ben and Jace stacked up again opposite me, and I counted down once more. I yanked the door open, and they flowed in, rifles leading.

The storage shed was smaller than expected—one main room, metal shelving along the walls, wooden crates stacked haphazardly around.

A shuffle noise from the back corner. Then suddenly, a shadowed figure charged forward, arm raised. Something glinted in the filtered light.

A broken bottle came rushing at my face, and I raised my arm just in time to stop the strike from connecting.

Lauren.

She bounced off my chest, and my hands shot out to grab her arms. “Lauren.”

She seemed to be stuck in fight-or-flight mode, eyes panicked, not seeing clearly.

“Lauren. Hey, it’s me. It’s us.”

My voice suddenly registered, and she stilled. Her head snapped up, and those green eyes went wide. “Logan?”

Still in the same clothes from this morning, though disheveled now. No visible injuries, but that didn’t mean?—

“We’re getting you out.” I pulled her to me roughly, and she melted in my arms. “Are you hurt?”

“Drugged me. It’s wearing off, but I’m still a little dizzy and?—”

A radio on one of the dead guards crackled to life. Spanish voices demanding a check-in. The repeated calls grew more insistent.

“They know something’s going on,” I said.

“Multiple tangos approaching from the north.” Ty’s voice came through the comms, barely above a whisper. “Looks like they’re sending a patrol to investigate.”

“Ty, can you make some noise on the south side? Draw them away from us and the helo?”

“Copy. Give me ten seconds.” He sounded like he was already moving.

“Nope, not going to work.” Ty’s voice came back tight. “Squad-sized element heading toward the shed. Looks like guard shift change.”

No choice now. Waiting meant getting pinned inside with Lauren.

“Ben, Jace—take them,” I ordered while checking Lauren over. “Buy us time.”

Both men swept out of the shed, rifles up, Jolly on Ben’s heels. The approaching cartel soldiers were still forty meters out, moving in a loose formation. Ben’s suppressor coughed twice, dropping the lead man. Jace followed up with a short burst.