Page 20

CHAPTER 20

Ethan adjusted the tactical vest over his shoulders, the weight grounding him as he surveyed the room. The comms center buzzed with restless energy. Screens flickered with satellite imagery of the Pu’u O Umi Nature Preserve coordinates the kidnappers had sent. Weapons were checked and rechecked, tension clogged the air.

Cooper leaned against a desk, arms crossed, eyes dark with focus. Bellamy sat at a nearby terminal, double-checking radio frequencies. Rusty was by the weapons locker, securing his gear with methodical precision. Brooklyn stood off to the side, gripping her arms, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

“We’re taking the dogs,” Ethan announced, his voice cutting through the tense quiet. “Mojo’s coming with Brooklyn and me in the SUV. Coop, you and Bellamy take Soda, Whiskey, and Tucker.”

Cooper nodded. “No problem.”

Bellamy glanced up from his screen. “Coop and I will set up the second vehicle back in the trees. We’ll approach on foot as soon as you give the go.”

Ethan gave a sharp nod. “Good. We can’t afford to be seen too early. They’ll be on edge, and if they sense a setup, they’ll bolt—or worse.”

Rusty holstered his sidearm and turned to Brooklyn. “You sure you’re up for this?”

Brooklyn lifted her chin, but Ethan saw the nervous flicker in her eyes. “What choice do I have.”

He stepped toward her, lowering his voice. “You do exactly as I say, Brooklyn. No hesitation. No second-guessing.”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay.”

“Say it.”

“I’ll do exactly as you say,” she whispered, her voice unsteady.

Ethan studied her for a moment before pulling her into a quick hug. He felt the tension in her body, the way her fingers curled slightly into his back before she pulled away. “You’re going to be fine,” he murmured.

She exhaled shakily. “I hope so.”

Ethan let his hand linger on her arm for a second longer before stepping back. He glanced around at the others. “We move in ten.”

Brooklyn hesitated, her gaze flicking to the floor. Ethan caught the movement, something unspoken hanging between them.

“We need to talk,” he said quietly. “After this.”

Brooklyn’s lips parted slightly, “I know.”

Ethan clenched his jaw. He wasn’t going to let her slip away this time. Before all this started, she had been cold to him—distant in a way that gnawed at him. She’d started to tell him why and then stopped when the kidnappers called. But the second Liam was safe, he damn well intended to find out why.

Ethan wrestled with the steering wheel as the SUV rumbled down the rutted dirt path leading into Pu'u O Umi Nature Preserve. Darkness pressed in around them, broken only by the glow of the headlights cutting through the humid night air. The spring breeze was scented with damp earth and salt, but the unease in Ethan’s gut overpowered any appreciation of the island’s beauty.

Beside him, Brooklyn sat stiffly, one hand clenched around Mojo’s harness. The dog whined softly, as though affected by the tension rolling through the cab. The dashboard clock read twelve twenty-eight a.m. They were right on time, yet every instinct in Ethan screamed that this was a mistake. He did a comms check. Everyone responded. They were good to go.

Ethan slowed the SUV as they entered a small clearing. Gravel crunched beneath the tires. The headlights illuminated a white van already there, its rear doors closed tight like a vault. Two men stood in front of it, their arms crossed, tattoos snaking up their forearms and disappearing beneath their sleeves. The stark contrast of ink against their skin was made more menacing under the artificial glow of the lights. Their expressions were unreadable, but their stance radiated controlled menace.

“Those aren’t the guys from before. The ones that tried to grab Liam,” Brooklyn said in a quiet voice.

Confirmation . Jaw tightening, Ethan put the SUV in park. He glanced at Brooklyn. "Stay close. No sudden moves."

Brooklyn nodded, her jaw set, eyes locked on the men as she and Ethan climbed out of the vehicle. Mojo’s ears pricked forward, his body a tense coil of restrained energy.

Ethan quietly hissed, “Go, go, go,” giving Bellamy and Cooper the signal to head to his location.

One of the men stepped forward, his voice thick with a Japanese accent. "You have it?"

Ethan held up the small USB drive, letting the light catch on its metallic surface. "Where’s Liam?"

The second man, slightly shorter but broader, gave a slow, deliberate shake of his head. "We confirm the drive first. Then you get the boy."

Brooklyn tensed beside him. "That wasn’t the deal."

The taller man smirked, his teeth flashing in the dim light. "Deals change. Hand it over."

Ethan exhaled slowly, his muscles coiled with tension. "Not until we see Liam. As you said, deals change."

The shorter man’s expression darkened, his fingers twitching toward his waist. "That is not how this works."

A muscle in Ethan’s jaw twitched. "Then it doesn’t work at all. We walk, and you get nothing." Brooklyn gasped next to him, but he refused to look at her. If he did, she might say something or do something that would risk everything. He willed her to stay silent.

For a moment, silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. The night was heavy, the sky moonless, the dim starlight doing little to illuminate the clearing. A distant rustling in the trees sent a prickle down Ethan’s spine, his senses sharpening. Was that Cooper and Bellamy, or did these guys have reinforcements?

Then, the taller man sighed dramatically, as if Ethan had personally inconvenienced him. "I was hoping you’d be smarter than this."

He moved fast—too fast. His hand darted inside his jacket revealing the unmistakable glint of metal in the headlights.

Ethan reacted instinctively, surging forward and shoving Brooklyn down as the crack of a gunshot split the air.

Brooklyn grunted as she hit the ground hard beneath him. Mojo barked wildly, his growls filling the space between gunshots. Another shot rang out, but this time, it wasn’t from the Yakuza.

Rusty.

Ethan twisted, still shielding Brooklyn as Rusty emerged from the back of the SUV, his gun raised. The first thug staggered backward with a sharp cry before crumpling to the dirt, while the second recoiled, clutching his side. Rusty didn’t hesitate. Another shot and the man collapsed.

Silence fell, thick and unnatural. “Ethan, Rusty,” Cooper’s voice rang in his ear. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Rusty answered. “All good.”

Ethan pushed up, his heart pounding as he turned to Brooklyn. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, her breath shaky, her fingers digging into the gravel beneath her. "Yeah."

Hackles raised, Mojo stood rigid beside her, the Malinois’s teeth bared in a silent warning to any lingering threat. Ethan turned his attention to the van, the sick feeling in his gut deepening.

He yanked open the rear doors.

Empty.

Brooklyn sucked in a sharp breath. "No. No, no, no. Where is he?"

Ethan swore under his breath, stepping back as reality crashed down on them. "They played us. He was never here."

Rusty wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes narrowing. "Then where the hell is Liam?"

The only response was the hollow wind whispering through the trees, a cruel reminder of just how alone they were.