Page 133 of Fatal Intent

“Yeah?”

“Rayne escaped the room she’d been left in but was recaptured soon after.”

Grant’s breath caught. Oh, man. Her escape would anger the soldiers. He prayed they hadn’t hurt her. “Is she all right?”

“They weren’t happy that she escaped, but no one hurt her. Since she’s a flight risk, instead of being locked away in a room by herself, Rayne is in the kitchen, taped to a chair. All the men are there. They’re arguing.”

“What about?”

Zane remained a moment, then said, “Who gets to have Rayne when you’re dead.”

He scowled. “Let me guess. Ellis?”

“Got it in one, my friend. He’s obsessed with your woman.”

“Not news to me.”

“Well, this next piece of news might be. Good old Ellis is suggesting that his friends take the rest of Artemis for themselves after disposing of Echo unit.”

“Sick creep,” Teagan muttered. “That’s never going to happen.”

“Rayne just told them as much.” He paused. “Get a move on, guys. Ellis has a knife to Rayne’s throat.”

The operatives increased their pace. “Do we have any way to communicate with her?” Grant asked.

“With the soldiers in the room, no. The only thing I’ve been able to do is send a command for the watch to vibrate. It’s not much, but at least it’s a reminder she’s not alone. Rayne should also be able to feel the heat of the GPS tracker we activated.”

Grant clenched his teeth. Not nearly enough support. “How far out are we, Z?”

“Five minutes.”

“Any guards outside the structure?” Seth asked.

“Negative. That may change soon. The leader thinks Grant is already on the way to rescue Rayne. They’re planning to set a trap for Echo unit and kill the lot of you. Donovan Vance has been killing the survivors of Red Dawn to be sure he takes down the people responsible for his brother’s death.”

“So he’s cleaning house because he doesn’t know who’s guilty?”

“That’s what Rayne pulled from Donovan. Grant’s woman is a good interrogator. Donovan’s next target is Echo.”

Andre said, “No surprise there. What about Gino and his cronies? Is he going to take them out?”

“Don’t know. The original plan was not to kill them. They’re friends. Rayne is making him question their loyalty and friendship.”

Grant poured on more speed. “We have to get to her. Even though Ellis is obsessed with her, he might turn on her forcausing dissension in the ranks.” An idea came to him. “Zane, is there a way we can hear what’s going on through Rayne’s tactical watch without them hearing us?”

“Hold.”

Seconds later, they heard Ellis’s voice over their earpieces. “Answer me. Do you want to die?”

“That wasn’t in my plan for the day.” Rayne’s voice sounded strained.

“The next time you mouth off to me, remember that I hold your life in the palm of my hand. All I have to do is slice your neck, and all of us get rid of five problems with one swipe of the knife.”

“What happened to your plan to take me for yourself? Can’t do that if I’m dead.”

“You can be replaced easily, beautiful. Don’t forget that.”

Rayne gasped. “Don’t.”