Page 42 of Lethal Deceit (Hightower Security #2)

I lurch to my feet, fear mingling with frustration as I fire words at Caleb.

“I need to switch places with Luke. Now.”

Caleb holds his hand up.

“I know you want to move, but now isn’t the time.”

Is he kidding me? He drops that and expects me to just sit tight and wait?

“We’re running out of time to get her out,” I say.

“We’re on schedule. But we need to keep the element of surprise or we have no chance,”

Caleb says.

“Let me leave now so we can confirm whether she’s injured,”

Adena says.

I nod, gesturing at her as I try to plead my case with Caleb.

“If you won’t let me go, then listen to her.”

Caleb rubs his hand over his smooth jaw and looks around at the laptops set up on makeshift desks around the room.

“Fine. Gear up, and take the twins out. Jake, I want you with her, and I want you both armed. No one takes any unnecessary risks.”

He grabs a handheld signal mirror and a low-light flashlight from the gear pile—silent tools for fallback signaling.

Jake gives him a sloppy attempt at a salute, and as Caleb looks at the blueprint of the house, he slips out of the room with a fierce Adena in tow. I’m so preoccupied by the specs and Caleb’s thoughts on the layout that I miss Samantha’s entrance into the room until she speaks.

“Is there anything I can do?”

Caleb’s eyes don’t leave the screen as he answers.

“Don’t think so, sweetheart.”

I glance over my shoulder at her, and she peers down, picking at her nails, then sits, perching on one of the chairs we dragged in here.

“We need to enter from the roof, the back, or the window,” I say.

Caleb nods.

“Our best bet is a synchronized attack.”

He taps three points on the blueprint—window, rear entrance, and hallway junction.

“What about the explosives?”

“They aren’t explosives yet. They’re ready to be assembled. If it comes to that, I can handle disarming something simple. Anything more complicated, Verity will be on hand.”

“When are they arriving?”

“They’re en route.”

I glance around the bedroom. Once Adena and Jake return, it’s going to be a tight fit.

“It’s going to get crowded in here.”

His lip twists.

“We can’t risk any more trips today. If this runs over to tomorrow, Jake will get them first thing, but until then, they’ll be waiting down the street in their rental with a radio jammer that will knock out all cell coverage and all radio signals.”

He holds up a small field map.

“Verity will trigger the jammer manually if the call comes. Until then, we maintain comms through line-of-sight and hand signals.”

“That won’t help if they detonate from inside,” I say.

“No, it won’t. And we can’t use the jammer yet or they won’t be able to contact you.”

My eyes drift to where my phone is resting against my hipbone.

“So we just pray they don’t decide to make bombs until we’re ready to move?”

His answer is given without a hint of irony.

“Praying is all we can do right now.”

At the sound of footsteps behind me, I glance back—Adena and Jake. If they’re carrying weapons, I can’t see them, but Jake’s enthusiasm is evident in how he bounces on his toes. Guess he really is the rookie they keep referring to him as.

A little doubt nudges at me before Adena smothers it quickly.

“We’re all set. We’ll preempt the old guy and say hello in case he comes knocking on the front door,” she says.

“What about diapers?”

Samantha says.

We all look at her, probably equally puzzled, and she wrinkles her nose.

“If you’re doing this right, you should dump some in the trash outside.”

Adena’s hands slide to her hips, and she appears a little peeved at the suggestion.

“We have done this before.”

Jake, however, sends Samantha a shifty smile.

“She’s right. I’ll go get some ready.”

Adena lowers her hands, eyes narrowing just a little, then mutters a grudging thanks.

“Who’s going in the front door?” she asks.

Caleb jabs his thumb into his chest and returns to the screen.

Adena frowns.

“How’s going to get to the side window?”

Caleb pivots so he can face her.

“Distraction. Verity is going to help with that one.”

He pulls out a timer and passes it to me.

“Thirty seconds after impact. That’s your gap.”

Adena assesses me, looking me over.

“And you think you can haul your sister out the window if she’s a dead weight?”

A flickering of annoyance sets my veins on fire.

“I’ll drag her out of it if I have to.”

Fed up with being ignored, Samantha cuts in and points at Caleb.

“If anyone should be getting your sister out, it’s him.”

Caleb’s eyebrow hikes, but he gives her a grim nod before turning his attention back to me.

“We go in as soon as it’s dark.”