Page 178 of Ravaged Soul

“This is a shitty idea.” Hyland shifts next to me, his torso brushing my shoulder. “We’re in unfamiliar territory and up against an unknown amount of force. Madden will be on high alert.”

“If she’s in there, I refuse to leave without her.” My voice catches in my spasming throat. “One way or another, Gracie comes home with us.”

“Agreed.” Warner nods.

“My father won’t surrender what he considers to be his property without a fight,” Blaine adds, bent over a survey of the building structure.

“Then we remove him.”

His head lifts, two midnight shards locking on me. “Why do you think I’m here?”

We exchange a silent confirmation. I get Gracie, and Blaine gets his piece of shit father. I’m not going to begrudge him the opportunity to kill the man who made his life so miserable.

“So what’s our play?” Axel motions towards the ammo boxes. “By force?”

“We have permission to be here, but let’s not push our luck.” Warner rubs a spot between his furrowed brows. “Infiltrate the building quickly and quietly. Locating Gracie is our top priority.”

“She may need medical attention,” Hyland grunts.

I clench his hand tighter, attempting to remain level-headed.

“Local hospital is on standby for medical evac with police posted at every entrance and exit.” Warner rattles off the information. “Courtesy of Kade’s diplomacy.”

“Shit.” Surprised, my eyebrows climb. “How does he do it?”

“Flirting with diplomats?” Axel suggests.

“Nah.” Hyland quickly shakes his head. “Brooklyn would stab him in the kidney for even thinking about it. He must have another party trick to get clearance on these international ops.”

“The Estonian authorities want the same thing that we do,” Warner clarifies. “They’re just glad that we’re here to remove Nolan Madden. It saves them from doing it.”

Releasing Hyland’s paw, I inch closer to the table to peer over Blaine’s shoulder. Rayna pulled detailed blueprint plans of Madden’s bolthole from the city hall’s offline backup system. We’ve got a decent idea of how the building is laid out.

“Here.” Blaine points at an emergency exit to the back street. “It’s logistically difficult to bring a large team through this road, but it will likely be less reinforced. My father will concentrate his men on the main floors to protect any wares.”

“Wares?” I repeat.

“Drugs, weapons, people.”

“Right.” My body recoils at the thought.

“I doubt he has enough people to cover the whole building.” He traces the route inside the building. “Our real concern is whether Antonio Gael has skipped across the continent to join his pal.”

“Got the video feeds!” Rayna announces.

Straightening up, I briefly touch Blaine’s arm. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

The tight smile he flashes me is all kinds of wrong. So unlike the confident crook I’ve come to both love and hate. Beneath his bravado, Blaine’s afraid of his father. Perhaps more than any of us.

Rayna carries her laptop over to the table, taking the far corner so we can all see the screen. It’s been split into six boxes, all showing grainy, black and white video feeds. Despite the shit quality, an average looking factory operation is clear.

“There.” I point towards a moving black dot.

“And more,” Warner adds grimly.

Across the different levels, multiple figures seem to operate patrols. They walk up and down, all packing guns. Clearly,they’re guards. It seems Madden has recruited a new crew. His money must pay well.

“I’m counting fourteen,” Hyland mutters.