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“Everybody take a breath,” Bridger counseled. “There’s nowhere the dude can run that we can’t find him.”
“True that.” Tai stared into Tenaya’s eyes as he responded.
“The end always gets stupid.” Graham added. “Tell my butter bean to hang in there.”
“Will do, Gunny.” Tai eyed Tenaya. “Your dad says to hang on. He’s the best mission specialist we’ve got. The messier the mission, the better he likes it. Jarrod’s going down. It’s just gonna take a little longer than we thought.”
She managed a tense nod, and even the ghostly hint of a smile. “Because…messy.”
“Exactly.”
Suddenly, he didn’t care about scaring her off or overwhelming her. He only cared about wrapping her in his arms and feeling her heartbeat against his skin. He forced himself to move slowly, crossing the floor and pulling her close with constrained strength, giving her every opportunity to pull away.
Instead, she leaned into him, the tension in her muscles dissolving.
He pressed a cheek to the top of her head. He could stay like this forever. Or at least until the team had Vogler in custody. At that point, he might need to use his fists.
Tenaya’s phone buzzed from behind them. Tai’s heart leapt into his throat. The team would contact him over comms. He lunged for the device. Jarrod.
Tai’s gut dropped as he read the chilling text. The five second video clip was even worse.
He lifted a prayer and broke the devastating news to Tenaya. “Jarrod’s got Megan hostage at our airfield.”
Hands to her heart, Tenaya staggered backwards to the couch.
Tai tapped his comlink. “Jarrod’s at the airfield. He’s got a hostage. Tenaya’s assistant, Megan. He wants the whole team there ASAP. Tenaya, too.”
While the team barked orders and ideas over the comlink, Tai felt the welcome surge of adrenaline that would carry him to the finish line. Fire licked through his limbs, energizing him for the coming battle, but his mind remained icy calm. Centered. Focused on doing whatever it took to end Jarrod Vogler’s reign of terror.
41
Tenaya’s pulse hammered as Tai wove the Porsche through dense traffic. She strained to comprehend Jarrod’s erratic behavior—the brazen kidnapping, demanding she be brought to the airstrip.
“Why take such a risk grabbing Megan?” Tenaya wondered aloud. “If he’s afraid of arrest, why not just run?”
None of it made sense. She wrung her hands, picturing her friend bound and terrified.
“Police aren’t his concern,” Tai answered. “It’s Svetlana’s goons. The guy is seriously disturbed, obviously, but unfortunately for us, he’s smart enough to realize he’ll never hide from the Red Hand on his own. My guess is he wants our help disappearing.”
Tenaya blinked, the pieces clicking together. “So he plans to use Megan as leverage...”
Tai nodded grimly. “Pretty much.”
Her stomach churned with fear and fury. She thought of bright, vibrant Megan trapped in that monster’s clutches and felt ill.
At least Tai’s terse explanation clicked things into place.
She set her jaw, trying to concentrate on the foliage whizzing past as Tai took the road at speed. “Does Jarrod know you’re with my protection team?” If not, they held an advantage.
“No doubt,” Tai answered grimly. “If he hasn’t figured it out for himself, I’m guessing Svetlana told him about us. It wouldn’t be hard to put the puzzle pieces together from there.”
No surprise registered in his voice. Clearly he was accustomed to adaptable missions.
As they sped toward the airstrip, fierce focus radiated off him in waves. He assured this would be quick work for his seasoned team. No way Jarrod had the skill set to go up against them.
And yet her thoughts spiraled to worst case scenarios. Jarrod was volatile and unfamiliar with weapons. Someone could end up hurt. Dead.
“With your identity exposed, won’t this be even more dangerous?” She hesitated before voicing the obvious solution. “Shouldn’t we alert the authorities?”
