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Cole changed the TV screen over to a blueprint of the building. “Right now, we don’t know which floor Snow is being kept on. None of the rental records can be tied back to Schaefer, but we’re still digging.”
Rowe stepped up to the TV and folded his arms over his chest as he looked around the room. “Since we don’t know exactly where Snow is being held, we’re breaking up into teams. Lucas and Jude, you are entering from the rear and going directly to the top floor. Noah and I are going to enter through the front and start with the first floor. The place is five floors. Each team gets three minutes to sweep the entire floor, and then you move to the next level. That means we should be in and out in roughly ten minutes. Dom and Royce are watching the perimeter. No one but us is allowed in or out during that ten minutes. Any questions?”
“You’re letting me go with you?” Jude asked in surprise.
Lucas snorted from where he was sitting on the edge of Rowe’s desk. “We didn’t think you’d let us leave without you.”
“I wasn’t, but I thought I’d have to fight you more.”
“We don’t have time to waste on this. You’re going,” Rowe announced. “Any other questions?”
“How do we know the cops aren’t going to be there at the same time?” Jude asked. “They have all the same information, right?”
“Very unlikely,” Noah said.
Cole cleared his throat. “We’ve got at least a several hours if not a day’s head start on the police. All this happened across multiple cities and states. It takes time and red tape to share all the info.”
“We’re ahead of the cops, but we still need to move fast,” Rowe said. “Any other questions?”
Dom’s hand shot up. “Have you picked the code names yet?”
“No, not yet,” Noah said with a chuckle.
“I’m picking the code names,” Jude asserted before anyone could even draw a breath. He looked smugly around the room at his gathered friends and family. “My boyfriend, my mission, my code names.”
Rowe groaned loudly. “Fine. Everyone, go get outfitted. We leave in fifteen.” Jude started to follow the rest out of the room, but Rowe stopped him. He stared at the man for a moment before shutting the door behind Noah as he left last.
“We’ve already had the talk, Rowe,” Jude started when they were alone.
Rubbing one hand through his hair, Rowe watched him, green eyes wary and sharp. “We have. You were resolute in being hands-on and fuck the law when it was just your brother. I can’t imagine that you’re less determined now that Snow is being held.”
Rowe walked over to his desk and sat down. Pulling open the top drawer, he reached in and pulled out a black handgun. He set it down in the center of his desk with a heavy thud. Jude’s heart actually sped up at the sight of the weapon. Some part of his brain had known that taking part in Snow’s rescue would require guns and more. Jude wouldn’t call himself a pacifist, but he definitely wasn’t a fan of guns simply because he dealt with their aftermath nearly every day while on the job.
“Have you ever used a gun?”
Jude nodded, his gaze never straying from the weapon. “After Snow and I moved in together, he took me to a firing range. He’s still got his, and he wanted to make sure I knew how to use it safely if we were going to be living together.” He took a shaky breath and looked up at Rowe. “I wasn’t great.”
“I’m not looking for great,” Rowe admitted, but he didn’t smile. “I need to know that you’ll pull the trigger to protect Snow or Lucas or Noah if things go south tonight.”
Jude stared at Rowe, running the question through his head, but he knew the answer in an instant. “I’ll pull the trigger,” Jude said firmly. “All my friends and family are coming home in one piece tonight.”Chapter 20The five-story office building rose up against the black sky, its large windows reflecting the lights from the barren parking lot. Standing there with a gun in his hand, Jude couldn’t shake a feeling of surrealness. Dom was right about Blue Ash. It was an older, established township north of Cincinnati, and it was known for being the home of several large financial companies and brokerage firms. They’d passed numerous signs glowing in the night, boasting their offices amid stands of old maple and oak trees.
Even in the middle of winter, everything remained nicely manicured and maintained, as if nothing could disturb the façade of peace and order of the city.
But there was something rotten within its core. Jude could only assume that this bastard Gene Schaefer had chosen the location as a way of thumbing his nose at the entire group. Or maybe it was just a great cover. Who would look for a secret place for the rape and torture of people in such a quiet, suburban town? No one. That kind of activity was reserved for the darker parts of the city where the cops turned a blind eye to things in hopes of keeping the rest of the city intact and safe.
