“I heard you.” Axel looked at Reese on the screen.
“Say it.”
Every instinct in his body was already running toward the cabin. “I hold position.”
“Good. Ten minutes.” The line clicked off.
Axel lowered the sat phone without looking away from the feed. His wolf paced under his skin, one breath away from breaking through. Ten minutes felt like an eternity.
Moments later, headlights flashed through the trees, and a second Suburban rolled into the turnout and stopped behind theirs. Dom got out first, his face set and unreadable. Blaze came around the rear. Siren stepped out on the other side, quiet and fast. Hunter closed his door without a sound and looked toward the road before he looked at Axel.
Axel met Dom at the rear of their Suburban. Ryder kept the drone feed steady under the raised hatch.
“Give me the layout,” Dom said.
Axel pointed to the cached map on the tablet, then to the live feed. “The cabin is about half a mile farther up the road, where it dead-ends. Front door faces the road. Wade’s van is parked near the porch. Tree cover is tight around the clearing. Propane tank on the right side of the cabin. The windows are too small for most adults to climb through. There are no other exits.”
Dom watched the screen while Axel spoke.
“Inside,” Axel said. His inner wolf was growling, but he kept his voice steady. “The front door opens into the main room. There is a fireplace on the left wall. Reese is on the couch with her wrists tied in front of her. Wade is moving between the fireplace and kitchen along the wall at the back of the room.”
“Are there additional rooms?” Dom asked.
“There’s a hallway at the back right that leads to bedroom and bath.”
Dom looked from the map to the feed, then back toward the dark road as the team strapped on their tactical vests.
“Front door,” he said. “Fast entry. Blaze on the ram.”
Blaze opened the rear compartment of the second Suburban and pulled out the battering ram. He checked the grip once and set it against his shoulder like it weighed nothing.
“I take shield. Siren stacks behind me. Hunter, circle wide and cover the back side. If there’s a rear exit or a window bigger than it looks on the feed, you cover it.”
Hunter nodded once and started checking his rifle. Siren opened a gear bag and handed out comms. She then pulled out her Glocks, seated the magazines, and holstered them in one motion.
Dom turned to Ryder. “Keep the drone on the window. Report any movement inside.”
“Got it,” Ryder said, eyes still on the screen.
Then Dom looked at Axel.
“You stay with Ryder.”
The wolf hit Axel’s ribs hard enough to steal his breath. Axel looked at Reese on the feed, wrists tied in front of her, sitting on the couch while Wade moved in the background.
Dom held his gaze. “I’m keeping you off the door on purpose. You’re too close to this. Stay with Ryder.”
Axel gritted his teeth so hard they almost cracked. “Copy.”
The team finished gearing up in the dark behind the Suburbans. Vests tightened. Radios clicked. No one wasted a word.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Wade stoodfrom the kitchen table with his beer in hand. Reese sat on the couch where he’d left her. The fire had warmed the room, but her fingers were cold. The rope had rubbed the skin at her wrists raw, and every small movement made it bite.
Wade crossed into the living room and stood in front of her. Reese froze. She stayed exactly where she was, eyes fixed ahead. Her shoulders rounded, and her breathing became shallow as he stepped closer. He had a calm expression on his face when he crouched in front of her.
