Page 44 of Lost King

Reid is doing what he needs to do, which is assisting Ian with the technical aspects, so I let him stay right where he's at staring at the computer monitors. After Gabriel and Logan leave the room, I walk over to Doc who's standing at the table in the corner fixin' himself a cup of coffee.

Grabbing my attention Riggs asks, "what do you need from us, Jake?"

"We need a makeshift triage room constructed downstairs. You should find a few roll away beds down there along with some unopened boxes of medical supplies we may need later. If you and your men can throw that together before we head out—" I leave my words hanging.

Riggs nods, "we take care of our own."

I hate the waiting game as much as the next man but we have no choice in the matter. I turn back to get some coffee. "Bennett," I grab a paper cup, and he fills it with coffee. "I'm gonna need you to make sure your medic bag is fully stocked. Going by what we saw—" I have to pause a moment and fight the lump forming in my throat.

Bennett stirs in the sugar and creamer he poured into his coffee turning it from black to beige. "Not gonna lie, Jake. He looked bad. I'm not saying just his injuries. They've been injecting him with something for days now. We have no idea until we get to him what that may be."

The same thought has played through my head more than once. Bennett and I know the tactics these sons of bitches are using. They want him to want the escape the drug gives him after inflicting the amount of pain they make him endure. Break the spirit you break the man. "I still can't wrap my head around the reasoning behind all this," I down some coffee.

"Bad seeds like the Reapers," Doc shrugs. "I don't think they have a clear motive other than they want to prove they can. They thrive off fear. To them, fear and respect go hand in hand."

True. We've seen some shit. Watched people die. Innocent people. All to invoke fear. They used fear to bend people to their will. "I'd rather deal with that scenario than bury one of my family members," I admit.

Doc clasps his hand on my shoulder. "Me too, brother—me too."

For the next hour, we wait. Needing to keep busy I join some of the other men in prepping for what we all hope will be tonight's mission to bring Quinn home, so I take the time to go upstairs and check on the women. I find them huddled in the room where Victoria and Quentin have been sleeping.

Victoria and Emerson immediately jump from where they are seated. Quentin stays resting with his back against the headboard of the bed.

"Jake, tell me you found him," Vicky pleads.

I take in her red-rimmed eyes. "We have a possible location. In another hour me and the rest of the men will be heading out," I inform her.

"So, you don't know for sure that he's in this location. What if he's not there. What if—" Vicky chokes on her words.

Pulling her into my chest, I try my best to comfort her. "Sweetheart, Ian is very good at what he does. I need you to trust him as much as I do." Pulling back, I lift her chin so she is looking at me. "I'm gonna bring him home. I promise."

She blows out a shaky breath. "I believe you."

I look around the room. "Demetri's men have the place secured. I also have Blake, Austin, and Grey staying behind. I need all of you to remain upstairs even after we've gone. We have too much going on downstairs, and I don't need the kids to see anything that might scare them."

Grace, who has been quietly sitting in a chair by the window holding our sleeping little girl in her arms stands. "Most of the children are settled in for the night. Them seeing anything shouldn't be a problem," she smiles, and my heart melts. "Remi and Kat are still awake though. As to be expected, Kat is worried about her brother and can't sleep. We all are," Grace comments. Bending forward, I kiss my daughter on her forehead.

"Prez," Grey grabs my attention. Turning, I see him standing in the hallway. "Everyone's ready to go."

I kiss my wife, but before exiting the room, Quinten stands. "Jake," and pulls his wife into his side, "stay safe."

Giving him a curt nod, I exit the room. When I get downstairs, all seven men are dressed and ready to go. I waste no time shucking on my gear and joining them. One van is the only vehicle we take. It's a tight fit but necessary. It was also needed having Austin drive us to our drop off point then double back and wait for my call. We don't want someone spotting us or our transportation which is also why we stopped about a mile or more back and walked the rest of the way to the drop off point.

"Cloudy skies tonight, men. I'll need you to put on the night vision gear. Those trees already block out much of the natural light from above. You won't be able to see four feet in front of you," Ian whispers before we enter the tree lines. "From here on it's silence." He makes eye contact with me before sliding his goggles over his eyes.

Ian was right. It's pitch black as we navigate our way through the trees. So far the terrain hasn't been terrible. The eerie stillness as we follow Ian is more noticeable than anything. We haven't heard a sound. Not even the wind is blowing through the trees. Even the sounds of our feet walking across the forest floor is barely audible.

Ian comes to a stop and lifts his hand signaling for us to halt our movement. After making our way for almost two hours, we've come upon the image displayed on the monitor earlier where the heat sources were detected. Pivoting my head from left to right, I scan the clearing and sure as shit there they are. Three small tube-shaped hotspots are protruding from the forest floor. Still hidden in the tree line, I motion for Gabriel and Logan to make their way toward my left while signaling for Riggs and his men to circle the opposite side of the location so we can surround the area. Our objective is to find Quinn, but I'll be damned if we let one motherfucker slip through our fingers. Holding our positions, we watch for any signs of activity, and so far we've seen none. This means all five Satans Reapers have to be underground.

Ian speaks low. "There," and points across the field and I watch as a door begins to rise from the ground and four men emerge. Two stand watch while the other two walk off towards the tree lines where Logan and Gabriel have positioned themselves. Ian's voice whispers through our earpieces. "Alright, men. On my go I want Logan and Gabriel to handle the targets heading in your direction. Reid—Bennett, drop the two by the entrance. That leaves two of their men unaccounted for down below. Jake and I are going in. Riggs, you and your men, cover our six," Ian directs his attention towards me and gives a final nod. "Go Go," he announces. Simultaneously four rifle shots echo through the trees. My focus, getting to that door. We have no idea of knowing what they can hear down below, so we have no way of knowing what we are walking into. Squatting, I grab the cut of one fallen Reaper's body that's blocking our way in and drag him to the side. Logan, Gabriel, Reid, and Bennett jog their way towards us as I pull open the heavy wood door letting it land with a loud thud on the ground and peer down in the hole illuminated with dim amber light.

"I know you're up there motherfucker. Come on down and join the party."

I recognize the voice. It's the President himself. My trigger finger twitches. "I'm going in first," I tell the men. "No matter what happens Quinn comes first you got me?" I order.

The sounds of approaching footsteps cause us to raise our weapons in the direction it's coming from only to watch Riggs and his men make their way over with an extra man in tow.

"Look who we found. Dumb fuck was slumped against a tree over there with a damn needle hanging from his arm." Fender pushes the high as a kite Reaper, Twiggy forward causing him to stumble.