Page 99 of Thaddeus

“Here.” One of the SBT crew members held out a lock box and I fished my cell out of my pocket and tossed it in with the others.

The RIB slowed and stopped. “Far’s I can take ya,” the pilot said.

“’Preciate it,” Dec answered.

Kyle, Max, and Brooks already had their boots dangling over the edge.

“Ready?” Brooks asked.

“We’re out,” Dec told the crew.

The three men slipped silently into the water and Declan and I followed.

The five of us side-stroked through the calm surf, making our way to shore. In under three minutes we had our feet under us and were coming up out of the water.

Hold on, agápi mou, almost there.

Declan gave the signal to advance and I took in a deep breath to shove all emotion away.

With my chest tight, my heart twisting, and my throat closing, I forced my training to kick in.

I was ready.

I couldn’t fail.

I wouldn’t lose her.

Not now. Not after I finally got her back.

I’d never survive.

Emerson

“It’s gonna work,” I told Patty.

“If you say so,” she muttered.

“And remember, no yelling. As soon as that door opens, we all attack. It only works if we take them by surprise. But we can’t scream or backup will come. Just attack. Bite, scratch, pull hair, punch, anything and everything,” I reminded the women.

I was looking around at the women’s faces and I was seriously questioning if my plan was going to work. Only a few were nodding enthusiastically and were fully onboard. The others were a crapshoot whether or not they’d even move.

I was trying not to get pissed and shake some sense into them. My plan to bum rush the man who opened the door and overpower him only worked if we had the numbers. If we didn’t and screwed up, we could all be dead.

I swiped the sweat off my face and fought the tears that were threatening to form. My bladder was screaming at me to empty it, but I refused to relieve myself in the corner the women had designated.

As stupid as it was, that was all I had left, my refusal to piss. I’d been kidnapped, locked in a box, and the threat of a horrific life loomed over me. But I wouldn’t allow myself to be degraded and treated like an animal.

So I was holding it.

It was all I had control over.

But when that door opened, I was going to fight my way out of this, with or without the rest of the women.

“Hey.” Patty placed her hand in mine and squeezed. “Okay. We can do this.”

“Thank you.”

We were silent for a moment, then it happened—the door rattled.