Page 45 of Taylor’s Warrior

“You want us to physically pull him out of there?”

Rhys shrugged. “Depends what he says. Whatever situation he’s in, he might not want to leave it behind.”

Rhys had wondered if taking three SEALs along for the ride might be a case of overkill, but maybe not, given they had no idea what they’d be walking into. If Taylor’s father was being held against his will, they might need badass skills and experience to extract him safely.

If Markham was in his situation willingly, that was a whole different ball game.

Wolf scanned their surroundings. “Then the sooner we get there and find out, the better. It’s going to be tough on Taylor, though, either way.”

“Whatever happens, she has me.”

Wolf raised an eyebrow. “Figured as much. Happens to the best of us.”

Once the women returned, the group set off again. While Rhys was keen to get this over and done with for Taylor’s sake, he remained cool and in control—after all, in some respects, it was no different from every other mission he’d undertaken.

The gated community was protected by a manned guard station, so they stopped some distance away, out of the line of sight. Their plan was fairly simple—they were visiting a friend at their target address, and when the guard called the property to let their “friend” know they’d arrived, the call would be intercepted by Tex.

“Okay. Into positions, everyone.” Wolf checked his watch. “Let’s get this done.”

As agreed, Wolf took point for this phase of the op, while Rhys would take over once they arrived at the house and confronted Taylor’s father.

Assuming everything went according to plan.

They passed through the guard point without any problems, and entered the development proper. It reeked of money—large, impressive houses fronted by landscaping designed to flourish in the hot, arid climate. It was also notable for an apparent lack of human life, which worked in their favor—no witnesses.

They parked up outside the house, leaving their vehicles ready to make a quick getaway, if necessary. Rhys led the way to the front door, rang the video doorbell, then stood back. Placing himself between the door and Taylor. Abe and Dude had taken up strategic positions to monitor the perimeter, while Wolf was shielding Caroline.

“Excuse me. Can I help you with something?”

>>><<<

“Turns out, Charles Markham and an unknown female aged around twenty to thirty—also resident at the house—left three days ago, accompanied by at least a half dozen individuals dressed in black. They were put into separate vehicles in a three-vehicle convoy, and no one has seen them since.”

When the neighbor had approached them from one of the impressive houses opposite, none of them had been prepared for the information he’d provided. Taylor had, unsurprisingly, been devastated.

Now back in San Diego, having made the ten-hour round trip in one day, Rhys had lost no time in calling Nick to bring him up to speed, while Taylor had taken refuge in her bedroom. They’d made every effort to trace the kidnappers—unfortunately, the neighbor hadn’t been able to give them even partial plates, and there was nothing even Tex could do, given they appeared to have been treated so that the characters were blurred out on the recordings he’d accessed when he’d hacked into the security systems again.

“You checked with other neighbors?” Nick asked.

“As many as we could, before they started to get suspicious,” Rhys confirmed. “We left when one of them started making noises about checking with the gate guards that we had a genuine reason to be there.”

“Good move. I think the next thing you need to do is pack up and come back here.”

Rhys frowned. “Say again.”

“Our inquiries at this end have come back with some disquieting news. In the light of that and what you’ve just told me, I think it would be advisable for you both to return here as quickly as possible. Can you leave tomorrow and make it back in two days rather than three?”

CHAPTER 14

While confusion and concern had characterized the trip to California, Taylor was totally numb on the way back home. Whatever explanations she’d dreamed up for the situation with her father and the information he’d stolen, reality had proven to be a whole lot more horrifying.

Whoever had taken her father had, by that very act, proved they weren’t fooling around. Although they’d been able to glean no clues regarding the identity of the kidnappers, the assumption was, directly or indirectly, they were linked to KDT.

What terrified Taylor even more, though, was the thought of the danger she’d potentially brought to the people she loved most.

She’d made the wrong choice. It was as simple as that. She should have just taken everything to the authorities and left her friends—her found family—out of this unholy mess.

“How are you doing?”