Page 30 of Her Steadfast Hero

Dammit!

“Well make your way there anyway,” David ordered the team leader. “We need to stop those killers.”

“We’re on it,” the man answered, then he hung up.

David turned back to Joaquin and motioned for him to mute the phone again. After he had muted the phone with Juan, David asked, “Who do we have at the prison that could get the kids?”

“Nobody good,” Joaquin admitted.

Dammit!Think Sloane.

They needed to get to those kids.

“I have an idea.” He’d read their files, and they were good. “Riggs and Harrison.”

“They’re prisoners,” Joaquin protested. David gave him a hard look.

“Fine, you’re right David, but it’ll be better if the lieutenant governor calls Luis and suggests it.”

“He’s not going to suggest a goddamn thing. He’s going to call Luis and tell him those two need to be armed and released. Then they’re to be sent out with whatever useless fuck there is who knows the area. Do you hear me?”

Joaquin rubbed the back of his neck, and nodded. “Agreed.”

He turned to Bernardo. But it was Carmen who spoke up. She held up her cell phone. “I have the acting warden on the phone. Governor, he’s waiting for your instructions.” David loved the woman.

* * *

It was déjà vu all over again, here he was at the airport with Carlos and the bus. But this time he wasn’t going to be seeing the love of his life, he was going to see steely-eyed professionals who would hopefully save people he had come to know and respect.

Love?

He watched as the plane taxied, and realized that was exactly the right word. Love. He loved Sarah Kyle.

He watched as the men walked down the steps. Warriors. Nothing escaped their gaze. Carlos squirmed under their scrutiny.

The man who came forward carried the mantle of leadership and had a definite air of confidence.

“Captain Sloane?”

“Lieutenant Tyler?” David asked.

“Grayson Tyler. Call me Gray. Let me introduce you to my men.” He pointed to the big man who stood beside him. Hell, they were all big men. He had piercing blue eyes that could look right into your heart. “This is my second-in-command, Senior Chief Aiden O’Malley, he’s our medic.”

“The giant beside him is Jack Preston.” Jack nodded. “To the left of him, is Griffin Porter. Then you have Dalton Sullivan, Wyatt Leeds and Dexter Evans.”

“I’ll brief you on the bus.” Gray nodded. They all climbed aboard with their duffels. As soon as they got on board, they checked their weapons.

“If you give us one more hour, I think we can get some of the targets eliminated. These are gang members, and right now there is infighting at the hospital.”

“Explain,” Gray demanded.

“The two leaders are Salazar and Molinas. They hate each other. They’ve been working together because they want off the island. All of their demands have been made with both of them on the same phone line. It’s clear they don’t trust one another. The lieutenant governor has been demanding to talk only to Salazar for the last three hours, saying that he knows he’s the leader. We don’t have listening equipment, but our man on the bell tower, who can see into the hospital, says they’ve come to blows.”

“That’s good.” Gray nodded in appreciation. “What are your expectations?”

“We expect Salazar’s men to make a move on Molina’s men. That should result in fewer men for you to have to eliminate.”

“Excellent.”