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“Understood,” Kostya said.

“Hold on, the sprinter van that was in the middle is now driving forward. It’s passing the truck.” Linc paused again. “It’s stopped just shy of the gate. The door is opening and two guys are getting out. It’s Sykes and his lieutenant, Lami Kassa. Wait. Three more are getting out. I recognize one more from the photos that Gideon gave us. His name is something Rhodes, but none of the other three is that other lieutenant. I can’t remember his name.”

“His name is Ely Roberts,” Gideon said into the comm system.

“Do you have anything new to report?” Kostya asked.

“Nothing, just monitoring your situation,” Gideon replied.

“Gotcha,” Kostya responded. “Linc, good reporting. You keep us updated on what’s going on outside. Also, I’m going to need your focus on the men outside the compound. We’ll take care of all the men on the inside of the compound, we clear Linc?”

“Crystal.”

14

Ryker stood stock still beside Kaan’s chair as Frank Sykes, Lami Kassa, and three other men walked through the gates. He hated Sykes on sight. He had that oily swagger that demanded that everyone look at him because he wanted them to think he had the biggest dick in the room, when guaranteed, he always peed in a stall because he had a needle dick.

Lami Kassa was a rail-thin, bald Ethiopian with a scar that went from his left temple down to his right upper lip. He was smiling, and Ryker really wished he wouldn’t. He looked downright psychotic when he did. The other three men looked like your normal mercenaries, men who were just doing their jobs so that they could get paid. He wondered if any of the three were working there because they were afraid their wife and kids would be killed.

“Hello, is that you, Kaan Polat? I did business with your father Emze back in the day. He’s a good man,” Frank said as he walked forward to the front of the fountain.

“My father is a piece of shit,” Kaan enunciated clearly.

Frank laughed. “Ahhh, now I know you are who you say you are. Yes, your father is a piece of shit. But, he does pay his bills, and in my line of work, that’s all that matters.”

Kaan was silent. Frank waited for a response and when it didn’t come, Frank lost his smile.

“Aren’t you going to answer me?” Frank finally asked.

“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself? You come into my home as if it were your own. You bring armed men. You tell me that my father is a piece of shit, all without telling me your name or stating your business. Why would I converse with someone so rude?”

Damn, Kaan had it going on!

Frank’s laugh was forced this time. “I can see your point. Let me start again. My name is Franklin Sykes. My company is called Kraken Elite, and I work with many elite clients worldwide. I find things. Missing things. My company has a reputation for always succeeding in our quests and never letting anything get in our way of accomplishing our missions. Are you satisfied?” Frank asked between gritted teeth.

“Why are you here visiting me?” Kaan asked as he held out his hand and looked at his fingernails. “I did not request your services.” He sounded extremely bored.

“Members of your family have become obstacles. As I stated, we—or should I say I—never let anything get in the way of me getting what I want.”

Kaan yawned. “Who is an obstacle?”

“Your brothers Mehmet and Hamza have three things I want. I want them now. If I fail to get them now, I will kill you and destroy everything you hold dear.”

Kaan crooked his finger to Ryker, asking him to bend down so he could speak in his ear. “Kill all of his men, leave him alive.”

Ryker had his mic open so that everyone on his team could hear what Kaan was going to say. He stood back up.

“Kostya?” Ryker asked.

“Do it. You too, Linc.”

Ryker swiveled around and looked up. It took one bullet to kill the man who was high up in the pistachio tree. He heard single shots being taken behind him. He turned and saw the three mercenaries on the ground, with Lami and Frank each holding their rifles up.

Frank had his rifle pointed at Kaan, the dumbfuck, like he was going to kill the man he needed.

Ryker, Nolan, and Landon all had their rifles pointed at Frank Sykes.

“We’re at a standstill, Franklin,” Ryker called out. “You’re here for a reason. You need Kaan, so you’re not going to kill him. We want the kid, and it would make our lives easier if we could just do a trade with you, for the kid. Consider it your lucky day, because I would really prefer to gut-shoot you and watch you bleed out.”