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“Is that your phone?” Jules asked.
Jerking himself out of his temporary paralysis, Ash rushed to the phone sitting on the coffee table, shutting the sound down before it could wake Josh.
“What’s going on, Ash? I’ve never heard that alarm before.”
Turning to Jules, he said as quickly as he could, “I’ll explain everything later. For now, contact every operative and order them to get to headquarters ASAP.”
Though her eyes had widened with concern, Jules didn’t question his words. She grabbed her phone from her jeans pocket.
His next words were hard for him, but they had to be said. “You don’t need to reach out to Serena.”
Jerking her head up in surprise, she said, “Why?”
“Because she’s been kidnapped.”
“Ash…no,” Jules breathed softly.
He nodded toward the phone in her hand. “Get everyone here. I’ve got some calls to make.”
Turning back to his phone, he pressed the speed-dial number that he had never wanted to have to press. Ed Allen answered on the first ring and said in a gruff voice, “What’s happened to Serena, Ash?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and said, “I know Serena discussed Protocol One with you.”
Silence followed his question, and Ash swore he could feel the other man’s pain through the phone. “Yes,” Serena’s father finally responded, a rasp in his voice. “But you refused to let her set herself up as bait, right?”
“Yes, I did. But now she’s been captured anyway, and as you know, she wanted to have things in place in case this happened.”
“Yeah,” he breathed out softly. “That’s my Serena. Always prepared.”
“You taught her well, Ed.”
“I know,” he said. “I just…” He stopped, and Ash knew he was fighting back tears. A second later, Ed said, “We’re prepared, and we’ll take care of our own. You just get my daughter back, Drake. You hear me?”
“Yes, sir. She’s my first priority. I’ll be in touch.”
Ash ended the call, trusting Ed Allen to take care of his family and the little community they called home.
When Serena had come to Ash with the idea of setting herself up as bait for the Wren Project, he hadn’t reacted the way she had expected. He had, in fact, been incensed. The Wren Project had no limits. They would maim, torture, and most certainly kill to further their agenda. He had refused to even consider allowing her to put herself at risk like that.
She had maintained that if Eve had proposed being bait, he might have considered it. He couldn’t deny that. Eve had a toughness that Serena didn’t possess. That didn’t mean she wasn’t capable, but there was an unmistakably softer nature to Serena. No matter what was thrown at her, she reacted with her heart first.
In the end, she had agreed that she wouldn’t pursue such a dangerous avenue. However, they had both agreed that having a protocol in place would still be a good idea. He had just never wanted to have to use it.
Ash’s next few calls were unpleasant but necessary. He was brief and brusque with four of the CIs who needed to go to ground. Although he didn’t want anyone to die, these two men and two women who’d agreed to become OZ informants in exchange for their freedom were evil, responsible for multiple hideous acts. None of their deaths would bring even one person a modicum of grief. He, however, had made a promise to protect them, and he would keep that promise.
He did care about the last informant he called. Not because this CI was any better than the other four, but because he had a semicordial relationship with the man. Not only had he helped save Olivia’s life a year or so ago, he and Jules had an odd sort of friendship. Because of that, this man would receive additional aid.
When the call picked up, Omar Humphrey said, “Drake, I would say it’s a delight to hear from you, but since it’s three in the morning here, I’ll just ask what’s wrong.”
“You’ve been compromised, Omar. I need you to get to the safe house and stay there till you hear from me or Jules.”
Omar breathed out a ragged sigh. “I knew this day would come.”
“We’ll try to mitigate what damage we can, but for the time being, you need to stay hidden. Someone will be at your door in ten minutes to transport you. Don’t make them wait.”
“All right, Drake. Give my best to your lovely wife and my godson.”
“He’s not your godson.”
