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Jocelyn almost didn’t recognize the strong man now compared to the sweating mess from a few minutes before. Nervous energy wafted around him. He still shifted and looked half-ready to leap across the room and take his chances running out the door, but there was a new determination coursing through him.
“No.”
Jocelyn thought she knew what caused the change in Kent. “Ben, it’s his wife.”
She expected a fight. Maybe even a question about why that fact mattered. After all, he was single and used to going it alone.
Instead, he nodded. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Fifteen
They all raced to the warehouse. A nondescript, one-story building the length of a football field. From the outside it looked like something you might find on a farm. Breaking the lock on the entry door proved easy. Ben slammed the butt of his gun into it twice before Connor stepped in and shot the lock the rest of the way off.
Now they roamed through a series of slim hallways and tiny rooms. Ben had no idea what the space was used for, storage maybe, since boxes were piled everywhere, but the setup made them vulnerable as they maneuvered through the space two by two.
He walked next to Jocelyn gun up and eyes scanning, with Joel in front of her and Ed at her back. Ben didn’t like the setup but no way was he leaving her outside to get nabbed by Gary’s partner, whoever that might be.
In unison, they cleared section by section with Connor and Joel sneaking around each corner and checking the rooms first. Wires hung exposed from the cracked and missing ceiling tiles above them and papers scattered all over the floor.
They walked carefully and deliberately, making as little sound as possible. Even Kent, who was all but whimpering at this point, reduced most of his anxiety to shaking shoulders and chewing on his thumb.
Not that Ben could blame the guy. The idea of Jocelyn getting grabbed sliced right through him, splitting him in half. He’d seen Gary reaching for her back at the bank and had thrown a body block. He’d sacrificed his own body and he’d do it again if necessary. Anything to get her out of there safe and fast.
They came to a T in the hallways. Connor looked both ways, then grabbed Colin by the shirt collar. With his hands zip-tied behind his back, the guy couldn’t do anything but struggle and spit. Connor shook him hard enough to stop even that. “Give us an idea.”
Colin stuttered, “I’ve never been here.”
Connor pushed his gun into Colin’s back to let him know his patience had expired. “Wrong answer.”
Kent shifted and sighed. “Please, we have to hurry.”
“He’s right.” With a hand on Ben’s forearm, Jocelyn lowered her voice to a bare whisper. “Sharon could be running out of air.”
Ben nodded. “Colin, I won’t think twice about shooting you in the leg, then dragging you through the rest of the building.”
“And I won’t help you until we find her,” Jocelyn said.
Ben knew it was an empty boast. She saved. It was pure instinct for her. He got it because the same drive to fix things beat wildly within him.
But he did love this fierce side of her. He’d watched her race here and there at the hospital, taking care and handling the blood and guts that spilled around her. This, the survival instinct, the way she fought off her doubts and fears and rose to every challenge, filled him with admiration and had his attraction to her zipping off the charts.
He was falling for this woman, and if they somehow survived the next few minutes, he’d tell her.
“Furnace room.” Colin blew out a few long breaths, as if trying not to pass out. “He mentioned something about the furnace room.”
Connor glanced past Colin. “Joel, do your thing.”
“What are you doing?” Kent clawed at Joel’s hands as he flipped out a phone and his fingers danced across the screen. “We can’t stop.”
Joel didn’t look up. “Construction blueprints filed with the city.”
“What?” Ed asked as he pulled Kent back and pushed him against the nearest wall.
Joel started walking. “This way.”
They moved, faster now, rounding two corners and ducking. Watching each step as they hit a wider hallway where the ceiling had been ripped out and wires snaked the walls and floor. They got to a door without markings and Ben stepped up. He tested the knob and found it unlocked. The whole thing smelled like a trap.
“Careful,” Connor said as he nodded.
Ben flipped the knob and the door slammed open. He went in high and Connor took low, with Joel watching their backs.
Nothing.
