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Scarlett weighs her words before shrugging. “An ambush might make it more fun.” I’m not the only one who groans at her words.
On the other end of the spectrum, Elle seems absolutely delighted by them. “Need any backup?”
Scarlett looks around the room, obviously thinking about taking her up on her offer. It’s enough to tell me just how much she’s taken to this girl. She may be young, but she’s obviously fierce.
“Nah, this little psycho is more than enough backup,” she decides, pointing to Asher, who once again blushes at her words.
The quiet one, Linc I think I might have heard someone call him, drops his mouth open again in shock as he tracks the heat rising on Asher’s face. He near silently whispers, “What the fuck?” before pulling out his phone and snaps a somewhat discreet picture before rapidly tapping away on it.
We definitely have to come back to this town. Maybe with popcorn next time.
Elle nods, wearing a smug smile as she grabs Linc’s arm and begins to pull him out of the room. “Call us if you need us. Happy hunting.” She winks at Scarlett.
“Send Jace for his favorite type of clean up,” Asher calls out before she leaves.
She arches a brow. “You’re blowing it up?”
“Why not?” he answers with a shrug.
I chuckle wryly. These kids are a hoot. We definitely need to come back to this town.
Chapter Fifteen Scar
Tighteningthe straps of my backpack, I stare up at the wall. They weren’t wrong, should be a piece of cake to get over.
Now it’s just a matter of what’s waiting for us on the other side. I check my watch and wait for Joe to give us the all-clear from the van where he’s watching a live feed from a drone. Elle wasn’t exaggerating when she said they had eyes on the place before we got here. Asher handed over not only the blueprints but surveillance notes. They were almost as good as my own, including the number of guards, their rotations, and the routes they take around the perimeter with approximate times. It was more than I could have expected to have going into such a last minute mission.
It isn’t like us at all to rush into something like this, but after weeks of sitting on our hands, none of us have enough sanity left for caution. We’re now putting our fate in the hands of karma and hoping these connections have pulled through for us.
I’m already rather fond of these kids. I don’t see a reason to doubt their skills after everything they’ve already pulled off in this town. I watch Ash out of the corner of my eye, but he doesn’t seem fazed or jittery at all. He really does fit right in with us.
I trade looks with Kade when I notice him also watching the kid, a sly grin on his face. “Just like old times,” he mouths to me as we wait. I shake my head, but he isn’t wrong. It does feel a bit like old times, the two of us scaling walls and waiting for an all-clear signal. The only difference is I never used to have a tsunami rushing through me on our old runs. A calm would always wash over me any time I knew I was about to have blood on my hands.
Not today. I have to force down the churning in my gut and push the anxiety and excitement away in order to stay sharp. I focus on the plan again. Simple but effective. Divide and conquer.
“Team one, clear,” Joe’s low, rumbling voice sounds in my ear and I breathe a sigh of relief. Here we go. We hold our position and I close my eyes to imagine Luca, Noah, Ryder, and Rachel getting over the east end of the wall.
“Heard,” Luca responds. Only moments later adding, “We’re in. No sign of guards. Holding position.”
“Guards turning the west corner, team two is clear to move.” Both Kade and Asher nod for me to go first. A grin is my only acknowledgement before tackling the wall and dropping silently on my feet on the other side.
“Heard,” Kade says, a huff in his voice. I wait for him and Ash to make it over the wall and land at my sides.
“All in, still clear,” I finish.
From here we can’t see Luca and the others, nor will we be able to see the last group with Holden, Ty, and Declan. We will follow the same route Elle and her crew took, directly through the back patio while Luca’s team should have split off with him and Rachel moving to the front to dispatch the guards before coming in through the front doors. The remaining teams will use their respective side entrances to clear out the guards and isolate Romano.
“Guards are back to posts by the front gate,” Joe informs us. “Team three is clear to move.”
“Heard,” Declan answers. In the same pattern as before, it’s only a few minutes before he adds, “We’re in and clear. Holding position.”
“In position,” Luca answers as soon as the final team has made it over the wall.
I hold my breath as we hear a guard call out, close enough for the mic to pick up clearly, followed by the sounds of a struggle and gurgled words.
“Two down,” Rachel says, far too chirpily.
Joe rumbles a deep laugh. “Clean kill, girly.” The pride in his voice unmistakable and I wonder if it soothes some of her past hurt from her neglectful father the way it always does mine. “All teams clear to move in,” he adds, amusement still coloring his tone.
