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He pointed to a walkway that ran along the top of the shelves, at least thirty feet up. More gunmen were taking positions above them, raining death from an unassailable height. Fuck. For every attacker they took out, two more seemed to emerge from the shadows. Where the hell did she get so many followers?
Suddenly, men were pouring in through all the exposed doors. “Five Bravo here for support, sir. Six Charlie here for support, sir.” Ryker could feel a collective sigh in the room from the Alpha group.
Carter said, “Glad for the support. Suppress, neutralize, and eliminate as needed to maintain the hill, boys.”
With renewed hope, Ryker gritted his teeth against the onslaught, searching for a weakness in Audra’s forces he could exploit. He was an attorney, for fuck’s sake. He never thought he’d be playing war games for real stakes. There had to be a way. He wouldn’t stop until he found it.
“Toughen up and get it done,” he told himself.
Audra’s followers had trapped them in a crossfire with no escape before Jac’s men arrived. It must have been Kaden or Sharlee’s SOS that went out. He loved these men. They had come in, fixed the imbalance of firepower, and were overcoming the odds.
Carter and the team hunkered down behind cover, returning fire when they could.
A cry of pain rang out as a bullet found its mark, slamming into Callie’s thigh. Blood poured from the wound, soaking her pants.
Ryker’s heart seized. “Callie!”
He started toward her, but she waved him off, teeth gritted against the pain as she applied a tourniquet to her leg. Garrett appeared out of nowhere and helped her get it fixed right.
“I’m all right,” she insisted. “Focus on the mission!”
Ryker hesitated, torn between aiding this strong teammate and pressing on. The blood loss wasn’t as bad as he feared, and Garrett covered his wife in full protection mode. He’d leave these professionals to handle things. But if he didn’t find Audra, countless more lives would be at stake.
The choice was simple. Ryker turned away from Callie, swallowing back his guilt. She was strong—she would hold on until this was over. He had to believe that.
“Keep moving!” Carter shouted, firing at the gunners above. His team obeyed, but their progress slowed. The aggressors were being picked off rapidly, one by one, but Ryker feared that at this rate, none of them would make it out alive.
Unless...
Ryker’s gaze landed on several large propane tanks at the end of an aisle, and an idea began to form. He spoke into their earpiece. “Carter, Jac, the propane tank.”
Carter yelled into their comms, “Callie, get Callie to cover! Mark, lay down ten seconds of suppressing fire! The rest of you position for exit on my word.”
They didn’t question his orders, immediately moving to obey. Jac snagged Ryker and took off at a sprint, ducking behind shelves as bullets whizzed past. He slid behind the propane tanks, panting for breath, and studied their valves. If he could get them open, the resulting explosion would decimate Audra’s forces and clear their path.
But it would also destroy the warehouse—and anyone still inside. Ryker gripped one valve in his hand, knowing what he had to do. For Oakley, he would make any sacrifice.
“Carter, I’m in position. On your word.”
“Wait. Oakley is not on the second floor. I have positioned explosives on the second floor,” said Mark. “Kaden will blow from the outside. On your mark.”
“Jac. Ryker. Abort.”
“Aborting,” said Jac.
“Kaden in place.”
Carter yelled, “Clear out! Out! Out!”
Ryker stayed in an area that he hoped wouldn’t fall with the rest. He still needed Oakley.
He peered around the edge of the aisle, spotting Garrett and Mark carrying Callie toward the exit. The rest of the team members were close behind Audra’s followers, and were too distracted by what they thought was an approaching propane explosion to notice their retreat.
Ryker smiled grimly, satisfied the teams would make it to safety. Now there was only one thing left to do.
He stepped out from behind the propane tanks, raised his gun and fired at the supports along the ceiling. The metal beams groaned and collapsed, bringing stacks of crates tumbling down to block the path behind him. It sealed Ryker in as the explosives detonated, protecting him, but it also protected Audra. And fuck all if he knew where his baby girl was.
Laughter echoed through the warehouse, cold and mirthless. Ryker whirled around to find Audra emerging from the shadows, a pistol dangling from her fingers.
