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“Okay.” Scotty said, “Get ready for my signal. She’s almost in position.”
“Roger,” the team said.
Gage moved closer to the end of the bridge, stooping down and pretending to study some rocks near the shore, keeping his face averted in case Natalie looked over. From a corner atop one of the row houses, Spence was poised, his weapon trained on the bridge. Kyle leaned against a rickety gate several feet down from the bridge on the other side, ready to lend backup if needed.
All the pieces were in place.
Natalie walked along the bridge, stopping in the center to peer into the murky waters below. She faced Scotty, and through his lenses he saw her gaunt cheeks, the dark shadows beneath her eyes—so different from the last time he’d seen her with Nick, smiling and laughing.
Except now it seemed her loving marriage could have all been a lie.
A lie that cost Nick his life.
“Let’s roll,” Scotty growled.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Gage rushed forward and grabbed Natalie, engulfing her with his much larger frame. She struggled, but she was no match for his strength and bulk. As soon as Gage crossed the bridge, their quarry in his arms, Kyle joined him, and together they headed toward one of the abandoned row houses near the far end of the park.
Meanwhile, Spence came down from the roof, and he and Scotty turned their attention to Becks, who was heading in the other direction. He didn’t seem to have noticed the abduction. Everything in Scotty ached to go after him…but no, that went against Kyle’s orders. So he just watched as Becks headed out of the park and took off in a waiting vehicle.
Once he was out of sight, Scotty turned back. They had a widow to question. He shook his head and started to move toward the rendezvous point, only to find Hayley coming up beside him, hands on her hips. “I want to talk to her.”
“Well, I want free booze for life. Doesn’t mean I’m going to get it.” He crossed his arms. “Kyle’s in charge. Whatever he says, goes.”
“Wrong.” She tromped along beside him through the mud. “I’m FBI, remember? I outrank a bunch of SEALs with questionable motives.”
“The only thing questionable here is your attitude.” She flipped him off and crossed the bridge ahead of him.
“Don’t do it, Red. I’m warning you.” He stalked behind her, not sure exactly what he was threatening but pissed as hell just the same. Bad enough Nick’s wife had turned on them, now Hayley was threatening mutiny.Dammit.“The guys are handling it. Don’t interrupt.”
Hayley barged into the vacant row house anyway, and Scotty followed, halting just inside the door to let his eyes adjust to the dim light inside. In one corner of the long, narrow space sat a battered metal folding chair. Natalie was secured to it with zip ties, while Kyle, Gage, and Spence stood around her, arms crossed and scowling. Hayley pushed in beside them as Scotty joined the group. All manner of boxes and pallets and God knew what else lined both sides of the place, stacked floor to twelve-foot-ceiling high.
“What the hell is going on, Natalie?” Kyle stepped forward, holding up a hand to forestall any questions from the others. “Why were you meeting with Becks?”
Natalie shook her head and stared at the floor. “You don’t understand.”
“Try us.” Scotty’s sarcastic words earned him a harsh stare from his team leader.
Kyle crouched in front of her. “Who are you, really?”
Eyes bright with tears, Natalie met his gaze. “I’m your sister-in-law. Let me go.”
“Not until you tell us the truth.” Kyle inched closer. “Who do you work for?”
“I—I can’t.” She looked away. “They’ll kill me.”
“Yes, you can. Tell me, Natalie. Who’ll kill you?”
“A private party. That’s all I can say.”
“A private party?” Kyle shouted. “You let some nameless person come between you and Nick? You let someprivate partykill yourhusband? The man you supposedlyloved? What a load of bullshit!”
“They threatened me—” She was choking back sobs, but Kyle kept pressing her, his glare even more frightening than the one he used on unruly recruits.
“Threatened you with what, Natalie? What could possibly be worse than Nick getting shot in the back of the head?”
“They—they threatened to hurt Nick if I didn’t help them. Turns out they hurt him anyway.” She was sobbing now, and Hayley started to step forward. Scotty held her back, giving her a warning look. “I just want out. That’s all I want. Out.”
“Is your name really Natalie?”
