Page 34 of Saving Their Forever

He tugs on a second pair of gloves, these designed for a solid grip on the rope, adjusts his ruck, and stands with his boots balanced on the edge of the deck. With a quick glance at the ground, he closes his eyes, then jumps.

Ten seconds later, Inara takes his place. When I’m the only one left, I squeeze my bulk into the front of the bird and rest my hand on Raelynn’s shoulder. “You stay ‘in the van.’ Got it?”

She meets my gaze, her blue eyes blazing behind her tinted glasses. “I don’t say this lightly, Ry. But fuck you. I ain’t stayin’ in the goddamn van any more than you did for me. I got the all clear this mornin’. So don’t get dead before I get back, you hear?”

She still carries the scars from almost dying at the hands of the Chicago mob. And though she’ll never admit it, she’s haunted by almost losing her guy less than a month ago. Yet she didn’t hesitate when West asked if she’d fly us out here. Even called in a few favors to get access to this bird.

I’ve known Hidden Agenda was a family for years. Ever since West postponed his fucking wedding to fly to Russia to help me save Wren. But knowing and believing are two different things. Somehow, until this moment, I didn’t truly believe these men and women would lay down their lives for me. But now…I have no doubt.

“Well, get back quick,” I say. Then jump.

* * *

It takes us fifteen minutes to hoof it two miles east-northeast. No one speaks. West, Inara, and Graham keep exchanging glances like they’re having a whole conversation without me.

We pause at the bottom of a hill and I strip off my ruck. In my ear, Zephyr’s voice is calm. “You ready to make the call?”

“You’re sure this is going to work?”

“It’ll work. Wren might be better at hacking, but I’m the best in the world at deep fakes. Especially with this fancy new software Austin bought me last month. Stare straight ahead. Every ten or fifteen seconds, act like you’re checking your rear view mirror. I’ll do the rest.”

West braces himself against a large pine tree, takes my phone, and calls Ramin. He’ll hold the device at the right angle, so I can focus on the call. Zephyr’s software will modify the video feed and make it appear like I’m in my truck on the highway. Or at least that’s the plan. If those assholes figure out I’m really a mile from the Battery in the middle of the fucking forest, it could be the end of everything.

“McCabe. You are punctual,” Ramin says when the call connects.

“Let me talk to my wife. Right fucking now.”

“You do not make demands of me, murderer. You do what we say, when we say, and how we say.” Behind him, another man—Mashaal, I think—holds an AK-47 like a shield.

“You have my brothers and my pregnant wife, asshole. I’m twenty minutes away. As ordered. And I’m alone.” I gesture behind me, and damn. Zephyr is as good as she claims. The video shows the inside of my truck, complete with the carseat we installed a month ago. “You want me to conference in my team? They’re still in Seattle—and pissed as hell about it. But if you think I’m going to let you lay a finger on me without knowing Wren’s alive and unharmed, you’re a fucking idiot.”

Ramin starts walking, his brother Jalal falling into step behind him. There’s nothing around them but concrete. From the photos we found online, they’re somewhere on the second level of the Battery. There are dozens of bunkers down there. A maze of passageways, lookouts, and hidey holes. Wren could be anywhere.

“Open it,” the man orders and switches the camera view to reveal a set of metal doors secured with a heavy padlock. Jalal pulls out a set of keys. When the door opens, I bite back a curse.

Wren huddles on the floor, her knees drawn up, and sweat beading on her forehead. She cowers deeper into the corner of the dimly lit space.

“Say something to your husband,” Ramin says.

“Ry?” Her voice isn’t steady, and she’s trembling. “You can’t do this.”

“You and the baby are all that matters, little bird. Are you okay? Have they hurt you?”

“N-no. But Dax and Ripper...they took them too.”

“I know, sweetheart. Evianna and Cara are safe. You’ll be safe soon, too. You and the baby. When she’s born, tell her how much I…I loved her.”

“You need to tell her yourself. I can’t…I’m…” She lets out an agonized whine that shatters my control. “No. Not yet. It’s too…too soon!” Doubling over, she purses her lips, huffing out breath after breath as tears tumble down her cheeks.

“Wren! Fuck. Are you?—?”

“Uh huh,” she gasps. “Still…six…minutes apart.”

“You fucking piece of shit,” I shout. “Get her to the hospital right now! She can’t have the baby there!”

Ramin swears sharply. “Jalal! You were supposed to be watching her,” he growls. “How long has this been going on?”

“Since she hit me and tried to escape. Two hours.”

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