Page 97 of Crave Me

“That’s what fucking worries me. The lengths he had to go to in order to convince someone like Elijah.” What he’d had to do, what he’d had to sacrifice. “Tell King-Tech to stand down,” I told Luke.

“What? We’re bleeding money.”

“For now.”

Luke looked around at us all. “What is—”

“It’s Caleb,” Dante told him.

“He’ll ensure it’s traceable and recoverable,” Asher added.

“Mobilize a team,” I ordered Luke. “Maintain security here while I’m gone.” I looked out at the others. “Bastian, Skylar, Dante, and Asher, suit up. Get Damien too. He’ll deploy with us.”

“I’ll join you too,” Riley offered.

I shook my head. “I need you here.” She had a certain power over Frank. She’d be able to keep him here and healing up. The last thing I needed was him coming with us and going off half-cocked in his non-field-ready state.

There couldn’t be any mistakes.

This was it now.

We were bringing Caleb home.

An abandoned farmhouse.

That was the location Caleb had pointed us to.

We stood hidden in the trees just a few feet from the building.

Ten of my men were flanking me.

I had Asher and Damien on my left.

On my right was Bastian and Skylar, along with Dante.

Turning to my left, I ordered, “Rules of engagement for us and the team are shoot to kill.” I looked at Bastian and Skylar. “For you, shoot to wound and incapacitate. Flesh wounds only. I want prisoners. Follow Dante’s lead.”

A chorus of confirmations rang out. I could see Dante’s disappointment that he wouldn’t be with me, or shooting to kill which was his preference, but it wasn’t about our personal issues. I needed somebody as experienced as him watching over Skylar and Bastian. It would have been cruel to bench them from this—well, they wouldn’t have stood for it, especially when we were supposed to be doing things together now—but allowing it had me beyond worried that they could be hurt or even suffer the same fate as Caleb. The thought of that… I couldn’t stand it.

As for Asher and Damien, they were both capable of bringing down hell upon our enemies and pulling absolutely no punches, which was what I needed for when we breached the house.

I turned to my team. “You’ve got your instructions. Clear the way for us and plant the explosives, then get out, reconvene here.”

In the next moment, the ten of them broke from our cover and moved in.

Readying my Glock, I watched as they barreled toward the farmhouse, splitting up to take different sections, a sea of tactical gear blending well with the darkness.

It was the dead of night, all lights inside turned off as those inside slept none the wiser.

That didn’t last long when two hostiles dressed in sweats rushed out from the main house and met my team’s onslaught. At the same time, two more emerged from the barn, another from around the grain silo.

In moments, they were cut down by my team.

“That’s it, move in,” I ordered.

The six of us split up with Dante, Bastian and Skylar headed for the west side, while Asher, Damien and I headed for the east, which included the main house.

While my team was posing a distraction at the front, the three of us breached the rear door.

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