Page 50 of Don't Let Go

Chapter

Seventeen

PATCH

Fifteen minutes after they cleared the guards, Locke and Remy removed the target from his home. Cleanup would take too long and setting a fire would likely create more problems. There were too many trees around the dwelling.

“Leave it,” I said after studying the scene via their cameras. “Let’s tap their lines and I’ll pull a trace on any calls they get.” Pregnant silence greeted the statement. “Yes, I’m aware it’s fishing, but it doesn’t mean we won’t get a nibble.”

They didn’t argue, but I did catch Remy’s thoughtful gaze in Locke’s camera before they split up to tap the cell phones and the land lines. They were gloved and Locke wore a tight cap. We didn’t want to leave any DNA traces. Remy, on the other hand, didn’t have to worry about his nonexistent hair, but he’d put on a dark cap too.

As for the target himself, one William Henry Mackintosh, he was still alive though currently unconscious and bagged for transport. The original plan had been to question him there, but cauterizing the wound where his hand used to be resulted in him screaming until he passed out.

The man had lungs.

Oddly enough, the vague pangs of guilt these types of jobs used to leave me experiencing were absent at the moment. Mackintosh was linked to Section Five. He was the architect. At least, that was the information we’d retrieved.

Memorizing a list of key names from the data I’d pulled helped identify him when the guys asked for a list of people to kill. No doubt existed within me. Mackintosh would not be walking away from any of this.

The only decision he was in control of was how fast or slow he got to die. If he answered our questions directly and without bullshit, he’d get a quick death. That said, I didn’t expect him to cooperate. At least not easily.

“Found you a present,” Locke said quietly and I flicked a glance to his screen. The door he’d opened accessed a computer room.

“Oh, you delightfully sexy man,” I said with a slow smile. “Do you still have my thumb drives?”

“I do. Which one do you want me to plug in? Red? Or blue?”

“Red first. Download all the encrypted files. Then blue, that will leave them with nothing to work with.” I checked my watch. “You have about seven minutes left on the clock. If you can’t get it all downloaded by then—blow that room.”

It made me a bit sick to think of the lost information, but we had priorities. Mine included getting my guys out of this and in one piece. They were already taking all the risks. I didn’t doubt they weren’t the best at what they did, I’d been with them on far too many jobs to question their skill or their talents.

I also valued them for far more than their professions. At the six minute mark Locke, along with Remy, left the house behind, their package in tow. They would hike back down to their car, the location staging amended for the “attack” they’d suffered. What clues had been planted would detour, at least for a while, whatever trackers were sent out.

Hopefully by the time they had anything actionable, we’d already have the answers we needed. I tracked the guys all the way back to the SUV. Once they had Mackintosh loaded and got on the road to return, I’d let myself relax then. As it was, adrenaline still sang in my veins.

“It went smoothly then?” McQuade asked and I glanced to where he leaned against the wall, arms folded. For the majority of the operation, he’d drifted in and out, followed the conversations and brought me coffee.

The reminder had me glancing at the now fresh cup steaming on the table next to me along with a sandwich. Right… “I promised to eat as soon as extraction was done.”

One corner of his mouth lifted in a hint of a smile. For all his roughness, McQuade was far gentler than he let anyone else see. I had no idea why I was so special, but I appreciated it. He was a big guy, the copper in his beard seemed almost wiry in the light, though there was a hint of silver and white peppered through the darker shades.

Raising my hand like I was a scout, I said, “I know, I promised. I will dive right in as soon as?—”

“Transport secure,” Remy said in his beautiful voice. It was almost like receiving the most practical of roses, distinct yet sweet. “Package in the boot and we’re on the road. ETA Ninety minutes. Confirm?”

I pressed down a button on the keyboard. “Confirmed. Drive safe.” Ending the transmission, I leaned back. Now, all I had to do was keep a lookout for their approach.

Pushing away from the wall, McQuade placed the sandwich and coffee in front of me after nudging the keyboard out of the way. I could still reach it, but his priorities were clear.

“Pushy,” I reminded him.

“I can cut the sandwich up into triangles if you want,” was his only response. Though I didn’t miss the flash of humor in his eyes.

Shaking my head, I wrinkled my nose at him. “I said I would eat.” Then to make a point, I picked up the sandwich and took a healthy bite of it. He nodded and then retreated from my “office” space.

I washed down the bite with a long swallow of coffee. The ham and cheese was probably a simple sandwich, but it was also delightful. The cheddar was the perfect sharpness and the ham a bit salty. Still, I don’t think I’d eaten a kinder meal before. The coffee, however, was the best.

Eyes closed, I took a deeper drink of it. Sweet, foamy, and rich, it enhanced the bite of the coffee’s bitterness at the end. Smooth with a kick, just the way I liked it. When my eyes opened again, McQuade had come back with his own sandwich and coffee.

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