Page 46 of Honoring Lena

Twenty-Three

Marshall shifted in his seat,the interior of Zeke’s private jet closing in on him with each new detail layered on their rescue plan. Zeke and the entire Stryker team had met them in Salt Lake, and they were now strategizing as they flew to Kentucky. The flights had been long and tried Marshall’s patience.

“I’ve tracked Carter to a warehouse on the outskirts of Lexington.” Rafe Malone, a man with slick red hair and, supposedly, a genius brain, clicked a button on his computer from where he sat across the cabin and pulled up a satellite image of a rundown building onto the big screen located at the front of the plane.

“I’m going to pretend that I’m not watching you hack into the government’s satellites, understanding that this isn’t a regular occurrence,” General Paxton said, his eyebrow lifting. The team had called Paxton via video-conference the instant everyone had gotten settled after taking off at Salt Lake.

“Yes, sir. Never done this before, sir.” Rafe’s smile negated his words.

Paxton shook his head as Zeke stepped up to the screen, his hand rubbing his chin as he examined the building. There was something about the warehouse that needled at Marshall’s brain. He leaned forward and squinted at the image. What was it about the nondescript thing that had his pulse pounding in his throat? The pink roof of the security house at the gate drew his attention.

“No.” Marshall’s disbelief whooshed out in a hoarse whisper.

He stood on shaky legs and moved closer to the screen.

“Marshall, what is it?” Lena grabbed his hand as he passed her seat, startling him from his trance.

“That’s my warehouse.” Marshall’s dry throat made his voice croak.

Zeke swiveled to him, his hand dropping from his chin. “You sure?”

“The pink roof.” Marshall stepped up to the screen and pointed. His knees trembled beneath him. “Amara had it installed as a joke after a windstorm tore the old one off.” He licked his lips and closed his eyes. “They killed her on her way home from there. I shut it down shortly after. It’s far out of town … and too many memories.”

The cabin of the plane, which had hummed with noise and talking, fell into an eerie quiet. Frigid cold seeped into Marshall’s skin and froze his muscles. What kind of sick game were these people playing?

“This is good.” Zeke clapped his hand on Marshall’s shoulder and squeezed. “This gives us an added advantage.”

Marshall clenched his jaw, nodding in response. Whatever the reasoning behind picking his own warehouse, he’d use it against their enemies. He’d shove the irony down their throats and make them choke on it.

He turned to Rafe and crossed his arms. “All the specs on the building, security, layout, everything, are stored on the mainframe of my company. Should be easy for you to hack.”

“Easy peasy.” Rafe clicked on his keyboard with a satisfied smile on his lips.

“One, two, threesy.” Jake, a gruff man that had said little since Marshall and the Rebels had gotten on the plane, answered with a chuckle.

“Ay caray, we’ve been hanging around Eva too much.” Sosimo, June’s husband and the only Stryker man Marshall actually knew, threw up his hands in exasperation.

The team all shook their heads and laughed softly. Marshall scanned the men willing to risk their lives for his son. He paused on the Rebel brothers, their heads leaned in together as they whispered. Then his gaze collided with Lena’s and held. Her brothers’ low words drew her eyes to them. The muscles in her cheek jumped, then she went back to examining the image on her tablet. The chill in Marshall’s body froze solid. What else would she have to sacrifice because of him?

“The security feed is a closed circuit. I won’t be able to hijack it until I can hook in.” Rafe shrugged like it was no big deal. “With dawn still an hour out from when we arrive, it’ll still be dark and shouldn’t be a problem getting in to the building.”

Lena rotated her arm in the socket and winced at the sharp pain lingering there. Quickly needing to cover her discomfort, she grabbed her tablet and shoved it into the bag the team had packed for her. She couldn’t afford for anyone to notice she wasn’t a hundred percent. The plane was thirty minutes out, so they were finishing up their attack plans with General Paxton.

“My team is waiting at the rendezvous point a half mile from the target with your face masks.” General Paxton leaned back in his chair, his sigh coming loudly through the screen. “I don’t want any of you identified on the off chance they haven’t clued into Stryker’s involvement.”

Lena snorted, then shook her head when Marshall turned to her and raised his eyebrow. This organization seemed to know everything about everyone. They probably knew what color of underwear each of them wore. Unless Rafe had somehow wiped clean her association to Stryker, there was no way the terrorists hadn’t connected the Rand-Stryker dots.

“I buried Lena pretty deep, created a fake security business for her, so hopefully you’re right.” Rafe pulled at his hair as Lena nodded. Made sense Rafe would create a cover for her cover. “But these guys keep popping back up on us like a bad case of acne.”

Equal parts chuckling and groaning filled the cabin. The horrible joke seemed to cue the end of the meeting as everyone began packing things up. Lena’s anxiety had tightened her muscles to the point of snapping with each minute that passed. Was Carter all right? Had whoever taken him hurt him? She slowly let out a deep breath as anger and worry threatened to overwhelm her. She had to keep sharp, stay focused. Otherwise, she’d be useless during this mission, or worse, she’d get someone killed.

“Lena, I still haven’t forgotten our conversation when I visited the ranch this spring.” General Paxton’s words snapped her head to the screen. “I still want you on my team.”

Everyone froze, and silence filled the cabin as all eyes turned to her. Heat rose up her neck, and sweat slicked her palms. Marshall shifted in her peripheral, and she willed herself not to look at him.

“I’m still thinking about it, sir.” Her answer elicited grumbles from the men, and Marshall’s forehead scrunched so much his eyebrows almost touched.

Paxton sat forward and poked his finger at the camera. “We could use someone like you. I’m heading your way in five, so I’ll see y’all at the rendezvous point when it’s all done.”

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