Page 27 of Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team)

He rode up front while Tuck drove, Cruzie and Vance in the back. The other three guys were in the vehicle behind them with two Jordanian Special Forces guys who knew the area. DeLuca was back at the operations center, monitoring everything and keeping his pulse on anything else that came in regarding the case.

“Nearing target location now,” Tuck reported to DeLuca via his earpiece.

“Got it,” their commander responded. “Got you guys on GPS and your helmet cam.”

They parked a block away and left one of the Jordanians to guard the vehicles for them. There hadn’t been much time to prep for this mission but they all knew what to do, and they all knew what was at stake.

Three American lives hung in the balance. It was up to Adam’s team to find and rescue them before it was too late.

The industrial area they were in was rundown, some of the buildings either abandoned or on the verge of being derelict. Lowering his NVGs over his eyes, he crept along in the shadows alongside the warehouse behind Tuck, pumped and ready to rock with the rest of the team behind him.

“Still no movement around the perimeter,” DeLuca reported. “We’re not getting any heat signatures inside but the walls might be thick enough to block the satellite.”

When they were positioned by the southwest entrance, the spot they’d chosen previously to enter, Tuck paused, his weapon up and ready. Adam stood poised behind him, all his senses on alert, and waited for the signal.

Bauer’s big hand landed on his right shoulder and squeezed. Adam immediately reached forward and did the same to Tuck, signaling that everyone was in place and ready to go.

The door in front of them had only a padlock on it. Tuck backed up a step and rammed the sole of his boot against it as hard as he could. The rusted metal snapped and the door swung inward.

Adam threw a flashbang inside to the left, while Bauer did the same to the right. The second they exploded, with a loud bang and a flash of blinding white light, the team stormed inside.

Nothing happened. No shots. No shouts, no flurry of movement as people scrambled to get out of sight.

Only silence.

Acute disappointment settled in his gut. He stayed vigilant, on alert as they moved deeper into the building and fanned out. He noted the empty shipping crates they passed, the broken pallets littering the ground.

He continued on until he’d reached the far corner of the area he and Tuck were responsible for checking. “Clear,” he muttered in disgust, barely able to get the word out through his grinding teeth.

“Clear,” Tuck echoed, his voice ringing with frustration.

Bauer and Evers reported the same in their corner. As did Vance, Cruzie and then Schroder a few moments later.

Fuuuuuuck.Adam lowered his weapon, unsure if he wanted to scream or put his fist through something. Maybe both.

“Whoever was here seemed to have left in a hell of a hurry,” Vance reported, his deep bass voice carrying through the stillness with ease. “I got ammo and other supplies dumped all over the ground here.”

Adam and Tuck turned and immediately strode to the opposite end of the warehouse. Sure enough, broken and shattered crates lay tossed about, empty, with bits of their contents strewn around in the dust covering the concrete floor.

There was a set of tire tracks leading in from the closest doorway. Looked like whoever had been here had come in, rushed to take whatever they could before they were spotted, and then taken off in a hurry.

Tuck reported everything to DeLuca, but Adam had heard enough. He pushed his NVGs up, took out his earpiece and stalked away, needing a few moments to regroup by himself.

None of his teammates said anything or tried to follow him.

Alone in the darkness outside the warehouse, Adam ran a hand over his face and fought off the crushing wave of fatigue and disappointment trying to drag him under. Either this “inside source” was fucking with them, leading them on a wild goose chase to help buy the captors time to escape the area, or they’d once again missed their opportunity to find Summer and the others.

All Adam knew was, time was running out to save her. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it.

Chapter Nine

Two years ago

As another contraction hit, Summer dug her fingernails into the sheets and gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. The vicious pain twisted inside her, corkscrewing from her abdomen around her lower back and then held until she couldn’t breathe.

Just when she didn’t think she could take it a second longer, when she wanted to scream, it eased, slowly fading away into nothing. But they were getting closer together now, and more intense. And she’d never been so terrified in her life.

Another doctor bustled into the private room, the third physician she’d seen since the paramedics had rushed her into the ER twenty minutes ago. She lay on the narrow bed panting, damp tendrils of hair stuck to her sweaty face.

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