Page 51 of Falling Fast

Jamie paused beside the door, one hand gripping the knob. She tried to slow her breathing, turned her attention to the doorway behind them. The sound of approaching footsteps down the hall sent a wave of adrenaline shooting through her.

Jamie opened the door, pistol up. Charlie plowed straight into his back as he skidded to a halt with a curse.

Heart careening in her chest, she peered past his shoulder and immediately saw why he’d stopped.

Four armed men stood in a semi-circle not fifteen yards away, weapons trained on them.

Charlie’s lungs seized. There was no way Jamie could take out all four of them before they killed him. She stayed frozen behind him, not daring to move, out of ideas, and the rushing footsteps coming from behind them meant there was no escape. Shit, what now?

“Drop the fucking weapon,” the man in the lead growled at them, the muzzle of his pistol aimed dead center at Jamie’s chest.

Jamie’s jaw flexed once, then he slowly lowered the pistol and placed it on the ground.

“Kick it over there,” the man commanded, jerking his chin toward the wall to their left.

Jamie complied, the sound of the gun sliding across the tiled floor scraping over her taut nerve endings. He raised his hands, held them there, his body tense but motionless, and she did the same.

The men behind the leader parted. Late afternoon sunlight poured through the open doorway, glinting off a thatch of blond hair.

Baker stepped into view.

His cold gaze swept over Jamie first, then Charlie. An icy, sardonic smile curved his mouth. “That’s the second time I’ve underestimated you, Charlie. But it’ll be the last.” Pure rage blazed in his eyes as he stared at her. “So now you two are coming on a little private tour with me. Since you’re apparently so interested in stealing information about my personal business dealings, I’m going to give you a one-way guided tour of my latest project. And once we get there, we’re going to have a little chat.”

Chapter Thirteen

It was deathly silent inside the team van as the seconds ticked by. Even Taylor was quiet in the back now, the absence of clicking on her keyboard adding to the growing sense of tension between the three of them.

Logan glanced at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time. They only had two more minutes until the deadline hit and there was no sign of either Rodriguez or Charlie.

Beside him, Easton made a growling sound deep in his chest and ran a hand through his hair in agitation, his other clamped around the steering wheel. “Is the beacon moving yet?” he asked for the tenth time, leaning over to look at Logan’s phone.

“No.” That damned red dot that marked the location of Rodriguez’s watch had been stationary for the past eighteen minutes. Something was definitely wrong. Either Rodriguez had been taken prisoner, or they’d found out about the beacon somehow and stripped his watch to throw them off the trail.

The phone rang in his hand. His heart jumped, but it wasn’t Rodriguez or Charlie calling. It was Hamilton, who was still back at headquarters in Virginia, and likely looking for an update.

Logan exchanged a look with Easton as he answered, and put it on speaker. “Still no sign of either of them, and the beacon hasn’t moved since right after he activated it.” They had to stay here until the time was up though, just in case either teammate made a last-second appearance.

Their team leader expelled a harsh sigh. “Well, there’s a good reason for that.”

Oh shit. “What?”

“The taskforce just got a tip from our lead informant on the case. Apparently Baker just called him, asking him to send Baker’s private pilot to a building site on the west end of Long Island. According to the informant, it’s Baker’s latest pet project, a resort, and the foundation’s being poured today. And, he just ordered a bunch of transit mixer trucks to be sent to the site immediately.”

Easton’s whole face hardened. “You think Baker’s taken Rodriguez and Charlie hostage and is transporting them there?”

Or their bodies.

Logan prayed that wasn’t the case, but knowing Baker was attached to a cartel known for its viciousness, it was a definite possibility. Christ, what would they do if Charlie and Rodriguez were dead? Easton would lose his shit, and Logan didn’t have a clue how to help the guy if the worst happened.

They couldn’t go kick down Baker’s front door though, so they had to stick to the plan and give Charlie and Jamie a chance to escape on their own first, which was why Logan and the others would head to the secondary rendezvous point.

“Sounds like they’re traveling in two or three vehicles,” Hamilton said. “The informant mentioned Baker’s done something like this before.”

“Concrete trucks,” Easton repeated, his tone wooden, his face contorted with a mixture of rage and fear.

Hamilton hesitated a moment before answering. “There’s no easy way to put this, Easton, so I’m just gonna say it. The informant says Baker’s planning to bury them in the foundation.”

Taylor gasped in the back.

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