Page 50 of Dangerous Mission

“Yes, he owns a private island a few miles out. How much do you want to bet she’s there?”

“It’s our only lead.” Axel paused. “You guys all heard earlier—I’m out. They can strip my military benefits and discharge me, but you all have more at stake.”

“Jesus, man. Nobody is staying back,” Casanova declared.

Ginger headed for the door. “I’m going to have to ride with one of you guys.”

“You can’t come,” Axel said.

“Like fuck I can’t. I might be a little slower and need a lift, but I can still shoot, jump out of a plane, and swim.”

They exited the building and got into two cars. Axel’s mind was on Terri as Cy drove his truck. He pulled up Terri’s TikTok and logged into her account. She had a new DM, but it was just from a fan wanting to talk. He scrolled through the older messages to the one she’d gotten with footage of her. Lila had said, “Be careful. Someone close to you is doing this.”

There was a man in the background dressed in the standard Secret Service agent clothes, but he wasn’t close to her like the men were trained to be. He stood in the back of the room hidden by others. Every so often he would look over and keep an eye on her. Then he scrolled to another video. “Fuck.”

Casanova glanced over. “What did you find?”

“I think one of her bodyguards was following her.”

Ginger leaned forward and looked at the phone. “That’s his job.”

“Yes, but she kept ditching them, and they kept getting replaced, but he’s in every single one of the videos.”

Axel sent a text to Tex to see if he could pull up the video. The drive to his house seemed to take forever. Cy barely tapped the brakes the whole way. When they got there, Axel threw the door open. He heard footsteps behind him as he raced toward the back of the property. Axel paid people to drive his massive boat, but he was about to learn today.

Nearing the dock, he slowed down when he spotted the shadowy figure.

Angel, dressed in black, had a gun slung over her back. She smiled. “Please let me kill someone today.”

He wasn’t going to turn down more help, especially since she was a sharpshooter.

When he glanced back to see if his team was coming, he saw that Doc had Ginger thrown over his shoulder as he ran down the dock. Casanova stopped to talk to Angel, but Axel headed for the control room.

He stared down at the controls.

“You know how to drive this?” Cy asked.

“No. I have a captain. You’re rich. You ever driven one?”

Cy shook his head. “My family pays people.”

“You rich people suck,” Casanova growled. “Move. I got this. Have Doc undo the ropes and get a radio. I’m going to take up the anchor.”

Nobody moved. They considered him a close friend, but everyone knew he’d grown up on the streets.

“You sure you know what you're doing?” Axel asked.

Casanova rolled his eyes. “It’s been years, but I’ve stolen a few boats in my day.”

Angel smiled and slid next to Casanova. “This is as hot as fuck. We should totally fuck in here after we get Terri back.”

Axel turned and left, not wanting to hear the conversation. It seemed the two were back on good terms.

The trip to the island didn’t take long. They dropped anchor a mile from shore. Tex had sent a blueprint, and the best option was to come in on the left side of the island and hike through the trees.

Everyone except Ginger changed into wet suits and grabbed underwater buggies. Axel didn’t have enough buggies for everyone, so a few people had to share. Ginger grumbled about staying behind, but it wasn’t safe for him to come.

The buggies made the swim to the island so much easier. Axel was the first to climb out of the water. Next came Casanova and Angel followed by Doc, and last was Cy, complaining that he’d gotten the crappy one.

---