Page 75 of Zero Hour

“I’ll wait in your office,” she murmured, offering a weak smile.

Pat nodded. “I’ll be in as soon as I can.”

Blade shot him a look.

“What?” Pat asked, defensive.

Blade smirked. “Nothing. Just didn’t realize the office doubled as a safe house now.”

“She’s safer here than at my place,” Pat muttered.

“Whatever you say, Pat.”

Anna breezed past them. “I’ll get the boardroom set up. We’ve got company coming.”

Pat turned back to Blade. “What’s the latest on Gemini?”

“The Waheed brothers have gone dark,” Blade said. “Laying low. Cole’s watching them. Phoenix’s still on Al-Jabiri’s tail.”

“Good. Tell them to stay sharp. If we’ve got six bombers, that means there arefourunknowns still unaccounted for. I don’t see Al-Jabiri or Riad strapping on vests and walking into the arena.”

“You never know,” Blade muttered. “They’re crazy enough.”

“Riad, maybe. But not Al-Jabiri. He’s not the self-sacrificing type. He’s the puppet master and a goddamn coward.”

Blade relayed the updates over comms while Pat stepped into his office to check on Jasmine.

She was curled up on the couch, her shoes kicked off, her face pale and drawn. She looked so small, so fragile compared to the fierce woman he’d kissed senseless last night.

His arms ached to pull her in. To tell her everything would be okay. But he didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep.

“How are you holding up?” he asked, crouching in front of her.

She lifted her phone, showing the blank screen. “I keep checking, but there’s nothing.”

“Wewillfind Ryan,” he said. “We know he’s not with Al-Jabiri. He’s being held by two of their men.”

Her green eyes flickered with hope. “Youpromise?”

Pat exhaled slowly. “I’ll do everything in my power.”

She nodded, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. “I feel so helpless. Is there anything I can do?”

Pat shook his head.

She sighed, clutching her hands together.

He enfolded them in his big one. “I understand. I went through the same thing when Izzy was taken.”

Jasmine flinched. “The worst thing is the dread. Thenot knowing. It’s killing me.”

Pat squeezed her hand. “You’ve gotta stay strong. Ryan’s going to need you when we get him home.”

She sniffed but gave a little nod. “I know.”

Pat left her alone and went to the boardroom where Anna had set up multiple video feeds on large screens mounted to the wall. On one was the stadium schematics, and on the other, the live intel feed from Al-Jabiri’s house.

Three men in dark suits and somber ties filed into the war room, their expressions grim. Behind them came two operators in tactical gear—seasoned team leaders from the Counterterrorism Division, or CTD, as the brass liked to call it. The government sure loved a good acronym.

---