Page 84 of Final Exit

“Improve the odds,” they both said together.

This time, when she and Kade jumped up and began shooting, the two Equalizers did the same. There was no diving back behind the boulder for cover. Bailey’s aim was true and there weren’t any more bad guys to shoot.

“Good aim,” Kade said, truly impressed.

“Thank you.” She popped out the magazine and slammed another one home. Then she shoved her now reloaded pistol into her holster. “Ready to look for more bad guys?”

“Just a minute.”

He stepped over to the other two men.

The one closest to him held his hand out to shake Kade’s hand.

Kade slammed his fist into the man’s jaw, knocking him to the ground. His eyes fluttered closed and he slumped against the dirt, lights out.

Blondie blinked at Kade in shock. “What the hell was that for?”

“He called her a bitch.”

Bailey stared at Kade in shock as he walked back to her. Then she started laughing.

He grinned. “Now I’m ready. Let’s go.”

The fight seemed as if it was over before it had really begun. Kade stood beside Bailey with the rest of the Equalizers outside the main cave entrance. She was quieter than usual, having just finished talking to the Enforcers that they’d rescued. None of them knew anything about Sebastian or Amber.

“We’ll find them, or find out what happened to them,” he whispered to her. “Promise.”

“Don’t make promises you may not be able to keep,” she said. Then she sighed and squeezed his hand. “I didn’t mean that in, well, a mean way. I’m just saying, we might not ever find out what happened.”

He squeezed her hand in return, then let it go.

“Twelve dead mercenaries,” Jace announced, as they all gathered in front of him. “Only one wounded Equalizer, and that was a flesh wound.” He motioned toward the man a short distance away whose arm was being bandaged by another Equalizer. “We rescued half a dozen Enforcers. I’m afraid we must have been too late to save the others. We didn’t see anyone else.”

He waved toward the large band of handcuffed mercenaries being led toward the trucks they’d brought for just such a purpose. “Twenty-three prisoners to figure out what to do with.”

Bailey patted her pistol at her side. “I have an idea about that.”

Kade gave her an admonishing look. “Judging by the hardened look of most of them, there are probably outstanding warrants or parole violations we can use to turn them over to law enforcement. Austin can help with the research.”

“On it,” Austin called out from a few feet away, his fingers flying over his computer tablet.

“And the rest?” Bailey asked.

“I know a place in the warehouse district with a great locking mechanism that can hold them until we figure that out.”

Jace nodded. “Good idea. As long as we cut Internet access from the computers and take away their cell phones, that’ll work great. Devlin? Mason?”

“Agreed.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Jace announced. “I pronounce this retraining facility officially closed.”

A loud cheer went up from the crowd, and they began to disperse, moving toward the vehicles that had been pulled up to the cave now that the fight was over. Austin drove his van. The large truck carrying the prisoners followed behind, with a contingent of Equalizers to guard it until they could secure the mercenaries at the warehouse. Before long, only the core group remained—Devlin, Mason, Jace, Kade, and Bailey.

As one, they turned from the cave and headed toward the Humvee they’d appropriated after the fight at the warehouse. They all piled in, with Jace behind the wheel and Devlin sitting beside him. Kade and Bailey sat in the second row of seats, with Mason in the back.

“What about Faegan?” Bailey asked. “Was he one of the prisoners or one of the dead?”

Everyone looked to Kade, and he suddenly realized that he was the only one who knew what Faegan looked like. He slowly shook his head. “He wasn’t one of the dead. I assumed he was one of the prisoners.”

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