Page 36 of Challenging Jayce

Kennedy smiled while letting Austin get back to work. She had her own work to do anyway. There were plenty of rooms she needed to pick furniture and accessories for and now she had more ambition than ever. She wanted everything to be perfect for the man who was finally letting himself feel again.

CHAPTER22

Jayce and Nashwere nestled in the hills just north of the Diego compound. Luke and Caden took up a position on the south side. Both teams were in a sniper nest, prepared to take out the enemy without drawing attention to themselves.

Annie's father, Fletcher, and his friend Hollywood had met them in town and handed over the information they had collected. Luke asked that they remain in town in case an emergency evac was required. With any luck, it wouldn't be needed and they could slip out as easily as they slipped in.

"I've got eyes on Manuel, but we got a problem," he radioed over his mic to Luke.

"We need to remain problem-free," Luke reminded him.

"Manuel has a woman chained up in the bedroom and it doesn't look like the kinky kind of chained up." He handed the binoculars to Nash.

"Son of a bitch," Nash growled.

His friend had three younger sisters and always took it harder than most when women were involved. Especially women of abuse.

"We need to bring in EMTs." He said the words that he knew would change their plan. They hadn't accounted for a hostage and he wondered why Fletcher hadn't known about her.

Jayce took the binoculars back and examined the room, and the female. Some of the cuts looked fresh but the bruises were in different states of healing. There was no indication in sight that the woman had been on the bed. Jayce wondered if she was recently moved to the bedroom.

"Take out Manuel and his men as planned. Then take out the guards. Once the place is clear, we’ll move in for the rescue."

Just as he suspected, the plan changed. Originally they had agreed to kill only those in command. None of them wanted a high body count. Now there was no choice.

"I've got Manuel in my sights," he told the others.

"We've got the other two," Luke advised. "Take your shot."

Keeping his breathing steady, Jayce squeezed the trigger and watched as Manuel's head exploded on the other end of his scope. He racked the chamber and waited to see if someone noticed the shot. Four seconds later, two guards rushed in.

"Left," he said at the same time Nash commented, "Right." They took their respective shots and ended two more lives.

Racking the chamber one more time, he waited to see who else would come to investigate. After two whole minutes, when it was clear no one else was coming into the room, he radioed Luke.

"Bedroom is clear."

"Rear is clear," Luke returned. "Take out the rest of the guards and move in."

He lined up his next shots alongside Nash and slowly took out the guards one by one. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as a close-up kill, but knowing that, with each shot, he was making his son safe, made up for the lack of excitement.

"All clear in the front."

"Back is clear. Move in."

Jayce stood up, slung his rifle over his shoulder, and unholstered his Sig while Nash did the same next to him. They traveled down the hill and hopped the wall that secured the compound. Dropping down onto his feet, he crouched and waited for footsteps. When no one approached, he turned to Nash who was in a similar position.

"It's almost too easy."

"Youwouldthink getting through an assignment unscathed was too easy."

He smirked at the exasperated tone of his friend. He much preferred a challenge, whereas Nash liked things simple. It didn’t make for the best partnership, but in this case, Jayce was enjoying himself.

"Let's go get the girl and get the hell out of here."

It wasn't until they rounded the corner that they ran into another guard. One shot between the eyes and another threat was neutralized.

“You enjoyed that too much.” Nash shook his head as he spoke.

---