Page 219 of On a Fault Line

“Why there? Don’t you think he’ll be trying to leave the country?”

“I think he’s going for Penny.”

“Fuck. Really?”

“Yes.” I think it over, as I pull out onto the main road. “He’s going to use her as either a hostage or to fulfill some revenge plot.”

“Do you think murder-suicide?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“I’m grabbing Nic. We’ll take the private jet and be in the air within an hour.”

Then we disconnect the call.

Racing down the highway, I turn left and head east just long enough to arrive at the private airport where we have the helicopter stored.

I just never thought I’d have to resort to our backup plan.

At least I had one in place.

* * *

“Dammit!” Graham snarls into his cell phone, slamming his device down onto the cushioned seat in his private jet.

My eyes lock in on my own screen, as I witness his reaction through video chat. On the off chance that one of us got delayed or something happened en route, we decided to use different transportation methods.

And considering the numerous hurdles we’ve already had to jump over, I’m glad we did.

“What’s wrong?” Nic asks, pacing in front of the row of seats on the private jet. He’s going to hear this news firsthand with me apparently.

The elder Hoffman gets up, and based on his stance, I know it’s bad—very bad.

My hand grips the armrest, while my other adjusts my headset. I can’t take any more bad news.

Graham looks at me through the screen. “Basically there are several huge power outages in and around the city of Seattle from the storm and several crises happening that are pulling all available units in the entire region, not to mention several road closures due to fallen trees.”

“Well, then it’s good that we are in the air and can avoid some of those potential delays,” I say with confidence.

Nic tilts his head to the side, his brow furrowing. “True. But that’s assuming we’ll be able to land if the storms are still raging and actually get our vehicle to the facility.”

“Where are you landing?” Graham asks me, making eye contact through the screen.

“Hopefully on the roof. There’s a pad there. But if not there, I’m rappelling down.”

“Do you have any eyes out there at all?” Graham asks.

“Not anymore. There’s been a bunch of new hires, but other than that I haven’t kept tabs.”

Graham nods. “I still can’t believe Tanner tricked us. How did he know we’d stage a fight that would get him free from prison long enough to make a switch?”

“A guy on our payroll there decided to change teams.”

“Fucker.”

“Well, it cost him. He didn’t even have time to enjoy it before our loyal men took care of him.”

I glance out the fogged-up window of the helicopter. Luckily, we had one on standby just for emergency purposes, but I never dreamed of actually having to utilize it.

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