Page 108 of Redemption

“If you want your girl back,” Deacon finally said, “I’ll flag Mayhem to reschedule the buy for tonight. After every deal, Vashchenko and his men spend quality time with vodka and blowjobs. Any women they have locked down will be significantly less protected.”

It was a double whammy. Sugar had accomplished her goal, getting Delta an easier opportunity to get Victoria out, but her stomach turned. They had to put guns on the streets. The weapons would be sold anyway. At least these were to save Victoria.

She turned to Marco, and he glared—not just at her or Deacon but the world. She knew he didn’t buy into the greater good bullcrap. He didn’t read the statistics or believe the handicapping numbers about how empowering one group over another would save more than it killed. Damn it to hell. This was one of the reasons why she was glad to get out of government. There was politics in everything—even saving people’s lives.

CHAPTER FORTY

Ryder had moved to decaf coffee a couple hours ago, and he had long since turned off the TV and given up trying to read as he sat around the war room table. No matter which chair he sat in, he couldn’t get comfortable. Sugar had left for her meeting with ATF twelve hours ago, and it was almost ten o’clock at night. He’d sleep on the table tonight and the next night, the night after that, and so on until she showed back up with details on Victoria or until somebody threw him out of the building with the bad news that there was nothing to be done.

The door bounced open, and Jared walked in, flanked by Brock and Sugar. Parker walked in behind them and shut the door as Ryder stood up with his eyebrows arching into his hair. “Good news I hope, yeah?”That amount of time had to mean great news, plans, and logistics, deep and detailed intelligence.

Jared took his seat in silence. Parker sat across from Ryder, and Sugar sat next to him.

“Hey, honey. Sorry it took me longer than I thought to shred them for everything I could.”

Sugar being nice, and calling him honey made him nervous. “But you did, yeah?”

“Yeah, honey. I did.”

Another honey. Ryder wished she’d spit out the information without the preamble.

Jared nodded at Parker who grabbed the remote to the flat screen, and schematics lit on the wall. “Thank you,” Boss Man said. “The Russians and the Mayhem motorcycle club have a weapons purchase going down here. Bad news is, the place is covered with Russians armed to their teeth. The MC isn’t supposed to move the guns until after the sale, which was supposed to go down sometime next week.”

Bile churned in Ryder’s stomach. That many people covering a weapons depot would be all kinds of bad news. The girls would be collateral, and the weapons would likely have too many eyes on them. “If you tell me we have to wait until next week, she’s gone or dead. You know that shit won’t fly.”

“I know,” Sugar said.

“We’re going in for her,” Brock said.

“But Titan will also have to play.”

“Two teams for an extraction?” Ryder rubbed a hand over his face. The more people involved in the job, the more opportunity for his teammates to get hurt. He didn’t want to risk them, but he didn’t care what resources were used to bring Victoria home. Damned if he did; damned if he didn’t.

“This is the deal. Sugar has made arrangements for the weapons to be sold early—”

“What?” Ryder’s head snapped to her. They were putting weapons on the streets in order to help Victoria? That seemed as though it fell within the two-wrongs-don’t-make-a-right rule, and Titan would have a problem with that. Sugar sure as hell would. So did he. “We’re going to help guns move? To whom?”

“That part isn’t important right now,” Jared said.

“Yeah, mate. It is kind of important. There has to be a way to help her and not do more harm.” For as much as she meant to him, could he live with wondering if the nightly news reports about killing kids on street corners had anything to do with him?

“We’re running short on options here, Ryder. You’re going to have to trust me. Do you want your woman back?”

“What the hell kind of question is that? Of course I want her back.” And that was the first time he’d publicly claimed her, to Titan, to himself, even to her. If she’d been here, it would’ve been a news flash. They hadn’t worked out the semantics. But there wasn’t really a question. All of Jared’s relationship advice was null and void if Victoria ended up sold or in a body bag.

“Then you do as I say, and learn to trust me.”

“Yes, sorry. I do trust you.” Didn’t he? Jared was the one who said that nothing could stand in the way between a man and his woman. But he wasn’t without scruples.

“As I was saying, if some of the weapons move, all the manpower will also go. From there, it will be a simple extraction. I prefer to have you on the sniper rifle to take out anyone standing between her and freedom. If you’re going to cause me a headache about that, I need to know now. And Brock can do some rearranging, but you’re not the best man to pull her out of that building. You’re the best man I have on a long gun’s trigger.”

Brock nodded in agreement. “There isn’t anyone on Delta team I wouldn’t trust to take a sniper shot. But Ryder, you’re the best. It would be nothing but a selfish act to want to be the one who breaches that building. But brother, your woman, your call.” Brock nodded again. “If you want to be the one who walks in there and brings her out, I won’t stop you.”

Ryder squeezed his eyes shut, and more than anything, he wanted to be the person who busted in the room that held Victoria, scooped her into his arms, and carried her out. But hell, this was why they had a team. This is why they were the best in the world and why he leaned on his brothers-in-arms.Because of times like this. “I’ll stand sniper rifle. You send in who’s best to do what’s best. I trust Titan Group. I trust both of you with my life and hers.”

“All right.” Jared turned to Sugar. “Tell ATF, we are a go.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

---