Page 117 of Redemption

Russians and Mayhem both came to a standstill as the man led Victoria down the hill and threw her into the parking lot. The vehicle fires were burning themselves out, and the sun was coming out.

“That’s a negative,” Brock responded cautiously.

Ryder switched back and forth between normal and night vision, trying to see which one would give him the best picture of her state of mind. No matter which view he used, what he saw was tired and bloody.

One of the Mayhem members stepped forward, but not in a protective way. Ryder couldn’t get a read on it. “What is going on?”

“Wait it out,” Brock mumbled.

Ryder tried to come up with a good reason to hold back and failed. “Why the fuck would we do that?”

“We have orders.”

He balked. “Orders?”

Brock gave Delta’s orders. Hell, Jared did and took orders from no one. Ryder couldn’t wrap his head around either man allowing Victoria to be yanked into a more vulnerable position without proper reinforcements.

“Can’t get involved in their business.”

“Boss,” Ryder seethed. “She’snottheir business.”

“She is right now.”

“Fuck that.”

“There’s something bigger at play, Ryder. Shut your goddamn mouth and sit tight. I don’t like this any better than you.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“If I could haul your ass in right now…” Brock muttered. “Listen up. The first and only time you get an explanation.”

Ryder’s head pounded. “Listening.”

“We stay out of their beef because we have a partner that has requested we don’t interfere with this play. Sorry your lady is in the middle of it. But even if I didn’t give two fucks about a third-party request, if you start dropping bodies? She’s dead. Victoria’s in the crossfire.”

Damn it, Brock was right. Ryder’s headache intensified as he grew more helpless.

“We wait ‘til we can get her—Make sense, bro? Anyone else have a brilliant fucking idea that won’t get her killed?”

No one answered. His eyes sank shut.

“Soon as they break,” Brock muttered. “We’ll know who’s taken possession of her.”

To the victor go the spoils. Ryder dropped his head back as he realized that it was likely they were negotiating over who could keep her, what to do with her, knowing everything she’d seen.

Then the two groups started going their respective ways. Ryder held his breath as the last two leaders stood there with Victoria still on the ground. They shook hands, and the man in the leather reached down and yanked her up.Not too nice. Not too mean. Not much of anything.

“Our coverage in some spots is sketchy,” Parker said, reminding them for the tenth time since setting up the temporary war room in Iowa.

They could go all over the world and not have a problem, but for some reason, communication was a serious headache on this job. Likely, it had nothing to do with Iowa and everything to do with the Russians and Mayhem’s technology. Armed to the teeth and with their own surveillance and jammers, both gangs’ tech scrambled theirs as well as each other’s.

“Grayson, get ready to roll,” Brock ordered.

“Already on it.”

Ryder had done everything he could, protected her from afar, and now he came down to chasing after a van manned by Harley thugs. “I’m headed too.”

He began to break down his station as he listened to the rest of the team to join the effort.Delta team versus the MC.They were going to have to physically free her without risking her life in a gunfight. After what he’d just witnessed, it was clear Mayhem didn’t care if they spilled blood.

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