Page 69 of Knight's Journey

Zane touched her elbow and was surprised when she let him lead her outside to the waiting SUV. She refused to peer at him or talk to any of them on the ride back to KSI. Zane prayed silently they would get to his mother and the kids before it was too late.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“You ready for what we find in there?”

Zane stared through the binoculars at the lone house situated in a grove of trees. The place seemed like something out of a 1950s sitcom, complete with manicured lawn, white siding with black shudders, and a picket fence, for crying out loud. Yet, this is where the beacon led them. He hated to doubt a thirteen-year-old mechanical genius, but in this instance, he wondered if they were on a wild goose chase.

He finally turned to face Brick, decked out in the same tactical gear he wore. “We’re not sure they’re even here. I mean we’re following a weird satellite transmission we think came from Marlowe. But we don’t know the beacon was anything but a fluke.”

“Heat signatures in the house and the garage.” Kat’s voice filtered over their earpieces, and Zane returned his binoculars to his face. “Four in the garage, but the way they’re situated, three could be hostages. Four inside the house, all clustered on the east end.”

“Singer and Albert have help,” Brick murmured.

“Alpha, we breech the house. Delta, breech the garage. Zane and Brick, you’re our sniper coverage. Kat, keep us posted on the movement of those heat signatures.”

A round of “copy” and “copy that” sounded through the coms at Jay’s orders. Zane itched to be involved on the breech, but as the team’s expert gunman, he admitted he could best serve his team from his sniper’s nest.

“We’ll get ‘em, man.” Brick must have temporarily switched off his coms because Zane could hear his voice from right next to him instead of in his ear.

“I know.” Zane didn’t break his stance or his watch over the house. “I’m trying not to imagine what they’ll be like when we get to them. I swear if they hurt my mother or those kids, I’ll…”

“We’ll kill the bastards. No one messes with our family. Whatever it takes, man.”

This time, Zane did glance over at his teammate – his friend. “Whatever it takes.”

Jay’s voice returned over the coms, checking in with Delta Team leader, Adam “Rock” Davis. Everyone was in place, ready to breech. Zane’s nerves started to sing, and he forced himself to focus on his breathing. In, then out. In, out. Slow and steady and focused. Brick took position beside him, his rifle trained on the scene. They waited, hearing the low voices over the coms and their own breathing.

Three. Two. One.

The teams went in hot, using flash bangs to create enough confusion to take their targets by surprise.

“Target down,” Panther confirmed.

“Target secure,” Wings said.

“Zane, rabbit heading your way,” BB shouted.

Zane set his sights on the man bolting from the house, gun drawn as the target hauled ass toward the wooded area behind the garage. He took a deep breath, steadied his rifle, and fired. The shot pierced the back of the man’s head, and he went down flailing his arms and legs.

“Target down.”

Gunfire crackled over the coms, and Zane tried not to panic at the lack of communication from the Delta Team. He had to focus on his job, but for once in his life, the job wasn’t foremost on his mind.

“Targets secure. Location’s clear.”

Jay’s voice set Zane’s nerves on edge as more gunfire erupted on the coms.

“Delta, SitRep.”

“We’re pinned under fire. Request back-up.”

“Shit!” Zane pushed up to his knees, taking his rifle from its stand.

“What are you doing?” Brick demanded.

“My mom is down there. I’m going in.”

Brick turned away from the scene below to pierce Zane with a hard stare. “Two of the best teams of trained operatives have this handled. Don’t flatter yourself into thinking you can barge in there and save them all on your own. Do your job. Don’t go cowboy on us.”

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