Page 66 of Defender

“If you have Summer, let me talk to her.”

“Sure thing.”

“Ashton?”The dread in his stomach solidified at the sound of her voice.That was definitely her.

“Summer?Are you okay?Chloe?”

“Yes, we’re fine.We’re okay.”

“I’m coming for you, okay?Just hang on.”

“No, Ashton, it’s a trap.It’s—”

He heard the sound of skin connecting with skin before Summer cried out.

“I think that’s enough talking to her.”

“Damn it, Harper,” he roared into the phone.“If you hurt her—”

“You have thirty minutes to get here, Fitzgerald.It’s time for you to pay for what you did to my dad.Come alone.If I see anyone else, she dies.”

The call disconnected.Roman immediately spun the truck around and they were on their way.

Ashton felt stunned.How had Harper gotten Summer?

“You can dump us half a mile out and take the truck in yourself,” Derek said.“We’ll get into position and radio you with what we find.”

Ashton just stared at the team leader for a long moment.Derek reached over and clasped both hands onto Ashton’s shoulders.“I know it’s tough, but you have to focus.She and Chloe are still alive.That’s the most important thing.”

Derek knew from firsthand experience what it was like to have the woman you loved held by someone with plans to hurt her.His wife, Molly, had been kidnapped by a terrorist intent on torturing information out of her.

Ashton nodded.Derek was right.He had to focus.Work the problem.This was what the team trained to do.

But it was so much damn harder when it was the people you loved on the line.

They were all already in full gear.All already situated with comms.Harper had given him thirty minutes, thinking it would be a crunch, causing Ashton to panic and not be able to bring the team with him, but he’d been wrong.They were ready and Harper was going down.

“I just talked to my contact at the airport.Evidently an ‘Omega agent—’” Lillian put her fingers up for quotations “—flashed a badge, stated there was an emergency and got Summer and Chloe off the plane.”

Damn it.That would’ve been after Tyrone Marcus had left.He’d seen Summer and Chloe onto the plane.There was no reason to think someone would dare take her off it afterward.

“Here’s a picture of the agent.”She passed her phone around.

“That man is definitely not Curtis Harper,” Ashton said.

“It could be the same guy Harper met with after the shoot-out on Friday.Different appearance but same height and build,” Lillian pointed out.

“We still have no idea who this guy is, right?”

Lillian shook her head.“Jon and Brandon are working on it, but nothing as of right now.”

“I’ve got the details on the address.It’s a foreclosure property.Been empty for years,” Derek said.“It’s a large, dead-end lot.Shouldn’t be anybody else just hanging around.”

Ashton checked the clip of his sidearm as if he didn’t already know it was ready to go.“Good, we don’t want any friendlies in the way.”

“HQ is coordinating with locals,” Derek continued.“There will be a roadblock on all roads about two miles out from the house.If Harper tries to run, they’ll stop him.Bomb squad and medics are on their way just in case.They’ll come in stealthy so as not to aggravate the situation.”

“He’s got a lot of advantages, Fitzy,” Lillian said softly.“He knows the house.He has this second person.We’re going in blind with little prep time.”

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