Page 85 of Fatal Thrill
17
She couldn’t believe it.It really wasn’t about coincidences—it was about fate. Bad luck hung over her shoulders like a shadowy mantel, never letting her even peek at what life could be like without the O’Sullivancurse.
“Are you sure?” Miles asked. “You’re positive this is the sameguy?”
Jon didn’t need to ask, didn’t second-guess her. He simply nodded as he worked through the scenario. “I stirred things up when I was in Good Hope last fall. Watt probably saw me, but realized I wasn’t after him because I was working with Shelby and Colton. He put two and two together with me and Jaya, so when Lorna called, that’s why he took the risk of coming out ofhiding.”
“He wanted to get back at you for screwing up his life,” Colton said. He looked at Jaya. “Your mom—does she have good days? Did she know about you and Jon and say something toWatt?”
“Sure, I told her, but I tell her a lot of things that don’t actually register with her, you know?” Jaya thought back to the day last fall after Shelby’s ordeal when she explained to her mom and the staff that she was heading to DC for a week or two. Not that her mom had seemed to care one way or the other. “When I followed Jon to DC to make sure he was going to be allright…”
Crud. It all made more sense now. She shook her head in disbelief and pointed at the picture showing on her screen. “He goes by Justin London in Good Hope. He must have overheard me tell Mom about Jon and figured out we had arelationship.”
Jon’s expression was total anger. He clenched his fists.Clench-release.Clench-release.
“Can we blow the security camera at your dad’s cabin, or tap into it and see what’s he up to?” Rageasked.
Jon’s face went blank again, the anger stuffed deep. “The house is totally off grid, but I know all the ways to get in and out. Ways that only my dad and I know about. It’s a risk, though, because Watt will be expecting me to do just that—sneak in and take him out. He’ll beprepared.”
“We’ve got the drone,” Trace offered. “Any way we can use it to create a distraction big enough to force him out? The entrance is above ground. We could throw in some smoke grenades, go in with overwhelming force, and take him out before he canreact.”
“Only if push comes to shove,” Jon said. “He’s too likely to have Finn booby-trapped.”
Jaya sucked in a breath, then silently cursed herself at the expression everyone gave her. They thought it was a bad idea for her to be at the table with them. She had to harden herself and not let her emotions get in the way. “Sorry. I’m fine. Goon.”
Percy had been quiet until now. “Jon, you know the cabin, and our perpetrator. What do you think is our bestoption?”
Tap, tap, tap, his fingers beat a staccato on the tabletop. “Here’s what we have todo.”
He laid out the facts. Their time was nearly up and they couldn’t wait until dark or watch Watt’s movements to try and grab him before he realized they were there. The bunker only had one entrance and there would be cameras. Jon knew their locations, but they had to be extremely careful not to tip Watt off byrushing.
Jaya felt slightly numb, her mind wandering as the men walked through different breach and takedown scenarios. Nyx lay down at her feet and snoredsoftly.
The risk to Finn was high, no matter what they did. If Watt was as clever as Jon believed him to be, even this group of former Navy SEALs had its handsfull.
Jon turned to her. “I hate to make you do this,but…”
She snapped out of her mind-trance. “Whatever it is, I’ll doit.”
“We’re going to try and draw Watt out by dangling the cross in front of him. He hates me, but he probably needs money, so the cross is a good incentive.” His hand cupped hers. “We need proof of life. Before we go any farther, we have to make sure Finn is still…alive.”
It took a moment for his statement to sink in. “You thinkhe’s…?”
“No.” Jon shook his head. “Finn is Watt’s ace card. If he doesn’t have him alive, he’s of no use tous.”
Jaya sighed. She’d seen plenty of cop shows and movies where the Feds demanded the same before meeting the kidnapper’s demands. “You want me to text this asshole and ask him to send me a picture of my brother with today’s newspaper orsomething?”
“He won’t have one. What I want is for him to let Finn talk toyou.”
Her chest grew tight. Call the kidnapper? Hear the man’svoice?
A hard chill went down her spine. God, she hated being scared. Scaredsucked.
“I know it’s an uncomfortable thing to do,” Jon reassured her. “But I know you can handleit.”
His belief in her was mirrored in the eyes of those around the table. EvenColton’s.
How many nights had she lain awake as a kid, worried her father would never come home? That her mom wouldn’t hold it together? That she and Finn would end up at the orphanage withColton?
