Page 74 of The Last Strike

“Please don’t ask, because I can’t tell you anything, and I don’t want to lie to you,” he said, hoping she would understand—he was sure she would, given her own line of work.

“Is this the calm before the storm?” she asked, searching his eyes.

Reed leaned in and kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger a moment. “Yes,” he whispered before turning to leave.

“I’ll speak to you soon. Security will be outside,” he said over his shoulder as he continued to walk.

He closed the door behind him, went back to his car, and drove to the Bennett residence. Deacon was still awake and working in the headquarters when he arrived.

“All good?” he asked.

“Good,” he replied, wondering what he knew and didn’t know.

“Get some sleep, Reed. You’re going to need it,” Deacon said knowingly.

Asher

James, Deacon, and Reed sat opposite him, coffees in hand, eyes alert and focused.

“Khalil entered Santina in the early hours of the morning, via Arinia—which was to be expected given the proximity of the borders. He’s bringing a huge security detail—again, to be expected. It is even more important that we stick to the plan, because we may only be seeing half the team he’s bringing. I would be surprised if he didn’t have men following him at a distance and providing background support, reconfirming my decision that he needs to be separated from his security before we attack. We will only get one chance, and if we miss—or if he realizes this is an ambush—it will be suicide for my men on the ground, and it’s almost certain he will immediately issue a call to his military to hit Santina with a sarin attack. We need him to walk into our trap and be unable to make that call.”

Asher nodded. “So how is he going to get into the building?”

“We’re going to allow him to walk through the front door when he arrives for the ‘meeting.’ Once he’s in the hallways, we’ll block the exits and start forcing him on the route we want him to take. We need to eliminate half of his security team before he reaches our end-point destination for this plan to work,” Deacon said.

“And if we don’t eliminate fifty percent of his team?” Asher asked as his stomach churned. His chest felt tighter with every minute that passed, bringing them closer to the meeting.

“I will be in the ceiling with a team and we’ll target from the vents,” Reed said. “We’re good shots,” he continued, with a tone far more optimistic than Asher felt.

Asher had faith in the team, in the plan. But Thomas Security couldn’t promise him they’d all walk out alive.

His eyes dropped to his wrist. It was almost time.

“Let’s get vests on and get in the cars. Are you ready?” James asked, and Asher knew he was giving him one last chance to back out.

But Asher couldn’t—despite the plan not being fail-proof, it was a good plan. It might be the best opportunity they would have to eliminate Khalil. If it looked like they were going to lose the war, Khalil would never agree to such a meeting. So they had to do this now, while they were holding ground against Adani. Although Adani’s death toll was higher, Khalil kept sending more men to their deaths. It seemed he had a never-ending supply of men. Santina’s military was much smaller, and Asher wasn’t so ready to sentence his soldiers to their deaths.

“Ready,” Asher said, making a conscious effort to keep his voice steady. He stood as James picked up a bulletproof vest. Asher removed his shirt and put the vest on.

James tightened the Velcro strap, adjusting the vest. He stood back, tilting his head, studying it. Eventually, he looked at Asher. “You’re ready. Put your shirt on and we’ll go.”

Asher buttoned his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. He looked at his wedding ring and reluctantly removed it. He undid his necklace, threaded his ring on it, and put it back on, tucking it inside his shirt.

James nodded. “I agree it’s best to keep the wedding a secret until Khalil is dealt with. If he knows Abi can assume power upon your death, you’ll both be on his hit list. So I think it’s safer to keep your ring off at all times for now.”

Asher nodded. He understood that it was easier to keep it off rather than having to remember to take it off every time he left the house, but he still wanted his ring close.

He inhaled deeply, calming his nerves.

“Let’s go,” James said, nodding to Deacon.

Asher was escorted to the car and, as he slid into the backseat, he was already mentally rehearsing for the meeting.

“Copy,” James said, then looked over his shoulder to Asher. “Luang and Victoria have arrived and have been escorted inside. We’re two minutes away.”

“Good,” Asher said. “Thank you.”

James returned his attention to the front and Asher looked down at his new watch—a gift from his new father-in-law, which Samuel had apparently made some adjustments to. The watch had a microphone, GPS technology, and could even be used as a bomb. Asher felt like he should be in a Bond movie.

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