Page 143 of Into the Woods

“I’m coming with you.” Linc’s voice sounded in my ear, but I knew my best friend’s frame even in the inky darkness.

From several yards away, I spotted the wide shoulders of either Rook or Royal. At this range and time of night, it was impossible to tell who.

“Be careful.” Okay, it was Rook.

“Who called the fucking cops?” Ryan snarled as red and white lights lit up the other end of the mostly gravel road leading to the warehouse.

I had to give it to Eric, the setup was smart. The property backed up to the water and was situated dead center in a dilapidated industrial park that hadn’t had a tenant in a decade. The only people who came here were vagrants and criminals.

We’d lit the place up like the goddamned Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

To my right, cars were burning, thanks to a handful of Molotov cocktails Bishop had made. The guy had a serious hard-on for explosions, and he’d taken a lot of joy in setting up some carefully selected cars to go boom and essentially block the auction attendees from using cars to get away.

Sure, a few had managed to pile into cars, but the rest were on foot and easy for Trick and his team—the ones he knew for a goddamn fact he could trust—to corral.

When Rook had made the call to tell Trick he had a viper in his nest, he’d apparently already known who. They’d isolated the man—whatever that meant—before hauling ass to meet us here.

Taking out the dock had been Royal’s idea. We all knew what those barges meant, and if they made it to international waters, they’d be gone, along with anything and anyone on board.

Without the firepower to take down all the boats, the dock had been the best idea.

We hit the warehouse, Royal and Rook engaging and drawing out some of the guards from the front where the rest of us picked them off. The attendees made our jobs easier by dressing up in flashy clothes that couldn’t be confused with the dark tactical gear the guys from Black Box Ops wore.

But things were quiet out here—aside from the literal fire burning and the approaching stream of cop cars—and that meant it was time to head inside.

I hadn’t seen Bex, though I’d looked for her in every face of every person who exited. Some had fled through the side exits, straight into the crosshairs of members of Trick’s team. They’d been rounded up, but no one had seen Bex.

No one had seen the women being sold off either, which meant they were all inside together, along with the majority of my father’s men.

Something twitched in my gut—a feeling that something wasn’t right.

“Where the fuck is everyone?” Bishop hissed.

Yeah, that.

Even if some had gotten away, we were missing too many people.

Like my father and fucking Eric.

“Sweep inside,” Royal ordered. “Trick’s team can handle the police and red tape. Our priority is the women and Bex.”

No, Bex was the priority, at least for me.

I glanced at Linc, and he gave me an affirmative nod, reading my mind. Ryan joined us as we met my brothers at the entrance.

The foyer was empty, save for two bodies. I didn’t give a shit about them, worried only about finding my girl. At the end of the entryway, there was a split. The double doors to the left were wide open, but a black curtain hung in front of the opening to the right.

“Rook, Court, Linc, go right,” Royal commanded. “We’ll go left.”

It took all my willpower to fall in line behind Rook and let him take the lead. He had all the experience in this area and had swept through more buildings as a SEAL than I’d ever know. He moved like a panther, all stealth, as he crept forward, nudging the curtain aside with the muzzle of his gun before stepping into the space.

“You know a lot about this place,” a familiar voice hissed, drawing my eyes to two people on the opposite side of the room, standing by a dark curtain.

My feet were moving, my long legs eating up the distance between us. I missed whatever the guy said as my heart pounded, blood roaring in my ears.

She took a step toward the curtain, and I reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into my arms.

Right where Becca Whittier belonged.

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