Chapter 50

Squat was in the other car but called Griz when they’d been on the road about thirty-five minutes. Griz answered on the second ring.

“Yo.”

“Rory’s friend spotted them and is following from a safe distance. I’m sharing their location. We just need to follow for now. They wanted to know if we wanted to involve the police.”

Griz turned to him, and he shrugged. He wanted to make the man pay. “We should get them involved, but I want to destroy the guy who took her. The cops won’t let that happen.”

“No, they’ll make it about following the law,” Squat agreed.

Griz grunted. “We need to figure out where they are going. The police chasing the van will only cause the person to run. The van would probably wreck, which would be bad.”

Jay wanted this over, but at least they had an idea where she was. They were following the location of someone following the van.

His stomach was in knots, and his head ached. If they didn’t find her, it would all be over. The powder keg inside was growing, and when it blew, he knew there would be collateral damage. He needed to focus all his anger on the one asshole who deserved it.

The next twenty minutes were absolutely the most stressful thing he’d experienced recently. Even being shot at wasn’t as bad as this.

The only thing that kept him from exploding was the gap between them and the car they were tracking was narrowing.

As they grew closer to the person, Squat relayed that the van was stopped outside a cabin, and the jerk led Nichole inside.

Jay wanted Griz to drive faster, but the road was narrow and twisting. They were about five minutes out. She just had to survive for a few more minutes, then they would be there for her.

He’d already sent up a bunch of prayers, and had turned to begging and bargaining. He needed Nichole to be safe, that’s all he wanted.

Griz slowed, and Jay popped his eyes open, seeing a black truck pulled off the road and a guy standing to the side, binoculars raised. They had to stay quiet, or the jerk in the cabin might hear.

When the car stopped, Jay quietly popped open the door, and stepped out. He shut the door just as quietly as he’d opened it and moved toward the man with the binoculars.

“I’m Jay. What do you know?” Jay asked.

“He took her inside. I’ve not seen any more movement. I have a Glock, that’s it.” The man turned to face Jay and stuck out his hand. “I’m Pollard. Is she your wife?”

“We were set to get married today.”

“Man, that sucks.”

The other men from his team were beside him, their expressions serious. Apple came close and leaned in.

“I talked to Sharp. He and Thario are informing the police of what is happening and our exact location. They are making sure they come without sirens.”

Jay nodded. “Thank you.” He wasn’t sure what the cops being here would do. He wanted to make the bastard pay. The cops would try to end this peacefully. But he knew the jerk who had taken Nichole didn’t deserve peace.

“We should move in now.”

Griz put his hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Hold up. We don’t know what’s going on inside. We don’t have any idea how many people are in there with them.”

Pollard turned to face them. “I have a drone, but it won’t be like overwatch. No way of tracking heat signatures inside.”

Apple crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the house. “One of us needs to move closer.”

Squat volunteered. “I’ll go.”

Griz shook his head. “You aren’t tall enough to look in the windows.”

Shine tapped Apple on the shoulder. “Apple and I will go in first. Griz and Squat, you two follow up. We’ll make a breaching plan once we know how many people are in the house.”

Griz nodded. “Sounds good. Pollard, would you and Jay stay back and make sure no one comes out?”

Jay shook his head. “I’m not standing back.”

“You sure a fuck aren’t going to be in the mix, not until we know what we’re facing.”

Jay clenched his jaw. Anger and pain twisted inside. “I won’t fuck it up.”

“You can come closer once we figure out what is going on.”

Griz wasn’t going to bend. Jay nodded, hating that he couldn’t be in the raiding party. He would be close by so once they were inside, he could find Nichole and make sure she was okay.

Waiting for Nichole to be rescued would try his patience. He drew in a slow breath, fighting for control. The last thing he needed to do was explode and have to be held down, or worse, be shoved into one of the cars and forced to leave. He would be here for Nichole once she was free, and that was all that mattered.