Chapter 24

Where had that guard come from?

Mason’s breath rasped in his ears as the team raced through the warehouse, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the cavernous space. There was no telling how fast the security company could mount an armed response. Most likely, they’d be long gone before any vehicles rolled up, but that didn’t slow him one bit.

Better to get out clean.

“Where did that guy come from?” Tai wondered over comms, echoing Mason’s own thoughts. “He never showed up on infrared.”

“Storeroom,” Paige answered, her breathing labored from their escape. “I bet he was napping in a storeroom. Might have masked … heat signature.”

Tai groaned. “Makes sense. My bad for not checking.”

Finger on the trigger of his weapon, Mason flipped down his night vision goggles, staring hard into the angular shadows of the huge space. Letting his intuition guide him. “Cut the chatter,” he ordered.

The air was thick and heavy, the heat of the night pressing down on him like a physical weight. Sweat trickled down his back, his shirt clinging to his skin as he ran. So much for anti-sweat technology. Not that he cared about comfort.

Avery and Paige were mere feet behind him. The others wouldn’t be far behind.

He tapped his comlink. “Yo, Paul. Fire up the engine. We’re coming in hot.”

No response.

He tapped his earbud impatiently. “Paul, do you read? Dude, answer me!”

Silence. Nothing but static and the echo of his own ragged breathing. A cold sense of dread settled over him, a sickening certainty that something was very wrong. “I need a radio check on Paul.”

Paige answered first. “I got nada.”

“No joy,” Tai responded.

Then Graham. “Nothing here.”

If Paul had dropped his comlink again …

“Could be equipment … malfunction,” Tai pointed out.

Otherwise known as incompetence. Tai was too much the gentleman to point out that Paul probably dropped the thing again.

“What if it’s not?” Avery shoved him in the back. “Don’t wait for us. Run.”

He hesitated, mind whirling as he attempted to formulate a new plan. He didn’t want to leave them. But both Paige and Avery were completely capable operatives. And the rest of the team would be thundering into the main warehouse bay in a second.

She shoved him again. “We got this. Go!”

“Git.” Paige made a shooing motion. “We’ll be right behind you.”

“Copy that.” He shot into overdrive, flying through the warehouse.

At the exit, he froze, listening before slipping silently out into the night. The cool air hit him like a slap in the face. He scanned the parking lot, searching for the familiar shape of their vehicle in the shadows beyond the fence.

And then he saw it—the SUV, its door hanging open, the interior dimly lit and empty. His blood turned to ice in his veins.

“No,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the pounding of his heart. “No, no, no …”