Traceless. HelenKay Dimon

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СКАЧАТЬ only to Connor, and Shane Baker showed up. They were supposed to be taking some time off after a tense kidnap rescue in Mexico. So much for vacation.

      “When did you two get here?” Connor asked.

      Shane shrugged. “We booked it over here after Davis and Cam called us in.”

      “Which you should have done.” Holt emphasized his point by checking his gun. When he looked up again he was every inch the former special ops soldier—formidable, serious and lethal.

      That described the entire team and was doubly true for the traveling members. They spent their lives on the road and seemed to prefer it that way. Corcoran operated as a private security firm. When the training they offered wasn’t followed and things went wrong, Corcoran cleaned up the mess.

      Holt was the ultimate expert in planning victim extractions. With Cam, a guy who once worked in black ops so secret even Connor couldn’t find intel on the work, and Shane, Holt’s best friend and former partner in special ops, this was not a group a smart person took on.

      Still, this was not just any assignment to Connor. “This is personal.”

      Cam exhaled, his frustration clear in the lines on his forehead and tick in his jaw. “Jana is important to all of us.”

      Holt talked right on as if he had the go-ahead. “Shane’s done some recon, and you’re right about the charity offices. Looks like a trap. There were four men stationed outside—hiding, but we found them—and no heat signatures inside.”

      Shane hissed. “That doesn’t necessarily mean—”

      “Don’t.” Connor took a threatening step forward. He knew what Shane was suggesting, that maybe Jana wasn’t alive, but Connor couldn’t hear it. Wouldn’t let it be true.

      “How did you find us?” Cam asked, diffusing the tension pulsing around them.

      “Your GPS works fine.” Holt looked around. “So why do you think she’s here over any cave in the area?”

      Connor handed over the binoculars and pointed to the falling-down shack in the distance. “Davis said that was the nearest usable building.”

      “Didn’t you hear Joel’s report?” Cam asked.

      Holt shook his head. “The comm blinked out on us for a few minutes. Not sure why.”

      “Joel repositioned a satellite to provide extra surveillance for us here.” Cam clicked a button on his watch and showed the small screen to Holt and Shane. “Joel also somehow broke into the charity office’s alarm feed and rewound to see Jana being dragged away there hours ago. A black truck drove in this direction. It looks like the abandoned one we nearly tripped over on our way here.”

      Connor appreciated Cam filling in the blanks. Even saying the words, thinking about some man grabbing and hurting Jana, made fury thunder in his veins. Since Joel Kidd operated as their tech whiz and managed to get the confirmation, that was good enough for Connor.

      Shane grunted. “Gotta love Joel’s tech voodoo.”

      They had to move, but Connor needed to make a few things clear. He had priorities and they were all going to be bound by them. He was the boss and this was nonnegotiable. “Before we start—”

      Holt held up a hand. “Connor.”

      “Don’t say it, man.” Shane shook his head. “Just don’t.”

      Connor hoped the operation went down smooth and fast, but he knew from experience things could go wrong. Innocents could get caught in the crossfire. “You save her. I don’t care what happens to me. You get her out alive and uninjured.”

      “We all go in and we all come out.” Holt’s voice rose as he talked.

      “Right.” Connor didn’t test his men further. They got it. Didn’t like it, but he knew they understood. He pointed at Shane and Holt. “You two cause a diversion at the front and draw the gunfire away from Jana and the inside of the cabin. Cam and I go in hard through the windows at the back.”

      Cam nodded. “Done.”

      “Let’s move.” Holt said the words then took off with Shane. They ran at a crouch, quiet and fast, blending into the horizon.

      Connor and Cam took off in the opposite direction. Scanning the area, Connor watched for reinforcements and more attackers. Only two men with Jana struck him as light. It could mean the guy who wanted him to come to Utah depended on his subterfuge at the charity office working. Or it could mean something else. Either way, Connor was on edge as he kept his mind focused on the task ahead.

      Per protocol, the comm stayed quiet as they circled wide to the back of the building. Connor ran to the far side. His back hit the wall and he slid down until he balanced on the balls of his feet. One hand snaked up as he tested the window and found it locked. He knew Cam had the same experience when the word locked came over the comm in an almost soundless whisper.

      Connor wanted to spring up and look inside, but he waited, doing a mental countdown as he reached for patience and held for the signal. The line clicked once. That meant they were ready to go.

      Four against two, and with Corcoran in the mix, Connor knew this should be an easy takedown. Clean and quick. But that depended on it being surprise-free and he’d been around long enough to know things rarely turned out that way.

      A second click came right before a loud crash. Men’s voices filled the quiet air. They were yelling, then the bangs started. Gunfire and shuffling. More shouting.

      Connor didn’t wait another minute. He jumped up and stepped out just far enough to get leverage. Ducking with his shoulder forward and head tucked, he ran. His body slammed into the window and the hit jolted through him. Glass shattered around him, the crackling and crunching filled his ears.

      Gunfire continued to pop as momentum had him flying through the air and sliding across the hard floor on his hip. He rolled, keeping as much bare skin away from the sharp and broken edges as possible. When he stopped spinning, he looked up and saw Jana tied to a chair a few feet away. Shards of glass were scattered around her feet and a few caught the light where they stuck in her hair and across her lap.

      He took in her wide eyes and the tear rolling down her cheek and scooted over to her, ignoring the crunching underneath him. When the shots grew closer and footsteps pounded on the front porch and near the open door, he gripped his knife and sawed through the bindings on her legs. After a few cuts, her ankle kicked free and she moved on the chair. It wasn’t until that moment that Connor noticed the second spray of glass in front of him and Cam crouched down, loosening the ties on her arms.

      Just as they released her, the door slammed open. Connor didn’t hesitate. He yanked on Jana’s arm and tugged her to the floor on top of him. Firing with one hand, he used the other to shield her under him while they flipped over. Glass crushed under his arm and cut into the back of his hand where he cradled her head, keeping it off the dangerous floor.

      One man peeked into the doorway then his head shot back out of sight again. The second time the guy’s gun came around first. Right when Connor spied one eye, the guy’s gun dropped and his body followed face forward to the floor. It took another beat or two for Connor to realize the thunder of gunfire had stopped and silence filled the room.

      Blood СКАЧАТЬ