Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(92)

God, could she trust him? If she was wrong . . .

She had to take a chance. There was no time left.

A loud knock sounded at her door.

“Get up,” Niko’s voice yelled. “You’re on display.”

Heart pounding, she tucked the tracking device into her pocket and made certain her pants covered her ankle. For a while, she’d let them think they knew where she was . . . and she prayed she’d know the right time to run out of door C2. She’d take whoever she could with her.

Niko slammed open the steel door. The clang echoed through the halls. The Warden stalked in, Niko and the red-haired guard behind him. “We’re going to the main computer room. Our guests are coming earlier than expected.” The Warden’s eye twitched in irritation. “They want to see you play. You will perform brilliantly. Understood?”

She nodded.

“I’m serious, Ms. Lansing. No stalling. No purposeful mistakes. Nothing rebellious at all. You will do exactly what you are told to do or I will gun down Floyd and your friend Mylo. Right in front of you. Do I make myself clear?”

She nodded again, but she felt sick this time. Endangering herself was one thing, but her friends? She hadn’t even been allowed to talk to Mylo since he’d been here. At least he was still alive and hadn’t vanished like so many others.

She ducked her head, not wanting the Warden to see her hatred. No mistakes. No trouble. Not today.

“Good.” The Warden gripped her chin and yanked it up so that she had to look him in the eyes. “You screw up even one thing, and I’ll shoot you right in the chair after I dispose of your friends. A little blood on the machine may make the next person more receptive to commands.”

Ashley clenched her teeth so she wouldn’t spit in his face.

“Niko, pat her down. I’m heading to see our guests now.” He addressed the red-haired guard. “Watch her carefully.” The Warden paused. “In fact, watch them both.”

She swallowed.

Niko patted her down, not even pausing as he felt the ankle bracelet in her pocket.

“Bring her,” Niko ordered the guard, then stepped away, until he stood behind the red-haired guard. In a movement so fast she barely caught it, Niko formed his fingers into a C, then held down two fingers. “Today should be very interesting. Remember your lessons well.”

Ashley walked through the doorway with them. She understood what Niko meant. Today was the day to escape through C2. He would do—or had done—whatever he could to help her.





* * *





CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE




* * *




DEB HUNKERED DOWN behind a dune and settled into position overlooking the northwest corner of a huge square building. Darkness shielded them from view, but dawn wasn’t that far away.

Gabe’s family had come through. Zach and Whitney, of course. But Luke and his sniper wife, Jazz, the über-mysterious black ops brother Seth, and even Nick had flown in. They’d need the help.

Poor Gabe had even relented. Steve Paretti held a sniper location in sight of one of the building’s corners.

“Is everyone in position?” Deb whispered to Gabe.

He swept the area with infrared binoculars. “Close.”

Gabe clicked his mic. “Roll call, Mousketeers?”

Each member of the team sounded in through the communications system. “Affirmative,” Seth responded last. “We have good coverage, but no obvious exits.”

Nine against however many manned that huge building. The odds didn’t look good. Even Zach and Luke, with their combined equipment and skills, hadn’t been able to find a hole in the security.

She shivered, fighting a fear that threatened to overwhelm her resolve. Not for her, but for Ashley. Deb rubbed her temple. Did they have a chance?

About ten feet away, Jazz Montgomery had set up her Remington 700/40 to provide a clear view of two sides and two exits. Jazz must have noticed the sag in Deb’s shoulders and crept over before flipping off her mic. “I can tell you one thing, Deb. When the chips are down, there’s no one I’d want on my side more than the Montgomerys. They don’t give up. They fight until the end. If Ashley is in there, they’ll get her out.”

Deb nodded. “Thanks.”

Jazz gave her a small smile and resettled her Remington against her shoulder, returning to an eerily still, prone position.

“She’s right.”

Deb shifted closer to Gabe. “What’s happening?”

“We’re waiting.” Gabe didn’t waiver from sweeping the area with his binoculars. “We need to create a break in their security to gain access to the building. Zach and Luke will do the tech work. They have heat sensors and are looping the remote viewing cameras, shutting down what they can. If it doesn’t work, we’ll have to pull in reinforcements.”

Deb swallowed hard. “Ashley may not have that kind of time.”

“Believe me,” Gabe said. “We’re all aware of that. We’ll do everything in our power to get into that warehouse as quickly as possible, but if we screw up, we could put every innocent life in that place in more danger.”

“Is your family safe?” Deb asked. “Have you heard?”

“Yeah. Mom stewed for a while, until Caleb gave in. No secrets, about the op anyway. She’s got her rosary out for us.” His voice lowered. “We decided not to tell her about Whitney. Not yet. She’ll kick our butts for keeping it from her, but we need to find the right way.”