Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(96)

“Dawn hits in fifteen minutes and we’ll lose all our cover,” Gabe said, thankful for his SWAT training. “We move in five. Get ready.”

Gabe muted his mic and adjusted Deb’s Kevlar vest one last time. He looked at her. “I’ll protect you in there,” he said softly, and kissed her, allowing his lips to linger just long enough to remind himself he had a lot to live for.

She looked up at him, dazed. “What was that for?”

“For luck,” he whispered.

“Then let’s make love like sex-crazed rabbits later, because I could use some more luck.”

He cracked up laughing and she smiled at him.

“You ready for this, Deb?” he asked gently.

“Yeah, let’s do it. Let’s bring Ashley home.”

Feeling slightly less desperate than before, they made their way down the dune toward the landing doors.

Suddenly, one of the guards burst from the main entrance and raced to the helicopter.

They ducked. “We’ve got movement,” Gabe relayed.

“I see him,” Jazz said quietly. “Target acquired. Do I take the shot?”

“Hold off,” Gabe said. “We can’t reveal our position.”

The guard pulled out a black rectangular box.

Zach swore. “Oh, man, this isn’t good.”

Seth followed with a harsh curse.

“What’s not good?” Deb asked through the comm.

“Iceman bomb,” Zach said. “It’s the nickname for an explosive that burns extra hot and extra long.”

“Only one reason for an iceman. They’re going to destroy this facility.”

“Like Winslow?” Deb said with horror.

“From what you’ve told me, worse,” Seth said. “This bomb won’t leave anything behind. It burns at over five thousand degrees Fahrenheit. Everything in that building will be ash. There won’t be a bone left to find.”

“No one will escape.” Gabe sucked in a harsh breath. “We’ve only got one chance . . . and God only knows how much time.”




The smell of blood and death wrinkled Jeff Gasmerati’s nose. Distasteful.

He straightened his Gucci suit and watched the guards’ bodies slide to the floor, joining the first fifteen.

With each murder, his smile grew larger in direct proportion to the Warden’s gray pallor. He patted the removable drive in his pocket. The key to everything. The uncompiled code for the game. Billions of dollars. Once he moved the game production to Russia, with Petrov’s network, all his problems would be solved.

From Russia, with the program and Ashley Lansing, he could do anything, control anyone.

No more FBI. No more Montgomerys. No more headaches.

Another group of five guards entered the room.

They gasped, seeing the pile of bodies. Before they could raise their weapons, a spray of gunfire mowed them down.

“That’s everyone?” Gasmerati said.

The Warden nodded.

Gasmerati possessed the precise number of guards and flunkies the Warden employed. He walked over to the man who had come to him with a simple idea ten years ago. Despite everyone’s skepticism, even laughter, Jeff understood technology. He’d made the Warden’s idea bigger and better. He’d even killed his own father when the patriarch of the Gasmerati family resisted his ideas.

He tugged a knife from his coat and sliced the man’s cheek open. “Where is your right-hand?”

The Warden clutched his arm.

Jeff chuckled. “I mean Niko.”

The Warden blanched.

With a frown, Jeff glared at two guards. “Find him. Kill him.”

“We will do well together,” Petrov said.

Jeff smiled. It would be interesting to see how long Petrov survived their association. He believed himself to have the upper hand. He knew nothing of Jeff’s true connections.

A knock sounded at the door. Sly strode in. “The iceman has been set. We have twenty minutes.”




Gabe gripped his Glock and inched along the side of the warehouse. Deb had his back. He could trust her. He had no doubts.

They slipped inside the loading platform entrance next to the huge roll-up metal door. No sounds of boots or clanging of alarms greeted them, but a long, empty corridor stretched in front of them and a staircase went down to the left.

Too quiet. He met Deb’s worried gaze. She had a bad feeling.

“It’s the blond man,” Seth’s voice filtered through the mic.

Chaos and gunfire blared through the communication devices.

A loud shout sounded. “They’re killing everyone.”

More gunfire. Gabe’s jaw clenched. Deb clutched his arm. He had to trust his brothers. He did trust his brothers.

Two minutes later it was over.

Seth heaved a breath. “Gabe, listen to this.”

“No time . . . I’m dead.” A voice he didn’t recognize. Had to be the blond man.

He sucked in more air, the sound wet. Gabe could just imagine the blood bubbling from the side of the man’s mouth. “Bomb inside. Kids were taken to—” His words went garbled. “Save them . . .”

“He’s gone, and we’re out of time,” Seth said. “Everyone, go.”