Jax (Titan #9)(90)

"Sixty seconds," Parker said in his com piece then continued the countdown as promised.

The three helos would drop men simultaneously.

"Inbound, you are… ten, nine"—the hatch to the helicopter opened—"four, three, two, and—go."

One after the other, his team jumped and rolled to where the black night met the ground. Titan would hit the main house, and ACES would subdue the inner guard's housing. Delta would do the same for the foot soldiers and slow the outpouring of what would arrive when the alarms blasted, with the help of Mayhem, who would then serve as backup for Titan's main team.

There were motion sensors, dogs, thermal imaging, and guards that they didn't have a bead on ahead of time.

The sniper and spotter teams worked in tandem, subduing obvious threats now that all teams were on-site. Alarm systems disabled. Guards taken out. Tangos were sighted, and shots called.

The unexpected voices of ACES flowed with smooth familiarity with Parker, Brock, and Jared, while Mayhem's communication was less practiced but still as familiar.

Bishop and Locke broke right. Winters stayed dead ahead of Jax with the detonator trigger in hand. Best they could tell, getting through any door at the Suarez complex would require significant explosive effort.

Jax and Nicola ran with their close-range assault rifles as his backup. She fanned left and high against the brick of the house then spun around and dropped to her knee, barrel up and finger on the trigger.

Lights that hadn't been shot out flooded the expansive, manicured yard as Jax saw Sugar taking a position similar to Bishop, Locke, and Nicola.

Now that Jax had teammates accounted for, he stayed on the pivot, keeping Winters covered as he stayed at the door. Having attached the explosive charge, Winters backed up and positioned back-to-back with Jax. "Detonation in—"

"We've got vehicles," ACES called. "Moving fast. Snipers."

"Got them in sight," Ryder said. "Shit. Freaking MRAP."

"I've got the Lone Ranger," called Cash.

Winters motioned to Jax. "We gotta get in there."

He agreed. "They get close, I'll keep them out."

An MRAP exploded in the near-distance, lighting up the sky. "Two more."

Target practice on those armored vehicles was nearly impossible. The shot had to go up and under, exploding into the engine.

"Detonating—three, two, one." The front door blew off the Suarez house. "Here we go."

There were six of them, but two more MRAPs held an untold amount of manpower.

"They're coming straight for the main residence," Cash reported.

"Winters." Jax slung his rifle down. "Throw me something."

Bishop hustled over, nabbing a block of explosives from Winters too. "It's come down to a game of chicken." He held it up as the headlight of the MRAP became visible. "Cheers."

Jax had to smile, maybe feeling as though his team were also his guys for the first time. "Let's go."

They ran as the MRAPs came straight for them, stopping long enough to light the fuses, then rushed toward the war vehicles.

Jax and Bishop pulled sharp in opposite directions as the MRAPs came forward. They threw their charges.

Jax sprinted and dove, covering his head, rolling hard as the two blasts shook the ground—the MRAPs crashed in fiery accidents, mangling against one another.

"Go, go," Ryder said. "We'll clean up behind you."

Jax hit his feet, and Bishop was by his side three strides later, knocking gloves against his. "That was badass."





CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT


The lights were out, and the power had been killed. Jax kept his night-vision goggles on as Bishop signaled they were inside.

"First floor, secure," Winters responded.

"West wing, clear," Sugar said.

"Nicola? Locke? Status update now," Brock demanded.

A rustling noise crackled through Nicola's mic piece. "Working on it—second floor, east wing, third door down after the sitting room. I see the two packages."

See? Are they safe? Alive? What does that mean?

"Nicola?" Brock followed up.

"I'm going to need a minute. By myself, please," she quietly whispered.

"What?" Jax hustled to the closest set of stairs in the giant residence.

"Who has eyes on Nic? Now, goddamn it," Jared ordered. "Cash? Roman? Ryder? Any snipers?"

No response, and Jax's panic surged.

"My name is Nicola, and I know your mommy," Nicola said in a sing-song voice so sweet, it made Jax run up the stairs faster. "I'm going to bring you home. But the first thing we're going to do is play a game. Want to?"

No response, but they had to be alive…

"Don't move, chickadee and chickadude. Like a statue—no. Don't move."

"I know how to hold this," Bianca said.

Jax faltered. This?

"Nic," Jared calmly said. "Sing a song if they're armed."

"Before I bring you home to Glamma and Victoria, can I sing you my little boy's favorite song. It's Twinkle, Twinkle."

The earpiece was eerily quiet; Jax had never heard it like that before. No one was muted, but everyone was silent.