No Place to Run (KGI #2)(67)

“I have faith in you,” she whispered.

Her fingers squeezed his, and she rocked back on her feet. There was more trust in her gaze than he deserved. He just prayed he didn’t betray it.

Feeling empty, he turned to the others, but he kept a tight hold on one of Sophie’s hands.

“We rework the plan,” Sam said bleakly. “I’ll go in with Sophie. I want P.J. and Cole on sniper duty. As soon as the bastard shows himself to us, I want him taken out. Everyone else will surround and go in. This has to be precisely timed. There’s no room for mistakes.”

“We won’t fail,” Steele said. “We never have. We won’t start now.”

Sam pulled Sophie closer to him, needing in that moment to feel her warmth, to remind him of what was at stake. He slid his hand down her body to her belly, feeling for the reassuring kick of his daughter.

His daughter.

“This is your niece,” he said to his brothers. “Sophie’s having a girl.”

He needed them to know. Needed to make it personal, to make this as real to them as it was to him. Then they’d know what was at risk.

Donovan’s face split into a wide grin. He moved forward, swept Sophie into his arms and spun her around. Even Garrett smiled, and when Donovan set her down, Garrett reached for her hand.

She hesitated only for a split second before she went willingly into Garrett’s embrace. He hugged her close.

She seemed shocked by their gestures, and when Garrett let her go, she teetered a little, her eyes glazed.

“If she’s half as fierce as her mother, she’ll be a force of nature,” Garrett said in a gruff voice.

A wry smile curved her lips. “If you keep this up, I’ll get the idea you actually like me.”

“I regret that I ever gave you the idea I disliked you,” Garrett said, his eyes serious. “And maybe I did. I was wrong.”

She stared at Garrett in stunned disbelief. Sam smiled. Garrett admitting he was wrong was a sight to behold.

Sam held out his hand for Sophie to return to him. She came willingly, and he pulled her to his side.

“This has to go right,” he told the men surrounding him. “I can’t lose her.”

CHAPTER 27

WHILE Sam and his men entered the final planning stages, Sophie slept and Sam watched over her. He wasn’t entirely focused on the conversation and the intense strategy session because his gaze kept drifting to the small woman who held such a big part of him in her hands.

He hated that he couldn’t keep her here, safely tucked away from anything that could hurt her. He despised it. Before, KGI would have planned a ruthless extraction, gone in with precision, rescued the hostage, been in and out in an hour. Wiped their hands, moved on to the next job.

That had all gone to hell because this was his mother, and if Sophie was to be believed—and he did believe her—her uncle was a wild card. No one really knew how he’d react, because he’d never been tested. He’d never assumed any leadership in Alex Mouton’s organization.

That made him unpredictable, and they couldn’t afford to risk his mom’s life by assuming anything.

Goddamn but he hated this.

“P.J. and Cole will be on sniper duty,” Steele said in a low voice next to Sam.

Sam turned to his team leader and knew he’d been caught napping. He’d been staring down at Sophie, who was curled on the small couch in the family room, her face tense and drawn even in sleep.

It was all he could do not to run his fingers over her lips to ease the worry stress, but he didn’t want to disturb her. The next hours would be tense and she needed her rest.

“You and Sophie can make nice and meet Tomas for the trade, if the bastard will even show himself. The rest of us will stage around the house and go in. If Marlene is inside, we’ll get her out. If she’s with Tomas, P.J. or Cole will take Tomas out at the first opportunity.”

“He knows I won’t be coming in with Sophie alone. He can’t be that stupid. He’ll be expecting something. We have to give him something else entirely,” Sam said. “I won’t risk her. I want Garrett and Donovan with me. Protection for Sophie. If I front enough men with me and Sophie, the rest of you might come as a surprise.”

“And Ethan?”

Sam blew out his breath. He needed Ethan, but he didn’t want to involve him either. Hell of a note.

“Ethan comes with me. You and Rio will take your teams and take down everyone in your path. It needs to be clean and quiet. The longer it takes for Tomas to figure out you’re there, the better.”

The door to the room burst open and Ethan strode in, his hand curled tight around his wife’s hand. Baker and Renshaw flanked the couple and were armed to the teeth.

Sam went to meet his brother just as Donovan and Garrett broke away from the others as well.

“How is he?” Ethan asked hoarsely.

“He’s resting. He’ll be okay. I spoke to the doctor earlier.”

Sam’s gaze dropped to Rachel and he extended a hand. “Rachel, honey, how are you?”

To his surprise she walked into his arms and hugged him fiercely. He responded by enveloping her in a hug. She’d gotten better about expressing affection with him and the other family members, but this spontaneous outburst caught him off guard.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “You must be so worried.”