From a distance, there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the house. Up close, though, the disrepair was obvious. Tuck clearly didn’t care about routine maintenance. The yard was beyond overgrown, likely tall enough to reach my knees or higher, and a gnarled apple tree shaded the corner. White trim was chipped and weathered grey, the evergreen-painted siding now faded and buried under several layers of dirt. The porch sagged dangerously in the middle, one of the railings on its steps completely gone, the other hanging on through what appeared to be sheer will and an interesting trick of gravity.
A nearby outbuilding, which had likely once been a garage, was missing its door and had a large crater in the roof.
In the gravel lot out front, about thirty yards from where we stood, sat an ancient camper truck with its tailgate down. I couldn’t tell if there was anything in the bed. Otherwise, there appeared to be no signs of life anywhere on the property.
Fury—a rage unlike anything I’d ever experienced before—boiled in my veins. What kind of sick fuck abducted women and held them hostage? And in a place like this, which seemed barely inhabitable for small critters, let alone humans?
“I’m going to kill him,” I seethed through clenched teeth, taking half a step forward.
West’s arm shot out, barring my progress. “You can’t.”
“Like hell.”
“Finn,” West pleaded, and I finally looked at him. “Not without recon. You know better.”
I turned to my brothers, ready to direct them out on said recon mission when our radios sprang to life, startling me.
I’d forgotten we wore them.
“Earth to Dumb and Dumber, and the other two brothers” Lane said, his irritation evident. “Where the fuck are you?”
“Took a little walk,” Trey replied levelly, relaying what we saw.
When he finished, Lane demanded our exact location, told us to stay put, and went silent.
“He’s going to get them killed if he doesn’t start moving with some fucking urgency,” I said as we waited for the sheriff’s arrival, my nerves completely frazzled, energy coursing like electricity through my body.
We must have been closer to the road than I realized because a few minutes later, Lane crashed through the undergrowth, Addie in tow.
“I’ve got half the team going around back,” Lane said when he reached us, not bothering to reprimand us for ignoring his instructions. “The other half is moving up the access road as we speak. Sutton is on standby.”
“We came out in the chopper, should we need it.”
He nodded. “Has there been any movement?”
I shook my head.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to let my team breach?—”
I cut him off. “Fuck no. I’m first in the door.”
“You’re a civilian, Finn. I can’t allow that.”
I fuckinghatedthe bureaucratic bullshit Lane pulled when it came to stuff like this. If he let us go, Trey, West, and I would have Lainey and Reagan home already. Butnoooooo. We had to operate within the constraints of the law.
Well, fuck the law. I may have retired, but I was still a goddamn soldier.
“I’m going in of my own free will,” I protested. “No liability on you.”
My brother ran his hand down his face. I could tell he wanted to fight with me, but there was no good reason for it—and we were only wasting more time. He glanced at the rest ofour brothers and Addie. “You’ll vouch for me if this blows up in my face?”
West grinned. “You got it, Sheriff.” My twin nudged me with an elbow. “I’ve got your six.”
“Y’all scare me,” Addie admitted.
Trey winked. “You get used to it.”
To our left, a group of four deputies led by Johns appeared, slowly approaching the structure.
