“The FBI, for one.”
“Fuck!” She punches me in the stomach with her fist.
Nothing to lose, I laugh. “This is priceless. Your husband killed the only people who can locate Charlie for you.”
“So, the brothers do still have her.” Her triumphant grin means I’ve said too much, but so did she by using the present tense.
“The Brennans are still alive.”
The Russian spy shrugs. “Not your rookie, but the older ones, yes.Das vedanya, chickie.”
While I’m tempted to give up hope, I can’t. The bitch is a liar and if my cop’s older siblings are alive, so is he. They’d never let anything happen to their precious baby bro.
As she leaves and the door slams shut, I pray I’m right.
Chapter 21
Dean
While Drac’s drone flies over the O’Malley estate, those of us in the Middletown police station stare at the monitor wall. On one screen, Tommy’s wife stomps out of a multi-car garage and screams into her phone.
The woman I’m falling for has to be alive. Who else could make the Russian bitch so angry?Stay strong, butterfly, I’m coming for you.
Charlie steps forward and points at a small white building hidden behind six foot pines, over a block away from her father’s huge home. “The tunnel ends there.”
The teen moves her finger to the right, andthe picture shifts. “This metal plate slides aside, and a ladder descends to an old sewer line. Me and Sky escaped through here when the ORA attacked us.”
“Thank you.” I give her a hug, her eyes water, and she nods.
“She’s the first real friend I’ve ever had. Please save her.” This kid is so brilliant, it’s easy to forget she’s not an adult.
“We got this. You hang tight.” Letting her go, I turn to O’Brien and grab Adrian’s keys. “You with us?”
The Fed nods. “Let’s roll. I’ve got a jet waiting on the tarmac.”
“You sure I can’t come?” Charlie’s brows rise, then furrow as I shake my head no.
“Not this time.” My palms shoot out before she can argue more. “Listen, my brother Drac needs you in case something goes south. You can help him navigate the house, the guards, your dad, stepmother… You hearing me? No hiding in trunks, taking an Uber, etcetera, etcetera…”
“Yeah, yeah, understood.” Crossing her arms, she frowns and plops down on a chair.
Convinced she’ll play ball, I join the rest outside. Once we’re in the air, O’Brien introduces us to his crew.
When a suit-and-tie argues about us being there, Colin shuts him down. “We’re talking nuclear winter. You really want to squabble over jurisdiction?”
Less than an hour later, our team parks down the street near the building Charlie pointed out.
After another operative enters a key code, we shut off the power to the tunnel, and walk single file underground toward where I pray we’ll find Sky. Reaching the ladder, I rush to the front, climb the stairs, and slide the plate off the hole.
With no guards about, I race to the garage’s back door, turn the handle, and pull. “It’s locked.”
“Copy that.” While Drac confers with Charlie in my earpiece, the rest of the team catches up and waits beside me.
Soon, I’m able to crack open the door.
“Hold.” An agent threads a camera through the opening and seconds later, nods.
“Clear.” As the word echoes in the cavernous building, I sprint to the red Lamborghini.
