“I think so.” Burke was staring intently at the screen on his phone. “Okay, it looks like there is one guy inside the car. I can only see a shadow but—Shit! I can see Lany.”
“Let me see.” I grabbed the phone out of Burke’s hands and stared down at the screen. I had to hit the replay button to see the video play out. I scrutinized every second of it until I spotted my love through the front windows of the gallery.
Oh god.
I loved Lany to the depths of my soul, but there were times when I felt an overwhelming urge to wrap my fingers around his beautiful little neck.
This was one of them.
“He’s gonna get himself killed.”
Lany was facing off against five very large men. His hands were planted on his hips, and he was obviously giving them an earful.
He was so going to get himself killed.
“How do you want to do this?” Burke asked.
“We need to go in the back. I want Lany out of the way before those guys standing outside come in, because I think they are going to come in guns blazing.”
Call it a gut feeling.
Call it instinct.
Call it the fact that Lany was neck-deep in this shit and if there was a chance of shots being fired, they would be. That was just how things went when Lany was involved. Worst-case scenario.
But I had been with Lany a long time now. I was prepared for worst-case scenarios. The constant state of readiness had actually made me a better SWAT commander. It made me prepared for anything.
I handed Burke a communication earpiece and then made sure mine was in place and working.
“Clarke, can you text Lyn and let him know we’re coming in?”
Clarke nodded and grabbed his phone. He began tapping away at the screen. “Okay, so Lyn and Eddie are still in the back of the building. They’ve moved from the office to a storage room. Lyn says he can open a window and let us in.”
Fantastic.
I nodded my agreement. “Tell him to go ahead, but only if he won’t get caught.”
As much as I liked the idea of having someone working on the inside, I didn’t want anything to happen to Lyn and Eddie. The fallout would be felt around the city.
After Clarke sent off his message to Lyn, we climbed out of the vehicle and made our way to the back of the gallery. Considering how heavily guarded the front was, I was surprised no one was in the back. Whoever was in there was either sloppy or just plain stupid.
Or both.
I was going with both.
When a narrow window pushed open close to the back door, the three of us rushed over to it. It was a little high up. I cupped my hands together to give Clarke a boost. Burke kept a watch out.
I grit my teeth to keep from growling at Clarke as I levered him up and through the window. The man was not light by any stretch of the imagination.
Thankfully, a moment later, the back door opened.
Burke and I hurried through, shutting the door behind us. Lyn gestured to us from a doorway right next to the back door. I wasn’t sure if it was the blind leading the blind or not when we all filed in.
Eddie waved from his chair. There were two other guys standing close to him. I assumed they were gallery employees.
“You all okay?” I asked as soon as the door closed behind the last of us.
I didn’t ask loudly.
