Jay’s ears rang as he hit the floor, the lights around him flickering, or maybe it was his vision. It was as if he were swimming in murky waters, unable to tell which end was up.With a groan, he forced himself to roll over onto his side. He had to get up. Jay threw out a hand, searching for the gun, but he was grabbed and flung over someone’s shoulder before he could find it.
“Ry?”
“Don’t worry. You’ll see your man soon enough. Too bad it won’t be for very long.”
Darkness came and swallowed him.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
How the hellhad this happened?
Jay’s voice echoed in Ryden’s head, the way he’d called for Ryden, the fear. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Fire and smoke exploded into the night sky, and Ryden’s heart stopped. What the hell? Was that…?Fuck. His blood turned to ice, and a lump formed in his throat. They blew up the van.
Jay.
Ryden didn’t wait for the others. He flung the strap of his rifle across his chest and bolted, not caring about breaking formation, being out in the open, or being shot at. It went against every instinct, every bit of training he’d had, but his heart was in the driver’s seat. He jumped off the bottom of the gangway and took off again, sprinting across the container yard. His thoughts raced, all kinds of horrific images invading his brain, but he shoved them out, refusing to accept any of them to be true. He had to get to the van, to Jay.
“Ryden, wait!”
Finch wasn’t far behind, but Ryden couldn’t stop. His ears rang, and the voices in his comms sounded muffled, as if underwater, which was fitting since Ryden felt like he was drowning. All he could focus on was getting to the man he’d losthis heart to, a man who could make him laugh, sing, and growl in frustration at the same time. He couldn’t lose Jay.
When Ryden agreed to let Jay come along, he refused to go down the path of what-if scenarios. Even knowing the likelihood the assholes had hired help, there had been no evidence to suggest they wouldn’t be busy with their product considering their desperation and last-minute scramble. Besides, it’s not like they would have known Jay would be there. Even if they had, why go after him?
The container yard blurred around him, and shouts from King and the others echoed in his ears. Ryden’s lungs burned, but nothing mattered except reaching that van. He had to believe Jay was alive.
Please, darlin’. Be alive.
When the smoke cleared enough to reveal the scorched shell of the surveillance van, Ryden skidded to a halt. The doors were blown halfway off, and the side was crushed in, like something had tried to plow through it. Glass littered the ground, and the smell of scorched plastic and electronics threatened to choke him.
“Jay?” Ryden’s voice was a whisper, and the back of his eyes stung.Please, don’t let him be in there.“Sweetheart?”
No answer. Not that there would be.
Ryden forced his body into action, rushing to the back of what remained of the van and wrenched open the remaining door. Inside, the red emergency lights pulsed, and a couple of the screens flickered. One of the chairs had been torn from its base, but the scorched console was mostly intact.
The equipment locker was open, and a gas mask lay on the floor along with a Glock. Ryden climbed in and crouched down to pick up the mask. He couldn’t help his shaky smile. Jay had intended to go down fighting.
Instead, he’d been taken.
“Those sons of bitches.” Ryden wiped at his eyes as he stood. He was going to hunt them down, and once he had Jay safely back in his arms, he would make them pay.
“Ryden!” Finch’s voice crackled through the comms. “Where the hell are—Damn.” He stood outside the doors, the color draining from his face. “Tell me he’s not…”
“He ain’t here,” Ryden murmured, standing. “Jay’s gone.” He shook his head and tried to get a hold of himself. “Fuck!” He slammed the mask onto the floor. “I should have made him stay home, tied him to a fucking chair or something.”
“Come on, man,” Finch said quietly, climbing in after him. “You know my stubborn baby brother. He would have found a way to be here. This isn’t on you.”
The rest of the team arrived, their expressions a mixture of concern and fury. Ryden and Finch jumped out of the van to join them.
“They took him,” Ryden said. “Those assholes had to have been watching us, planning for this.” He turned to Jack. “How the fuck did this happen?”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t know. Doesn’t matter how good these guys are. There’s no way they got into our system. Leo and I built it together. The damn NSA couldn’t get into it.”
“These guys don’t need to get into your system,” Finch said. “Are you telling me you Snake Eaters wouldn’t have been able to do this op without your fancy equipment if push came to shove?”
“Of course we fucking could,” Joker growled. “Doesn’t explain how they got the drop on us.”
King rubbed his hands over his face. “Damn it. We’re the visitors and they’re the home team. They’ve operated out of this port for years without getting caught. Probably knew we were here the second we rolled through the gates. They didn’t need our system when they have the whole damn port.Fuck!” He removed his helmet and chucked it against the van. It smackedthe side with a loudthudbefore bouncing off and skidding across the dirt.
