“I just sit there, idling the car. When I don’t drive through the gate, the men will either call my cell or come out to get me. If they call, I don’t answer.”
“The object is draw them out of the warehouse,” Chase reminded her.
Harper nodded. “I need to get as many men outside as I can so Jax and Maddox can go in through the back and get Shana out with as little resistance as possible.”
“Exactly.”
She swallowed against the nausea swirling in her stomach. She couldn’t mess this up. If she did, Shana would die. Maybe Jax and Maddox, too. And Chase. Dear God, she didn’t want to think about him getting shot again. The timing had to be perfect.
She took a calming breath and checked her watch. She needed to pull up outside the gate at exactly 1400 hours. That, she had learned in Colombia, was military speak for 2:00 p.m.
“What’s next?” Chase asked, forcing her to continue repeating the plan.
“I put the car in Reverse and wait outside the gate as long as I can. Just before Montoya’s men reach the Mercedes, I hit the gas.” And as the car shot backward, her father’s men, one located on each side of the warehouse, would open fire on the men who came out of the building into the area in front of the gate.
“I’ll be close by. I plan to have you in my sights every minute.” He would be getting out of the car before she made the turn, making his way back to the warehouse, positioning himself outside the gate to handle any threat to her that might come up.
“Whatever happens,” Chase said, “once you start backing up, you don’t stop. You get the hell out of there. Head for your father’s. The place is a fortress. You’ll be safe there.”
Her gaze shot to his side of the car. “What about you?”
“I’ll have men there. They may need my help. Whatever happens, you don’t hesitate. You get out of there as fast as you can. If you wait, you become a liability instead of an asset. Understood?”
She swallowed. She didn’t like it, but she understood. “Yes.”
“There’s way too much room for error in this plan, but it was the best we could come up with in so short a time.”
The men were doing everything in their power to save Shana. Risking their lives. It was all anyone could ask.
“The turn is just up ahead,” Harper said, checking the addresses.
“You ready?” Chase asked.
“I’m ready.” Shana and the men were counting on her. She wasn’t going to let them down.
“Pull over,” Chase said, checking their location against the time on his watch. “Two minutes till you make the turn onto the property.”
The car pulled to the curb to wait, allowing the clock to run down, giving Maddox, Ryker and Winston’s men time to get into position. Chase checked the area for scouts as he had been doing for the last few miles, but saw no sign of anyone.
Sliding a hand around the nape of Harper’s neck, he leaned over and kissed her, quick and hard, then opened the door and slid out of the vehicle. He disappeared into the trees, cutting diagonally back toward the warehouse. Once he got there, he would take up a forward position, out of sight behind a low concrete-block wall across from the tall iron gate at the entrance.
Chase’s earbud crackled to life. “Two exterior guards down,” Maddox said, referring to lookouts behind the warehouse. “Winston’s men are moving into position along the sides. We’re ready to retrieve the package.”
“Copy that.” Through the trees, he could just make out a flash of silver as the Mercedes turned onto the narrow road leading to the back of the property. “Harper just made the turn.”
Exactly on time, the Mercedes continued slowly down the road toward the gate. It had already been rolled open, Chase saw as he crouched behind the block wall, preparing for Harper’s arrival.
The warehouse itself stood two stories high, a big metal structure with a large open interior, a loading dock just off to the right of the front office door. He could see two armed men standing guard next to the dock while another stood beside the office door, armed with an AR-15.
Harper slowed the Mercedes to a stop just outside the gate. Chase saw the faint rock of the car as the transmission slipped into Reverse. Long seconds passed. When the car didn’t drive through the gate, Chase heard Harper’s cell phone ring. She ignored it. It continued to ring but she didn’t pick up.
Men began to pour out the front door of the warehouse: one, two, four, six, eight. Rough-looking men, gangbangers, heavily tattooed, probably more MS-13. The two in front of the loading dock started toward the car, as well. The plan was working.
Adrenaline coursed through him as the men began crossing the asphalt in front of the warehouse, heading for the gate. Heading for Harper. Neither Ryker nor Maddox had confirmed securing Shana—and time was running out.
Inside the warehouse, Shana watched the guard pacing a few feet away. Though most of the men had filed out of the main building, two of them remained. A third man walked to the front to look out the window.
Shana’s stomach knotted. She prayed her friend wouldn’t do something foolish, didn’t believe she would drive right through the gate and give herself up to them. Surely not.
