Scanning the interior, Cade filed away as many details as he could: a corridor leading to the kitchen in the back; a lit but empty living room to the right; a darkened dining room to the left with no sign of movement from within; and stairs leading up to the second floor with no one visible on the landing.
The goon yelled toward the kitchen, "Hey assholes, I'm taking a guy up to see the ruby. I'll be right back."
The man's words prompted murmurs from the kitchen at the rear of the house, but Cade couldn't make out how many voices. In his ear, he heard Taylor say, "We're in position at the back and can hear you clearly. We have visual confirmation. Two hostiles in the kitchen. I repeat, visual confirmation on two hostiles. We're on standby, waiting for your signal."
So far, all was according to plan.
The guy waved his gun in an obvious warning before motioning upstairs. Cade climbed the stairs with the goon behind him and took in the layout of the second floor, knowing there should be four bedrooms, all to the left. The door to the bathroom at the top of the stairs was open, and Cade noted it was empty.
"Second door on the left," the man said when they reached the top, just as Tag's voice whispered in his ear. "Confirmed, ten heat signatures. Two down, eight up."
Mentally processing that information, Cade deduced there were six other people upstairs besides him and his guy, and the only question was whether they were all kidnapped girls or if there was another thug or even a client lurking somewhere behind these doors.
Pulling out a set of keys from his front pocket, the guy unlocked the door, then threw it open. It banged against the inside wall with a thump, and a petite girl jumped to her feet, her stance defensive. Cade immediately knew it was Natalie. The hair falling past her shoulders matched Tristan’s fiery copper tone, and their faces bore a striking resemblance: same nose, same eyes, same freckles. He was relieved there were no obvious bruises or injuries.
Natalie stared them down as if itching for a fight, and he respected her already. Her eyes skittered away momentarily to glance across the room, and when Cade's followed and landed on the other girl, his heart squeezed. She sat with knees curled to her chest, dark hair pulled back to expose an ashen face and eyes wide with fright.
Fucking hell, these monsters.He would be happy to slaughter them all.
Natalie remained silent but tipped up her chin — just like Tristan.
"That's her," the guy said. "No touching."
Cade pretended to examine her. "You a real redhead, kid?"
She scrunched up her face at him but nodded.
He studied her for a minute, feeling bad that he was about to be crude. "You ever been fucked?"
She sputtered, indignant. "No!"
"You sure?" Cade asked, continuing the show for the goon.
"I think I'd know if I was," she spat back. He had to admire her guts.
Forcing out a laugh, Cade commented, "Shit, she's got an attitude, huh? Guess the red-headed temper is for real, huh?"
"Whatever. You done?"
"Yeah, got what I needed," Cade answered, holding Natalie's gaze for a heartbeat, hoping he could convey that he was a friend.He couldn't tell if she understood, but he supposed it didn't matter because this whole thing would be over in a matter of minutes.
As they headed downstairs, Cade asked the guy, "You got any other rubies here besides her?"
"Nah, just a citrine and four onyxes."
Rodriguez said over comms, "That confirms five girls plus Natalie. Six girls, King, and three perps make ten. King will take out the one he's with, and we'll get the other two in the kitchen."
"Damn. I like redheads myself. Too bad that one's off limits. You ever, you know, sample the product?" Cade asked, and while he smirked on the outside, his stomach knotted at the idea.
"Nah," the guy answered absently, seemingly relaxed and not suspicious of Cade's visit or conversation.
Which was exactly where Cade wanted him.
When they reached the front door, Cade reached for the doorknob but then paused and gave the signal.
"One more thing," he said, and before the guy could ask, 'What?' Cade heard a thud from the back of the house, the scratch of furniture across the floor, and then two sharp pops, followed by two heavy thumps in quick succession.
As his guy turned toward the noise, surprised and distracted, Cade easily disarmed him and had the barrel pointed between his eyebrows before the man even knew what had happened.
