Luckily, Sabrina’s father came through. Halfway through the flight, Daniel Ross sent an email with the schematics of Rocco Ferrante’s penthouse at The Starlight Hotel—where heapparently stayed any time he was in the city—as well as a detailed layout of his sprawling mansion in the desert. Sabrina had already forwarded all of it to their phones.
Rocco Ferrante’s residences wouldn’t be easily accessible. He’d be well-guarded and both his places would be a pain in the ass to breach undetected. Despite wanting to remain under the radar, if Jayson had to go in guns blazing, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“Where do we think he is?” Wes asked. They all closely studied the building layouts, wanting to be fully prepared once they decided on which location to hit first.
“Can your dad find out?” Jayson asked Sabrina.
“He said he’s working on it.”
Not good enough.Jayson stifled a frustrated sigh. They needed intel ASAP. Time was critical, and it was ticking away far too fast. If anyone laid a hand on Emma, dared to hurt her in any way, he would wreak destruction like a Horseman of the motherfucking Apocalypse.
“If we don’t hear back from Mitch or Daniel, our best bet is to split up,” Brand stated.
They decided Brand, Wes and Chaz would head to the mansion about twenty minutes outside of Vegas, while Jayson, Sabrina and Corey would go to The Starlight. Brand wanted Lex to stay with the plane and be ready to move fast. They tossed around and discarded several ideas before settling on a plan of action which basically consisted of breaking in, locating Emma and extracting her. There simply wasn’t time to mess around with disguises or subterfuge. This was a balls-to-the-wall, no-holds-barred, blow-shit-up rescue.
Luckily, that’s what they did best.
Fifteen minutes before landing, Jayson secured his tactical vest and checked his gear again. They were all armed to the teeth and ready for action. Along with his trusty Glock 19, hehad flashbangs, his Ka-Bar, extra ammo and a grenade, not to mention several breaching tools, rope, zip ties and a med kit.
“Are you okay?” Sabrina asked quietly, studying him closely.
He met her worried, golden-brown eyes. “Not until I have Emma back.”Why pretend?
“We’ll find her,” she said, tone fierce. Determined. “I know it.”
He reached over and adjusted a strap on her vest, tightening it. “You don’t have to go in with us.”
A frown creased her brow. “I’m going.”
Warmth bloomed in his chest. The fact that she was willing to step into the fire, to put her life on the line when she barely knew him, hit hard. “Thank you,” he murmured.
Lex told everyone to buckle up, then expertly guided the An-26 aircraft to touch down at a private airfield fifteen minutes from the Strip. The energy amped up as they placed comms units in their ears and prepared to exit.
“Stay in touch,” Brand directed. “Once we locate Emma, return here immediately. No side quests, no revenge plots.” He gave Jayson a pointed look. “Getting Emma home safely is our only objective. Lex, be ready to get us the hell outta here.”
“Roger that.” Lex gave a nod. “See you soon.”
The men exchanged fist bumps and exited the plane. Jayson knew what Brand was getting at, and he wasn’t planning to go off the rails and turn the penthouse into a Tarantino revenge flick. There would be time to finish things up later.
Mitch had arranged for two Range Rovers to be waiting for the team, and they quickly separated and climbed into the vehicles. Jayson opened the rear door for Sabrina then climbed into the front passenger seat, while Corey got behind the wheel.
Looking out the tinted window, Jayson stared at the passing desert scenery, his mind racing, gloved hands clenched.
In the back, Sabrina’s phone beeped with a text, and Jayson turned in his seat. She quickly scanned the message, then she slid closer, making eye contact with him.
“Dad said Emma is at The Starlight. She was just spotted heading up to the penthouse with two of Ferrante’s men.”
His heart thundered at the intel. “Is Ferrante there?”
“Unconfirmed. But let’s assume he is. How do we get up there and rescue Emma?”
On the flight over, they’d discussed stealing a master keycard from housekeeping, as well as posing as maintenance, but who knew how long that would take. Extracting his daughter ASAP was priority number one.
“By any means necessary.” Jayson exchanged a determined look with Corey, and his friend nodded in understanding.
Shit just got real.
Sabrina might be a trained FBI agent, but the two men in the front seat were a completely different breed. They were former special ops. Badass to the bone. And now she was about to storm the luxury penthouse of the top Vegas mobster and hopefully not die in the process. Because sometimes things didn’t work out the way you planned, and she knew ops like this could go south fast.
