Jayson contacted Brandon through their comms and relayed Emma’s location, courtesy of Special Agent in Charge Daniel Ross. After agreeing the FBI intel was good, Brand and company changed their course to The Starlight.
Corey parked the Range Rover in the loading dock behind a row of dumpsters and recycling crushers, and they jumped out. Hopefully, no one would look twice. This was Las Vegas, after all, and there were a lot stranger things to see than a few GI Joe/Jane-looking individuals in black wearing tactical vests. At least, she hoped so.
The Starlight, a newer hotel on the Strip, was immensely popular. According to the building schematics, the freight elevator would take them up to the sixtieth floor, but not directly to the penthouse which covered floors sixty-one through sixty-three.
“How’re we going to access the freight elevator?” Sabrina asked, hurrying beside the two men. Their long strides quickly ate up the distance from the SUV to the elevator, and she was forced to jog or fall behind.
Jayson reached into one of his many cargo pants pockets and produced a small, box-like device. “By using this fun little CIA gadget.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you get that?”
On her other side, Corey unfolded a compact breaching device and used it to pry the closed elevator door open.
“We’ve got connections,” Jayson murmured, and based on what she’d already seen, she had no doubts about that.
She watched them work with ease, skill and efficiency. Like they’d done this a million times before. Once Corey pried the door open, they stepped inside and Jayson placed the gizmo on the elevator’s control panel. The screen lit up, a keypad appeared and he punched in sixty. The door closed and the elevator began to zoom upward.
Sabrina looked from one man to the other, impressed. “You guys are good.”
Corey smirked and Jayson’s hazel eyes glittered, locking her in his sights. “You have no idea,” Jayson murmured, and herbelly exploded in flutters. For some reason, she got the feeling he wasn’t talking about his stealth skills any longer.
She gave her head a shake, needing to remain completely focused on the task at hand.Get in, find Emma, get out.Everything else—if there were to be anything else—could wait.
As they closed in on the sixtieth floor, the men pulled their weapons, and Sabrina followed suit. She also carried a Glock 19, with a few FBI-specific modifications. The elevator stopped and Sabrina felt every muscle in her body tense as the door slid open. Corey took point and Jayson tilted his head for her to follow. She obeyed without question and he immediately moved in behind her, bringing up the rear of their trio.
The knowledge that Jayson had her six felt good. Reassuring in a way she couldn’t quite explain and had no time to analyze. Corey led them straight to the stairwell and they moved swiftly up the steps to the sixty-first floor.
“Stay here while we clear the floor,” Jayson ordered, and she bristled.
“I can help—”
“Stay,” he hissed. “If we need you, we’ll call.”
Sabrina huffed out a breath, wanting to argue, but knowing time was of the essence. Still, his order pissed her off. Maybe they didn’t think she was trained well enough and might compromise the mission. Or, worse yet, maybe they didn’t take her seriously and thought she would just get in the way. Hell, she had the very bad habit of doubting herself, so why wouldn’t they?
Pride stung, her shoulders slumped and she lowered her gun.
“Don’t think you’re off the hook, Special Agent.” Jayson gave her a reaffirming nod. “We need eyes here on the stairwell to make sure we have a clear exit.”
His words perked her up. It made sense for the op, and it reaffirmed her trust in them to think things through logically, even when there were very personal stakes on the line.
“Copy,” she stated, voice firm and in total control. Granted, she might not be a former Navy SEAL or Army Ranger like the two men standing before her, but she was a goddamn qualified professional, and she could handle herself in a dangerous situation. That’s what she kept telling herself, anyway.
“The hall is empty,” Corey reported. “Let’s move.”
“See you soon,” Jayson told her, then he moved into the hall behind Corey.
Lifting her gun again, she watched the two men glide forward like a couple of grim reapers, searching for souls to take. They might not be active duty any longer, but their training had stuck. She could see it in every move they made. And she was damn impressed.
Her eyes remained glued to Jayson, watching closely as he pressed his back to the wall right outside the door to Ferrante’s suite. Pulling up his gaiter, he lifted a gloved hand and knocked three times.
Here we go.Heart in her throat, she waited for all hell to break loose.
The moment one of Ferrante’s thugs opened the door, Jayson took him down with two shots—one to the head, one to the heart—while Corey tossed a flashbang into the suite. Smoke, light and shouts erupted like some kind of cosmic lightning storm as they pushed inside.
Sabrina couldn’t see what was happening in the suite, but the pop of gunshots filled the smoky air. Sweat trickled down between her breasts as she waited. Her fingers tightened on the Glock’s grip, tense and prepared to fire. She was ready for anything.
Anything except for the sound of the door crashing open one floor below, followed by the pounding of boots racing up the staircase.Oh, shit.
