What had looked like Greek to me suddenly converted to English in the blink of an eye. Now there was only a message, which I read out loud: “If I can breach this system, imagine what else I can access. You think you’re safe? If you don’t do what we say and offer Mitchell Langston’s name, then I will make it look like you had a psychotic break and jumped from a walkway. Or perhaps slipped in the shower and fried yourself. Who knows. Accidents happen, right?”
“The good news is, Cipheria made a mistake, and she left a breadcrumb in her code that I’m going to follow now with the help of Hollis’s brother,” Gwen continued after we let the shock roll through the room like a tidal wave. “We’ll find out who she is—and my money is, she’s the brunette you flagged this morning with Helix.”
“What does this all mean? Now that we know who’s behind this and what they want, what do we do now?” I asked, scanning the room while taking Alejandro’s offered hand.
“We still don’t have eyes on Rhett or Beau yet where you’re at, right?” Ryder asked Trevor and Echo Team.
“Negative,” Trevor responded, his tone low and bitter. Still pissed off and blaming himself. I’d need to talk to him later. Remind him of the hero he was and forever would be, and how his son wanted to grow up to be just like him.
“Then we Charlie Mike,” Ryder said with a nod. “Mitch won’t be at the auction tomorrow night like we thought, but we will be.” He shot a quick look at Hollis to check if we were all set in regard to the event.
“Item to auction and invites secure,” she confirmed.
Ryder nodded his thanks. “Echo, where are we on the other team for backup?”
“They’ll be here in time,” someone answered.
My brother scrubbed a hand over his face. “We’ll keep eyes on both properties we know about. If Rhett or Beau don’t show up before the auction, then we’ll stick to the plan we put together last night and not deviate from it.”
“There’s one problem with that plan,” Trevor remarked in a low voice. “Some of those men who work for Helix might not know the truth. They might think we’re the enemies and that they’re following the president’s orders. I can’t take the lives of innocent veterans. Some of these guys are our brothers out there.”
“He’s right,” Alejandro said, tightening his grip on my hand.
“Hollis, what if we ask your brother to get hold of every cell number tied to Helix’s operatives, and the second we’re ready to pull the trigger and move forward with the plan at the auction, he’ll text them the truth?” Gwen suggested.
“It’ll be up to them to pick a side.” Ryder nodded in agreement. “Good or evil. That’s what it always comes down to.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Alejandro
The night of the auction
My hand was damn near trembling as I held the last thing I had to put on as part of my cover story: Mitch’s wedding band. The fact it was a perfect fit was about to send me over the edge. Not sure why it bothered me so much. It worked in our favor, but still—it did.
I finally forced myself to get it over with and slid the symbol of forever that didn’t belong to me onto my ring finger.
Maybe Mitch was no longer a traitor to the country, but that didn’t change the fact he betrayed the oath he made to Audrey. No excuses for what he did. Irredeemable, in my eyes.Butjudgment and forgiveness weren’t up to me. That was between God and Audrey.
I could hear music coming from the bedroom Audrey and I would never actually share as she changed into the dress Hollis had picked out for her before we swapped hotels earlier.
Jazz, of course. Maybe it helped ease her nerves, with everything about to go down. She was one brave woman. A hero for what she waswilling to do for her country tonight, protect names and missions on a file that maybe should never have existed in the first place.
At the feeling of being watched when I was supposed to be alone, I turned around, not too shocked to discover Hollis had gotten the drop on me.
She was hanging by the front door, already dressed in a red silk gown. Reed was her plus-one tonight, not yet with her. He’d swapped places with two of Hollis’s teammates so we’d maintain a visual on Helix’s stronghold to track their movements when it was time.
No signs of Beau or Rhett yet. Only another fake Mitch text with instructions for the trade:Audrey and the ring for Eden. Location TBD. Time: 2200 hrs. —Hell.
The “trade” to get Eden back was a trap. They were looking to divert some of our team, knowing we’d rescue Eden while they went after their real marks: Audrey and the ring.
I tossed Mitch’s empty ring box onto the couch and strode over to her.
She lifted her chin toward the closed bedroom door. “How is she?”
I turned to the side. “She’s nervous but trying to pretend she’s fine. She FaceTimed Chase an hour ago. Trevor too.”
“And her mom?”
