"They put you in one room and me in another. I knew they were trying to turn us against each other by lying. Yuri was questioning me, and he said that you had already given them the seed numbers. That you had betrayed me. Well, of course I knew he was bluffing. I knew you didn't have it. And I figured Dimitri was probably doing the same thing to you, telling you that I had given up the password."
"Yeah," April said bitterly. "That's exactly what happened. He told me you didn't care if they sold me into slavery. You said they could traffic me."
"Fucking liars." But Vince's voice held no real heat. "The minute they said you'd given up the seed number, I knew I was fucked. They'd torture you to death, and then they'd have no use for me. Hell, they might even figure out you didn't know it, think I was completely lying. So I told them the truth. I told Yuri that you didn't know anything. That it was in your purse and your fiancé had it. But that if they would arrange a trade, they'd get the purse. And then I'd send them the password twenty-four hours after they let me go."
April lowered her voice. "And they actually believed you would send them the correct password?"
"Looks like it, babe." He paused. "They made me call Shane. Gun to my head. Told me to tell him midnight at Echo Ridge, bring the purse undamaged, he’d get you back undamaged."
April's heart lurched. Echo Ridge was a little mom-and-pop ski lodge. The couple who built it died without a clear inheritance plan and it was still in probate years later. In the meantime, the building stood abandoned and derelict, with nothing else around for miles.
"Oh my God. I can't believe this is happening."
"Believe it." Vince's voice was hollow. "So, how much does that fiancé of yours love you? Is he gonna let you twist?"
"Never." April's voice was fierce despite her fear. "Shane would never, ever let me twist. He would raise a fortune just to ransom me because he knows what love is. And now I do too, with him."
April only prayed that Shane would stay safe. That he wouldn't die in the attempt to save her.
That somehow, they'd both make it through this alive.
THIRTY
Shane's handswere white-knuckled on the steering wheel as he drove through the storm toward Echo Ridge. Gina sat beside him, her phone glowing in the darkness, fingers flying across the screen as she coordinated the team.
The text with the location had come in an hour ago. Just one hour. Not enough time for proper recon, not enough time to set a perimeter the way Gina liked. But enough time to get there, get in position, and pray the storm covered their approach.
"Flint's got satellite imagery," Gina said, her voice calm despite the chaos. "Maintenance barn, upper lot. Single access road, service road behind. It's exposed."
"Still thinking it's a trap?" Shane said. "You think Konstantin's coming."
"I know he's coming. Dimitri went rogue. Konstantin doesn't forgive that." She looked out at the rain. "He'll send a cleanup crew, and he'll want the crypto. With Capitoline scattered, times are tough for oligarchs these days," she said as she smirked. "I know he's getting low on funds. Get down to your last billion, you start wondering how you can afford your caviar and the payments on your dozen mansions and pieds-a-terre."
She grew serious. "The question is, does Dimitri know it, too? Is he counting on letting Konstantin's men and Watchdog kill each other while he walks away with the purse?"
Shane reviewed the contingency plans they'd gone over earlier in the day. Let Konstantin think he's got the upper hand. Position our people where they can adapt fast. When his team shows up, we're ready.
Except…
"One hour isn't enough time?—"
"One hour is what we've got." Gina's eyes were hard. "Bear, Ben, Elias, Waylon—they're Rangers. They can set up in the dark in a goddamn hurricane if they have to. Kyle and Lach are SEALs. Charlie's one of the best tactical operators I've ever seen. And you—" She looked at him. "You're a Swick. You know how to adapt under fire."
"We get April out first. Everything else is secondary."
"Agreed."
The barn loomed out of the rain like a ghost. Shane killed the headlights, coasted into the upper lot. Two other vehicles were already there—dark shapes in the storm.
Ben's voice came over the comm. "In position. North side."
"East perimeter set." Bear.
"South corner. Eyes on door." Charlie.
"Overwatch, ridge above." Pup. "Limited visibility but I've got enough."
One hour. They'd done it in one hour.
