He turned his attention back to the window, and Twist rushed into his mind like a linebacker. Christ, he wished Laine’s brother were here. That he didn’t have to take the lead on this mission. He was already responsible for Twist’s death. He couldn’t shoulder something happening to Laine, too.
Yet he was left with no choice. If his emotions weren’t running so damn high and this were any other extraction, he wouldn’t even break a sweat.
“One minute out,” the pilot, Taintor, said through his mic.
The decline of the aircraft made Roarke’s stomach lurch and heart rate rise. He checked his gear. Viper and Striker did the same.
“Thirty seconds to drop.”
Anticipation buzzed through him. Although they weren’t coming in hot, as they did during other high-octane missions, getting off the bird fast was just as important now.
“Wheels down.”
The heli lowered the last twenty feet and bumped against the ground.
Roarke flung off his seatbelt and headset, then pulled open the door. A blast of sharp wind hit him as he jumped to the ground. He hoped Laine and her daughter were dressed warmly. Without the sun, the air held bite.
His team fell next to him. When they were out of the way, the heli rose. They moved briskly over the ground.
“How far out?” Viper asked.
“Just under two miles,” Roarke said. Their boots ate up the ground. At their pace, it wouldn’t take more than twenty minutes to reach the compound. “I want eyes on the car before we move in.” He needed the distance from the house to their getaway vehicle clear in his head.
“Copy. She’s parked about three hundred yards east, near the river.”
Roarke grunted, his muscles tense and his breath short as they picked up speed.
A few minutes later, Viper nodded toward the brush. He pulled out his flashlight and shone the light over the leaves. “There it is.”
“Check for the keys,” Roarke ordered. He wasn’t leaving anything to chance. One slipup could mean innocent lives lost.
“Want to carry them?” Viper asked, as he smoothed his hand over the front tire.
“No. If one of us doesn’t make it out, whoever has Laine and her daughter will need to get away.”
“Good call.” Viper lifted a shiny ring. Two keys dangled from it. “Right here.”
Some of the tension in Roarke’s chest loosened. “Perfect. Let’s go.”
They turned northwest and trekked over the uneven terrain. Dirt and grass and some foliage made up most of their surroundings. There was half a mile between the compound and their vehicle.
Fuck.
If they had more men, someone could pick them all up in the car. That’d be a lot faster and safer than all of them running. But going in with only two men lowered their success rate to a bracket he didn’t want to be in.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Viper asked.
“We’re far from the car.” Roarke didn’t hide his displeasure.
“There’s only three guards,” Striker said. “We can take them out easily.”
“Three guards plus Cameron and another innocent child. And we’ll still need to find Laine.” Roarke said.
“True, but only two we need to get out of there. My bet is that once guns are blazing, Laine will stay in her room and wait. She’ll know we’re coming.”
“They’re locked in, anyway,” Viper reminded Striker.
Roarke’s chest tightened again.
