“Shit,” Tessa’s voice came through.
Cross waited a beat, his heart rate spiking.
“Make that four SUVs.” Tessa whirled, looked up at him, and then over at McGuire. “He brought four SUV loads of guys. One stopped further back, but the guys are sure it’s part of Rodriguez’s crew.
McGuire swore. “What the hell did he bring that many guys for? They’ll end up killing each other with that many bodies floating around.”
Tessa held up her hand to indicate she was getting more from her people. “One is hanging way back out of sight of the other three…They are setting up a perimeter. The other three have pulled over just down the street. They are waiting. Four guys got out of the third SUV, and they are heading into the buildings around them.”
“Shit,” Patch snarled. “They’re setting up like we set them up. They’ve brought the extra guys, so they don’t have to worry about not getting here early.”
Fear unfurled itself in Cross’s stomach and filled his veins. “Tessa, tell your people they have to take these guys without having them tip off the rest of them. Make sure that happens, or Drew will be dead.”
Tessa nodded and started talking rapidly. He couldn’t hear what she said, but his nerves went on high alert when she froze and then started pacing much faster. She stopped talking, but froze again, her head cocked. What the hell was going on? He wanted to run down the stairs and hear it all for himself, but he knew he had to stay focused or this wasn’t going to work.
“The fourth SUV is just sitting there. We have eyes on it, but it’s unclear what they are doing. The guys from the third SUV have gone into the surrounding buildings, and they are now setting up on the roofs.”
“What about your people?” Cross demanded. “Where are they?”
“They have pulled back so they don’t spook Rodriguez’s team. Once we have confirmation that Rodriguez has Drew with him and that he’s in with you guys, my people will take his people on the roofs.” Tessa glanced up at Cross. “Do you think Drew is in the fourth SUV?”
Cross thought about it for a second. He wanted that to be true because then the ATF could grab her while they had Rodriguez occupied.
“No,” McGuire answered for Cross. “Something else is going on.”
Tessa held her hand up again. “We just got confirmation that the guys on the roofs are cartel. My people recognized two of them.”
“Shit,” Patch breathed. “Then that forth SUV is either Rodriguez’s men waiting to take out the cartel guys or the cartel guys waiting to take out Rodriguez’s men. Either way, this is going to be a shit show of gunfire. Team, keep your heads down.”
Cross was trying not to lose his shit. Patch was right. This was going to be a clusterfuck. He sent up a prayer that they would be able to get Drew out alive. The longer this went on, and the increased body count of people with guns, made that less and less likely.
“The guys on the roofs are set. Two SUVs are on the move. They’ll be out front in less than sixty seconds.”
Cross pushed the desk into position behind the sandbags and then set up his rifle. He’d cut a hole in the glass earlier, and now he lined up the muzzle of his tactical rifle with the opening so he could take a clear shot with nothing between him and his target if necessary.
The garage door started rolling up.
Tessa burst out, “Men are getting out of the fourth SUV. Rodriguez’s guys. They are heading toward the warehouses where the cartel has men on the roofs.”
“Make sure your men hang back and see how this is going to play out,” McGuire directed.
Tessa nodded. “Done.”
Cross watched as headlight beams filled the warehouse. The SUVs rolled in, and he clicked a button to lower the door behind them. No need to provide the enemy with a direct sight line. The more they could control this, the better Drew’s chances of survival were, and right now, he needed them to be as highas possible. He wasn’t leaving here without her, one way or another, and he would kill as many as he had to, to make that happen. He looked through his scope and settled his breath. Game on.
CHAPTER 25
“Stay here, and not a sound,”Rodriguez growled. He turned to Juan. “If she moves, shoot her.”
Juan nodded.
Drew sucked in oxygen through her nose and glared at Rodriguez as he sat staring out the windshield. It wasn’t like she could say anything anyway. Rodriguez had her arms and legs zip-tied, but he added a piece of duct tape over her mouth. He’d put her in the middle of the back seat, so if anyone shot through the windshield, she was the first to go.Asshole.
Tessa was out there. Drew scanned the area through the windshield and side windows. She thought she saw McGuire in the corner by the pallets, but she wasn’t certain, and she was pretty sure that she’d had a glimpse of Stone up on the catwalk but it didn’t matter. She didn’t need to see them to know they were there. Cross, her brother, Patch, and Stone. There was no way they would leave Tessa on her own for this. More importantly, they would do anything they could to get Drew back. That’s what worried her.
Rodriguez and Miguel were playing cat and mouse. She wanted to warn the others, but she had no way of doing it. TheSUV rolled to a stop in the cavernous warehouse, and the door started coming down behind them.
“Whoa,” Dunlop commented. “Can we ask them to keep the door up?”
