He jogged out of the room and up the stairs to the second floor. He gave each bedroom door a perfunctory knock, then waited in the hall. His teammates opened the doors at almost exactly the same moment.
Seth said, “Sit rep.”
“Company heading this way.”
“How many?”
“We’ve only seen one.”
“Doesn’t mean there aren’t more hidden around the perimeter.” Seth glanced at his teammates. “Gear up. Let’s find out what our visitor wants. One minute. Meet at the foot of the stairs. Go.” When Elias remained where he was, Seth scowled. “That includes you, Knight. Get moving.”
Surprise swept over him. He thought Seth would consider him too much of a liability to include him in the op. Elias would take it, though.
He rushed to his room, geared up, and slid his Sig into his holster. Elias’ tight muscles relaxed for the first time since he’d been shot. He might not be one hundred percent, but he could shoot well enough to defend himself and his teammates.
Echo unit and Artemis met at the foot of the stairs. “Turn on your comm devices,” Seth ordered. “Echo unit with me.” He tapped his earpiece. “Iona, orders for Artemis?”
“Form a perimeter around the cabin. Let’s make sure Echo unit doesn’t have a nasty surprise waiting for them when they return.”
“Copy that.”
“Iona, one of you needs to stay on the security cams. We need someone watching our backs. I’ve got a feeling our visitor is a distraction.”
“Do you want us to follow you into the woods?”
“Negative. A secure perimeter is your priority.” He turned to his team. “Let’s go.”
Seth took the lead, turning off lights as he headed toward the kitchen. At the back door, he stood to the side and peered out of the window. After a moment, he opened the door just wide enough for them to slip outside and led them to the woods behind the cabin. Once there, he signaled his team to spread out.
“Where is he, Iona?” Elias murmured.
She gave the coordinates. “He’s still heading straight for the cabin. No deviation.”
“How far out?” Seth whispered.
“Half a mile.”
“Copy that. Let’s find out who this is and have a conversation with him.”
Elias’ lips curved upward. Conversation? More like an old-fashioned interrogation. His smile faded. He didn’t like people sneaking up on them.
What if this guy had brought friends along? If Elias’ gut was right, those friends would attempt to take control of the cabin and those inside it.
Yeah, he knew the women of Artemis could take care of themselves. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t worry about each of them, especially Iona.
He sighed. Elias might make her angry, but he had to warn her. If he made her mad, he’d apologize. “Watch your back, Iona.”
Silence, then, “Is that your famous gut talking?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll watch my back if you watch yours because I have that same feeling about your team.”
Huh. Interesting. “Copy.”
Elias kept moving ahead, careful to place his steps in such a way as to avoid making noise and giving his position away to the enemy, listening to Iona’s soft-voiced updates on the intruder’s position.
“Still no sign of friends?” Seth asked.
