“I’ve got you. Ahead of you are six guards on perimeter watch. They haven’t moved in the past few minutes.”
“Copy.” Iona continued to ease her way through the foliage and trees, scanning constantly for hidden cameras, tripwires, and enforcers.
She skirted the perimeter of the compound as she wove an erratic path through the forest until she reached her final destination, the one place where there was a gap in camera coverage. Her teammate, Riley, was amazing with computers. In a matter of minutes, she’d hacked into the compound’s security system and mapped the cameras’ areas of coverage. Iona didn’t mind taking advantage of the security blind spot.
“In position,” she murmured.
“For the moment, you’re clear,” Z said. “The roaming guards will be back around in five minutes. If you’re going, do it now.”
“Copy.”
Iona did one last scan, then stepped out into the shadowed compound yard. Movement drew attention. She knew that. The circumstances, however, made it critical for her to cross the open space at top speed. She had little time before the guards would make their rounds.
She raced across the yard and around the corner of a building, stopping in a doorway wreathed in darkness. Ionagrasped the knob and twisted it. The knob gave easily under her hand.
She scowled. Did Eddie’s people believe they were so invincible that no one would dare invade their compound? Well, she dared. The man she loved was in this compound, and she intended to find him and get them both out of here.
“Echo in position,” Seth murmured.
“Artemis in position,” Teagan whispered. “Go when ready, Iona.”
“Infiltrating now.” With the mission clock ticking in her head, Iona slipped into the building. After a quick glance, she closed the door to a mere crack and waited for the roaming guards to pass the door. One minute passed, then two. At the three-minute mark, two men wearing Reckoner cuts strode past the doorway without a backward glance or stopping to test the knob.
If these men were part of her security detail, she’d fire them. She’d never seen a more inept security system in her life. Then again, perhaps that was to lull her into believing she was in this compound unobserved. She knew better than that. Eddie Knight knew she’d come to rescue his son.
She waited a few seconds, then slipped out of the storage building and headed toward the center of the compound, staying in the shadows as she went. “Where, Z?” she whispered.
“Left side of the compound. The target building has two levels. The main floor looks like an office setup. Four people on the floor. Elias is in the basement.”
Of course he was. “Copy.”
“One man with him. Two at opposite ends of the basement in other small rooms. They’re working over two other people.”
She scowled. If Elias were mobile, she’d enjoy interrupting the punishment the other prisoners were enduring.
Twice during her journey to the building where Elias was being held, Iona had to dive behind a tree or bush when one of the MC members walked into view. Zane’s warning had prevented her from being discovered both times.
“You’re clear,” Zane murmured. “Go.”
She went.
“You have ten minutes, Iona,” Teagan said. “After that, we’ll go to Phase Two.”
“Copy.” She sprinted across the final hundred feet, stopping in a darkened side doorway. After a quick glance around, Iona twisted the knob and once again found that it turned easily under her hand. Oh, yes. This was definitely a setup.
She slipped inside and closed the door behind her. Iona waited for a full minute to see if she had company coming after her, but nothing moved in the vicinity. To her right was an inaudible murmur of voices. Nothing stirred in the dimly lit building.
Skin prickling, she headed to the area where Zane and Riley believed the stairs to the basement level were located, alert for hidden cameras, ready for enforcers to appear at any moment.
Although she had to follow a zigzag pattern because of the cameras, Iona was reasonably certain she’d reached the door to the stairs without detection. She twisted the knob. It didn’t give.
Ha. This was the first door in the compound that was locked. “Someone locked the door to the basement.” After another glance around, Iona crouched in front of the knob and inserted her lock picks into the mechanism. Seconds later, the tumblers shifted. Perfect.
She slid her lock picks away, stood, and twisted the knob. Iona slipped into the darkened interior of the staircase leading downward into the basement beneath the building. The farther down the stairs she went, the colder the atmosphere became.
Man, talk about creepy. This was the definition of creepy. Hopefully, she wouldn’t encounter bats or snakes down here. She dealt with many types of critters on their missions, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed dealing with them. Unless the critter was a cat or a dog, she wasn’t a fan.
“Hold. Traffic.”
