“Knight 5, clear comms,” Adam says.
When Tony raises his eyebrows at me, I realize I’m next. Duh.
“Knight 6, clear comms.”
Tony winks at me and turns to Mellie. “Your turn.”
“Oops. Knight 7, clear comms. Did I do that right?” she asks without clicking the mic off.
“Yup, just remember to turn off the mic after you speak,” Tony reminds her.
“Oh, horse feathers. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, the first time I went with them I kept screwing it up,” I tell her. I didn’t really, but only because Tony drilled me on it for about an hour one evening.
Just when I think we’re going to sit and enjoy the ride, because sure we are, Tony goes over the plan again. I kind of want to hit him on the back of the head and tell him to shut up. I know he’s just as worried as I am, and he can’t help being an overprotective alpha male. Really, I wouldn’t have him any other way.
I try to zone him out, but he won’t let me. “Dammit, Providence. You need to listen to this. You have to react without thinking first. It’s the only way to stay safe.”
“I’m sorry. We both have it. Trust me.”
“I hope so.”
The rest of the drive is quiet. I catch Tony looking over his shoulder at me a few times, probably assessing my status. He just can’t help himself. It’s too quick and takes too long to gettothe house. As planned, we park in the field on the other side of the road. The house itself is mostly dark, with only one light on in a front room, and there’s no sign of anyone in there. But it means nothing. If he’s keeping the girls in the basement, he’s probably there too.
“Are you getting out now?” Mellie asks after a few minutes of sitting in the dark.
“Not yet. First, we watch to see if anyone in the house noticed our cars. Then Pat and Adam will check area for cameras and motion detectors.”
“How long will that take?” she asks, sounding more like a petulant child than a grown woman.
I mouth along with Tony as he says, “As long as it takes.”
Mellie sees me and giggles, then smacks my arm. I don’t know why I’m being like this tonight. All I can figure out is that it’s the stress weighing on me. Tempest is constantly telling me to lighten up because I’m too uptight. Too bad she can’t see me now.
It feels like forever, but it is only ten minutes later according to my watch when the comms click.
“Knight 3 and 5 on recon, copy Knight 1?”
“Knight 1, clear copy.”
Mellie taps me on the arm and leans in close to whisper, “I feel like I’m in a TV show. I think my next book will be military romance.”
“That would be cool,” I whisper back. “I bet you could use Tony as a subject matter expert. We can ask him when you’re ready?”
“I’d love that. You really think he’d do it?”
“Sure. He just can’t tell you anything classified. But I’m sure he’d be happy to help you,” I murmur as I watch him following the guys on his laptop. They’ve got some kind of tracking software that lets him see everyone’s location.
A few minutes later he says, “They’re on their way back.”
“Knight 3, sit rep?” Tony asks once he sees them return to their vehicle.
“No sign of any surveillance equipment at all. We are clear to proceed, Knight 1. Copy?”
“Copy that, Knight 3. Stand by for signal.” Tony closes the laptop and looks back at us. “Okay, this is your last chance to change your minds. You can stay in the car and we’ll bring the girls out to you when we find them. Or you can come, but remember you do what I tell you. If I say stop, you stop. If I say hit the ground, you hit the ground. What are you going to do?”
I look over at Mellie. I can’t see much of her face in the dim light reflecting through the windows, but I know she’s as determined as I am. “We’re coming. We’ll have your six, Knight 1,” I say as I check the revolver Mellie’s dad gave me earlier. He had a few more guns stashed in their bedroom.
