Walking beside Gabe, Nate began to silently pray. He’d been doing that a lot, lately. More than he had in a very long time. He just hoped, for her sake, God was listening.
As they reached the edge of the tree line, Ghost held up a fist to signal to the men they needed to stop. Nate glanced through the limbs at the large, white house before them.
From their position, he could see two men dressed in black pacing back and forth along the south wall. Another did the same along the east side. They assumed a fourth man was to the west, as well as two more in the front.
So far, everything lined up with what Barry had told them.
One of the two guys in back matched the description Barry had given them of his cousin. Their informant hadn’t wanted to stay at the tiny shack of a house alone, but there was no room for him in their vehicles. Even if there was, he just would’ve been another distraction.
“Ready?” Ghost whispered over his shoulder.
“Hell, yes.”
Nate and the Delta badass shared a look before Ghost said, “Remember the plan. We go out just enough to cover Zade, retrieve Rasat, then regroup back here before heading into the house. On my count.”
Using the same fist as before, he silently counted down from three. On one, the men raised their guns and made their way through the trees, spanning out on either side of Zade to provide cover, if needed.
Using his modified HK G28 automatic sniper rifle, Zade showed off his sniping skills by effortlessly taking out one of the back guards, followed by the one to the east.
Both men were dead within a second of each other.
The other guard, the one they believed to be Barry’s cousin, looked startled and a little lost. He raised his own weapon and began moving it about from side-to-side wildly, clearly unsure of where the two silent shots had come from.
Rasat was not made aware of the exact day or time Delta would be arriving, but per Ghost, Barry had assured him he would know when it was safe to surrender.
Confident in their identification of the man, Ghost risked becoming a target and made his presence known. Stepping away from the cover the trees and foliage provided, the well-trained man waved an arm in the air to get Rasat’s attention.
When the other man finally spotted him, Ghost motioned for him to come to them. Rasat looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching.
After a few seconds of hesitation, the man began sprinting across the few yards spanning between him and the trees.
The second he was within arm’s reach, Ghost grabbed hold of Rasat’s arm and yanked him into the trees with the rest of them.
“You are Ghost?” the terrified man asked, his heavy accent matching his cousins.
“I am. What’s the code word?”
“Snickerdoodle.”
Matt snorted. “Snickerdoodle? Really?”
“What?” Ghost asked, his tone defensive. “It’s one of my wife’s favorite cookies.”
Several of the men chuckled, but Nate’s chest tightened when he realized he didn’t know what Gracie’s favorite cookie was. Or her favorite color.
God, there was so much he still needed to know about her. He just prayed he got the chance to learn it all.
“Thank you. I was beginning to think you were not coming.”
“I don’t go back on my word.”
Rasat took Ghost’s free hand in his and repeated, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, yet. This deal hinges on us getting Yavuz and Achim into custody and getting the woman out alive.”
“Yes. I understand. The woman is—”
“Gracie,” Nate growled.
