She barely swallowed the scream, and she wasn’t prepared for the pain. She also wasn’t prepared for the second pop that was her other thumb.
A second later, the hood left her face as he yanked it off.
She blinked, shaking, cradling her wrists against her stomach, her arms on fire from the elbows down.
Light sliced under the door, thin and sharp, cutting across the man crouched in front of her.
She registered his build first. Then the world stopped.
“Archer!” The name exploded past her lips.
She stared at him, dumbstruck. His voice had been hoarse and muffled beneath two hoods, but that wasn’t the real reason she hadn’t recognized it. In her mind, her brother was still somewhere far away from this nightmare. Her brain had never even considered the possibility that the voice belonged to him.
She jolted to her feet and almost fell over. But she didn’t care if she hit the floor because she was looking at her brother’s face. Eyes she’d looked into her whole life.
He was thinner and older and marked by whatever the last months had done to him. But he was there.
“Ellory.”His voice broke on her name.
She lunged forward and hit him hard enough that he had to catch her. He staggered back a half step, arms locking around her like he was afraid she’d vanish.
She buried her face in his shoulder—
And the door blew inward.
SEVENTEEN
“Stack.”
Charlie team formed along the latch side of the door, shoulder to shoulder, muzzles angled—every man knowing exactly which slice of the house was his.
Ash took point.
The house was dark and sealed. Curtains drawn. No movement.
Chickie set the charge on the door and waited for Con’s nod to detonate.
Con gave the signal.
The charge thudded, and the door blew inward. They were inside in under five seconds.
Ash entered through smoke and splintered wood, clearing the left as the team flowed in behind him. They moved swift and silent, boots barely audible on the old floors.
“Stairs clear.”
“Kitchen clear.”
Ash zoned out of his body and let muscle memory take control. But when he turned a corner and saw the door at the end of the hall stood open, his blood ran colder.
He turned his head and waited for Con’s call. An open door usually meant they could expect shots fired.
Con gave a hand signal, and Ash moved forward in a silent glide. When he reached the door, he scanned the room through the crack. Then pushed through.
What he saw had his chest going tight.
Cipher stood in the center of the room, waiting.
Ash felt the team fill the gaps behind him.
