“I am the best shot. Thorpe is best with a knife. Attwoodstays with me. Listen carefully to the passcode. You will say four-four-two-one-eight, and then my personal identifier, which isvratar.”
“Four-four-two-one-eight,vratar. Got it.” He wasted no time in taking the key and disappearing into the darkness.
“Come on. Keep to the trees. We’re aiming for that building.” In the light from my phone’s beam, which I was hiding in my hand so I didn’t give away our location, I could just about make out Ry pointing towards a small, squat building between the trees. There was a sliver of light coming from the partially open door.
“Let’s go.”
Winding our way through the trees, we drew closer to the building. Footsteps sounded close by, pounding down the dirt path we’d been on, and Ryker’s indrawn breath was the only warning I got before he dived out of the cover of the trees, tackling the man from the side.
Tearing after him, I pulled out my knife, but before I even had a chance to assess the situation, Ryker reared back, taking the man out with a powerful right hook that knocked him out cold.
Rolling his body over, we patted the man down, relieving him of his gun. “Nice KO,” I murmured, letting Ryker take the gun.
“The bastard deserved everything he had coming to him. I wasn’t gonna let him get to Arson.”
A shadow fell over us. “He is one of ours. I don’t understand.”
When I looked up at Volkov, it was too dark to see his expression, but the confusion in his voice was enough to give me pause. He wasn’t lying.
“Let’s go,” Ryker hissed, climbing to his feet and tuckingthe gun inside his jacket. We slipped back into the trees, moving faster as we drew closer and no one else appeared.
With his gun in hand, Volkov kicked the door open wide, and we crowded inside. We were in a small, bare room with a sloping passageway in front of us, dimly illuminated by a line of bare, flickering bulbs.
I stared down the passageway, taking in the oppressive atmosphere. The only way forwards was to go underground. “I think I know why Nova’s signal disappeared. Let’s get her back and make whoever’s responsible for this pay.”
43
JAY
We reached the end of the passage to be confronted by a huge metal door blocking our way. Ryker curled his fingers around the handle. “Let’s hope this door isn’t locked. Be prepared for anything. We don’t know what’s on the other side.”
I nodded, palming my knife, and across from me, Volkov readied his gun. Ryker clasped his own knife and, in one swift movement, pushed the door open.
We burst into the space beyond, my gaze arrowing straight to the man we’d clearly startled. His eyes widened, his hands lifting as he realised he was outnumbered.
“Bill. You’ll fucking pay for this betrayal,” Ryker snarled. “Give me one good reason not to slit your throat right here.”
Bill. So what Des had said was true, at least. Whether he was involved too…who knew? Who could we trust? There was no way of knowing, and my heart pounded even harder.
Stay calm. One problem at a time.
“F-forgive me, Mr. Thorpe. It was an honest mistake. ’E offered me a deal I-I couldn’t turn down, and ya know the missus wants us to retireto?—”
“The only place you’ll be retiring to is a coffin unless you speak up right now. Where the fuck is my sister?” He held the knife to Bill’s throat while I grabbed his shaking arms, manoeuvring them behind his back so I could hold him in place. Volkov kept his gun trained on Bill the whole time, although I noticed he didn’t try to intimidatehimby shoving it into the underside of his jaw.
“Yer a reasonable man, Mr. Thorpe. King, sir. Please. Let me go, an’ I’ll tell ya everything you need to know.”
Ryker dragged the flat of the blade over Bill’s Adam’s apple, slowly and deliberately. “Tell me what I need to know first, and I’ll consider a deal.”
“Well, it’s like this, ya see?—”
“Stop stalling,” I growled in his ear. “If I find out you’ve harmed one hair on Nova’s head?—”
“All I did was drive her here. I never did nothing else. Just fed ’im some information about ’er whereabouts.” He squeaked when Ryker pressed the tip of his knife into his skin. “Alright! An’ the whereabouts of some of the shipments. Nothing much. She’s in there.”
Ryker and I were on the same page, exchanging glances with a nod. I used my body weight to push Bill to the door and released one of his hands.
“Open the door,” Ryker commanded, wrenching his hand up and pressing it to the keypad. “Now.”
