In silence, the guys got themselves ready—guns holstered, bulletproof vests on, knives strapped to their thighs and various other smaller ones on their bodies. The air was crackling with tension as the reality of what they were preparing for set in, and Lawson could tell they were all lost in thought. Probably thinking about their women, and wondering if they would really survive this. Just like Lawson was.
“We have the home-field advantage,” Lawson reminded them, and the guys lifted their heads to look at him. “Remember that. It’s the biggest bonus we have on our side, and we have to use it against them.”
“You think Granger’s going to make his move tonight?” Xavier asked.
Lawson nodded. “I can’t see why he wouldn’t,” he replied. “He knows that he has us right where he wants us and he’s already cut off our communication. The faster he strikes, the less time he gives us to prepare. And he’s arrogant. He thinks he can easily take us down.”
Cade nodded, sliding a serrated knife into a thigh sheath.
“But his arrogance can easily be his undoing,” Lawson went on. “He’s used to having the upper hand. All his lackeys are scared of him, their fear rules them. And he’s accustomed to having that kind of control. If we can lure him out here, get him on our territory, it might be enough to throw him off.”
Might bebeing the crucial part of that, though he didn’t say it out loud. All of them were thinking it, but the last thing they needed was to start letting their nerves get the better of them. If their confidence wavered for a single minute, all of this would beover before it really even started, and there was no way Lawson was going to let Victor Granger and his men win that easily.
When he thought of everything they had been through, everything they had survived up until this moment, he knew he couldn’t—wouldn’t—let the other man win. They had fought too hard for this place, to make it safe for the people who needed it, and he would be damned if he allowed that evil man to take it from them.
Which was why the guys had spent the better part of the last hour setting up traps all around the property. Trip wires that would trigger flash-bangs, grenades and smoke bombs. Enough to give the guys a warning as to where they were approaching from. These guys were criminals, at the end of the day, and likely hadn’t dealt much with enemies who had tactical knowledge like Lawson and his friends. Granger and his men didn’t know what they were up against.
“How many do you think there are going to be?” Aaron asked.
Lawson grimaced. “I don’t know exactly,” he admitted. “But I would guess somewhere in the realm of twenty or thirty. I doubt Granger will be able to move all of his men out here on such short notice, but he likely travels with a large crew in case of situations like this…” He trailed off.
A crew, he had to admit, who had Lainey. If she was even still alive. He hadn’t been able to hear her voice on his call with Granger, and Lawson had a bad feeling that the man had either killed her or hurt her badly. Men like Granger didn’t like leaving loose ends. Especially ones that caused him trouble and brought attention to him and his operation. He cursed himself for not being more careful, not keeping a closer eye on her, but it was too late for that now.
Right now, they just had to deal with the threat in front of them. If they were able to take down these guys, then hopefully,Lawson would be able to get Lainey out of his clutches and back to her family.
He pushed down those thoughts. No distractions. He couldn’t let his emotions get the better of him. If there was one thing he had learned from his time in the field, it was that the people who let their hearts get in the way of their heads usually ended up dead as a result.
Lawson looked around at his friends. If he had to take on a man like Victor Granger and his crew, he was damn glad he was doing it with these men standing beside him. After all the time they’d spent together over the years, working together, trusting each other, becoming a team. He would do everything in his power to make sure they all walked away in one piece.
“Thank you for standing with me on this,” he told them gruffly. He wasn’t good at saying what was on his mind at the best of times, but now, he needed them to know how much confidence he had in them.
“I know there’s only four of us, but we can do this,” he continued, as Cade, Aaron and Xavier nodded. “We have the advantage. And they have no idea what they’re coming up against. We can win this. I know we can.”
“You ready to do this?” Xavier asked, and Lawson nodded. He reached for the control panel next to the door and pulled the switch. The whole property was plunged into an eerie darkness.
“Let’s do this,” Cade said.
“I’m ready,” Aaron answered.
“Then let’s get into position,” Lawson replied. “Cade, Aaron—upstairs, split up. Each of you take a side. You’ll have the advantage through the upper windows to see out over more of the property. Take the front side. Concentrate on taking them out before they get close enough to infiltrate the lodge. You got your rifles?”
They both held them up.
“Good,” he replied. “Xavier and I will cover the downstairs windows, out the back. Okay, guys, let’s move.”
They got into position. Xavier and Lawson crouched in different areas at the windows that looked out toward the back of the property. Any minute now, they knew the place would be lit up by some sort of explosion, and then their fight would truly start. But, for now, they had to hold out in silence, waiting for something to happen.
“You ever thought this was how it would go?” Xavier muttered to him wryly. “When we opened this place?”
Lawson chuckled, glad for something to break the tension.
“I had a lot of plans for the lodge, but this wasn’t in them,” he admitted. “What about you?”
Xavier shook his head. “Same,” he replied. “Not exactly how I pictured it going. But I guess we should have known our pasts would come back to haunt us.”
“This is where it ends,” Lawson replied firmly. “After this, we’ll implement some new safety procedures and protocols so the lodge will never come under threat again.”
Xavier glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Guess you’ve got more to protect now, too, huh?” he remarked.
