Page 42 of Deadly Alliance

“What? We put Emme in the middle of a field and wait?”

“What about a girls’ night out? We select the place, and more importantly, we choose the girls. Carefully.”

It was like a light bulb switched on in Kanan’s brain, making him smile. “I’m sure that Roz would like a girls’ night out. And she has some very interesting friends who will be more than willing to help too. They could bombard social media with it, telling our target about what’s going to happen. But again, will it be enough?”

Shane took a deep breath. “No, that’s why we need to bring out the big guns. He may approach Emme, but he’s been burned once and will be cautious. This time, we need to make the situation impossible to resist. Force him to act so we can take him down.”

Kanan seemed ready to act. “How do we do that?”

“We ask Beatrice Dante to come out of hiding.”

* * *

Shane foundthat giving up control was the most challenging part of a mission. He could plan, strategise, dig deep, lead a team, even put himself on the line, but he wouldn’t be able to stay by Emme’s side to protect her this time. Instead, he was about to put her safety, her life, in the hands of a group of women, some of which he knew nothing about. It was all about faith in this team.

When he’d explained his plan to Emme, she unsurprisingly jumped into it with enthusiasm and fierce determination. Immediately, she’d had good suggestions and wanted to start planning right away.

Roz contributed and agreed she would round up a few of her “friends” to complete the group. Dee volunteered too, even though Owen made it clear he wasn’t happy about it—strong women were a challenge to strong men. Jace had the same reaction when Lucy volunteered. Shane was slowly coming to terms with the concept, but he also knew that sometimes his protective instincts could rile Emme up too.

The next step had been to convince the two heads of their little group, Zack and Beatrice, that their plan was solid.

At first, Shane thought he would need to lay out his plan piece by piece and work hard to convince Beatrice to agree. Purgatory’s leader had surprised him though, offering him a smile, one filled with pride he’d never thought he would see, and that surprised him, bolstering him to no end. He needed it. After all, it was because he admired the woman and what she did that Shane had joined Purgatory.

The plan was accepted and launched so fast, Shane barely had the time to kiss Emme before she was whisked away by Roz, followed by Dee and Beatrice, to some sort of preparation for the night.

Roz promised it was a secured location and he didn’t have to worry. Her wink as they left, made him reconsider that though. Zack had already made a phone call to a club that would be suitable for their mission and made reservations to get the VIP room. Owen was on his way, while the club was still closed, to install extra cameras and security measures.

Zin and Kanan went to do recon right away, spotting surrounding buildings that could either be used by the team or would offer them a view of all entrances and exits so they could intervene quickly if need be. That left Zack, Will, Lance, Jace and him to check out the plans, iron out the last details, and prepare the tech and firepower. Shane knew that by tonight, they would have eyes and ears everywhere and the trap would be set.

Shane didn’t believe in premonitions, but he constantly wrestled a strange feeling of doom, something darkened his mind as if he was unable to see beyond it. One look at the men around the conference table, with the same gloomy look on their faces and he knew he was not alone. After a while, he dismissed the feeling as worry for Emme.

Even surrounded by a group of dangerous women, it only took one slip and someone would end up dead. Everybody in this mission was well aware of the reality of their work and the consequences were never more real than they were now.

A shy knock on the door shattered the tension in the room and Celeste peeked inside.

“Hmmm … there is someone outside the door and he’s asking to see Beatrice. He sounds American…”

Shane was already out of the conference room, all guns blazing before Celeste finished her sentence. Will pulled her inside and closed the door. He sensed Zack, Lance, and Jace moving as fast, but no words were exchanged.

At the entrance, Zack signalled he would unlock the front door as Shane stood to the right of the door waiting. Jace and Lance positioned themselves on each side, ready to pull the trigger. When the man entered the building, Shane heard Lance curse under his breath and they lowered their guns. Shane gestured for Zack and Jace to do the same.

“Admiral Feander.” His body reacted immediately to the name, even if he wasn’t officially a SEAL anymore. Lance who was, although on authorised leave, immediately saluted.

Even dressed as a civilian, the man had an aura of power that immediately drew attention. But Shane knew what was beyond his physical appearance. James Feander had been the most successful Navy SEAL ever, with a talent for the inner politics of the military that made him a revered Admiral. A legend. Before him though, was not the military man, but a man on a mission to get to his woman.

He was a tall man, with a muscular body and clenched jaw with slicked-back brown hair containing a slight dusting of grey hair, but it was his pale eyes that held the greatest threat.

Shane debated offering his hand, but good sense told him not to. Not yet.

After a quick scan of the room, the Admiral’s eyes landed on Lance. “Sorenson, where is she?”

Lance had at least two inches on the man, but he appeared to shrink a little under his scrutiny.

Shane jumped in. “I’m in charge of this mission, Admiral. Beatrice is well and safe, but not here.”

The man relaxed an inch, but not more. He turned to Zack. “Mister Cunningham, I presume. My wife has only good things to say about your work here. I’ve also heard your name and what you do through the international grapevine.”

Zack immediately straightened and grabbed his hand. “Thank you, Sir. And I didn’t know you were coming otherwise, I would have made certain you had access to Fortis.”

Feander nodded and turned to Shane once more. “I decided to come when my wife stopped answering my calls. Rhodes, what’s going on?”

Shane glanced at Lance who shrugged. There wasn’t much they could do right now.

“I will tell you, Sir. But we are preparing a sensitive mission that will be launched in a few hours. Beatrice is involved and…”

The Admiral lifted a hand, telling them that no further explanation was needed. “Rest assured that my goal is not to put anyone in danger. I’ll stay back and not let her know I’m here for the time being. However, consider that I’m part of this now, so you better tell me what’s going on, Rhodes, because as my wife’s ass is in the sling right now, yours will be too.”