Page 54 of Wounded Hearts

Chapter 25

Smithy had leanedover the table, the tension radiating off him in waves. “Let’s go over the plan one more time.”

Drew could relate, his mind caught between the here and now in this room and Mara and what she was going through. He had to stop himself from going there. It would fuck up his concentration and to pull this off he needed to be at his best. The most important person in his life was relying on his abilities and that thought, if he allowed it, was overwhelming.

So, he pushed it away and concentrated as Zack went over the plan again.

“Drew, you’ll drive up to the gate, here.” Zack pointed to the gate that served as the main entrance. “Lili, Astrid, and Laverne will pose as Lizzie, Lucy, and Megan.”

Even though he only knew Astrid, the fact they were Zenobi eased his fear at the thought of them facing Winslow and Wells.

Will held out his hand which had tiny, paper-thin translucent discs in it. “These are fingerprint covers. They will each be inlaid with the prints of the woman you’re pretending to be. Between that and the disguises I know you’re excellent at, anyone looking will believe you’re the girls.”

Roz straightened and looked Will. “We need to talk. I want some of those.”

Will nodded. “Of course.”

Zack cleared his throat to get their attention and continued. “Ask to be taken to Mara immediately. They’ll say no but push it. My guess is they’ll take you to the main house and keep you away from where Mara is being held. Mitch and Nate will be on overwatch here and here.” Zack pointed to the best vantage points the two snipers had picked.

“Daniel, Dane, and K will go in through the east and cover that side of the house. We don’t know how many guards they have inside, but Dane reported seeing six on the outside. They walk the perimeter in fifteen minutes intervals and are armed with handguns. They look to be professional. It’s not a huge jump to guess they’re supplied by Rhea and are probably on the mind control drug, so bear that in mind.”

“The drug will give them additional strength and any decisions they make will have all the emotion taken out of them. Basically, you’re dealing with chemically enhanced super soldiers with the emotions of a psychopath.” Smithy’s words were factual and calm as he spoke them but the way his arms were crossed tightly over his chest showed anyone who knew the man well just how much this was costing him.

Zack nodded. “Exactly, so be aware. Zin, Jack and I will go in through this entrance we think they’ve been using, and clear and exfil. Reid and Jace will meet up with Drew and make their way to the cottage. By that point Lili, Laverne, and Astrid will clear the house with the rest of the team.”

“I’m not sure about this,” Jace said his jaw flexing.

Zack tipped his head. “Why?”

“How will Drew get away from Rhea?” Zack turned to Drew for an answer.

“Rhea likes to talk. I’ll ask her about my mother and this Rose woman. With her distracted, I should be able to overpower her.”

“She’ll have guards,” Smithy put in.

“But Drew has us,” Astrid added with a wicked smile that had Jack rolling his eyes.

Smithy was shaking his head. “She’ll separate you from Drew as soon as you walk inside.”

“Yes, but as soon as we’re out of sight, we’ll take out the guards and go back for Drew,” Laverne said, her smooth French accent rippling over the room.

“That will work.”

“I want this done as silently as possible. The longer it takes for them to realise we’re there, the better it is for Mara. I want as many as we can to be taken alive. Zin and Jack will question them. But if it comes to them escaping or dying, then I have authorisation from someone way above our pay grade to take them out. Dead is preferred to free.”

Zack looked around the room at the teams who all nodded. This plan had been meticulously thought out by all of them, everyone using their skill set to make sure it worked.

“Good. Get some sleep, we roll out in four hours.”

The room cleared but Drew and Smithy remained. As hard as this was for him, it must be like walking back into hell for Smithy.

Drew looked at the man who’d been through so much at Rhea Winslow’s hands. “You don’t have to do this you know.”

Smithy glanced up from the plans and Drew could see the pain in his eyes. “I do,” he said simply. Drew was about to respond when Smithy continued. “I had a talk to Mara earlier and she asked me if I thought it was her fault Brayden Wells hurt her.”

Drew sucked in a breath at his words. Pain filling his chest at the thought.

“It made me angry that she thought for one second I could blame her when she was a victim.” Smithy grinned then but it held little humour. “When I said no, she smiled and asked how was it any different to what had happened to me.”