Page 87 of Dark ’N’ Deadly

She was staring out the passenger window, focusing on the side view mirror. “Do you really think this plan will work?” she asked in a tight voice.

After braking at a four-way stop, he didn’t immediately step on the gas. “I honestly don’t know.” The only thing he was sure of was that somehow, Tess and Jesse had become sacrificial lambs in all this.

If necessary, sacrifice the few to save the many.

That’s what the brass had said to him before they’d finalized the plan last night.

Not if I can help it.

She shifted to face him. “I’m scared to death of what he’ll do to Jesse. We betrayed him, and he won’t forgive that. He doesn’t have it in him. He’ll see it as mutiny.”

“It’s not a great plan,” he admitted. “But between all of us escorting you to the front door, plus the other teams stationed nearby and a chopper in the air, you’ll be safe.” Until she walked through the front door.

He raked a hand through his hair. Then she’ll be alone.

Right at that moment, he didn’t know who he was angrier at, Gant—or himself.

As he made the final turn onto the street leading to the house, he caught sight of the anxious expression on her face and clasped her hand, threading his fingers with hers. He gave her hand a quick squeeze then released it and shifted his focus back to the road.

A minute later, they arrived.

Even though he’d pored over details of the location for tactical disadvantages, seeing it in real life now sent simultaneous jolts of anticipation and anxiety coursing through his system. Inside that house was the man responsible for murdering his friends. The prospect of seeing Gant again fanned the embers of revenge that, over time, had been reduced to a soft glow. Now, those flames flickered to life, whipping back and forth, luring him closer to the goal he’d been after for a very long time.

They turned in the driveway, and more of what he already knew was confirmed. The mansion was a three-story brick structure, complete with two turrets, giving it a castle-like appearance. Situated in the middle of a grassy plot, and with no apple trees for a good hundred feet all around, he guessed Gant had chosen it for strategic reasons. There’d be no sneaking up on him from any direction. Not with all the cameras attached to the facade. Which meant…

They know we’re here.

There was no telling how many goons were inside with Gant.

Twenty feet from the front door, he stopped the SUV and shifted it into park. As planned, his friends parked their vehicles in a semicircle facing the front door.

Woof. Tiger paced back and forth in the kennel, leaving Eric wondering if his dog had already scented explosive material wafting through the vents.

“Easy, boy.” When Tiger thrust his head through the opening, panting, he stroked the dog’s head, trying to calm him, but it didn’t work. Tiger was becoming more agitated by the second.

“Ready?” he said to Tess, but she didn’t answer him. “Tess?” He touched her shoulder to find she was trembling. It was slight, but it was there. “You okay?” Slowly, she nodded, but he wasn’t convinced.

Dayne, Matt, Nick, and Kade stood nearby with their K-9s, awaiting his direction. Eric held up his hand, indicating he needed a few minutes.

“Remember, if something goes wrong, you get out of there, and you get out fast.” He waited for her nod of understanding. “If I don’t see you walking out that door in fifteen minutes, I’m coming in after you.”

“I’ll be fine.” She smiled or at least tried to. Her selfless attempt to put him at ease after the way he’d treated her floored him. If he weren’t sitting, he’d have fallen to his knees.

In that moment, something inside his heart broke free. His future was right there before his eyes and she was in it, front and center until the day he died. She was the one he was meant to spend the rest of his life with.

“Turn me on.” She pivoted on the seat, lifting the hem of her shirt to expose the body wire transmitter he’d taped to the small of her back.

Reluctantly, he hooked the tiny switch with his thumb, turning on the device. When she turned back to face him, his heart threatened to gallop right out of his chest.

“I don’t want you to do this,” he said, knowing they were transmitting live over the radio and not caring a damn who heard him.

“I have to face him. This is as much my battle as it is yours.” For a moment, her lower lip trembled, then her jaw went hard. “Let’s do this.” She tugged the scarf from her neck, letting it drop to the seat.

Before he could stop her, she was out of the SUV and storming to the front door.

…

Tess blew past the other men and their K-9s. In Matt’s hand was the device that would track her location via the subcutaneous bug he’d injected in her arm.