Aidan scanned the wooded area. It was late, and other than the dim light from the moon, it was dark. It was also quiet. So quiet, a normal person wouldn’t be able to hear the traffic from the road.
That’s why Paragons of Hope had chosen this area for their compound. Because it was far away. Away from people. Stores. Workplaces. Well hidden.
Flynn, Logan, and Jason walked in front of them, while Callum was in contact via an earpiece. Cassie was at home with Tyler. Thank God she’d stopped arguing to go with them after her call from Mia. There was no way he would’ve risked her entering this compound with them. She was safer at home. And her safety was his priority.
He heard the heartbeats before he saw anyone. Two people outside the wall, somewhere to their left. Most likely perimeter guards.
He broke off from the group. Jason followed, while Logan and Flynn continued forward. They’d come at the men from both the left and right.
When the men came into view, chatting with each other, Aidan shut down his emotions like he’d been trained to do. He waited until they turned their backs, each pacing in the opposite direction to patrol their section of the wall.
When they were a good few yards apart, he moved, racing to the man walking north and sweeping an arm around the asshole’s neck. Logan came from the other direction, doing the same with the other guy.
The man clawed at Aidan’s arm, but he didn’t release him. He held on tightly until the guy went slack in his hold. Then he dropped him to the ground.
Logan’s guy had just dropped when Callum’s voice sounded in their ears. “Cameras on the east wall are now looped. There were no guards on the other side of the wall at your entry point.”
Flynn nodded. “Going over the wall now.”
Flynn was the first to take a few steps back, then he ran toward the wall, using his speed and momentum to propel him up and over. There was a soft, almost silent thud when he landed on the other side.
Logan went next, then Jason. Aidan was last. The second he was in, he shot his gaze around the area, taking in the cameras. His jaw clenched. This was where Cassie had been raised. It was like a damn prison, where the cells were nice little homes, lovingly landscaped and tended—but carefully watched.
They stuck close to the wall as they moved through the compound, closer to the Great Hall.
When the hall came into view, Jason moved away from the wall first, running across to the building too fast for most mortals to track. He stopped and waited. Listened for heartbeats. Breaths. Footsteps.
When he gave them a nod, Aidan, Logan and Flynn jogged over. Even though they couldn’t hear anyone inside the hall, Jason again went in first to double check. The good thing about being behind such high walls—the building was left unlocked. Cassie had mentioned that nothing was locked here. No homes. No common areas. Nothing except the basement under the Great Hall.
Jason stepped out and indicated it was clear.
“You guys doing okay?” Callum asked.
“So far, all good,” Aidan responded.
He moved inside the hall. The space was massive, open and dark. There were chairs and tables stacked neatly on either side of the room. Aidan stopped and listened. He heard nothing. Not a breath or heartbeat that didn’t belong to their group. Which either meant the basement was soundproof, Damien wasn’t there, or he was…but he wasn’t alive.
It needed to be the first option. For Cassie’s sake.
Aidan and Flynn moved down the stairs, while Jason remained by the front entrance and Logan went to the kitchen, where there was a second exit. They’d be the eyes and ears while Aidan and Flynn checked for Damien.
Aidan was the first down the stairs and found the expected door at the bottom. He turned the knob. There was a small cracking sound of the lock breaking, then they moved inside.
The air was thick and musty. There were thick beams from the ceiling to the floor and boxes everywhere. It looked like a storage space. No light, just what filtered in from upstairs. Luckily, Aidan and his team didn’t need light to see.
His gaze narrowed on a few specks of red on the floor. Blood. So not just a storage place. Damien’s blood? Or maybe his, along with the blood of others?
Yet again, Aidan paused and listened.
From the back of the room, he heard a faint heartbeat.
“You hear that?” Aidan asked quietly.
Flynn nodded. “Yep.”
Aidan moved one way while Flynn went the other. As they crept forward, Aidan’s gaze zeroed in on the slumped man in the corner. He cursed under his breath.
Damien’s hands were tied behind his back to one of the beams. Bruises covered his face, as if someone had used him as a damn punching bag, and his head hung at an odd angle.
He quickly moved forward, touching Damien’s skin. Cold. “His heartbeat’s slow.”
Flynn crouched on the other side of Damien and gave the ropes a tug. They broke easily. “We need to get him to a hospital.”
Jason’s voice sounded in his ear. “We’ve got company headed toward the main entrance. Joshua and Isaac. Get out. Now.”
Fuck. Aidan lifted Damien while Flynn led the way up the stairs.
“I’m behind a table,” Jason said. “You guys go out the kitchen exit. I’ll catch up.”
The second they made it to the top, Jason’s voice sounded again. “Company stepping inside in five seconds. Four…three…”
Aidan cursed again and ran behind Flynn to the kitchen door.
Logan was waiting for them. He took a step toward the door—then stopped.
Everyone froze when they heard it.
Footsteps. And nowhere to hide.
Logan moved to one side of the door, ready to attack. It opened seconds later, and a woman walked through.
Aidan recognized her immediately. Along with intel on the guards, Callum had found all the information he could on her, as well as a picture.
Olive. She held an empty jug, and her gaze flew from him to Flynn. In that time, her chest moved up and down with three rapid breaths. On the fourth, her mouth opened.
Logan was behind her in a second. He slipped a hand over her mouth to silence her.
Aidan moved forward and kept his voice low. “We’re not here to hurt you or anyone else. We’re just here to get Damien out.”
For the first time, her gaze fell to the unconscious man in his arms.
“He needs medical attention immediately.”
Her focus remained on Damien, tears filling her eyes. When she looked up again, there was pain in her gaze.
“Will you alert anyone that we’re here?”
She gave a small shake of her head.
Slowly, Logan removed his hand. If she gave any indication that she’d scream, Aidan knew he’d be back on her in a second.
“Elijah did this?” she whispered, her voice shaky.
“Him or his men. Damien was tied up in the basement. He’s barely breathing.”
Her jaw trembled and she sucked in more shallow breaths. “You’re Aidan. Cassie’s guy.”
He gave a small nod. He was surprised that Cassie had trusted Olive enough to mention him. But it didn’t matter. Not right now.
She shot one more look Damien’s way before focusing on Aidan and stepping aside. “Go. Quickly. Bible study’s finishing early. You have five minutes, max.”
He held her gaze for another beat. “Thank you.” Then they left.
“Come on, how can a young, charming, good-looking guy like you be single?”
Tyler grinned at Cassie as he rinsed a plate and put it into the dishwasher. “The lucky woman hasn’t crossed my path yet.”
She would be lucky. Tyler had been nothing but a gentleman since stepping into Aidan’s house tonight. He’d helped her cook dinner, kept her from losing her mind over the dangerous op the men were on, and now he was cleaning up. Not to mention, he’d made her laugh so hard during dinner that her belly hurt. Oh, and he was sexy as hell.
“What kind of women do you date?”
He frowned. “I don’t think I have a type.”
“Everyone has a type.” Hers was a big, burly man who loved her. Aidan.
“Nah, all the women I’ve dated have been very different. But I’ve always gotten the sense that I had to go out with them. Learn more about them. So for me, I guess it’s less a type and more a feeling.”
Oh God, he was too charming. The woman he eventually set his sights on didn’t stand a chance.
“What I want in a partner, though? Someone kind. Honest. Tough.”
Her smile grew. “I have a feeling you’ll be finding her soon.”
He chuckled—then quickly stopped, his eyes narrowing on the closed blinds.
The fine hairs on her arms stood. “Everything okay?” she asked quietly.
“Someone just parked out front.”
This time, her tummy rolled—a big, panic-filled roll.
Tyler pulled a gun from the holster she hadn’t even realized he’d been wearing and moved forward. On the way past her, he grabbed her hand and tugged her behind him.
Her heart pounded in her chest, and her breaths came too quickly. But she remained calm. Just.
When he reached the door, he stood to the side, ready to shoot. For a moment, there was silence.
Then his hold on her hand relaxed…and he smiled.
She frowned. “I hope you’re smiling because we’re safe and not because you’re some secret adrenaline junkie who likes a good shoot-out.”
His smile remained in place as he looked down at her. “I do love a good shoot-out, but only when assholes are on the receiving end of the bullets and women aren’t around.”
He holstered his gun and tugged the door open. Grace, Courtney, and Carina were walking up the path.
“You guys aren’t supposed to be here,” Tyler chastised as they passed him. Each of them hugged her on the way in.
“Cassie’s probably crazy worried,” Courtney retorted. “Of course we’re supposed to be here.”
Grace and Carina each held a bottle of wine, while Courtney had a bag of what looked like…candy?
Tyler shook his head and tugged his phone from his pocket before typing something.
“You’re not texting them to tattle on us when they’re on a mission, are you?” Carina asked.
“No, I’m texting Liam that I might need backup.”
Liam and Blake had just driven back from Utah earlier today. She was sure they were exhausted from days of watching the compound.
The women set everything onto the counter, and Courtney started searching the cupboards for glasses.
Grace touched her shoulder. “You’re okay with us being here?”
“I love that you’re here. I don’t really drink, but one glass shouldn’t hurt.”
“And Red Vines,” Carina said, reaching into the bag and pulling out the candy. “Willow’s home with her daughter, Mila, otherwise she’d be here too.”
“She’s very sad about missing this,” Courtney said, setting six glasses onto the island.
Grace opened the first bottle of wine and filled each glass to the top.
The next two hours passed quickly, with the women sharing countless stories about their men.
“Flynn just upgraded the security on our house. Again,” Carina said with a laugh.
“Well, your brush with danger was the most recent,” Grace said.
“Um, mine feels like ages ago, but Jason upgraded the security just last week. He’s also talking about higher fencing.”
Cassie frowned. “You guys have been in danger?”
Tyler snorted. “Danger is putting it lightly.”
“Yeah, we didn’t tell you about that when we first met you,” Carina said.
“We thought that was more of a second-date story,” Courtney added, making everyone laugh.
Grace nodded. “We’ve all had our close calls. I ran from a very dangerous man for years, and he finally found me.”
“I had a crazy-expensive item in my possession that some bad people wanted, and I didn’t even realize it,” Courtney said.
“And I had your typical stalker ex,” Carina finished.
“Don’t forget about Willow,” Tyler added, leaning back in his seat. “She was almost blown up.”
Cassie gaped at all of them.
“So we’ve each got a pretty good idea what you’re going through,” Grace said gently.
Courtney nodded, taking another sip of her wine. “Fortunately, you’re in the best hands. These guys know what they’re doing.”
“Oh yeah. I’d be mincemeat without Flynn,” Carina said.
They all laughed again. And it felt good. Because even though she’d been smiling all night, even though Tyler, and now the women, had engaged her in steady conversation, she was still worried. Worried about Aidan. About him being in that compound. And about what he’d find while there.
He’d promised they’d drive back tonight. The trip was over five hours, so she’d told him not to, but he’d insisted that he couldn’t be away from her all night.
So having the women here was a great distraction…and she was sure they knew it.
