Jax ducked behind the house through the neighbor to the left's backyard. No fences in this area was a boon, she didn't want to encounter a dog and all the barking and bull that came along with dealing with it.

Slowly edging her way past four cars in the driveway, she lay her hand on the hood of each car to feel how warm it was. The last one in the driveway was warmest, and that made perfect sense. She'd guestimate that it had been here around twenty minutes. Making her way to a window at the back of the house, she eased herself onto the edging, peering into the window she saw the kitchen, dirty pots and pans laying around, plates with leftover food, as if dinner had just concluded. Looking farther into the house through the kitchen doorway she could see the legs of someone sitting in an armchair, but not who. Easing herself off the edging she stood on, she quietly made her way around to another window on the east side. This window showed an office or study with papers strewn around, and a laptop with the lid closed on the desk.

Once again moving around the house to the west side she found the window she wanted to look in, but worried she'd be seen. Thinking it best to find another window, which might be less visible to her, she continued around the front of the house, keeping her back to the wall and her profile as small as possible. Not ideal, but she hoped it would give her a vantage point to see how many people were in the living room. Perhaps there’d be a place where the curtains didn’t cover the full window. When she got back to the compound she'd look closer at the dossier Josh had given them and see who owned the house and for how long. She needed to stop this asshole, Santarino, from ever hurting another person. Her brother Jake deserved to have his death not be in vain. If those bitches married to these men were here in the states, she'd find a way to get to them, too.

Noticing headlights panning the street, she ran behind the house once again and continued to look for a way into the house. The basement windows were small, but so was she. If she could get one opened, she could enter the house and listen from a hidden vantage point.

Creeping to the side of the house, she tested the first basement window and noted that it was loaded with bugs, dirt, and looked as though no one ever used it. Perfect. Pulling a pocketknife from her back pocket, she ran it around the window seal, hoping the latch was a flip latch. Pocketing her knife, she pried the window with her fingers.

A large firm hand wrapped around her mouth, while steely arms picked her up and carried her to the back of the house. She kicked at her captor, clawed at the hand that held her firmly in place, and squirmed with all her might. Getting her mind adjusted to her own safety, she tried focusing on where she was being taken. She opened her eyes while continuing to thrash, watching the side of the house disappear around a corner as she was dragged behind the garage.

"Shush, you'll get us caught." The familiar voice scolded her in a whisper.

She froze, gathering her wits before kicking back and connecting with her captor's shin.

"Fucking hell, stop it." He quietly commanded.

His arm tightened around her waist and the palm covering her mouth increased its grip over her lips, sealing her nose in the process. As the fear from lack of breath began to crawl up her body, her stomach lurching wildly, her vision dimming to darkness. She tried screaming, but sound was muffled at best. Her lungs burned as the lack of oxygen encompassed them.

"I'll let you go when you promise two things. One, you'll shut your mouth and two, you'll stop kicking at me."

She nodded as much as could with the iron grip holding her against the solid wall of muscle behind her. "Oh, and there's a third thing. You'll start treating me like one of your team members and I'll vouch for you with Gaige. He’s not very happy with you right now."

She closed her eyes and willed her body to calm. She felt his chest expand and deflate as his grip eased up but didn't move away completely. "I mean it Jax, you got me?"

Able to nod, she did, and his hand peeled away from her mouth, but the iron band around her waist never relaxed.

"Now, you're going to calmly and quietly tell me what you've been up to and what we're facing in there. But first, I remind you that we have a dual mission here. We need to recover the diamond before this operation gets shut down. Got it?"

Taking her time to fill her lungs and release a few times, she stared straight ahead where the yard was dimly lit from the neighbor to the right’s backyard light shining through the trees.

Her heartbeat began to slow to normal, "Got it." Pausing to check her temper, she continued. "All I've managed so far is to see into the kitchen and office windows.” Peering around the corner of the garage she nodded in the direction of the window. "I was going to crawl into the basement and see if I could hear anything from down there when I was so rudely interrupted."

Feeling the chuckle deep in his chest, she marveled that he was able to remain so quiet while seemingly so amused by her. Blinking rapidly to keep her irritation in check she let out a long breath and told herself to behave. Figuring she'd have enough to deal with at the compound and knowing she'd want to die if she lost this job and the ability to avenge Jake's death, she bit the inside of her cheek.

The warm breath in her ear and the low growl of his voice actually caused her nipples to pucker, which also irritated the shit out of her. "I may have just saved your life. If you'd been caught in there, who knows what they'd do to you."

Her nose actually wrinkled on its own. "If we're going to be a 'team' you'd better start realizing that I've been with GHOST for close to fourteen years. Before that, I had a distinguished career in the Army for twelve years. And, among other specialties, I’ve attained sharpshooter status. I've never been captured; I've never failed a mission. But there could be a first time that I've wounded a partner if you keep this crap up."

His arm loosened and he stepped back from her. She could hear his breathing. It seemed as though he was trying to get himself under control.

She turned to stare him down, but dammit, it was dark back here behind the garage. The creaking of a door opening and low pitched voices came from the house. Silently turning to peek around the corner of the garage, she watched as two men stepped onto the small landing at the backdoor. They shook hands and the taller man with reddish hair softly said something to the dark-haired shorter man. The darker man nodded then stepped off the landing and disappeared around the corner. A door opened in one of the cars in the driveway, then closed just before the car started up. The headlights panned through the trees and the low rumble of the motor floated away as the car and driver left her view and her hearing.

Dodge's deep voice then whispered, "You got a plan?"