Chapter 17
Luke
“There has to be another way,” Emily says for the hundredth time in the last hour.
“There isn’t,” I argue. “You, yourself said the property isn’t covered by the video surveillance, which means we can’t see what’s going on behind the wall.”
“I know, but—”
“I have my com and you’ll be listening into everything I’m doing.”
“But what if they catch you? What if I can’t get the alarms turned off? What if I do and then they kick back on because someone realized they were off? What if—”
“I trust you, Emily. If something happens, I trust that you’ll figure something out to get me out of there safely.”
I don’t know why, but I have a gut feeling that she’ll get me through this if something goes south, even if it is her first mission with us. I know she would worry less if Alec were on the line with us, but he’s got his hands full with a political event in DC today, so he isn’t available. Besides, I’m not worried about tonight. It’s a simple recon mission. Go in, get intel, get out. Simple.
“I don’t know how you’re so confident,” she mumbles.
“I’ll let you know when I’m in place.” Without giving it a second thought, I lean in and kiss her on the cheek as if it were natural. Her eyes meet mine and for that quick moment, I’m transported back to the dirty basement to a time when I kissed a girl with the same stunning blue eyes on the cheek before leaving. I don’t know exactly when it started, but it became part of our routine and now I can’t think of a moment when I left to go to a fight without kissing her.
“Luke,” she whispers drawing my attention back to the present.
“I’ll be fine.” I quickly step away from her, knowing if I don’t I might end up having a repeat of our kiss the other night.
“Be careful.”
If she had any idea what those two words did to me, she would never say them again. She has no idea that just that phrase has my heart stopping as I think about the girl who would whisper those very words against my bare chest just before I was forced to leave her alone. I hated leaving her in that basement for those few hours, but I knew I would hate it more if she were there with me. There’s no way I would have been able to concentrate on the fight if I was constantly worrying about him touching her or letting someone else do the same thing.
I quickly shake my head, knowing I need to focus on the plan rather than on what happened more than ten years ago. I quickly make my way through the resort, which, unlike earlier, is now practically a ghost town. The bars, restaurants and pools all closed by two, so there isn’t much for anyone to do at this time of night.
Staying in the shadows, I make my way to edge of the property where the large house stands. Using the aerial photos that Emily has accessed, I arrive at the rear side of the property just like I wanted to.
“I’m in place,” I whisper.
“Alarm is deactivated in three…two…one…you’re clear,” I keep my voice as low as possible.
“Going in, alert me of any changes.”
It’s certainly not the first time I’m going into a situation blind, and it won’t be the last. Of course, we prefer to have eyes on the target and our location, but more often than not, it’s not possible. I quickly scale the large stone wall and toss myself over without pausing for more than a second to ensure a landing spot. I hold my breath, waiting for the alarms to go off and the security team to come running from the house. I count the seconds before letting out the breath realizing that no one has sensed my presence.
Thank you, Emily.
It’s dark as all hell both outside and in as all the lights are turned off. The only light in the vast yard is provided by soft solar lights around a large built-in swimming pool. I quickly check around the yard, noting several children’s toys lying around the otherwise well-maintained landscaping. I don’t know how I know, but I can tell the toys are out of place here.
Making my way to the exterior of the house, I quickly look inside the windows, but as expected I don’t see much. Not only is it dark inside, but the large curtains prevent me from seeing anything that might help us prove the kids are here.
“Does the owner have kids?” I mumble as I make my way around the corner of the house.
“Two grown children, both residing in New York.”
“Do they have young kids?”
“One has a baby…less than a year old.”
“Find out if they traveled here in the last month.”
“On it.”
“I’ll be back to the room shortly.”
“Be careful.”
Damn it.
Thankfully, I force myself to stay focused and to not get dragged back there, as tempting as it is. Not because I want to go back to that prison, but because I want to go back to Em. I want to feel her in my arms again, feel her soft lips against mine, feel her cuddled up next to me as she sleeps. Fuck, I had no idea when she walked out of my hospital room all those years ago that I would fucking miss her this much.
I quickly scale the wall and hop back over, thankful when I see no one waiting for me when I land. I jog away from the house, taking a different path than I took to get there, before letting Emily know she can reset the alarm.
“You’re back!” She jumps from her seat as soon as I open the door. I don’t know why she’s surprised, since I told her to expect me, but it’s still nice to have someone glad that I’m back here, even if she is just worried about the mission.
“All good?” I ask.
“Yup, the alarm is reset and there’s no movement from what I can tell so I doubt anyone noticed you were there. Did you find anything?”
“Maybe. Did you look into the kids?”
“Yeah, both have passports, but neither has left the country in the last year and before that, when they did, it wasn’t to come here.”
“Interesting.”
“That’s what I thought. I mean, if I had a family member who owned a place like this…”
“I’d be here every chance I got.” I chuckle.
“Exactly. What made you ask about them?”
“There were kids’ toys all over the backyard and they looked very out of place. Pool toys, small bikes, balls, etc…just things I didn’t expect there.”
“Did you see Jack or the kids?” she asks excitedly.
“No, I couldn’t see in the house. All the windows were covered,” I explain. “I’m guessing the bedrooms are upstairs based on the layout of the house.”
“Well, the toys point to the kids being there, so maybe we’re onto something after all.”
“Or he has family visiting and Jack was never here.”
“Maybe…”