LYDIA’S HOUSE WAS swarming in the short amount of time it took Declan to get there. Blake met him with an update before he could get out of his car.

“Liam is tracking the car now. We’ll find them. They’ll be okay,” Blake assured.

“He’s dead. I’m going to fucking kill him.” Declan moved to the trunk of his car and pulled out a bullet proof vest and gun case.

“I get it, man, but you need to keep it together, or I’m not letting you go out there. This is just another mission, no emotions. Can you do that?” Blake asked point blank.

“That mission is my life. I can’t lose either of them. They are everything to me.” A long aching pause stood before them while Declan pulled himself together, his own words hitting him like he was hearing them for the first time. “And now…they’re gone. He has them and nothing to lose. I…I have everything to lose.”

Declan’s head dropped and his hands went to his hips in a moment of defeat. Blake looked on, giving him a moment to feel whatever he was feeling and regain his composure. He tossed his vest over his shoulder and grabbed his gun case, a sign that his moment had passed, and he was ready to do whatever needed to be done.

Landing a supportive hand on Declan’s shoulder, Blake said, “Let’s go get your family back, man.”

Walking up the driveway, Declan let Blake’s words wash over him. Family. In his line of work, he never thought that possible. His work was his first love, and his team was his family. A real family was dangerous, irresponsible, selfish even. They would always be in harm’s way, constant targets for whoever sought revenge.

In that kind of business, he went after the worst of the worst – lowlife, soulless thugs with zero conscience. Psychopaths, sociopaths, and murderous savages. He spent nearly two years cleaning up every potential threat because of the game changer – Lydia.

Months of messy clean up, clearing his name from any crime boss ledger or from any drug lord’s mouth. He made his world safe, so Lydia and Jax could live in it. Tom was the loose end Declan hadn’t anticipated. He went away for good, or so he thought. It was time to reclaim his freedom, get Lydia and Jax back, and take out what was left of the trash while he was at it.

Lydia’s house was a cross between grand central station and a mobile command center. Men who Declan didn’t even know were gearing up, ready to join the search and rescue effort. Liam called him over to where he was setup, his eyes never leaving the half dozen screens he was dancing back and forth between. Wylie was behind him, laying out large maps, swapping them out with each bit of information Liam called out.

“I’ve got her car, but it doesn’t make sense,” Liam said with a puzzled look.

Declan looked closer. “What doesn’t make sense?”

“Location. Hold on – this can’t be right.” Liam said, clicking away at his keyboard, the information on his screens changing constantly. “I’m linking to satellite; I want an actual image of this before I send anyone into a trap.”

Wylie watched over his shoulder, swapping yet another map out and marking up another with a large red circle.

“Okay, I have a visual,” Liam said with a hint of bewilderment. “You aren’t going to believe this, but it’s parked on an old service road. There’s nothing around them. And that’s not even the crazy part.”

“Are those coordinates right?” Wylie asked, looking at the screen from where he stood, then confirming his findings with the marks on his maps. “That puts them no more than a mile, mile and a half from…here?”

Luke stepped forward, looking between what Liam showed on his screens and Wylie, his paper maps. “Why? What’s around here? Where would he go – on foot? And why so close – right under our noses?”

“The cabin,” Declan spelled out, looking to Blake. “He’s taking her to the cabin. Those old roads aren’t maintained. Her car wouldn’t make it all the way in. That’s why they left it.”

Dragging his hand over his face in disbelief, Blake indicated the significance of the cabin. “Where Esteban was holed up. Just into the woods, it’s an old forest service station.”

“What the hell? Why would he go back there?” Dace questioned, concerned that perhaps they were missing something big. “Esteban was killed there, and he was caught there. This is a sick game he’s playing. I don’t like it.”

“Here it is on the map,” Wylie pinpointed. “Liam, check the power grid. We haven’t searched that far in yet because…well, it’s too close and doesn’t make sense. See if he’s been there.”

“Bingo!” Liam declared, “We have a few weeks of on and off activity, past three days – doubled. It appears that someone’s living there.”

Wylie clapped his hands together, ready to take out their fugitive. “Let’s go!”

“Hold on.” Declan stopped them; they were being hasty in their call to action. “Something doesn’t add up. How did he grab Jax and Lydia within minutes of each other? He had to have hit Lydia’s on foot, no vehicle left behind, and he took off in hers.”

“Going in eyes wide, boys – we may be getting a two for one deal,” Dace alleged, finally making sense of the ordeal. “Our boy has an accomplice.”

Declan nodded, feeling like they were finally on the same level with this guy. They figured it out. He had to have an accomplice. “Let’s go.”

The team moved out, forging through the woods, breaking up into smaller groups, each taking different directions as they went. One team went for the car first, while the rest moved on, surrounding their target and securing the area with every step they took. Tom knew they were coming. He planned it that way by bringing Lydia and Jax just a mile from them rather than running.

A voice came through the earpiece they each wore so they could communicate, despite being so spread out. “Alpha team has landed – no tango. Vehicle is clear. Repeat, vehicle is clear.”

“Copy. Move in Alpha team.”

All teams were in place and had a visual on the cabin. Lights were on, and smoke flowed from the chimney, giving away his location – another mistake, or did he want to be found?

Declan relayed his assumption to the teams supporting them through the radio. They needed to know what he did. “He knows better than to light a fire and send a fucking smoke signal. He knows we’re here. Eyes wide and ears to the ground – we may be walking into a trap.”

The team crept in stealthily, even if expected. They didn’t have the element of surprise, but they had numbers, and they didn’t want to tip off just how outnumbered Tom was.

Felicity pulled up to Old Mill Road, exactly as planned. Armed and ready for anything, she parked and walked the rest of the way, just around a bend where the trees thinned and the old abandoned mill came into view.

“I’m here…hello?” With her gun drawn, aimed at the ground and just behind her back, out of sight, she shouted for the person she was there to meet.

She could hear footsteps crunching in the semi-frozen gravel before they came into view. A smile crossed her face, and relief flowed through her.

“Jax…” she took to one knee as he ran to her, right into her open embrace.

“City! You’re here!” he said with a giggle

“I am, buddy! You doing good?” Jax was in good spirits, and she didn’t want to disrupt that with hard questions or those that would suggest something is wrong.

“Yep! We’re playing hide and seek!” he said.

“Good. That’s good. You ready to go with me? I have a really good hiding place,” City offered, generating more excitement.

He giggled and clapped his hands. “Yep!”

City stood and looked at the person before her, unsure if she should be disgusted or grateful. What they were doing was wrong, so very wrong, but City knew her role, made a deal, and would stick to it until the very end.

“Thank you for coming, Felicity.”

“Did I have much choice?”

“There is always a choice, Felicity. I’m glad you saw fit to make the right one.”

“Well, time will tell if I made the right choice.”

“You know what to do with him – I’ll trust you to follow through.”

City nodded, and her caller turned around and walked off, disappearing to wherever she came from.

“Let’s go buddy – we need to hurry,” Felicity said to Jax.

She buckled him in and took off, watching her mirrors as she did, making sure she wasn’t being followed. She went through town, made a few extra turns, then back tracked to her destination just like she had been taught by her O’Reilly boys. Guilt tried to take over, but she pushed it down deep, where she wouldn’t have to face it until she was ready. She just hoped, when all was said and done, they could forgive her.

Declan’s team moved in, taking the front of the house, making their presence known. The rest stayed hidden, holding position, keeping their visual on the cabin.

“Tom? We’re here; let’s get this over with,” Declan yelled.

Tom walked out, Lydia as a shield – gun aimed at her shoulder – interesting.

“Took you long enough, O’Reilly. About froze my sac off out here!” Tom taunted.

Meeting her eyes, Declan took a monotone voice – no emotions – and asked, “Lydia, are you okay?”

She nodded, tears staining her face and blood coming from somewhere on her head.

Mustering courage, she shouted, “Dec, he isn’t here. Jax isn’t here!”

Tom rolled his head, clearly annoyed with her. “Shut up!”

“It’s okay, baby,” Dec said, trying to reassure her. “Just do what he says. We’re getting you out of this mess.”

Turning his attention back to Tom with a nasty scowl, he demanded, “Where is the boy, Tom.”

Dropping his shoulders in frustration, he asked, “What are you talking about? She keeps saying the same thing.”

“Jax, Tom. Where is he?”

With more confusion and a furrowed brow, he shot back, “How the hell should I know?”

“Stop fucking around Tom. We know you have him. You have Lydia. You were in Portland, attacked Lydia, killed that kid up in the tower. We know what you’ve been doing. The fires…everything. So give it up.”

“What? Dec. No, no, no, that wasn’t me, man. You know I’d never mess with no kids.”

“I also thought you wouldn’t kill your whole team, your brothers, but you fucking did!”

“Jesus!” Suddenly Tom seemed stressed and nervous. “That’s why I’m here. To fix all that.”

“Fix it? Why? Because you forgot one? Still need to take care of me?” Declan laid it all out – he wasn’t letting Tom off easy.

“What? No! You have it all wrong. I’m here to help – redeem myself, Dec.”

“Help? By kidnapping my girl and kid?”

“I don’t have a kid, damn it! Do you think I’m stupid? Do you think I’d just come to town and knock on your door?”

“I’m losing patience, Boyd. You aren’t getting out of here, so give it up.”

“I took Lydia for this reason! You probably have, what, a couple dozen barrels on me right now? I know your brothers are here – that’s at least four.”

“Well, we weren’t bringing Play-Doh to the party.”

“I have the gun at her shoulder Dec, not her head. Doesn’t that tell you something? Man, I know I’m the kill shot – shoot on sight. Lydia is just leverage so you’ll actually listen. You didn’t know Esteban as well as you thought you did. Neither did she,” Tom said, nodding to Lydia.

“I’m about two seconds from pulling this trigger and ending you. You better give me a reason not to.”

“Dec, I’m not the one doing all that shit. I’m trying to protect you…and her.” Tom nodded to Lydia again, trying to get Declan to listen. “He’s coming for you, all of you, Dec. I’m trying to stop him. No more bodies, man… No more bodies.”

“Who, Boyd? Who?”

A thunderous clap in the air rang out, and Tom fell to the ground, taking Lydia with him. Gunfire.