Saxton hopped on his bike and started it up. Within minutes, the whole parking lot of the Jagged Souls headquarters was alive with bike engines snarling. Saxton led the procession, not wasting any time in making sure the men were behind him. This was what Crasher and K9 did best. They had the address, and they’d make sure everyone got there and put the plan into action.
Saxton turned off from the route his MC would take. He needed to be alone, to go in from another direction to search for Sara and Ian. He would approach from the back of the warehouse while his MC went around the front. That’s where the main road was, and it would be filled with cars.
He wished he had more information. How many Crows were in there? What was the layout of the warehouse? Were Sara and Ian even here at all? Going in blind was more risky than he liked. But there was nothing that could be done about it. And Sara was well worth the risk. If he had more time, he’d scope the place out. He’d have a crew watch the building, take notes, track Carter. But Carter had made this far more difficult for him. He might be walking into his death because of it, but that would just be a chance he’d have to take. If he died to protect Sara and Ian, it would be worth it.
The closer the warehouse got, the more his brain spun. He tried to imagine every possible scenario and how it could play out. He wanted to be prepared for anything, and ready to take whatever came at him. He imagined various tactics and strategies, imagined every way possible that Carter might have this set up as a trap. He just hoped he was the smarter one in the scenario. That no matter what Carter had planned, he’d have out thought him and would be able to out fight him. There was no option for failure in his mind. Get in. Find Sara. Get Sara. Get Ian. Kill Carter. Those where the only things that would happen. Nothing else was allowed to become a thought for his mind to play with. If he thought about everything that could go wrong, it might trip him up and get in his way.
The warehouse came into view down the street. Saxton made a quick turn left, down the alley parallel to the warehouse. He didn’t want to take a chance of anyone peaking out and seeing him. He pulled his bike into a pool of shadow, shut it off, and listened. In the distance, he heard the rumble of many bikes. His crew was close.
He walked closer to the warehouse so that he could see it from beside another building and still be in the cover of darkness. The building was low and long, all block and very few windows. He could see just three on this side of the building, all of them small. Maybe the front had more, maybe not. It would be hard to get in through a window, but not impossible.
The door might be harder. Along the back was a wide shuttered door, the type used for deliveries. Another man-sized door was beside it. It was the metal type, though, with a strong lock. Hard to break through. If it was unlocked, cool, but that was unlikely. He could shoot it open, but that would cause too much noise and would ruin his chance of surprise. It was also a little too well lit and out in the open for his liking. A window was his best option.
The other thing disturbing him was that there was no light on in any of the rooms where the windows were. That could be a good sign, or it could be bad. Hopefully, it meant the rooms were empty. But if someone was in there, watching and waiting, having the lights off and waiting in the near dark would give them an advantage.
As Saxton tried to decide which window would be best to break in through, he heard the first car alarm go off. His guys were at work. Over the next minute, several more alarms started. Nothing changed from what he could see of the building. He approached the window that was somewhat off to one side, a little more obscured from sight by shadow than the others. It was low enough to see in, but when he stood to the side to look in, all that was visible was darkness. He had no choice but to go in blind and hope he chose well.
With all the noise going on, he didn’t bother to hide the breaking glass. His guys would all be smashing car windows as well, so there was plenty of noise to cover what he was doing. He picked up a large rock from the ground and held it, then banged it against the window. With the rock tight in his hand, he knocked all the glass pieces from the frame. Then he dropped the rock and hoisted himself up and through the window. It was a tight squeeze, and he felt the pinch of glass cutting into his knee and down his shin as he pulled himself through.
When he landed, he let his eyes adjust and paused to listen before doing anything else. He felt at the cut on his leg and it didn’t seem like there was too much blood, so it must not be too bad. It didn’t feel very deep and wasn’t too painful. It wouldn’t hinder him in any way.
He seemed to have landed in some sort of office. He thought he could just make out a desk in the corner and a filing cabinet. But the only light was the early dawn creeping in through the now broken window. All he could hear were car alarms and voices. The voices seemed to be coming from outside where the alarms were. It sounded like there was something of a crowd out there. Hopefully the Crows in the warehouse were all out there, too.
Saxton opened the door of the small room a crack and listened again, sticking just his head through the door. The next room was much larger. It held slightly more light. The one window he’d seen from the back wasn’t the only one in this room. There were several at the front as well. But no lightbulbs were burning or any other light source than the rising dawn’s glow. The space sounded empty. Only the whirring of subtle machines—probably whatever heated the building—could be heard.
He stepped into the bigger room and looked around. The wall he stood nearest contained two other doors. Maybe more office type rooms or closets. Across the room was a hallway leading back. It was too dark down the hall to see anything.
He started with the nearest door. It was locked. He knocked softly, pressed his ear against it to listen, and heard nothing. The next room was the same. She should have heard him knock if she were in there, but just in case, he said her name quietly at each door and waited again. He figured he’d hear something if she was in there with Ian. Them talking about who could be at the door or moving around in there.
Outside, there were several people standing in the street. Car alarms still blared, though it seemed that several had been turned off already. His diversion was coming to an end and he needed to hurry. His guys couldn’t go out there and break more windows with so many people watching. They’d now be waiting nearby for further instructions.
Saxton shifted his eyes from the windows to the dark space ahead as he made his way to the hallway. He wrapped his hand around his knife and kept it at his side, ready to pull it in an instant should someone appear. He stepped out of the dim light and paused beside two doors.
The doors behind him looked like the doors across the room—metal and plain with knobs. But the one he faced had a large, thick bolt across it. So that it could be locked from the outside and keep whatever was inside in. This seemed like the perfect room to keep a captive in. When he pressed his ear to the door, he heard some movement, but no voices.
“Sara?” he whispered at the crack in the door.
The movement stopped, but there was no response.
“It’s Saxton,” he tried again.
Faintly, he heard, “Saxton?”
It was her. She was here, after all, and he’d found her. He slid the bolt open slowly to keep the noise to a minimum. Then he opened the door.
Inside, Sara stood, a shocked and relieved look on her face. Ian sat huddled in the corner and looked up at him, hope flooding over his little face.
“You came for us,” she said.
“Of course I did.” He crossed the small space and wrapped his arms around her.
She didn’t hug him back, but rested her head on his shoulder. Her arms were pinned behind her, and he realized her hands were bound. What a nice guy Carter was. Couldn’t even let her be unbound in this tiny room.
“I wasn’t sure if you would come after the way I treated you. Saxton, I’m so sorry, I—”
“It’s okay.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her briefly. “I’ll get you out of here and we can forget all about that.”
She nodded and tears tripped down her face. She was dirty and so was Ian. This room, whatever it was, wasn’t finished like the room he’d first landed in when he came in through the window. This one was probably used to hold people in the past and hadn’t been cleaned between captives. The walls were covered in smears and layers of grim, and the floor was just as dirty. One bulb hung from the ceiling, and it was covered in cob webs and dust. There wasn’t even a place to sit or urinate.
“I knew you’d come,” Ian said. His voice was a little too loud for Saxton’s comfort.
“Of course. We just need to keep very quiet, okay? I’ll get your mom untied.”
“Me too.” Ian raised his hands, which had been buried in his lap, and revealed ropes tying them as well.
Saxton shook his head. “He tied a child up, too? Sick bastard.”
“We weren’t at first,” Sara explained. “But I tried to fight back. Then he tied us.”
Saxton smiled at her and turned her so he could cut her free. As he pulled up his knife and positioned it, he felt something hard and cold press against his head. He pulled his knife quickly through the thin rope to cut it, then took a step back.
“So you’ve come,” Carter said.
Saxton took a deep breath. Sara spun at the sound of Carter’s voice and her face melted into a horrified expression when she saw the gun pressed against Saxton’s head.