That doesn’t happen if we need to lock down a member of the team. Everyone needs to be on point. I will not fail. I will not fail my woman and I will not fail Jasper. Dig deep, brother, and find it. I know it’s in there. Not only were you in law enforcement, so I know you got the training, but you’re a fucking Walker. Clear your mind, lock it down, and get cold. Your dad is waiting for you, brother. Flip the switch and turn to fucking ice.”
“You’re right,” Jason grunted. “But I’m warning Carter, one more word about how my sister thinks he’s sweet, I’m kicking him in the balls.”
“Perfect.”
I’d taken a few steps when Carter came back over the radio.
“Me? You should be more worried about Hadley walking in and seeing Trey naked.”
My step faltered and I remembered Jason was behind me armed to the teeth. Then I wondered if he’d shoot me in the back. But before I could make a plan to maneuver myself out of Jason’s line of sight, Carter continued to throw me under the bus. “Or maybe how Addy tried to shield Trey and Brady saw…”
Carter finally stopped speaking when Jason fumed, “Shut the fuck up.”
I smiled and quickened my pace. Jason’s words were heated but they held no real animosity, and Carter had done what he wanted and got Jason thinking about something other than his father tied to a chair, beaten to fuck and bleeding.
Twenty minutes later, the cabin was in sight.
Logan broke away from his team and I broke away from mine. The two of us would check the perimeter while the others covered us.
I finished my sweep and met Logan on the south side of the house.
“Too easy,” he noted.
“He was expecting Addy,” I reminded him.
“You told Brady it could be a trap. You think maybe that’s what this is?”
“I told that to Brady because I needed him to go with Adalynn. Belview is expecting Addy to come. He knows she loves her dad and thinks she’s stupid enough to come on her own. He doesn’t know her. This show is for her. He hates Jasper. And he knows making Addy watch him kill her father would destroy Jasper. His last moments would be torture knowing Addy had to watch that and she’d be next.”
I should’ve guarded my words or turned off my mic. Regrettably, I did neither and Jason heard.
“Mother—”
I pulled out my earpiece, effectively cutting off Jason’s tirade. I understood his anger but I needed in the cabin. Logan flinched and his eyes got wide.
“One thing’s for certain, the man’s got a flair for inventing curse words,” Logan mumbled. “How you wanna play this?”
“One-room cabin. Only place to hide is the bathroom and we know it’s too small for two grown men. I’m going in the front door.”
“Not smart going in alone.”
“I won’t be. You’ll have my back. We got about two seconds to surprise him, we’re not doing that by crawling in a window. He’ll take out Jasper. Belview’s got his show set up and it will be front and center. He wants Addy to open the door, walk in, and see her dad. He’ll be to the side with a gun to Jasper’s head, which means it won’t be pointed at me.”
“And if he sees you and pulls the trigger?”
“I’ll be faster.”
“And if you’re not?”
“Then Jasper’s dead.”
The words left my mouth and saliva pooled. The bitter, sour truth coated my tongue.
If I fucked this up, Jasper was dead. But there was no other option. The only way in was the front door. The bathroom window was not big enough for any of us to get through, and all other windows were in the main room, therefore not a consideration.
“Hold positions,” Logan radioed. There was a brief pause, then he said, “Negative. Hold.” His eyes turned hard as he slipped back into the battle-hardened SEAL I’d always known him to be. “Let’s move.”
We moved.
The curtains on the front windows were closed. A tactical mistake on Belview’s part, but then he’d thought my woman would be hightailing her ass to the cabin and barreling in the front door.
Dumb fuck.
He had no clue how smart Adalynn was. She’d never consider coming alone.
Logan’s left hand was on my right shoulder as we were nearing the front door. I steadied my breathing. I had ten feet to go, Logan would break off here, step to the side of the door, and wait for me to enter. This was