Wicked as Lies (Wicked & Devoted #3) - Shayla Black Page 0,59

we know?” Zy asked.

“The location of the compound and the positioning of the guards. If everything goes to plan, Laila should be with One-Mile now, trying to figure out a distraction. Apparently, Montilla has been keeping him underground, so he and Laila will have to invent some excuse to get the guards to bring him up top.”

No one had to say the most likely scenario. Montilla was too wily to let a tiger like Walker out of his cage unless the ultimate goal was to put him down for good.

“According to the sat-map, it’s a huge compound. How are we supposed to know where to find Walker?” Cutter demanded.

The colonel shrugged. “You’ll have to look. And if you find Laila, too, she comes along. No one else. Copy?” At everyone’s nod, the man turned to him. “Zy, you ready to create some chaos?”

“Affirmative. Explosives are in place. During my earlier reconnaissance, I located their fuel dump and a generator station. All it’s going to take is a press of my thumb, and boom.”

“Good, then you run straight for the chopper. You have the map to the storage location?”

“I’m good to go.”

“Once you get there, lift that bird in the air and fly to the extraction point. You’ll have probably seven to ten minutes—tops—before the others come running in your direction. Until then, be ready to defend your position. I’ll be in the van at the alternate location in case anything goes wrong.” Caleb sighed. “If everyone makes it out, it’s going to be a fucking miracle.”

That was Zy’s read on the situation, too.

“And we’re only going to get one chance at this,” Hunter said. “Don’t fuck up—any of you.”

After that, the team fell silent. What else was there to say? In a handful of minutes, they’d retrieve one of their own from certain death or they’d all die together trying.

Fuck, he wished he’d manned up and called Tess, at least to check on her and hear her voice one more time. If there was a chance he might leave this earth, he’d prefer to do it with some peace. But it was too late now, probably for a lot of reasons.

From a bench that ran the length of the vehicle off the colonel’s right, he leaned in. “Sir, have you heard from Tessa since she went to Tennessee?”

On the far side of the van, he was aware Hunter and Logan shared a glance, but he ignored them, focusing on their father and the regret that tightened his face.

“She called this morning just before we got on the plane. Unfortunately, she lost her father overnight.”

Fuck. Tessa had to be torn up. She was in Tennessee with the stepmother who didn’t know or like her, handling all her grief without a strong arm or a supportive shoulder. Sure, she was a tough woman, but Zy wished he could be there with her, for her.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’ll pass on your condolences.”

“Thank you.”

Then they fell silent. The sun began to inch toward the horizon behind them. The wind whipped a cloud of dirt around the van.

When they passed the rickety bridge over the creek running parallel to the lonely highway, Zy locked his shit down and wired it tight. If he didn’t focus now, he could fuck everything up for the whole team. Any one of them who didn’t have their head screwed on could.

Tension pinged around the van. The air smelled like adrenaline and anticipation. Everyone wanted to take Montilla down almost as much as they wanted to rescue Laila and bring Walker home in one piece. They wanted the drug lord’s blood for fucking with one of their own.

“Stop here,” he directed the colonel when he caught sight of the rock cluster he’d marked with black spray paint earlier. “This is the path to the fuel dump.”

“Once you’ve checked everything on your end and we’re in position, I’ll give you my go,” Hunter said before he reached for his weapon, then turned to the others. “The blasts will detonate west of the compound. Just to recap: while Montilla’s men are all distracted by Zy’s explosion, Logan, Joaquin, and Cutter will head in from the north. Josiah, you’ll come with me and we’ll approach from the south, where Laila says there’s one less guard. Then we’ll start a systematic search by quadrants. You know your sectors, right?”

The group nodded.

Logan went on. “Whoever finds Walker first, radio in. If he’s unable to get out on his own two feet—for whatever reason—holler. Your