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“How do you expect to take us all on?” Connor asked.

“I have the gun and your man.” Gary pressed the gun against Ben’s head again. “And I’m not alone.”

Joel laughed. “Colin here? I’m pretty sure when the bullets start flying he’ll run away like the scared animal he is.”

“I think I could take him,” Jocelyn said, because at this point she might be able to strangle them all with her bare hands.

“You are welcome to try, Ms. Raine.”

Kent leaned harder against the desk, and the legs groaned under the impact of his full weight. “He has a partner.”

“Oh, yes.” Gary shot her one of those smiles that promised pain. “Did I fail to mention that?”

“I think we’ve heard enough.” Ben looked to Connor.

He nodded. “Yep.”

The last thing she saw was Ben diving for her. His arms wrapped around her, and his big body slammed into hers. The momentum sent them flying into the desk, then crashing to the hard floor. The room blurred around them as she struggled to bring it all into focus.

Ed reached for Kent, and Connor took Gary out with one bullet to the forehead. While she rolled over the floor tucked against Ben’s chest, shots rang out and men yelled. A loud thud echoed in her ears as Gary fell in a boneless whoosh.

Then silence.

Struggling to sit up and settling for balancing on her elbows with Ben still covering her, she glanced over his arm and into the chaos. Connor and Joel grabbed Colin’s guns and shoved him hard against the wall.

“You okay?” Desperation pounded off Ben.

She looked up at him while her hands roamed over his arms and she scanned his chest for blood. “You?”

“Answer me. Are you—”

“Fine.” She cupped a hand over his cheek. “Thanks to you.”

Ben exhaled. “We wanted him to talk. Tell us as much of his scheme as we could before mobilizing the takedown.”

Her head jerked back. “The big stall and all that talk was some tactic?”

“Yeah. We run it in a drill a thousand times per month. We know the signals and can do them without a word or movement. It’s all in the eyes.” Ben winked as he separated from her and reached out to Gary’s body. Took out the other man’s phone and pocketed his weapons.

Death had overtaken him during the fall. The man’s eyes were open and his arms spread out wide as blood ran from the wound in his head.

She doubted Connor missed shots much but he sure didn’t miss from that distance.

“No!” Kent pushed out of Ed’s grip and scrambled around the desk. “What did you do? My wife. I need to find Sharon.”

Joel caught the other man before he ran right up Connor’s back. “Colin here is going to help us with that.”

“I don’t know anything.” Colin looked around. His body shook and his dark eyes were alive with fear. “Please.”

Joel shook his head. “Oh, Colin. Begging?”

Between the frantic headshaking and grabbing at Connor’s hand where it shoved against Colin’s chest and held him to the wall, Jocelyn worried Colin might lose it right there. Worse, he’d shut down before they could get to Kent’s wife.

Colin struggled and his body rocked. “Gary’s partner kidnapped her, not me.”

“Who’s his partner?” Ed had moved up and joined in the semicircle penning Colin in.

“I don’t know. Gary wouldn’t tell me. Said the partner insisted on anonymity but had set the whole thing up.”

With a hand extended down to her, Ben got to his feet, then pulled her up beside him. Then he was off. He broke right into the middle of the group of men and put his face close to Colin’s. “Not believable.”

“I swear. I don’t know anything.”

Joel whistled. “I hope for your sake that’s not true.”

Jocelyn joined in because despite all the rage whipping around and the poor woman hidden somewhere, she could not let these men kill an unarmed man. Honest and decent men, she couldn’t imagine it happening, but the nerves in the room hovered at the breaking point. “The only reason to let you live is to find Sharon.”

Colin’s head thrashed against the wall. “I followed orders and hired the men who...” He broke off when he focused on her.

Maybe she could let them hurt Colin after all. “Tried to grab me.”

“Did you, Colin? Was that your bright idea?” Ben’s voice went deadly soft.

“Gary was obsessed with that note and the conversation Pamela overheard after hours.” Those beady eyes focused on Jocelyn. “And you were right there behind him in the cashier line when Pamela recognized him.”

“I’m thinking we’re missing pieces here,” Joel said.

At first Jocelyn couldn’t figure out what the comment meant. She tried to remember every minute of that day. The actions mirrored every other time she went to the bank. Picking the right door, walking up. The deposit slip. Waiting in line...behind Gary.

The memory blindsided her. She opened her mouth, gasping for breath. She would have grabbed on to Ben but Kent started screaming.

“Where is Sharon?” With a strength that didn’t match his size, Kent elbowed in between Connor and Ben.

“I don’t know.”

Joel sighed. “I wouldn’t say that again.”

“Enough.” Ben put the gun to Colin’s temple as he crowded in close with his arm pressed against Colin’s throat.

Dizziness gripped her. “Ben, are you sure you—”

“You’ve heard about my reputation. You know I won’t think twice about taking down another man, and today is your day. I’m going to pull this trigger. If a bullet doesn’t come out, I will pull again.” Ben followed through and aimed the weapon. “And no one here is going to stop me.”

“You don’t understand.” Panic threaded through Colin’s voice as he coughed and gagged against the force of Ben’s heavy arm.

“In five...four...” Ben’s monotone voice sounded like a clock.

“Stop him.” Colin punched at Ben’s arm and the death grip crumpling his windpipe and holding him still.

Ben didn’t flinch. Didn’t move.

“I’m fine with this,” Connor said.

“Me, too.” Joel glanced over his shoulder. “Ed?”

“Three...two...”

Ed nodded. “I’m good.”

“A warehouse three...” Colin’s words raced together as his body shook from a coughing fit. “Three exits down. Gary said one of his guys would take care of her.”

Ben eased back. “There.”

“See, was that so hard?” Joel asked.

Kent blew out long breaths as he teetered on the edge of hyperventilating. “We need to call the police.”

Connor raised an eyebrow as he looked at Ben. “Which raises the Willoughby issue.”

Something silent and profound passed between Ben and Connor. She guessed it had something to do with Colin’s “take care of her” comment and the worry Sharon was already gone.

It took a few seconds, but Ben finally spoke up. “Let’s get to Sharon first. Then we can figure out the partner situation.”

Jocelyn knew then they suspected Willoughby. A plant right in the police department. Again. She wanted her experience to be the aberration. Now she feared it was the rule.

Kent’s hands shook as he scooped his keys off the edge of his desk. “I can drive—”

Ben was already talking before the man got the sentence out. “You stay here. Jocelyn can wait with you. One of our teammates, Davis, is on the way to help out and see if there is any other information to retrieve here.”

She had no idea when the call went out to the rest of the Corcoran team, but she wasn’t surprised. Those watches they wore did everything. Could be Davis and Pax overheard the whole thing.

But one thing she did know. She wasn’t staying behind. She was about to make that clear but Kent beat her to it.

“I’m coming with you.” Kent stood up straight and his teeth had stopped chattering.

Jocelyn almost didn’t recognize the strong man now compared to the sweating mess from a few minutes before. Nervous energy wafted around him. He still shifted and looked half-ready to leap across the room and take his chances running out the door, but there was a new determination coursing through him.

“No.”

Jocelyn thought she knew what caused the change in Kent. “Ben, it’s his wife.”

She expected a fight. Maybe even a question about why that fact mattered. After all, he was single and used to going it alone.

Instead, he nodded. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Fifteen

They all raced to the warehouse. A nondescript, one-story building the length of a football field. From the outside it looked like something you might find on a farm. Breaking the lock on the entry door proved easy. Ben slammed the butt of his gun into it twice before Connor stepped in and shot the lock the rest of the way off.

Now they roamed through a series of slim hallways and tiny rooms. Ben had no idea what the space was used for, storage maybe, since boxes were piled everywhere, but the setup made them vulnerable as they maneuvered through the space two by two.

He walked next to Jocelyn gun up and eyes scanning, with Joel in front of her and Ed at her back. Ben didn’t like the setup but no way was he leaving her outside to get nabbed by Gary’s partner, whoever that might be.

In unison, they cleared section by section with Connor and Joel sneaking around each corner and checking the rooms first. Wires hung exposed from the cracked and missing ceiling tiles above them and papers scattered all over the floor.

They walked carefully and deliberately, making as little sound as possible. Even Kent, who was all but whimpering at this point, reduced most of his anxiety to shaking shoulders and chewing on his thumb.

Not that Ben could blame the guy. The idea of Jocelyn getting grabbed sliced right through him, splitting him in half. He’d seen Gary reaching for her back at the bank and had thrown a body block. He’d sacrificed his own body and he’d do it again if necessary. Anything to get her out of there safe and fast.

They came to a T in the hallways. Connor looked both ways, then grabbed Colin by the shirt collar. With his hands zip-tied behind his back, the guy couldn’t do anything but struggle and spit. Connor shook him hard enough to stop even that. “Give us an idea.”

Colin stuttered, “I’ve never been here.”

Connor pushed his gun into Colin’s back to let him know his patience had expired. “Wrong answer.”

Kent shifted and sighed. “Please, we have to hurry.”

“He’s right.” With a hand on Ben’s forearm, Jocelyn lowered her voice to a bare whisper. “Sharon could be running out of air.”

Ben nodded. “Colin, I won’t think twice about shooting you in the leg, then dragging you through the rest of the building.”

“And I won’t help you until we find her,” Jocelyn said.

Ben knew it was an empty boast. She saved. It was pure instinct for her. He got it because the same drive to fix things beat wildly within him.

But he did love this fierce side of her. He’d watched her race here and there at the hospital, taking care and handling the blood and guts that spilled around her. This, the survival instinct, the way she fought off her doubts and fears and rose to every challenge, filled him with admiration and had his attraction to her zipping off the charts.

He was falling for this woman, and if they somehow survived the next few minutes, he’d tell her.

“Furnace room.” Colin blew out a few long breaths, as if trying not to pass out. “He mentioned something about the furnace room.”

Connor glanced past Colin. “Joel, do your thing.”

“What are you doing?” Kent clawed at Joel’s hands as he flipped out a phone and his fingers danced across the screen. “We can’t stop.”

Joel didn’t look up. “Construction blueprints filed with the city.”

“What?” Ed asked as he pulled Kent back and pushed him against the nearest wall.

Joel started walking. “This way.”

They moved, faster now, rounding two corners and ducking. Watching each step as they hit a wider hallway where the ceiling had been ripped out and wires snaked the walls and floor. They got to a door without markings and Ben stepped up. He tested the knob and found it unlocked. The whole thing smelled like a trap.

“Careful,” Connor said as he nodded.

Ben flipped the knob and the door slammed open. He went in high and Connor took low, with Joel watching their backs.

Nothing.

The room was empty. There wasn’t so much as a crate or a box inside. Ben didn’t know what it meant. This room was clean for some reason, the only one in the place without stuff strewn all over the floor, and that was enough to convince Ben not to go one step farther. “Back out, following the same steps.”

Connor nodded. “Got it.”

A minute later they all crowded at what looked like a hallway to nowhere. Jocelyn had Joel’s phone and was staring at something.

“It’s back here.” She made the announcement and grabbed for the shelves at the end of the hall. “This has to be fake.”

Ed shook his head. “There’s nothing there.”

Wide-eyed and half-desperate, she shot Ben a pleading look. “Help me.”

Joel looked at his phone, then nodded. “Nice job.”

Holstering their weapons, the two joined her while Connor kept watch. They slid their hands over the dusty shelves and kicked away the piles of wood and electrical supplies on the floor that blocked a better grip.

It took less than a minute for them to tug and strain before the wood near Joel gave. The shelves moved out to reveal stacks of boxes behind. They all reached at the same time. Grunting and shuffling, they set up a line and unloaded.

Connor shoved Colin toward the front of the work area and took Ed’s gun. “You don’t need to guard him. There’s nowhere for him to go.”

Ben wiped the sweat off his forehead. The stagnant air of the windowless space had them all wheezing. Jocelyn’s body shook from the force of her coughs, but she waved him off when he tried to get her to sit down.

Truth was Ben wanted all their help. There was a woman in there who could be dying. He’d had enough dying on his watch. This needed to be a win. For Kent, for Jocelyn, for all of them.

They got to the metal door and Joel went to work on the lock.

“Please hurry,” Kent said from right over Joel’s shoulder.

The pick didn’t work and the bullets ricocheted, promising more damage. Connor stepped in. He ripped the top pocket of his vest open and took out a small packet.

Explosives
. Ben pushed the crowd back into the hallway as Connor dropped to one knee and put the putty on the door. “We need to take cover.”

“No, you can’t.” Kent tried to go up and over Ben. “She could be right on the other side.”

Ben caught the older man around the chest and shoved him back. “It’s the only way in.”

The comment was a lie. There were other ways. Longer ways. Plans that would guarantee his wife ran out of air. This was the best choice.

Ben didn’t say any of that. He was too busy rushing Jocelyn around the corner. They hunkered down and he dropped his body over hers, trying to cover every inch. She protected her head and he protected the rest of her. He glanced up only to see Joel running over to join them.

“Heads down and stick to the wall,” Joel said before nodding to Connor. “You’re good.”

The words were out and the deafening bang had sparks flying and chunks of metal and plaster falling around them. Pebbles of whatever was left rained down on them and littered the ground.

Ben glanced up and saw the door hanging on its hinges with half of it blown away. The hole led to the dark room beyond. When he started to stand up, Jocelyn tugged on his arm.

“I am not staying out here, so don’t ask.” Her eyes flashed with fire and her stern expression suggested no one mess with her.

Not that he intended to. This wasn’t an argument he intended to have. “Since there’s a partner hanging around somewhere, as soon as we break in and secure the place, I want you right next to me.”

They stood up and she brushed the thin film of dust off her face. “Romantic.”

They made a rush to the door, with Kent itching to go in first. Connor’s voice stopped him. “We don’t know what we’re going to see in here.”

“I’m a nurse.” Jocelyn pushed to the front and waited for Joel to clear the electrical wires and chunks of metal in their way.

“No offense but there are things that can happen and—”

Jocelyn sighed at Connor. “She might need medical attention and I plan on giving it to her no matter what you say.”

Fighting was the wrong tact. This needed to happen. “She’s going,” Ben said.

Joel shoved the last of the debris out of the way and nodded toward the inside. “We’re in.”

“Hold Kent,” Connor ordered.

“But I want—”

Ed slapped a hand on Kent before he could run. “Got him.”

Ben and Connor slipped in, checking each corner and the cabinet on the far side.

Connor opened the door and felt around. “Clear.”

Ben nodded. “Clear.”

Jocelyn rushed in, then came to a hard stop. “That’s a—”

“Box on a table.” Looked like a coffin. Ben tried to keep his voice steady but rage made it vibrate.

Someone on Gary’s payroll put a living, breathing woman in a box. Cut off her air and waited for her to die. What kind of sick bastard did that?

“Get it open. Now,” Ben ordered.

“No, no, no.” Kent’s wail bounced off every wall. It was a high, keening cry like something a wounded animal might make.

The sound was so desperate and raw, Ben wanted to cover his ears. At least grab Jocelyn and run her out of there. Anything not to watch that level of intense human pain.

Kent tripped over something in his walk across the room and would have fallen if Connor didn’t catch him. “Okay, settle down. I need you to stand here.”

Ed stepped up and let Kent lean on him. “I got him.”

He shook his head as the tears ran down his face. The pain was so obvious, so palpable, Ben couldn’t even watch him. His gaze went to Jocelyn’s pale face, and the terror mirrored Kent’s.

Ben was ready to do the one thing he could do. Rip the damn box apart with his hands if necessary. “I have to get to her.”

Joel joined him and they grunted and shoved. They tore the top of the box off, ignoring the nails and the bites of wood and stabs against their hands. The wood creaked and snapped. After a few yanks they had the top completely off.

The scene inside didn’t give Ben one ounce of comfort. A woman, blonde and still, wearing a shirt and pants lay there unmoving. Ben guessed the shirt had once been white. Now blood stained it a dull red.

Joel shook his head as he stepped back, as if he couldn’t look one more minute.

“Is she breathing?” Jocelyn shoved her way to the front and put a hand to the still woman’s throat. “I’ve got a weak pulse and blood.”

Kent had his fingers wrapped around the side of the box as he stared down at his wife. “Take her out.”

“No, leave her there. There could be broken bones.” Jocelyn pushed all the hands away and went to work. She listened to her heart and shifted her clothing. “Let me check her.”

Connor tried to move Kent away from the box. “Why don’t we—”

“You are not going to stop me from checking on my wife.” Kent turned on him, throwing out his arms and ready for battle until Connor nodded.

“Is she alive?” Ed asked as he peeked around Joel.

A beeping started somewhere near Jocelyn. She spun around with her arms up and Ben aimed his gun. He just didn’t know what was attacking this time.

“Ease up. She has my phone.” Joel reached over and slid it out of Jocelyn’s back pocket. A couple of clicks and he looked up, his mouth even more grim than before. “We’ve got company.”

“What?” Jocelyn’s eyes narrowed. “Who?”

“Willoughby, I bet.” That man showed up at the wrong places at the exact wrong times. Ben didn’t trust him and certainly didn’t want him sneaking in from behind.

“Being here will get you in trouble,” Ed said. “That detective might fire first. Go meet him and I’ll stay with Kent and Sharon.”

No way was Ben agreeing to that. “We’re not afraid of Willoughby.”

“But she can identify her attacker, which means it might not be safe for her to see the detective.” Ed glanced at Kent, then back to the team. “If she wakes up.”

“You think the police detective is the partner?” Kent shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense with what Gary said about his partner.”

“Meaning?” Connor asked.

“He talked about resources in the police department but made them sound low on the food chain. Not his partner.”

A loud intake of breath cut off whatever came next. Ben heard whimpering and saw Jocelyn lean over the box. She whispered something as she tried to hold down the arms flailing around her. The woman kicked and slapped as the high-pitched screams, shrill and terrified, filled the room.

Ben looked to Connor and Joel. They both frowned as the horrifying sound wound up and got louder.

“It’s okay. You’re safe.” Jocelyn kept up the soothing words as she held the men back with a stiff shake of her head. “Take deep breaths.”

Kent stood still as if frozen in place as soon as the pained screams started. “Sharon.”

The yelling subsided, decreasing to sobbing. She hiccuped and sniffed. “Kent?”

“You can move your hands and feet.” Jocelyn nodded to Ben and he came in closer. “He’s going to help you up. Kent’s here, too.”

Under Jocelyn’s direction, Ben put a hand under Sharon’s shoulders as Kent held her hand and Jocelyn checked her back. “Let’s get you—”

The frail woman’s body heaved and another scream tore out of her. She was crying and pointing. She grabbed on to Jocelyn and hid behind her.

Ben glanced over, thinking he’d see Willoughby standing there. “What the—”

Colin and Ed both stood blocking the door. Ben remembered Connor taking Ed’s gun but he held a weapon. Colin’s restraints were gone. On closer look, they’d both found guns, which meant they had more than the ones they showed they were carrying before.

“She wasn’t supposed to wake up,” Ed said.

Joel shifted position, coming out from behind Connor and slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Guess we know the identity of Gary’s partner.”

“To be fair, Colin didn’t know until now, but he’s loyal.” Ed shrugged. “Which is smart because I plan to be the winning side here. I’ve been working on this for too long. There’s too much money at stake.”

“And Sharon can identify you,” Connor said.

Ed smiled. “Sorry, boys.”

He swung his arm around in an arc as he fired. Bullets pinged and chunks of plaster exploded from the wall. While firing, they all ducked and dived for what little cover the room provided. In the small space, something was bound to hit someone. Ben planned for it to be the bad guys.