Honor Reclaimed (HORNET #2)

Chapter 40

CHAPTER 40

After Gabe, Ian, and Jean-Luc fast-roped to the courtyard, the helo dropped Seth, Marcus, and Jesse on the roof.

Both teams waited for the helo to get out of range before moving and the seconds it took drove Seth half-crazy with impatience. He needed to calm down, so he used the time to soften his breathing, relax his shoulders, and lower his heart rate.

In the sniper’s world, all impatience got you was dead.

Finally, Gabe’s voice whispered, “Go,” in his earpiece.

As the three of them headed silently for the shelter’s roof access, adrenaline coursed through his blood, burning away the icy detachment he’d been functioning with since realizing Phoebe was in danger. He experienced a moment of worry—without the ice, would his demons get the better of him? Would he hear his men’s voices screaming at him again?

But, no.

There was no paranoia. No more flashbacks. Only the knowledge he had a job to do.

They weren’t challenged at any point during their descent from the roof, thank fuck. Stairs could be a deadly place when you couldn’t see who was waiting around the next landing. They emerged in the dark second-floor hallway, clearing each of the bedrooms as they went. Phoebe’s room smelled like her, and a lump rose in his throat.

She had to be okay. He wouldn’t accept any other outcome.

As he left her room, Jesse caught the front of his vest. “You good for this, Harlan?”

Irritation blasted away the sharper edge of his fear. “Wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t, Bones.”

Jesse’s expression remained unconvinced. Seth shook off the medic’s grip and moved toward the stairs. Hadn’t he proved himself when they were attacked in the mountains? Or at the compound? What would it take for these guys to trust him?

Nothing he needed to worry about now. Right now, his objective was to find Phoebe.

Soft sounds floated up from the lower floor below, and Seth waved Jesse and Marcus back as Jahangir Siddiqui crossed the foyer below and headed toward the dining room. He carried a small cell phone-shaped object.

Fuck.

Crouching by the wall at the top of the stairs, Seth beckoned Jesse and Marcus closer. “Siddiqui’s here, and I’m ninety-nine percent sure he has the bomb. He’s carrying a dead man’s switch. We can’t shoot him.”

“Gabe needs to know,” Marcus said.

“Yeah, but do we risk using the radio if he’s got it rigged to detonate by remote?”

The three of them stared at each other for a beat and came to the same conclusion. No choice. Except none of them wanted to do it.

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Marcus suggested and promptly lost. Twice. Wincing, he hit the talk button on the radio strapped to his vest.

Nothing happened.

“City’s still here,” Jesse said, exhaling hard.

“For now,” Seth added. Listening with half an ear as Marcus reported to Gabe, he peeked around the wall and saw Siddiqui cross the foyer again. He moved like an agitated bird in a cage, impatient but unable to leave. Was he waiting for something?

Seth wasn’t prepared to stick around and find out.

When Siddiqui disappeared into the dining room again, Seth made his move, taking the stairs as quickly and silently as possible. Marcus and Jesse stayed right on his six, and they stacked up along the shared wall between the dining room and foyer. Seth grabbed a handheld mirror from his vest pocket and took stock of the situation. in the dining room.

Jesus.

Siddiqui had shoved the table and chairs out of the way, creating an open space in the middle of the room, where Phoebe, Zina, and Tehani sat huddled together, their wrists and ankles bound with rope, mouths gagged with several layers of duct tape that wrapped around their heads. The bomb was on the floor between them.

Tehani stared at Siddiqui’s back with narrow-eyed hatred. The older women were holding it together well enough, although Phoebe had been crying recently. Her eyes were puffy and red, and her tears had left clean trails on her dirty cheeks.

Hang on, sweetheart.

As if hearing his thoughts, she lifted her head and stared in his direction. He let the mirror catch the light once. A risk, yeah, but he wanted her to know he was here.

Siddiqui noticed her wide eyes and whirled around. “What is it?” From his position on just the other side of the wall, there was no way he’d see anything, but Seth didn’t dare take another risk. He silently tucked the mirror away and motioned to Jesse and Marcus, telling them he had eyes on the girls and the bomb.

Siddiqui started toward the foyer but paused when the front door swung open. “Ah, there you are. It’s about time.”

Fuck. Seth shared a glance with his team. Anyone coming through that door was going to spot them lined up on the wall, and he motioned for them to be ready.

All hell was about to break loose.