Shadows Redeemed (Garrison Security Innovations #4)

Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

SAGE RODE THE ELEVATOR in silence, her arms crossed over her chest, her hands clenched tight, knuckles white. Every thought, every memory, every worry, all traced back to Parker. It was like it had been him along, and not his brother.

Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, she tried to steady herself, but the images of the night before—the cabin, Parker’s laugh, then the sudden violence of his abduction—flashed like strobe lights behind her eyelids. She was failing him. She could feel it.

Elvis stood beside her, unusually quiet, especially for him. Normally, his sarcasm and jokes would fill the air, but now, he simply stared straight ahead, respecting her silence. He wasn’t an idiot. She didn’t doubt he had figured out what had gone down between her and Parker in the bayou. But the intensity of the situation had drained even him of any urge to poke fun at her. There would be time for that later—if there was a later.

The elevator doors slid open, and she stepped out into the hallway, each step a weight that mirrored the one in her chest. Elvis followed, his footsteps heavy and subdued. When they finally reached his room where the team had set up base, she could feel the tension, almost as if walking through a wall. Dane stood near the window, arms crossed over his chest, whispering to a man she didn’t recognize.

She crossed the room to where Gage and Blaze stood, each with a cup of coffee in their hands as they waited. “Who’s he?”

Elvis went to join Dane and the newcomer, reaching out and pulling the stranger into a bear hug as he said hello. All right, so not a baddie. But who…?

“That’s Cookie,” Gage told her as he lowered his cup to his waist. “He’s one of Dane’s old SEAL buddies, just passing through. That is, he was until Dane filled him in on why we were here. Now, the man’s decided to stick around and lend a hand.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “To be honest, we could use the help on this one, I think.”

Sage couldn’t disagree. Not with Parker’s life on the line. And not with the options she ahead of her.

Blowing out a breath, she moved over to the coffeemaker and brewed her a cup. “Any updates?” She tried to keep the edge of desperation out of her voice, but she could still hear the tightness in her tone. She couldn’t help it. Her emotions were in overdrive.

Blaze nodded. “Melinda and I have been tracking the street cams since Elvis called after he found you. It hasn’t been easy, to be honest, because the bayou doesn’t have cameras, but I think we finally caught a break when they entered town.”

Melinda leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest, her dark hair falling over her shoulders to rest on her chest. “Once we saw where your phone was, we followed the maps, guessing where he’d hit town again. From there, we followed him to an abandoned warehouse in the Art District. They’re on S. Rampart Street.” She pointed to her screen. “Even got a video of them hauling him out of the car.” She cocked a brow, a smirk toying at her lips. “Was he naked when they found the two of you?”

Sage left her brewing coffee and darted to where Melinda sat, bending over when she got there to watch the video. “Play it.”

Melinda said nothing, though the grin remained fixed on her lips. She merely leaned forward and hit a button on her keyboard.

Sage had seen a lot of nasty things done by a lot of nasty people, but never concerning someone she loved. Her breath caught in her throat as her heart raced, the images on the screen showing two of the men who busted into the cabin that morning hauling Parker out of the car and toward a set of rusted bay doors. Parker’s head hung limp, and the two men literally had to drag him to get him inside.

“Is he… is he alive?” Her voice was barely a whisper, fear making her mouth go dry. She knew Melinda couldn’t possibly know from the footage she just saw, but she needed someone to say yes, even if it was a lie.

But no one would ever lie to her. Especially about something as serious as Parker’s life.

Blaze eased down into the chair in front of his laptop, his expression grim. “I can’t tell for sure. He’s not moving that we can see, but he didn’t seem shot or anything. No blood outside of where they beat the hell out of him.” He paused, then added softly. “But I think we need to move fast on this.”

Sage clenched her fists at her sides, pushing back the rising panic. They had to get to him before it was too late. Before they lost him for good.

As the team started gearing up to head out, her phone rang, the shrill sound cutting through the tense atmosphere like a blade. She pulled it from her pocket, her pulse quickening when she saw the caller ID. Jacob.

Well, this won’t be good. She glanced up at Dane, giving a shrug of her brows.

He gave her a curt nod, and she answered the call, her voice tense. “Jacob.”

“Sage.” His voice was sharp, filled with the same frustration and anger that had been simmering in her since he disappeared. “You were supposed to keep Parker away from this. What the hell? Now Broussard has him? That’s not really keeping him out of it, now is it?”

Her breath caught in her throat. How did he know? “Jacob, listen to me?—”

“No,” he interrupted, his tone harsh. “You listen. I’ve already told you. This isn’t your fight. I didn’t ask you to come here, and I sure as hell didn’t ask you to get my brother involved. This is between me and the Broussards and whatever dirty ass cop is shoving everyone in my direction. You and your team need to get out of New Orleans, because you being here has only screwed things up, and now Parker may pay for it with his life.”

“No, you didn’t ask me here. Parker did. And he was in it long before I got here.” She slammed a hand onto her hip as she spun around in a small circle. “I don’t know how the hell you know what’s going on, but me and my team aren’t going anywhere. I know where Parker is. We’re heading there now. You need to stay away from it and let us handle it.”

Jacob was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was lower, colder. “Not going to happen. He’s my brother. I’ll get him out of there. You and your people stay out of it. I don’t need your help, and more to the point, I don’t want it. If you remain here, you’re just going to make things worse.”

“Make things worse? Are you kidding me?” She felt the low growl rumble out of her. “He’s only in danger because of you. They’re going to kill him because of you. I’m not the one making things worse.”

“Don’t you worry about that. I won’t let that happen.” However, while he may have tried to sound confident, there was no reassurance in his voice, only the brittle edges of desperation. “Just stay out of it.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but he had already ended the call. Pulling the phone from her ear, she stared at it for a long moment, her heart pounding in her chest. He didn’t need her help? Like hell.

She shoved her phone back into her pocket and turned back to the team, her jaw clenched with determination. She wouldn’t let Jacob’s warning stop her. Or his annoyance. She was going to get Parker back, no matter what it took, and Jacob could kiss her ass. Her heart wouldn’t let her do anything else. Hell, the only reason Parker was even in trouble was because Jacob didn’t have the balls to come in and prove his innocence the right way. Instead, he ran around New Orleans, pissing everyone off, like some vigilante set on self-destruct.

Dane stared at her, one brow cocked. “Well?”

She took in a slow breath. “Let’s move.” She kept her voice steady, making sure not to betray the sense of fear or doubt swirling inside of her.

Dane nodded, his expression unreadable, and the team sprang into action. “I want you to ride with me,” Dane told her as he reached her before she passed out the door.

She merely nodded, not trusting her voice right then.

Soon, she was staring out the passenger-side window, her fingers gripping the seatbelt tightly as Dane maneuvered the car through New Orleans traffic, Cookie tucked into the backseat. Cars and businesses blurred past them, the noise of tires on asphalt almost like a warning of what lay ahead. Her body still ached from the beating she’d taken that morning, the bruises still fresh and throbbing beneath her clothes, her eye still puffy. But that pain was nothing compared to the knot of fear and anger twisting in her gut.

Dane cleared his throat, breaking the silence that had settled between them since they left the hotel. “How are you holding up?” he asked, his voice low but steady. His eyes flicked toward her briefly before returning to the road. “After the cabin… I know it wasn’t easy.”

She clenched her jaw, ignoring the images of that morning that flashed through her mind at his statement. “I’m fine.” She loosened her grip on the seatbelt, forcing herself to take a deep breath. “Jacob’s always been an arrogant ass in these situations, always thinking he’s the answer to the world’s problems.”

Dane nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. He didn’t argue with her assessment of Jacob. She was fairly certain everyone on the team had the same opinion of him—reckless, self-serving, always dragging people into dangerous situations and leaving others to clean up the mess.

“So… You and Parker…”

She shifted in her seat, the weight of the unasked question pressing down on her. She knew what he was asking without coming out and actually voicing it. And she couldn’t deny what had happened, even though she never meant for it to. There was no denying it. It was even stronger now that Parker’s life hung in the balance.

“Yeah, we’re still wrapping our heads around that ourselves,” she admitted as she stared at the dashboard as if it held the answers to all her problems. “But after we get him away from whoever has him.”

“Good to know.” Dane glanced at her again, his expression unreadable.

“It’s easy to let emotions get in the way,” Cookie said from the backseat. “Especially when someone you care about is in danger. It muddles the mind, leads a person to rash decisions.”

Dane nodded. “And we need you at your best if we’re going to get Parker out of this situation. The last thing we need is for things to get more complicated.”

She bristled at the implication that she might lose control, that she might let her feelings for Parker cloud her judgment. She had been through worse and came out stronger for it. This would be no different. There was no way she would allow anything to jeopardize Parker’s life, even her.

She took a deep breath. “I got this.”

That seemed to satisfy Dane as he nodded once before turning his attention back to the road. The tension in the car eased a little, but the weight of their situation still hung heavy in the air.

“What do you think this Jacob fellow will do now?” Cookie leaned forward, draping his arms over the backs of their seats as he looked at her. “After all, these people kidnapped his brother, right? That has to be messing with his head.”

She sighed as she dragged her fingers through her hair. “Honestly, I have no idea. He’s always been unpredictable, even at the best of times. When he’s backed into a corner… well, let’s just say he’s not known for making smart decisions. Whatever he does will more than likely be reckless and make things worse for us.”

Dane frowned, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. “That’s all we need.”

She sighed. “Let’s just hope we get to Parker before his brother does.”

It took longer than she had hoped to reach the Art District. Dane slowed the car, pulling into an alley to the side of an old, rundown warehouse. The building loomed off to the side, and Dane parked away from the building to give them some cover. No sense announcing their presence ahead of time. Let it be a surprise.

The building’s windows were shattered, and graffiti covered the walls as tended to happen with abandoned buildings. It looked vacant, but Sage knew better. Inside, Parker was being held and time was running out.

After killing the engine, Dane turned to face her. “We’re here. You sure you’re ready?”

Elvis and Gage pulled up behind them as Sage unbuckled her seatbelt, reaching for the gun tucked into her holster. Her fingers brushed the cold metal, a familiar comfort that steadied her nerves. She met Dane’s gaze, her eyes hard and determined.

“Let’s go get him,” she said, her voice laced with resolve.

They exited the car in silence, the weight of the moment pressing down on them. Sage’s heart pounded in her chest as they approached the warehouse, her senses on high alert. Every sound, every shadow, felt like a threat waiting to spring out at them at any moment, but she pushed the fear aside. There was no room for doubt. Not now.