Reid scanned the area again and found nothing out of the ordinary. “Possibly.”
“Let’s get back to Eidolon and get a plan and search in place.”
Lopez clapped him on the shoulder, and he took one last look around before he dipped his chin and followed his friends, his mind on Callie and just how much he’d failed her—the one woman who held his heart in a way nobody else ever had. Maybe he was no better than his useless father after all. At least he’d had the decency to walk before he could fuck up.
As they make their way to his car, his phone rang and he snatched it up hoping to hear Callie’s voice, but it was his boss instead.
“Any reason the panic alarm Will gave your girl is blaring like a hungry new-born?”
Reid stopped dead at those words. “Alarm?”
“Yeah, Will gave her a new prototype that attaches to a person’s shoelace. It looks like any other lace and hers is going wild.”
“Sophia is the stalker. She took Callie.”
“Get back here now, and we’ll make a plan to end this in a way that keeps Callie safe.”
Jack hung up, and Reid walked faster. Hope surged for the first time since Callie had walked into the bathroom.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jack hung up the phone and looked at the electronic map mounted inside a glass desk. It had a 3D module that allowed him to see different angles and manipulate the view to give him an optimal advantage.
He was in the war room, the place he felt the most at home. The heart of any mission was here, and this silent one he fought with an unknown enemy was no different. He hit the module he required, bringing up the map that showed where Callie was headed. The laces had been the perfect place to put the tracker, but he knew even with that advantage they had a small window to safely extract her.
Jack recognised the location and had an idea of where her agent would take her. The large empty shops were mixed in with smaller ones that still traded, meaning there were enough people around to cause him a headache if he went in guns blazing like he knew Reid would want to do. Another of his men had fallen head-over-heels in love. He wasn’t sure if Reid knew it yet but it was a fact none the less. If there was one thing Jack was good at, it was reading people.
With his phone in his hand, he was about to dial his brother when a ripple of awareness slid down his spine.
An ingrained radar that had kept him alive more times than he could count kicked in. He palmed the gun from his hip and spun, raising it to the man who stood where he shouldn’t be. “Who the fuck are you and how the hell did you get in here?” Jack held his weapon on the tall, muscled man who faced him.
His expression one of calm, as if he had every right to be there. The man slowly raised his hands to show he was unarmed and meant no harm, but Jack kept the gun trained on him.
“You have five seconds to start talking, or I’ll put a bullet in your head.”
The man must have sensed Jack would do precisely that because he finally spoke. “I’m here because we have a mutual acquaintance.”
Jack kept his eyes on him. “And?”
“I believe we can do business together.”
Jack sneered. “I don’t do business with people I don’t know.”
The man cocked his head. “Not even to save your friend?”
Jack clenched his jaw, the irritation of this encounter wearing thin on his already short patience. “Just spit out what you want, I’m bored and have things to do.”
“Ah yes, the model.”
Jack was across the room in a second, the muzzle of his gun in the man’s face, their eyes locked. His, the deepest sapphire blue and this man with his icy blues, the colour indicative of his ginger hair, which was cropped short.
The man didn’t falter or waiver in fear. His eyes were telling a story his mouth wasn’t. He was a warrior, the same as Jack and he didn’t fear death. He’d seen the horrors of this life and evil. Jack was undecided if this man fought against them or was the perpetrator of the atrocities. He quickly patted him down, making sure he was unarmed and was slightly surprised to find he didn’t have a weapon on him at all. He was either confident or had a fucking death wish.
“What do you know about her?” His jaw was hard; his teeth almost ached from the firm hold he had on his temper now.
“I know that she’s in grave danger, and there are sources at play beyond your control.”
“Tell me.”
The man’s voice was gravelly when he spoke again. “Gunner has been ordered to kill her and Reid.”
Jack’s insides went cold at those words, he didn’t want to believe a man he had trusted would do such a thing. “How is knowing that supposed to help me?”
“I can tell you where his sister is. Without that noose around his neck, he won’t follow through. In fact, I’m not sure he’ll go through with it, but he loves his sister so he may feel he doesn’t have a choice.”
“Where is she?”
“I need something from you first.”
Jack felt the sneer on his lip. “Of course you do. What is it you want?”
“One day I’ll need a favour, and you’ll give it to me without question.”
Jack stepped back, assessing the man who wore a black suit with a dark burgundy shirt and no tie, his shoes polished to a high shine. “I can’t say yes if I don’t know what it is you want.”
The man turned on his heel. “Then she will die and so will your men, because the person who stalks you won’t stop.”
“Stop.”
The man turned back to him without a second of fear or feeling, his face a mask.
“Do you know where Gunner is?”
The man nodded. “I do.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” Jack watched him for even the slightest tell and found none. Whoever this man was, he was good.
“You’re a clever man, Jack. You know you can’t trust me, but you have no choice unless you want people you care for to get hurt.”
Jack knew he was correct, but he didn’t like it one bit. He thought through his options in record speed and found his only answer. “If you give me the sister and Gunner, I’ll agree to your terms.”
Cold blue eyes watched him carefully, and Jack held his gaze, refusing to show a second of weakness. “You would make this deal for him?”
“I would.” Jack didn’t say what was in his head, which was that he felt responsible for some of this. If Gunner had thought he could come to him, then he and his sister wouldn’t have become targets.
“The sister is at this location, the guard will be taken care of, but you must move fast before Gunner has the chance to follow through on his order.”
He passed Jack a piece of paper which he took, quickly scanning the address. “And Gunner?”
“I will deliver him to you once you have Milla safe.”
“You have him?”
“I knocked him out and put a tracker on him. He has no idea I can see his every movement.”
“Why are you doing this? Apart from the fact I’ll owe you?”
“People are rarely what they seem, Jack, and things are never black or white. I play in the murky grey.”