“I don’t know if I can live without her,” Riley whispered.
Wyatt shook his head. “You’re not going to have to live without her. We’re going to get her back. Say it.”
“We’re going to fucking get her back.”
Wyatt patted Riley’s cheeks, then reached over and kissed him on the forehead. And there wasn’t a single thing weird about it. “That’s right. We’re fucking going to get her back.”
“I’ve already got an APB out on that limo,” Gavin announced. “We can’t have cops stopping every single limo on the road, but it at least makes them aware there could be one with a problem.”
“It’s going toward Reddington City International,” Kendrick and Neo said at the same time, still looking at her laptop on the car hood.
“We’ve logged into the DMV’s cams, and unless he’s planning to take a vacation in Utah, he’s headed to the airport.” Kendrick pointed at a map on the screen.
Zac started barking orders to the Linear Tactical guys, falling back to the days when he had been team leader. Everybody headed toward different cars.
Riley was about to get into his when Wyatt grabbed his arm and pulled him to another vehicle. “Get in. I’m driving. No argument.”
Riley gritted his teeth and nodded. He wouldn’t attempt a stunt in this frame of mind; he shouldn’t get behind the wheel either.
Aiden and Baby piled into the back seat. Riley knew others would be right behind them.
There was nothing safe about the speed at which Wyatt pulled out of the parking lot, but it made Riley feel better. Of all the Linear guys, Wyatt spent the least amount of time here in Wyoming and the most time on life or death missions.
And that was very definitely what this was.
“He’s trying to get her out of the country,” Wyatt said. “I studied Sayed before we went in to rescue Andre and Josh. Sayed is one of the richest men in Egypt and is also one of the most powerful. He’s got government ties, business ties. He probably wants to get back to where he has home field advantage.”
“Also probably means that Girl Riley is alive,” Aiden added. “He wants to toy with you, Phoenix.”
Sayed could toy with him all he wanted; Riley just wanted Wildfire safe.
“We’ve got to stop him from getting her out of the country,” Baby said. “Once he’s out of the country, our options become a lot more limited.”
Every mile felt like a hundred. Baby was providing updates from info he was getting via text.
“Gavin’s trying to get Reddington International to refuse to let Sayed’s plane take off, but Sayed has diplomatic ties, so they can’t get involved. Kendrick and Neo are trying to work some sort of voodoo also, see if they can create a problem with the flight plan—anything to keep them on the ground.”
Riley had never felt more helpless in his life.
They were ten miles from the airport when Aiden reached under the seat and pulled out two Glock 26s. He handed one to Wyatt and inspected the other one for himself. “These are the not-so-legal concealed weapons. The legal ones are in the glove box.”
Riley opened it and handed one back to Baby. He didn’t have to look at his friend to know that he was comfortable with the Glock resting in his hand. He may not have ever been a soldier like his brother, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to fight.
“If Kendrick and Neo can’t get the plane grounded electronically, what’s our plan?” Aiden asked.
“We can’t let that plane take off,” Riley bit out, surprised his voice sounded anywhere near normal.
Everyone agreed, but they all knew there was no good way to handle this. It was going to call for desperate measures.
“I know Reddington International isn’t a huge airport, but they’re not going to let us come running through the terminal, weapons hot.” Wyatt didn’t take his eyes from the road as he spoke.
Wyatt was right. Ditching the car and going through the terminal wasn’t an option. That would require minutes they didn’t have.
“Sayed’s plane is already on the runway,” Baby said. “We don’t have that kind of time.”
Riley shook his head, gripping the dashboard. “I’ll stop and you guys can get out in a second. The only option is going to be to halt all takeoff traffic on the runway. A car driving out there all crazy should do that.”
All three men voiced their objections. They didn’t want to get out.
Riley held up a hand to stop them. “Look, we’re talking about jail time here. There is no way law enforcement is just going to let this slide.”
“And there’s no way I’m stopping this vehicle while there’s any chance we might get Riley off that plane while it’s still on the ground.” Wyatt’s eyes were glued to the road as he tried to milk even more speed out of the vehicle. “I’ll slow down if somebody wants to dive out, but I’m not stopping.”
“Besides,” Aiden continued, “you’re going to need man- and firepower to go up against Sayed’s jet. The chaos will only keep them grounded so long.”
“I—I…” He wasn’t sure exactly what to say. These guys were risking a lot for him.
“You guys are family, Phoenix. You and Girl Riley both,” Baby said.
“Not to mention all the times you’ve helped Linear out,” Wyatt added. “Hell, you’re in this to begin with because of Linear’s mission. We don’t leave our people behind.”
Riley just nodded. For the first time since realizing Wildfire had been taken, he felt hope. Yes, there may be repercussions from them driving onto the runway, but the most important thing was that they were going to get her out of that plane and home safe.
His relief was short-lived.
They were a half mile from the airport, coming up a side road that would lead them directly to the runway rather than the terminal, when Baby received a text from Kendrick.
“Fuck. We’re too late. The plane just took off.”
Riley gripped the dashboard and looked out the windshield. Sure enough, a small luxury jet was climbing into the sky.
Taking his entire life with it.
Chapter 27
Terror threatened to overwhelm him. Sitting in that car less than a mile from the airport, knowing they’d been so close and were now so far, was eating Riley alive by the second.
Communication was going on all around him. All three of his friends were talking to different people. Riley didn’t know who, couldn’t even bring himself to form coherent sentences. Every single breath hurt. Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore, he ripped off his seatbelt and stumbled out the car door.
There wasn’t any more air outside than there had been inside the car. He gulped in oxygen like he was running a sprint and even then, it wasn’t enough.
“Riley. Riley!”
Baby was in his face.
“Keep it together. Falling apart isn’t going to help her. This changes the plan but doesn’t put us out of the game.”
He nodded. Riley had learned long ago that no matter how hopeless the first round looked, that didn’t mean the game was lost. But that was a hell of a lot easier to say when it wasn’t the life of the woman he loved at stake. Still, he nodded.