Page 48 of Innocent Target

“I think we should move in now. Stealthily. It’s our best shot as we don’t know if more of the MC will arrive. We take our chance, or we back out and come back another time. Your call, James.”

Nick made sense, even if deep fear insinuated itself through his veins at the endless list of what could go wrong. On the other hand, they were almost 100% certain that Abbie was inside, and that could change if Hull or Rao believed the Agency was closing in on them.

“We do it now. Nick, you’re with me. We’ll enter the first floor and take Hull and Rao down. Mercy, you go up and take care of whoever is with Abbie. You good with this non-plan?”

Nick exhaled. “It’s nothing new.”

“Just add in the part where no one is allowed to die, and I’m good to go.” Mercy’s voice was laced with menace and worry.

“Baby, same to you.” James was about to say more when Nick came back on the line.

“Keep that for when I’m not listening in. Have pity on me, guys. On your signal, James.”

Emptying his mind, James moved a little, readying his body for action. “No sound unless you’re cornered. Stay safe. Game on.”

The comms remained silent, and all James could hear were the leaves rustling in the trees. In the shadows, he circled until he saw a blind spot from his position leading to the wall beside the living room. It was impossible to see if Nick had made headway or not, and James didn’t want to use the comms unless absolutely necessary. He tested the window finding it unlocked. The tiny opening led into a small office. The place was cramped, and it was a challenge to squeeze inside and not knock the piles of paper and stacked boxes down. Another risk was that the old floorboards would creak if he stepped on the wrong plank.

Hidden behind the door, James listened. Apart from the male’s voices, it was relatively calm. Until a baby’s cry came from upstairs. Abbie!

His heart wrenched, but he focused on the immediate danger. Abbie was safe, and he had to trust that Mercy would keep her so.

Gun out, James clicked his tongue twice, a signal to Nick that he was ready. The moment he heard the same clicking noise in his ear, James attacked.

When he burst into the living room, tunnel vision took over. Hull and Rao barely had time to their feet at James’s appearance when Nick opened a side door.

Hull was the closest, but the biker didn’t seem impressed to be facing a gun and rushed forward to tackle him. James evaded him, but despite Hull’s size he managed to grab James’s arm, slamming it against the wall, forcing James to drop it.

With his gun lost, James knew he had to bring him down. From the corner of his eye, he saw Nick had knocked Rao out.

Hull took advantage of the small distraction and hit him with a strong right hook. James’s head snapped back, and his vision turned red at the edges, but the split second it took to recover, Hull had sprinted out of the room, yelling at him over his shoulder. “The only way I’ll give up my daughter is if she’s dead.”

James’s body reacted before his brain could process the panic the man’s words caused. His hand found his gun without looking as he went after Hull. Every fiber of his being, every muscle, pushed as fast as possible, trying to close the distance between them, but Hull was already at the top of the stairs.

He’d almost reached the top of the stairs when the sound of two shots brought him to a halt.

Was he too late? Was Hull cold-blooded enough to kill his own daughter? Had he failed Abbie yet again, and what about Mercy? Was she safe, or had one of those bullets been for her?

A scream strangling his throat, James ran into the room, gun out, ready to kill the man, consequences be damned, but stopped in his tracks.

Abbie was screaming like a banshee in Mercy’s arms, who shielded the infant with her body in a far corner of the room. Hull’s body was sprawled in the middle of the floor, his weapon beside him, his head lying in a pool of blood.

Nick rushed up behind him and cursing, bumped into James.

At first, James thought Mercy had fired until he saw a small woman sobbing by Mercy, a small caliber gun by her side. From the way her face had been beaten it was easy to guess why the girl had pulled the trigger.

“This is Nina. She said Hull kidnapped her to take care of Abbie. I know we have a lot of questions, but we need to go, now. It’s too dangerous to stay.”

Mercy’s voice finally made James move. Leaving Hull where he lay, Nick went downstairs to secure the still unconscious Rao, and both men carried him outside to the car as Mercy took care of Abbie and Nina.

James was desperate to take Abbie in his arms, but instead, put Rao in the trunk and jumped behind the wheel once everyone was in.

Nick pulled out his phone to report the situation to Shane and request emergency backup. On high alert, James looked everywhere, making sure they were not followed.

Not trusting Rao’s car wasn’t tracked by someone other than themselves, they switched cars twice, stealing vehicles before heading to an address Shane gave them.

Mercy kept his niece calm and Abbie slept for the remainder of the drive. An hour later, they arrived at the highway and headed south.

A high hedge surrounded the safe house and Kingsley waited at the curb for them. Mason appeared behind him and ushered their little group inside. Kingsley disappeared with the vehicle, obviously getting rid of it.