Facing Fire Read online

  Josiah didn’t sugarcoat it. “No, the real power brokers.”

  “Forget it. I don’t want to know.” She waved her hand in front of her. “How is Benton getting in?”

  Mike shrugged. “You tell us.”

  Her hands dropped to her sides as her shoulders drooped. “You can watch me the whole time and you won’t find anything.”

  Little did she know. “Sutton, you need to assume someone is always watching you.”

  “Is that your way of warning me you’ll shoot first if I do something wrong?”

  This time Josiah didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

  9

  AN HOUR later night had fallen and the temperature dropped. A chill filled the air, but Sutton didn’t know if the weather or fear of what could happen next had her teeth tapping together. She wanted to bounce around, walk, do something to force more blood into her legs but she stayed still as ordered. This was not her usual night on the job, but she appreciated the level of danger and did not play games.

  There, at a side gate by the landscaping staff’s garage, they bided their time as Ellery, the woman Sutton knew only by voice, did whatever she did on her end to unlock the entrance. Sutton continued to pretend it made sense that she stood in front of a steel door in the middle of a wall around school property. A school that felt more like a prison.

  Josiah had inserted a card into the reader but the light stayed red. Since neither of the men panicked, Sutton decided not to either. She could hear the clicking of a keyboard over the comm. The speed astounded her. Every part of what they were doing right now—crouching, hiding, waiting, grabbing some kid she didn’t know—piqued her interest.

  She spent her days collecting evidence for legal cases. The ridiculousness of that work compared to this struck her as she hunkered down in the grass. She would have started laughing, but she feared if she did she’d never stop.

  “I’m still surprised you didn’t tie me to the steering wheel.” Once more Sutton looked around, took in the equivalent of a castle wall and remembered the guards stationed at the main gate, and wondered what kind of families that sent their kids here.

  Josiah’s attention never strayed from that light. “I still might if I find out this is a setup.”

  Again with this argument. Other than hand him Benton’s head on a stick, she didn’t know what she’d have to do to win Josiah over. “You have serious trust issues.”

  “I grab you and all of a sudden Benton goes after one of ours who’s located close by.” He stole a quick glance at her. “I’m not big on coincidence.”

  She still didn’t understand where this kid fit in, but she didn’t bother to ask. He’d evade anyway. “Is this where you threaten to kill me?”

  “If you’re looking for regret about killing killers, you have the wrong guys.”

  The light switched to green and Mike filed in first. Following the instructions they’d drummed into her head, she went in second. Stayed between them and didn’t make a sound as they skimmed the inside of the wall. Security lights bathed the green lawn in a soft glow, making the buildings looming behind in the darkness look even more menacing.

  Dodging around buildings and evading the lights, they moved around the side of the property and kept going until they drew even with the end of the first building. She glanced back and spied a group of guards gathered by the main gate. The shift change. Somehow Josiah knew what happened inside these walls and when. Without the change, guards would line the wall and walk the grounds. This was their one chance to get in unnoticed.

  The walk switched to a jog. She’s known it was coming but still cursed her recent lack of exercise. She walked everywhere, but that didn’t mean she’d be able to run any distance without heaving. Good thing they only needed to slip around two buildings.

  They made a beeline across the back of the first without trouble. They got to the end when Mike came to a halt. He held up his fist and they all stopped. That hand signal she remembered. There were others and they all blended, but this warned of an emergency stop.

  “Heat signatures.” The whisper came over the comm as clear as if Ellery were standing with them.

  “Copy.” Josiah’s response barely registered above a sigh.

  Sutton wished she could be half as calm. Her heartbeat soared as the thumping slammed against her chest. Air punched her lungs and had her on the verge of panting. Adrenaline. All of it readying her for the job ahead, or so she convinced herself.

  Josiah slipped around her. Actually passed close enough to rub his body over hers and poke his gun into her side. She understood. They waited just outside the circle of the security light. If he moved too far away from the building he could be seen.

  Mike held up two fingers and Josiah nodded. Not that anyone but her could see the agreement. She wanted to point that out but knew not to move. Not to breathe, if possible. Then she heard them. Two male voices speaking in a language she didn’t know.

  Mike lifted his head off the wall, then put it back down again. From the sound of the voices, she knew they were close and moving in. In another few minutes these unwanted visitors would run straight into Mike and then the rest of them. The makeshift hiding place behind the wall would be blown. She feared alarms would start ringing after that.

  Josiah turned back to her and leaned in until his body crushed hers into the wall and his mouth settled on her ear. “Do not move.”

  He backed up and held up a finger as if to say he meant business. Not that she needed the demonstration. She’d still rather take her chances with Josiah than with two men guarding a scary school. She was about to tell Josiah that when he took off in the opposite direction, heading back where they came before disappearing into the darkness.

  Shaken, with her brain cells misfiring, she turned around to find Mike staring at her. He winked. His attention went to his watch. After a few seconds he held up three fingers and performed a countdown. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do at one, but she’d try to at least move.

  The sound grew closer. The shadows came first, then the men turned the corner. One almost ran into Mike and jerked at the sight of him. He opened his mouth to yell or say something, but a beat too late. As he reached for his gun, Mike landed a shot. Rammed the heel of his hand into the other man’s throat until he grabbed his neck and coughed. Then came a second shot to the stomach that doubled the guard over.

  The whole thing happened in a flash. Bodies blurring in front of her as they moved. Sutton watched it all as she stood with her back plastered against the cold stone wall.

  The other one reached for a radio but Josiah came up behind him and wrapped an arm around his throat. With his neck in Josiah’s elbow, the guy flailed. His boots pounded the ground and his ankle dug into the grass, making divots. The choking sound grew louder as Josiah squeezed harder.

  Maybe five seconds later the thrashing stopped. The guy slid boneless to the ground. By the time her gaze flew back to Mike, he stood over the guy he hit. Both guards lay facedown and unmoving.

  Her gaze traveled over the men as she realized they’d simply been doing their jobs. “Are they dead?”

  “Out cold,” Mike said as he stepped back and looked around the buildings.

  “Which means we need to move fast.” Josiah looked at his watch. “Our time just got cut in half.”

  Sutton waited for Ellery or someone on the line to call this off, but the order never came. Instead Mike dropped down on one knee and zip tied the unconscious men’s hands behind their backs and put something over their mouths. She was too busy being relieved they were alive to ask why they needed this extra step.

  “The next building.” Josiah took the lead this time.

  They made it to the dormitory, or house, or whatever really rich people called it, without running into more men. As planned, they skipped the front and back doors because of the extra security protection of the retinal scanners there. They went to the assigned door but there was no handle. This qualified as a way out but
not a way in. Not that Sutton could see.

  But Josiah didn’t panic or get upset. He nodded to Mike, who went fishing for something in the utility pocket of his pants. He pulled out a small packet and knelt in front of the door.

  Sutton watched but she didn’t know what she was seeing. Despite all the discussions and planning, she couldn’t make this rescue make sense in her head. Their secrecy didn’t allow for many questions. But she waited there, ready to put her life on the line for a kid she didn’t even know, she thought they could cough up some information. “Why didn’t this kid’s parents just have the school release the kid to us?”

  “We don’t know who works for Benton or where his people are.” Josiah kept checking the area. “If we tipped the wrong person off, the kid would be dead. Maybe many kids.”

  She still didn’t understand how the pieces fit together. They had to have friends inside the school. Powerful people who could help out. “But the parents work with you.”

  “His father is on my team.” As if he read her mind, Josiah answered the question on her mind. “We used his knowledge of the school and our verified contacts to help Ellery break the security system.”

  Even hearing that bit of information filled her with hope. Josiah didn’t view this as a routine operation. This meant something. She didn’t even know she cared about that until right now. “That makes sense.”

  “And the kid’s name is Danny. If he balks about going with you, say Kingsfield.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s his arranged safe word.” Josiah shrugged. “You’d have to ask his dad what it means.”

  Before she could say anything to that, the door clicked open and Mike looked up at Josiah. “We’re in.”

  A wall of warmth hit her as soon as she stepped inside. Not too hot and not too cool. Perfect, just as she expected from a place like this. A place that must cost tens of thousands, maybe more, to send a kid here each year.

  They had two floors and miles of hallways to maneuver but the quiet gave her hope. She’d half expected alarms to go off and the police to come crashing in. But nothing. They got to the stairwell and swiped the security card. The light immediately switched to green.

  Josiah typed in a code and they opened the door. Up they went. Repeated the same procedure to get onto the floor they needed. A click, and Josiah eased the door open a crack. They knew the guard schedules. While the men outside might switch shifts, the guards inside the buildings had settled in hours ago. Guards roamed the halls, checking the building floor by floor every few minutes. They could run into one at any time.

  She closed her eyes and hoped for a little luck. Just enough to save this kid.

  They slipped into the hall one by one. Part of her wanted to stay in the stairwell but a guard could come at any time. And she’d been the one insisting she might be needed. She pledged to follow through with that.

  They were able to skip the retinal scanners by coming in the door without a handle or any recognizable access, but they needed a handprint to get into the room. Josiah had told her not to worry about it, but now . . .

  “Can you do this?” She asked the question as she stood by his side staring at the locked door.

  He was about to answer when something thumped not inside the room but out. He nodded toward Mike. “Check it out.”

  “Right.” Mike took off down the hall, fast and smooth and not making a sound.

  She had no idea what kind of training produced that skill, but it impressed her. She hoped Josiah had a few hidden talents as well. “Are you going to—”

  “Quiet.” He slipped something out of a pocket on his vest. Unrolled what looked like a glove, but was clear. He flattened it against his hand until it almost disappeared into his palm.

  The seconds played like a scene out of a spy movie. “You stole someone’s palm print?”

  “His father’s, and it wasn’t stealing since we have it on file and he knows I’m using it.” Josiah touched his ear. “Ellery?”

  A soft whisper came over the comm. “You’re good.”

  Sutton knew the timing had something to do with all entries and exits being logged at some central computer. Ellery’s job was to prevent that so that the guards didn’t notice and come running.

  Josiah touched his hand to the pad and the light turned green. After a click, he opened the door. Sutton peeked around him. The room was large, with a bed and sitting room. Not like any dorm she’d ever been in. She saw a lump on the bed. A pile of blankets and dark hair on a pillow.

  “Is that him?” She took a step forward and a series of rapid bangs rang out. Not in the room, not even in the building.

  Josiah jogged to the window and looked out. He turned and faced her as he touched his ear. “Code red.”

  The words sent fear spiraling through her. The bangs grew louder and she realized what they were. Gunfire. Her thoughts went to Mike and then took off on a wild ride. Horrible scenarios ran through her head.

  The previously dim hallway lights flicked on high as an alarm screamed. A little boy with ruffled black hair sat up, at first confused, then with eyes glazed with panic. He grabbed the covers and shoved his body back against the wall.

  She wanted to soothe him. Chaos ruled as voices and footsteps sounded in the hall and all around them. People shouted. A voice called out instructions over a loudspeaker. Someone knocked on doors and read out names. Floodlights clicked on outside. It looked like a military camp had sprung to life, but she focused only on Danny.

  She bent down and saw his dark eyes. Asian with a round face. She guessed his age to be about seven. She held out a hand to him. “I won’t hurt you.”

  He shook his head as he cowered.

  Steps thundered in the hall. It sounded like a herd. Heavy footsteps and slamming. A shot followed by screaming. Josiah pushed off from the window and passed her on the way to the hall.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Providing cover. Making sure no one gets in here. I’ll be standing right there. If I have to go into the hallway, I won’t go far.” He turned to Danny for a second. “Kingsfield.”

  The boy’s eyes widened, then he nodded. He let the sheet and blanket drop as he scooted to the edge of the bed closest to her. “I’m ready.”

  With that kind of smooth response to danger this kid could be on Josiah’s team. “You stay with me, okay?”

  Danny nodded as he dragged a box from under his bed and pulled out a sweatshirt and sneakers. “We can go now.”

  The kid had a go bag for emergencies like this? “Wait, you keep that—”

  He kept on nodding. “Dad taught me.”

  Of course he did. Still, she wanted to hug the kid for being so brave. So calm. “Come here.”

  Before he could grab on to her hand the door slammed open. Two men burst in, both dressed in black and holding weapons. One kicked the gun right out of her hand. The memory of the scene in her apartment played in her head. But this felt different. Neither of these two looked or acted like Josiah. The bigger one scowled as his finger moved to the trigger.

  She grabbed Danny and shoved him behind her. “No.”

  The big one approached. He aimed the gun at her as he stared with dead eyes. “Both of you come with me.”

  Hate pulsed off him. If he felt any guilt about threatening a woman and small child, he hid it well.

  No, these two weren’t with Mike and Josiah. They wouldn’t rescue and protect. They were the type to throw her out of a car or off a roof to get her out of the way. She sensed it to her bones.

  He took another step and nearly stumbled when Danny wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him. The touch, that trust, fueled her.

  She reached behind her, desperate to grab anything. Her fingers touched the lamp on Danny’s desk and she wrapped her fingers around the base. A yank and she pulled it off the top and swung. Aimed for the head but connected with his shoulder. He winced as he ducked but she struck him. His arm wavered and
she reached for the knife sticking out of the pocket of his vest.

  With weapons in both hands, she wound up again. The other attacker caught her hand just in time. Twisted until she dropped the lamp. One shove and he knocked her down, tumbling her onto the bed. Danny tumbled with her. She bounced and rolled over, put Danny behind her, half underneath her, as she held that knife in front of her.

  “The boy.” The noninjured one didn’t look impressed. “Now.”

  “No one touches him.”

  “Listen to the lady.” Josiah’s voice burst through the room and over the rumbling of noise outside and in the hallway.

  Both men turned but didn’t get far. Josiah fired two shots in rapid succession, dropping both men where they stood. The violence rumbled through her. She saw blood and bodies. Her first instinct was for Danny and she used her body to shield him from as much of the horror as possible.

  Her second was to demand answers. She looked up at Josiah. “Where were you?”

  “Killing two guys in the hall and creating a path.”

  After another shot just outside the door, Mike moved into the room. “Well now.”

  Sutton followed his gaze to the knife. She clenched it, digging ridges into her palms, but she didn’t care. “And that was without my glasses.”

  Mike’s eyes bulged. “You wear glasses?”

  “With or without them, you did great.” Josiah slipped his gun into the holster and reached over. Peeling each finger, he loosened her grip and took the knife. Bending down, he grabbed her gun and handed it to her. “Here.”

  “The kid okay?” Mike asked.

  She started to see why Josiah got so frustrated with her questions. Now wasn’t the time for chitchat. They had to move before more men arrived, and there always seemed to be more men. “Can we get out?”

  “We think Benton’s men are fighting the guards.”

  That sounded like a promise of death and more bullets. “How do we—”

  “While they’re busy taking care of each other and the other kids are running through their practiced escape drill, we sneak away.” Josiah held a hand out to her. “Ready?”