Chapter Ninety-One

Dane expected Garrett’s news to have sent Lena into a panic, but instead, it seemed as though the opposite had happened. He’d felt the tension leave her body in one soft sigh.

Her manic grip released, and she closed her eyes as if she’d found peace.

Had she given up? Would she be able to move when the time came? If the time came?

There was no guarantee that Kenzie was still with Kulakov. Had he put her in the container with a bunch of other captives at the port? It was a worry, but Dane didn’t think that was what had happened.

Kulakov had threatened Lena with an especially grim fate for her daughter if she betrayed him. Including a personal delivery to a special buyer. That would play in their favor.

Unless he’d been bluffing. Viktor Kulakov did have a flair for the dramatic.

Before Dane could ask Lena if she was okay, a black town car pulled up in front of the dock. Weller jumped out of the passenger seat and moved to the back door on the same side. He opened it while his gaze darted around the parking lot.

Dane had purposely parked under the light so the glass would reflect like a mirror.

The door opened, and Viktor slid out of the car wearing a white suit and a straw fedora. He looked like the poster boy for Drug Smugglers R Us. What a cliché.

Dane heard Colton’s sharp intake of breath at seeing the people who had tried their best to kill him.

Viktor studied the parking lot nervously, then nodded to Butch who climbed out from the other side of the car.

The dock was dark except for a few scattered street lights, but the yacht was all lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Where is she?” Lena whispered. “She has to be here.”

Up on deck, two more men came to stand at the rail by the gangplank.

“We’ve got four guards visible,” Colton said from the back seat, slipping into deputy marshal mode and keeping everyone on the com informed. “Angel?”

“I can get the two on deck from here,” she said next to him. She raised a high-power rifle and twisted her neck to the side. “You get the two with Viktor.”

“I’ve got Viktor,” Dane said, keeping his voice even. Too bad he couldn’t shoot to kill. They would need him to tell them what he’d done with Kenzie.

Viktor moved around to the side of the town car. The side away from them that was wreathed in darkness. He looked down for a moment, then turned toward the brightly lit yacht.

“Are we doing this?” Angel asked.

They were supposed to recover Kenzie, but she wasn’t here. However, there was a good chance the authorities would want to speak with Kulakov regarding the contents of the container. Whether it was full of drugs or people.

If the team stopped him, he might be willing to bargain his freedom for Kenzie.

“Let’s move,” said Dane.

Angel was the first one out. She propped the rifle on the car next to them, and two pops later the guards on deck were down.

Viktor looked behind him briefly, then ducked and rushed toward the gangplank as the boat’s engines roared to life.

Lena was right next to Dane as he ran across the parking lot. Colton moved to the side and took out Weller, while Butch tucked in behind Kulakov.

Dane raised the Beretta to shoot Butch but saw something else. Two tiny legs between Viktor and Butch.

Legs clad in pink leggings with purple hearts on them.

A little girl.

“It’s her,” Lena whispered, her voice choking with emotion as they sprinted down the dark marina dock.

Once Kulakov got the girl on board, they would be much harder to hunt down. The team had to stop him now.

“Yell for her,” Dane ordered, hoping hearing Lena would make Viktor stop or slow down.

“Kenzie!” Lena shouted, her voice cracking badly.

“Mama!” Kenzie called, then did exactly what Dane wanted her to. She flailed and slipped out of her captor’s grip and turned back toward Dane and her mother.

As Dane and Lena rushed onto the dock, Butch spun around to shoot, but Colton shot first, knocking him to his knees.

“Baby!” Lena yelled.

Viktor snatched the girl by her shoulder and pulled her back into his grip.

Butch aimed his gun from his position on the ground and shot at them.

“Get down!” Dane yelled at Lena, just as a bullet burned into his leg.

Falling to the ground, the only thing that went through his mind was Fuck! Not again.