Chapter Forty-Two

“Are the perimeter sensors down?” Luke spoke into his comm unit.

“All done, boss.”

“Okay, I’m going in.”

He scaled the wall, jumping lightly down on the other side, and stood for a moment in the shadows, surveying the compound. The place was a converted country estate, and three hundred feet of lawn separated him from the main building. Floodlights lit the immediate area, and he could make out the guards moving about, six at the front. More than Smith had said, but they’d expected that. At a guess, there would be at least the same number at the rear.

“Are you in place?” he asked into his comm.

He waited while he received an affirmative from the four men situated on the walls surrounding the house then pulled the night-vision goggles over his eyes.

“Okay, take them out. On my count. One, two, three.”

He heard the muted thud of the silenced sniper rifles. The first shots shattered the floodlights, plunging the area into darkness, and moments later, the guards crumpled to the ground.

“All clear, boss.”

In the silence that followed, he held himself motionless, but nothing moved. “Callum, we’re on.”

Callum appeared on top of the wall. He carried the large rucksack containing the explosives, which he lowered gently to Luke. They ran across the open space, stopping once they reached the shelter of the building, while Luke oriented himself with the information the doctor had given them. According to the intel, the house should be empty, but there would be more guards inside the storage unit situated at the rear.

All was quiet as they made their way around the side of the house. The storage facility was obvious—a stone-built barn, but the doors had been replaced with steel. Callum placed a charge on the lock then they stood to the side, backs pressed against the stone.

The force of the blast blew out the door. Seconds later, two guards appeared, weapons in their hands, only to be taken out by the snipers still on the perimeter walls.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

He followed Callum through the door. The snipers would keep watch outside; his job was to ensure no one interrupted while Callum set the explosives. The building was one large room, a huge steel vault in the center. Callum worked quickly, setting the charges around the base.

“Boss?” Talbot’s voice came through his comm unit.

“What is it?”

“There’s a call for you. You need to hear this. I’m patching it through.”

Luke frowned. What was so important Talbot would interrupt the mission? “Yes?”

“Mr. Hockley, I presume.”

A woman’s voice, but one he’d never heard before. “Who the hell is this?”

“My name is Lauren, and I’m here with a friend of yours.”

After a moment’s silence, Jenna’s voice came down the phone. “Luke? Whatever she asks, don’t agree. Finish this. Remember what I—”

She was cut off, and Luke swore softly. What the hell had happened at the house?

“What do you want?” He kept his voice controlled while inside he was raging, his mind frantically searching for options.

“I want you to stop what you are doing. Get out of there with my chemicals intact, and perhaps I’ll let your friend live. In fact, I’ll definitely let her live. I can’t wait to get her into the lab and find out what makes her tick.”

“Don’t touch her.”

She laughed softly, and Luke gritted his teeth together to stop himself from ranting.

“I’ll touch her, but I won’t hurt her. In fact, I’ll help her. I’m probably the only person who can at this point.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you come out of this alive, I might tell you. Before I kill you. For a second time.”

“A second time?” The words made no sense to him. Then it all became clear, and a tidal wave of black hatred flooded his body. “You murdered them.”

“If you’re referring to your wife and baby, yes. Not actually by my hand, but I gave the order. I suppose I was also responsible for your father. I’m telling you this because you need to know I’m sincere in my threats. You have five minutes to get out of there. Any explosions, and she dies instantly.”

The phone went dead. Luke stared at it for long moments then forced himself to move. They had to get the hell out of there. All he could think of was Jenna; she filled his mind.

“I heard,” Callum said.

“We’re getting out of here.”

“The hell we are. The explosives are nearly set. I’m finishing this.”

“I gave an order. Stand down.”

“What the fuck are you thinking?”

“She has Jenna.”

“Yes, and I heard what Jenna said to you. Finish this. It’s what she wants.”

“She doesn’t understand.”

“Of course she does. She saw that film. Would you want to live knowing you were responsible for the death of thousands, maybe millions? Think!”

Slowing his breathing, Luke tried to shift his brain from the fog of panic, and Jenna’s words came back to him.

I couldn’t bear to be responsible for doing that to anyone. I’d rather be dead.

He smashed his fist into the wall.

“Luke?”

“Get on with it,” he snarled. “And fast. They’ll be coming for us.”

Off to the south, the rising drone of helicopters told Luke time was running out. He spoke into his comm unit. “Everyone stand down. Get back to the vehicle.”

Callum set the last charge and ran toward him. “Let’s go.” He raised his hand, showing a small rectangular detonator. “We have ten minutes to get out of here.”

“Callum, they’ll kill her.”

For a moment, Callum’s face softened. “Maybe. Maybe not. You heard what that woman said. They want to study her.”

He was right—they might not kill her straightaway. If they got out of this alive, and if he could track her down a second time…

Too many damned ifs. But hadn’t he always known this would never have a happy ending?

The hum of the approaching helicopters was louder. As the lights of the first burst out from behind the cover of a steep hill, he stared off to the south.

“Too late.”

The shots tore up a strip of ground in front of them as they dove for cover behind a low stone wall.

“Fuck,” Callum groaned.

Luke turned sharply. “You hit?”

“Yeah, lower leg. It’s okay.”

Luke peered over the wall. The helicopters were nearly on top of them. “If they land, will they have time to deactivate the explosives?” he asked.

“Maybe.”

Luke thought of all he had tried to do, how many years he had spent chasing the monster. At least he could finish this one thing. They could still do this…if they manually detonated the explosives. Of course, that was likely to be fatal for both of them. “Give me the detonator.”

Callum shook his head. “No way. You have a woman to rescue. And I can’t run. At least one of us can get clear. So piss off out of here.”

Luke’s gaze flashed to the detonator. Callum’s finger hovered over the switch. From here, he would be caught in the blast. There was zero chance of survival.

“What’s the range of the detonator?”

“A mile.”

“Let’s go, then.” He grabbed Callum by the shoulder and hauled him to his feet. The bullets chased them across the open ground, and he felt the moment Callum was hit again as he sagged against him, and Luke nearly went down. They weren’t far enough, but they’d run out of time.

He crashed to the ground with Callum beneath him. For a second they locked gazes. Luke gritted his teeth. “Do it.”

The roar of an explosion filled his head. The blast slammed into him like a solid wall of darkness as the building disintegrated in a ball of fire, hurling debris through the sky.

Luke covered his head with his arms, but it wasn’t enough. Something hit him from behind, and everything went black.