Page 31 of Raven's Hunt
He moved closer, placed his hand on her hip. “What’s with all the flashing numbers?”
Sloane shivered. “That would be the betting I mentioned before. On who’ll survive the longest. Which client will take the kill shot. Probably a bunch of other, deranged items I don’t want to consider.”
“Sorry I asked. Can you tell how long they’ve been running this?”
“Not with any certainty. What I can tell you is that the site was created a couple months after Tierney’s escape, and that they run what they call the Gauntlet all over the world. This seems to be their Pacific Coast operation.”
Tierney fisted her hand against her mouth, chewing on her thumbnail until Buck rubbed her back, smiling when she looked up at him. “So, this all started after I escaped? Doesn’t that seem a bit too coincidental?”
Sloane stared at Nick, arched a brow, pursing her lips when Nick nodded. “Chatter suggests their company, Grimm, got blacklisted when they failed to deliver a high-value asset. After that, they pivoted — turned the human trafficking part into a sport.”
Tierney stiffened beneath Buck’s hand. “It’s because of me. I’m the asset they lost.”
Nick stepped forward. “These men are monsters. You aren’t to blame for anything they’ve done.”
“Not directly, but…” She swallowed, sounded as if she might puke. “I guess that means this game he wants me to play involves another Gauntlet.”
She hadn’t asked, and the room fell silent, the answer hanging in the empty space.
Buck shifted closer when the cell rang.
He snapped his focus to the phone as the burner vibrated in the middle of the table, another ring echoing through the room.
Sloane tapped on her keyboard. “I’m patching Avery and Greer in, now. And I’ll do my best to trace it, but…”
Tierney let it ring once more before she flipped the cell open, hit the button, and set it on speaker. “About time.”
Buck smiled despite himself. She hadn’t used Pike’s name. Smart. Save that for when it would matter.
Pike chuckled on the other end, the sound scraping down Buck’s spine. “Does that mean you’re ready to play, pet?”
“That depends. Is this actually a game, or just another excuse for you to hide behind other people while you make threats?”
A slow breath drifted across the line. “Sharp as ever. Good. Then, I’ll skip the warm-up.” He paused. “I’m going to play you something. Feel free to have your little tech girl record it.”
Buck froze. Had Pike guessed their tech specialist was a woman or had he done his own research? Spent the past five days unearthing every bit of intel he could find on Raven’s Security and Buck’s family?
Static crackled over the speaker, followed by the shrill, frantic sound of someone hyperventilating. A woman sobbed, the sound cut off by a muffled yelp, followed by branches snapping in the background.
Pike came back on, a metallic snick-clink sounding faintly in the background. “Six strays. Freshly released into the basin. Each one is wearing a collar keyed to my perimeter grid.” He paused, letting the truth settle. “It’s a lovely piece of hardware — magnetic lock, concussive charge. Designed to sever the spinal column. If one of them crosses the boundary before you disarm it, boom. If I see a badge, a rotor blade, or a strike team creeping over my ridges, I trigger them all myself.”
Tierney’s expression didn’t change, but Buck saw the pulse jump in her throat. “And you expect me to care.”
“If I thought you didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Pike laughed softly. “You do love playing rescuer.”
“Cut the bullshit and tell me what you want.”
“You and the big bloke enter the ring within sixty minutes. Alone.” Another beat. “Once you’re inside, I’ll send you the first set of coordinates. Find the prey. Get the collars off. Move them to your extraction lane before the clock runs out, or my clients finish the job.”
Buck leaned forward. “How many hunters?”
Pike ignored him. “You may have one medic and one teammate waiting at the southern exit to receive survivors. No one else crosses the line. No one else interferes. If they do, I start dropping bodies.”
Tierney glanced at Buck, then back at the phone. “And if we say no?”
“Then I shoot the first stray through the spine and stream it live before moving on to the next.” His tone stayed almost conversational. “You know I will.”
Buck believed him.
