Page 11 of The Norcross Rescue

He needed to know what they wanted, and then try to separate them so he could pick them off. He looked up. Above him was a large grate for the air conditioning system.

His phone vibrated and he quickly moved back down the hall and into another shadowed office. This one had a great view of the Bay, and he stared at the dark water blindly as he answered the call.

“Saxon,” he murmured.

“You okay?”

“Yes. Found some weapons and I’m working on a plan. You got my message.”

“Yeah. Hunt already has the streets cordoned off. SWAT confirmed the doors are rigged with enough C4 to leave a small crater in downtown if it blows.”

A muscle in Vander’s jaw tightened. “Plan?”

“We’re coming in from the roof. Maggie is already en route in the chopper to collect us. She’ll do a drop-and-go on the rooftop. Siv and Cam are here. Rhys is on the way. Boone is five minutes out.”

“Come in quietly.”

“Not our first rodeo. In fact, this reminds me of that Taipei mission.”

“I’d prefer to get out of here without base jumping off the building,” Vander said dryly. “Get here fast, Saxon. I want to get Brynn home.”

“On my way.”

“I’m going to get a little closer to our unwanted friends. See what we’re dealing with.”

“Watch your back.”

Slipping the phone away, Vander glanced up at the closest air vent. He climbed onto the desk, then quickly opened the grate.

It was going to be a tight fit.

Gripping the edge of the vent, he pulled himself up. Once in the tight space, he closed the vent behind him.

On his stomach, he slowly slid along the vent, mentally calculating which way to go to get closer to Brynn and the others. At a junction, he slid right, trying to stay as silent as possible.

Finally, he heard murmurs. He slid forward to the closest grate and looked down.

He had a bird’s eye view of several terrified guests sitting on the floor, huddled together. One of the intruders came into view. He was cradling a rifle and wearing a wild boar mask, complete with two small tusks flanking his mouth. As Vander watched, the asshole kicked one of the men on the floor. Boar chuckled.

Vander stared at the man. Enjoy yourself, because soon, you won’t be.

From this angle, he couldn’t see Brynn. He needed to see her.

He slid along the vent tunnel, moving to the next grate.

“Bear, are you in the system?” a deep voice clipped out.

The cold voice made Vander still.

“Working on it,” another man replied.

“Work faster.”

“Security is good, boss. I need some time.”

Vander shifted a little and saw the man step into view. He had a gray wolf mask on.

“Help him.” Wolf shoved a young man in a tux forward.