Page 82 of Breached

We took the stairs, and I found Mark talking to Ty and Moore, who looked to be okay. Lee and Perez, members of Dark Water, also seemed to be in fairly good shape. That was a relief.

I was so happy to see my team had made it down from The Peak and were now on their computers.

I turned to Cole and Mark. “Let’s chat. We don’t have much time.”

“Agreed. We’re taking a lot of hits, but we’re holding so far.” Cole nodded as we stepped away from the others and out of view of the windows. “I’m in touch with General Bruce, and we assured him we don’t need his men—we have everything under control.”

“Bruno sent Armondo in.” I jumped right in.

“Unexpected. You think he’s questioning you?” Mark asked.

I shrugged. “I think he’s questioning everything. He wants this win badly. He’s got his sights set on Nicole and Chase, who he thinks are here. He wants to make history. I mean, the bait’s been taken. I told him I’d call when it’s time to come in. He wants to lead the breach on the house. Let’s hope there’ll be no more surprises.”

“Where’s Armondo now?” Cole asked.

“Taken care of.” I held up his cell phone. “Bruno’s texted and even called a few times, which makes me nervous. I’m concerned he’s soon going to figure out he's dead. We can’t wait much longer to call Bruno in.”

Cole’s phone rang, and I saw him move to the window and carefully edge back a curtain as he looked out. “Copy. I see you.” He turned back to us. “The rest of the men are in position.”

“How many men did we lose?”

“Unsure. I don’t think many, thanks to Guardian.” He gave me a quick nod of approval. “We’ve come this far. We can’t stop now.”

Mark nodded. “We can’t risk waiting. They could end up on the other side of The Peak.” His face went grim.

“That’s not going to happen,” Cole replied in a firm voice. “Paul, call Bruno in,” he ordered. “This ends now.”

“Copy.” I got into position and pulled out Eric’s phone. I waited until I heard Cole give the order for everyone to go radio silent then allowed the call to connect. I switched my voice to Eric’s. “I’ve got eyes on the house. We’re good to go, Bruno. You’ve got a clear path down to the south gate.”

“Excellent. Don’t breach the house without me.” I could hear the excitement in his voice.

“My men will hold if I say so,” I assured him.

“Good. Where’s Armondo?”

I paused. “I saw him earlier, but only for a moment. Why?”

“He won’t answer my calls.”

“I hope he wasn’t hit.” I made my voice sound concerned. “I’ll get one of my guys to circle back and see if he can locate him.”

“I would appreciate that.” I heard an engine starting through the speaker of the phone and knew he was on the move.

“I’ll meet you by the gate. What’s your ETA?” Not that I couldn’t get it from the Guardian, but I wanted to see what he’d say.

Silence.

“We will make a slight detour, but I estimate forty-five minutes.” He was a horrible liar. “I’ll watch for you.”

“Good.”

“Oh, and Eric?”

“Yeah?”

“You will ensure the woman and the child are mine to take. Find me a room where I can be alone with her after this is over. I will make her mine tonight even if it kills her.”

I locked eyes with Cole as hate lined the inside of my mouth and my need to kill Bruno consumed every single part of me. “Understood.” I hung up and cleared my throat. “He’s on the way,” I grunted and then told him and Mark what was said.