Adrian’s insides were an inferno of rage. He felt sick to his soul for what had been done to his sweet Jenna. And the fact that she’d beenhurtbecause of him…
Ah, God.
A jagged blade ripped into the center of his shattered heart. The pain sharp and vicious, unlike anything he’d ever felt before.
Rubbing a hand against his chest, Adrian tried to ease the tormenting sensation. To fill his starving lungs with air. It didn’t work.
Nothingwas working, and Christ Almighty…was he having a heart attack?
He felt himself sway, but a set of strong hands grabbed hold of his upper arms and kept him steady.
“Whoa, brother.” Zade kept his grip tight. “You’re looking a little pale. Maybe you should sit down.”
Matt added, “And take a damn breath before you pass out.”
Despite the well-meant offer, Adrian shook Zade off and regained his composure. “I don’t want to fucking sit. I want to find the son of a bitch who sent that picture!”
“You need to lock it down, Walker!” Ryker pointed a finger at him. The hardened agent’s eyes zeroing in on his. “We’re going to get your girl back, but in order to do that, you need to calm your shit and keep your head clear.”
He heard the other man’s words. Knew what he’d said was true. Butfuck.
“Hey, I’ve got something,” Nate spoke up, right on cue.
All eyes went to the man behind the computer.
“It’s not much”—he bit his lip as he typed— “but it could be a start, at least. The number from which the text originated is a burner phone. No surprise there. But it looked familiar, so I cross referenced it with the reports I’ve been running and...” He turned the computer around for Adrian and the others to see. “The same number called Chief Campillo’s private office line at the precinct around the same time you and Jenna got there for your meeting with him. According to the time stamp on the security footage from inside the building, the number called Campillo again, right as you and Jenna were walking out.”
Adrian remembered he and Ben joking about the call. He’d told Ben he’d been saved by the bell. Ben’s response held a whole new meaning, now.
Saved or slaughtered. Depends on who’s calling.
He blinked, fighting the urge to deny the undeniable. “That’s how they knew. Ben told them we were there.”
“And he told them when you were leaving,” Ryker stated what was now clear to everyone.
Sonofabitch.Benhadsold him out. Him and Jenna both.
Adrian closed his eyes and forced some much-needed air through his nostrils. Nausea from both his friend’s betrayal and what he’d seen in that picture hit hard and fast. It was all he could do not to throw up.
Or punch something.
Or shoot someone.
He’d survived a lot of shit in his day, with both the Marines and his deep cover days. Adrian had seen and done things most people couldn’t even begin to wrap their minds around.
Hell he’d shot two of the men standing in this very room in order to keep his cover and get the job done. But this?
If something happened to Jenna…if they hurt her worse than they already had or, God forbid shediedbecause some asshole was pissed at him for killing the guy’s sick fuck of a father…
Without a sliver of a doubt, Adrian knew he’d never come back from that.
Damn it, Adrian. Get your head on straight and fucking focus. You can fall apart later, but right now. Jenna needs the ruthless killer she knows you to be.
Though it proved difficult, Adrian listened to the tiny voice in his head and blocked out everything but the most important mission of his life.
“Is there any way to trace the phone’s origin?” He shot Nate a hopeful glance.
“Sorry.” The other man shook his head with obvious regret. “I’ve been trying, but there’s a reason burner phones are used for shit like this. Whoever sent that pic knows what they’re doing. The number’s pinging off of multiple cell towers in different locations spread out all over the world.”