Redemption (Bennett Sisters Book 5) (16 page)

Now if they could just get though the compound’s security measures undetected, they’d be one step closer. Her team of highly trained military personnel with varying psychic abilities was going to be put to the test.

Briggs held out his arm to stop
Lydia
from leaving the cover of the trees.  

The fence surrounding the compound was just as she’d seen. The entire team spread out, some armed with guns, others with nothing at all. Brody pulled the wire cutters from his backpack and turned to wink at
Lydia
.

Briggs leaned over and whispered in her ear so she could hear through the torrential downpour. “He’s prepared because of you.”

Lydia
glanced around. She only wished she’d seen what was going to happen next.
Lydia
whispered under her breath, “We’re here, and we’re coming to get you.”

Briggs ran a hand up and down
Lydia
’s back. “Need some of your coffee before we get going?”

She nodded, opened her thermos, and took a big gulp. The coffee was tepid as it went down her throat. She hated cold coffee, but she’d suffer through it if it was her only energy reserve to fall back on.

Brody shoved the cutters back into his backpack and pulled the fence up and out of the way so they could each crawl through the opening. The fence stayed in place due to Brody’s power; clearly not draining his power like it would her.
Lydia
pressed her back against a tree trunk when one of the guards walked by twenty yards away. Her heart was racing, driving more adrenaline and caffeine through her system. Power sizzled around her as Brody approached.

“Can you take out the security system? First the security cameras, then the alarms until you make the entire compound go black?”

Lydia
lifted her palm to her heart and nodded. “We won’t be able to see. How will we find him in the dark?”

Brody reached into his bags and pulled out night-vision goggles, handing Briggs his. Brody slid the awkward apparatus over
Lydia
’s head and down over her eyes. The band around her head was tight, as though it were going to squeeze what brains she had left. He whispered, “Close your eyes and take care of business,
Lydia
. Rick is depending on you, and this isn’t a test.” He kissed her forehead. “You’ve got this, Red. Now let’s go kick some ass.”

Easier said than done
, she thought. The weight on her shoulders felt as though she were carrying a boulder. She closed her eyes and concentrated on each mechanism in the order Brody had said. She didn’t know if it had worked. They hadn’t had a telltale sign where they were.

Brody whispered, “Are you sure you got everything?”

Lydia
reluctantly nodded. “I also envisioned the backup generators, just in case.” 

Brody nodded. “Now all you have to do is take us black and stay hidden while we go rescue your boyfriend.”

He signaled to the hidden team just before
Lydia
closed her eyes. She was going to take the whole place down if it meant getting Rick alive. She didn’t feel the need to do this lady-like. She envisioned the entire electrical box sparking and lighting up the night sky. It would be the only light the bad guys would be able to use.

She opened her eyes, and Brody was gone. The only person that remained by her side was Briggs. He pulled her down into a crouching position and backed her up to the tree. His big body shielded her, concealing her from anyone who might venture by.
Lydia
flinched when she heard the shouts and guns going off in the distance. Even though muffled by the falling rain, the loud sounds were still hard to miss.

Lydia
whispered, “Waiting sucks.”

She thought she heard Briggs chuckle, but she could have been wrong. “I may not know them very well, but we have to believe they know what they’re doing.” Briggs leaned back into her, squishing her further against the tree. The wet bark stuck her in the back. “If anything happens, and I can’t get you out of here, you run that way.” He pointed toward the direction that they had come from. “Keep running until you make it to the vehicles. Don’t wait for us. The keys are on the floorboard under the driver’s seat. When you hit the pavement, turn in the opposite directions the cars are parked and go back the same way we came. There is a town two miles up the road; we passed it. Hide the vehicle and make yourself scarce. I’ll come find you.”

More shots rang through the night air. “I can’t just leave him.”
Lydia
tried to push Briggs’ big body out of the way. It didn’t budge “We need to go help.”

Briggs turned toward her. “You’re no good to anyone if you’re dead. You don’t want me to go back and have to explain to your sisters that you died on my watch. They’d skin me alive.”

Lydia
rolled her eyes. She wasn’t dying today. “If I were in trouble, don’t you think that Emma would be calling you?”

Briggs pulled the vibrating phone out of his pocket and checked the screen before he shoved it back inside. “Are you happy now?” Briggs asked. “They’re probably pissed that I haven’t answered.”

“Put your hands in the air where I can see them,” an unknown voice demanded.

Briggs didn’t budge, and she damn sure couldn’t see around him.

“I don’t think so, buddy.” Briggs lifted his gun and aimed it at the intruder. Briggs shook his head. “It’s your move, asshole. What’s it going to be?”

Lydia
had never been held at gunpoint. Maybe she should have had Rick teach her how to shoot, even though she wasn’t going to need it here. She stood from her crouch and stepped to the side of Briggs; holding her hands up in the air.

“What the hell are you doing?” Briggs asked. “Get back behind me, now!”

The squatty, muscular man with the mustache smiled and moved his gun to point at her. “I don’t think so, doll. You stay right where you are.”

Lydia
tilted her head to the side. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Mr. Moustache laughed and glanced at Briggs. “She can’t be serious.”

Briggs grinned. “Dead serious, and I suggest you listen to her.”

The muscular man raised his brow and shook his head. “I don’t think so. Now drop it, or she’s dead.”

The leaves started to stir on the wet ground, several dancing in the air around them. Briggs mumbled to himself. “This isn’t going to be pretty.”

She could feel the electricity thrumming to life in her veins. The wind picked up, and her hair flew in front of her face.
Lydia
stepped in front of Briggs as she focused on Moustache. She knew what she needed to do. It was going to drain her if it didn’t kill her, but she’d had enough. Enough of the threats and waiting around. She was going to take care of this asshole and go after Rick herself. “I warned you.”

The man lifted from the ground and hovered in midair. The gun in his hand was torn away by an invisible force and went flying through the air and landed in a cluster of bushes.  “Maybe next time you’ll listen to me.”

Briggs put his hand on her arm and yanked it back. “Let me handle it.”

Lydia
concentrated on the man before her, never releasing her invisible hold.

Briggs walked to stand behind the man floating in front of her. “He can take us to Thompson. You need to put him down.”

Lydia
shook her head. “What if he doesn’t?”

The muscle man turned his head to look between both of them, his eyes wide with terror.

“He will, or you can blow him up from the inside out.”

“Wait. Wait.” The hovering man’s voice quivered. “There’s no need to do that.” His head snapped to meet Briggs’ gaze. “I’ll take you to where they’re holding him. Just don’t blow me up.”

Lydia
wanted to laugh. She didn’t think she could blow anyone up. She’d just planned to throw him against a tree trunk and knock him out, but Briggs’ idea had merit. She already knew she wasn’t going to wait. Why not have a guide?

Lydia
shrugged. “You even think about screwing us, and you’re a dead man.”

With her final words, she let the guy drop on his ass in front of her. He quickly scurried to his feet, and Briggs put his hand on the guy’s shoulder. “You got a name? I like to keep a record of all of her kills.”

The guy’s eyes widened even farther. “Man, why do you need that? She said she wouldn’t kill me if I took you to that guy.”

Briggs grabbed the man’s arm and shoved him. “We aren’t there yet.”

The man stumbled and started to walk. “My name is Micah.” He held his hands up in front of him as he walked. “I said I’d take you there, but I can’t promise we won’t get shot along the way.”

Micah stumbled as he glanced back at her. “Unless you can stop bullets, we’re screwed.” He turned forward again. “They won’t care that you’ve got me as a hostage. Hell, they’ll kill me too.”

Lydia
lifted her thermos and downed the rest of her coffee. She was going to need all of her strength for these assholes. Heck, Briggs might just have to carry her out. “You have another way in, without being seen?”
Lydia
asked.

Micah remained silent as if pondering her question. “On the other side of the building. There’s another way in, away from all the fighting.”

Lydia
recapped her thermos. “Then I guess that’s our only option.”

Briggs grabbed Micah’s arm and pulled him to a stop. “How do we get there without being seen?”

Micah nodded to his left. “Through the trees, but let me warn you, there are others like me waiting for you.”

Lydia
nodded. “I’ll take my chances.”
Lydia
gave Micah a mental shove. “Double time.”

They all started to jog through the forest. She pulled down her night-vision goggles. She could see the body heat hiding beneath the dark cover of the bushes. Every time she spotted a heat signature, she used her mind and tossed it against whatever she could find to knock them out, trees, rocks, anything she could use as a weapon on her quest to get to Rick.

They rounded the building. Screams and yelling were now muted in the distance. They slowed to a walk. Her heart was ready to beat out of her chest. It wasn’t that the jog had winded her. It was their surroundings. She needed to get to Rick and fast. Micah’s hand stilled before he pulled open the steel door. He glanced over his shoulder. “There’s even more inside.”

Briggs grabbed another gun out of his holster. “Where are they holding him in case you get killed?”

Micah pointed. “Down the hall to the right, third door on the left.”

Briggs nodded once and glanced at her. He lifted a brow and shrugged toward Micah. “Knock him out.”

Micah’s mouth dropped open.
Lydia
flipped her wrist and sent Micah flying into the metal building. His unconscious body slid down the wall to the wet ground, leaving him lying in a heap. Briggs pushed the button on his com. “We’re around the back about to go in and get Thompson. We have an informant knocked out cold. Someone come get him and take him back to the truck. We might need him later.”

“10-4, an unknown voice replied.

Briggs st
e
pped in front of her. “Are you ready for this?”

Lydia
nodded. Even though she was on a mission, the butterflies were still assaulting her. She wasn’t a violent person, but she’d do what she had to when it came to protecting someone she loved. “Yep, the quicker we get in and get him, the faster we can get the hell out of here.”

Feet pounding against the ground could be heard from the side of the building. Someone was coming to them. Briggs spun around and lifted his gun, aiming at the intruder until he realized who it was. He whispered, “Shit, man, you almost got yourself killed.”

Brody grinned. “I wouldn’t have let you shoot me. I thought you might need help.”

Brody laid a palm on
Lydia
’s arm. A sizzle from his own power traveled down the length of her arm. “How are you holding up?”

“Fine, now let’s go get him.”

She pulled open the door, and she and Briggs came to a halt. The hall was covered with guards. Each had their guns pointed in their direction. Brody was still standing just outside the door, unable to cram in their tight space.
Lydia
flung her hands in the air and closed her eyes. Her hair whipped around her face. The surrounding energy was fast to meet the challenge, probably from the extra coffee she’d just downed. The emergency lights flickered before the bulbs busted above them. Tiny shards of glass came raining down on all of them. Briggs threw her to the ground as bodies went flying in all directions, hitting walls before sliding the floor. Screams echoed through the corridor.
Lydia
kept her eyes closed and poured out every ounce of energy she had in her body. There was no way she was going to let them fail to get Rick out of there.

She opened her eyes, and her blurry vision made the walls spin around her. With the last bit of energy she had in her body before she let the darkness suck her in, she whispered, “Go get Rick.”