“Shit! Any word from Louise?” I ask for the tenth time.
We made it here fine. Matthew’s men were such morons that the backside of the lake wasn’t even being monitored. Of course, the cabin and land around it were being guarded like freaking Fort Knox on a day when more gold was being delivered. Louise went on around towards the front perimeter and was going to try walking down the graveled road saying her car had broken down a few miles back and she was stranded. It was sketchy at best, and there was a chance she might need to blast her way out if it went south. Sacks and Candy were waiting just beyond the road so that when a couple of men went to check out the vehicle, they could take them out. They were also close enough that if Louise got in trouble and had to call for a mayday, they would be right there.
Katie and I are still on the backside of the property searching the defenses and waiting to see if our diversion would give us a small crack, a weakness to let us slide through. If not, we have a bigger diversion planned. I just hope it doesn’t come to that.
“Why do you keep asking that? You can hear them if they use the radio, the same as me,” Katie grumbles, the tension coming off from her in waves, too. What on earth possessed us to do this? I should have kept my mouth quiet and tried it on my own. I don’t want to be responsible for these women losing their lives and I know Matthew won’t hesitate to end them.
“Stop it, Bethie,” Katie murmurs, looking out over the cabin and waiting.
“Stop what?” I ask, playing dumb.
“They chose to help us. They knew the risks, you didn’t twist their arms.”
“They don’t know Matthew like we do, either,” I remind her.
“Still…”
“Guys, Louise has made contact,” Candy whispers over the two-way radios that Louise picked up from her brother.
“Are they going for the bait?”
“Are you kidding? Hell, I’m only into dick and even I almost swooned at those jugs she was flashing. How does someone with double-Ds manage to still be perky?”
Katie snorts and I smile despite the gravity of the situation.
“Okay, we’ll let you know when they get her to the cabin from our line of sight. Then when she gets in, we’ll give her the ten minutes she asked for and storm,” Katie says.
“I still say ten minutes is too damn much,” I complain.
“I agree,” Sacks whispers.
“We’ll be able to tell if it goes the wrong direction. Let’s sit tight and stick to the damn game plan,” Katie counters.
We all go radio silent after that. I can’t tell if it’s because everyone is nervous or if my own nerves are so on-edge that something feels off. I just don’t have a good feeling. I suck air in and hold it as I watch Louise walking up to the front porch of the small cabin. She stumbles slightly on the second step. I think that was by design because she bends over to adjust her sandal and one of her boobs almost pops out. She braces her hand on one of Matthew’s goons and smiles up at him, laughing and flirting. She seems like a different person compared to the hard-nosed woman that I know.
When the door closes behind her, my eyes go to my watch and I don’t move as I start counting down the time. With each minute that passes, my heart kicks up in speed. At nine minutes, Katie and I look at each other and nod.
“Okay, girls. Let’s kick some ass and take some names,” Katie tells them.
We cock our weapons and nod at each other. I know we’re both nervous as hell and I’m second-guessing myself like crazy. I figure Katie is, too.
The only bright side to all of this is that I snuck into Skull’s office last night and started looking around his desk. He didn’t leave anything out, but there was a locked drawer. Skull hasn’t met this side of me, the side that grew up with a need to learn so I could defend. I picked the lock in no time and found their plans. They had surveillance of the cabin. They planned to enter through the back mudroom. There was a window with a torn screen. I had decided to go first and secure the room before the other girls enter. That way when we go into war we’ll be unified, with Louise being our surprise. And it will be a war. Matthew might be stupid, but he’s evil. Pure evil, all the way through.
We wait at the back of the house. It’s about three minutes before the other two show up. I go in first. Since having Gabby and living life on the run, I’ve lost so much weight it makes getting into the small window pretty easy. I can’t hear anything from the other rooms, but the main living room and kitchen are down a hall, so that’s not a big surprise. I keep the door closed and go back to helping pull the others through. Everyone slips in easily, but it takes me and Candy to pull Katie through.
“Your ass was not made for this window,” I joke quietly.