Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 174(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
“We’ll need intel.” Jasper pressed a number on speed dial and lifted the phone to his ear.
“Hey, Chalton,” he said as someone apparently answered. “I need a favor. Can you get me a satellite image of the Châteaufield Airpark? My best guess is that it’s about twenty clicks west of Paris in a small, rural area.” Jasper listened for a couple of moments. “Yes. I’m aware that my enemies blew up your uncle’s penthouse the other night because of my current mission. How have you already heard about the explosions?” He grimaced. “He sent out a family newsletter?”
Leah winced. That did not sound good.
Jasper pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes. We will buy him a block of property somewhere. I promise. Now, will you help me? Thank you. Just send the surveillance photos to this phone number. I picked it up earlier today.” He sighed. “Yes, Chalton. I realized there were a lot of toys in that penthouse, and I promise they’ll all be replaced. Thank you.”
He clicked off, shaking his head.
Leah snatched another piece of bacon. “Benny sounds like a character.”
“Oh, he’s something,” Jasper said. “For now, one thing at a time. I’m allowing you to use yourself as bait, but that means I know your location at all times, and if I tell you to run, you do it.”
“Of course, Jasper,” she said placatingly.
His eyes narrowed.
Yes. This was her op, and she would make sure it succeeded, no matter the cost.
Chapter Twelve
Jasper couldn’t dispel the itch between his shoulder blades. He never thought he’d take his mate into a dangerous situation, but he understood her need to finish her mission.
The clouds finally decided to open up and pelt the world with angry rain. Thick, black cloud cover darkened the sky with occasional zaps of furious lightning. He made sure to park more than a mile away from the small airport nestled in a rural area, surrounded by rolling farmland and a dense forest.
“Keep to the trees,” he told his brother, unease wandering through him. While he admired Leah’s grit and always had, he wanted her safe at all times.
The airport was discreetly tucked away with a crappy dirt road winding to it. With its natural barriers shielding it from observers, he doubted many people knew the place existed.
They kept to the tree line, and a single modest roadway made of packed gravel soon came into view. One building rose from the flat ground, resembling a large barn. As he looked closer, even the runway appeared to be a long driveway.
“This is a good airport,” he whispered to his brother. “We might want to take it over at some point.”
Dax nodded. Having healed himself from his fight, he had borrowed a green long-sleeved T-shirt, jeans, and boots from Jasper’s new stash. “I sense a couple of Kurjans,” he said. “But not many.”
“We’ve scattered their forces,” Jasper said, moving quickly. They reached the edge of the forest, where they’d have to walk and reveal themselves. He waited for the car and glanced at his watch. “She should be coming any moment.”
Dax let out a short whistle. “They have a Gulfstream G280.”
Jasper studied the plane. The G280 was streamlined and aerodynamic with a slightly swept-back wing configuration and a T-tail. The polished craft appeared immaculate. “We could take the plane.”
Dax lifted his chin. “One guard.”
Jasper angled to the side to see one Kurjan walking around the barn with a long, green gun in his hands. “There have to be a couple more soldiers.” As he watched, a heavily armed Kurjan climbed down the stairs from the plane. Neither male was Wallace.
A rumble sounded down the drive, and another borrowed Peugeot 205 bumped and hitched along the road. She seemed to like that model for some reason.
“I can’t believe that thing’s still drivable,” Dax said.
“It won’t be for long,” Jasper noted, his entire body tensing. Having Leah this close to danger made him want to decapitate somebody. “Where do you suppose the women are being kept?”
Dax angled his head to the side. “Probably in the back of the plane.”
Jasper could feel a vibration coming from that vicinity. Those women were definitely enhanced and probably terrified, but Leah was his main concern now.
She pulled to a stop near the plane and waited. Smart girl. He’d given her strict instructions to stay in the vehicle and keep it running in case she needed to retreat. So far, she was doing exactly as he’d asked.
They waited for several moments, and the two guards soon flanked the vehicle.
“I don’t like this,” Jasper said.
Dax set his stance, gun out. “She’s smart. She knows what she’s doing.”
The woman was also armed.
A human-sized door to the barn opened, and Wallace walked out, rain pummeling him. He lifted his face to the sky. Jasper recognized him from mission dossiers.
“I hate that they can walk outside during the day,” Dax mused.