Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

regret. He didn’t have time to reassure his friend—and he couldn’t anyway. Something inside him that had only just begun to thaw had iced over until there was a glacier there. El e mattered. She was the only thing—the only one who mattered in that moment—and there was no way to soften it, or pretend otherwise. He was wil ing to do whatever it took to get her back. He’d die if necessary—or kil . And he was ful y prepared to kil a lot of people—anyone who got in his way.
    He would never get the images out of his head—not ever—of El e stripped naked, her skin covered in blood-red stripes, swol en bruises marring her soft skin. Worse, her bril iant mind shattered, her spirit nearly broken. He wanted—no, needed —to hunt and kil the animals who’d done that to her.
    There was no room for anything else in his mind or his heart. He would get her back and find a way to put her back together. She’d managed to glue him back together and he’d find a way to do the same for her.
    The radio in his ear crackled. “Tel Hannah to bring up the wind,†Matt’s voice intoned. “We’re approaching the island. Team two is entering the water and team one is going to be vulnerable as hel .â€
    Matt slipped his earpiece into a waterproof container and waited while his other team members entered the water. He looked at the three remaining.
    â€œDon’t play the hero. If they don’t let you onto the island, be agreeable to leaving immediately. These boys may be trigger-happy. We don’t have any intel on them.â€
    â€œYeah, yeah, Mama,†Kent Bastion answered. “We’l be good.â€
    The three men looked at one another and snorted in derision. Matt shook his head and somersaulted backward into the sea. He swam away from the boat, gave them the go-ahead and the boat proceeded in the direction of the island. He glanced at the sky. Already he could feel the difference. The weather beginning to deteriorate, the wind picking up, the dark, heavy, clouds boiling angrily.
    He signaled and his team went underwater, swimming the remaining distance to keep from being detected. They moved fast, knowing Kent and his men, James Berenger and Luke Walton, had no weapons if something went wrong. It took longer than he would have liked, and Matt was aware of every moment his teammates were without backup. The necessary wind Hannah brought in to aid team one ultimately hindered them as the waves built and the undercurrent grew stronger. He knew the first team would have to convince the guards that the regular maintenance crew was gone for the evening because of the storm and they’d been sent out instead.
    Jonas was standing by to intercept another phone cal if any questions were asked. Fortunately, Kent’s father was Greek. It was a huge part of the reason they’d chosen him for the assignment. Not only did he look the part, he spoke the language fluently and had a reputation for talking his way out of any situation.
    Matt sent up a silent prayer that he’d keep the guards talking until they were able to get there and give backup to the three “electricians.†As they approached the rocks, he signaled to Rick and Jock to break off and make their way to the helipad. Tom fol owed him to land, where they removed their swimming gear in silence, packing it into the bag they’d brought to secure everything and take with them when they left. A smal detonator was put in the bag as a precaution. If they couldn’t retrieve it, they would blow it up on departure. Slinging weapons over their shoulders and around their waists, they caught up the bag for team one. Matt and Tom took off running through the shadows to try to catch up with the other team, who had a good twenty-minute start on them and had been driving a vehicle.
    The vil a was on the west side with the power station beyond that to the east. The boat had docked on the southern side, so as they swam to shore, they’d angled just to the southwest, cutting the distance they had to run as much as possible. The wind hit them in blasts, although Matt had to hand it to Hannah—she angled the wind to aid their speed, rather than hinder it. He was always amazed at Hannah’s abilities and precision when sending or cal ing the wind. And Kate—his heart turned over just thinking about his