Ghostwalker 09 - Ruthless Game

position.”
    “That’s what we were counting on,” Kane said. “A clean sweep.”
    “You were waiting for this.” Joe made it a statement.
    “We have ears in the cartel, and we knew the family reunion was taking place,” Mack admitted.
    Malichai swung around. “You have someone on the inside?”
    “Working their way up, just for information. Nothing big.” Mack dismissed it.
    “We’ve tried for three years to penetrate the inner circle,” Joe explained. “They’re getting more violent. At first the wars were against each other with few civilians caught in the cross fire, but since el presidente declared war on them, Lopez has gone after the police, the military, and recently political figures.
    Decapitated bodies thrown in the streets, kil ings at the police stations, kidnappings, and now car bombs. It’s war,” he declared. “We could use a little help.”
    Mack frowned at him. “I thought your unit dealt with terrorist activity.”
    Joe didn’t respond, and Mack grinned at him. “I see. Running weapons to our little bomb-happy friends.”
    “As I said, we could use help.”
    “One thing at a time. We get through this, and then we’l talk,” Mack decreed.
    Malichai and Joe exchanged a long, frustrated look. “If you make it through.”
    Mack grinned at him. “We’l make it. I have every confidence in my team.”
    Rose looked from the papers strewn out on the table to Rhianna and the men surrounding her. There were a lot of variables, and in her experience, the more variables, the less the chance of success, yet they al appeared confident. They were a tight team and relied heavily on one another. Whitney would have said that was their weakness. She thought he was wrong. She thought their reliance and belief in one another was their true strength.
    “We’l do this in six phases,” Mack said. “Phase one, Kane gains control of the dogs. Phase two, Javier and Lucas take the control room. Phase three, Ethan takes out the guards in the towers. Phase four, we take out the ten guards in the fence. Phase five is the guards in the barracks. We have to complete each phase to gain the main house. Any fail, and we abort and go home. I want you al coming home.”
    His team gave him brief, humorless grins in acknowledgment of the order.
    “Javier and Lucas,” Mack said, glancing at his watch, “you’re up. We do this by the numbers. Stay safe. I’l be royal y pissed if anything happens to either of you. Wait until you get the go-ahead from Kane and then get in there.”
    Javier and Lucas grinned at each other. “Got the message, Top,” Javier said with a smal salute. He and Lucas left the room without further discussion.
    “Kane, make your way to the fence and keep those dogs calm.”
    “On it, Top.”
    Kane’s hand brushed across Rose’s face briefly as he stepped away from her. She felt the impact al the way to her toes. For a moment their eyes met.
    Her heart shuddered in her chest. She loved him with everything in her. Every cel . Every breath. Be safe.
    You too, sweetheart. You know I won’t make it without you.
    He jogged away from her. She felt Rhianna’s gaze on her, but she didn’t look up, needing to compose herself. It was important to set aside al emotion and just get the job done. She couldn’t think about Kane going into a dangerous situation, or that if anything happened to either of them, Sebastian would be without a parent. At least she knew Jaimie would take care of him and the team would protect him. She shoved al that aside and took her place outside, waiting for the go-ahead from Kane.
    Kane was impossible to detect in the dark. Like Javier and Lucas, he disappeared, a mere ghost in the night, sliding easily and silently from one shadow to the next. A dog rushed the fence, and a guard turned toward it and then looked outward. The dog calmed, whining a little and turning in a circle before lying down and panting. The guard frowned at the animal and resumed walking his route. He was in between two high chain-link fences, away from the dogs, but able to see inside the estate as wel as outside. On the flip side, he had little or no cover for most of his route.
    Kane inched closer to the fence, reaching out to al the dogs in the compound. There were two on the far side, a great distance from him, and much more difficult to control. When they began scenting strangers, it would set them off if he wasn’t able to command them. It was essential to gain domination over