Chapter 382: Another Extraction

The drive to the Thorne private hangar blurred past in tense silence. Only the low hum of engines and the occasional crackle of Zane’s voice over the radio broke the stillness.

Athena kept her gaze fixed outside, watching trees dissolve into stretches of highway, her thoughts spinning restlessly.

Would the criminals hold onto Kendra just for a while? Could they not kill Lucas yet? Could they hold on until she got there? This mantra repeated over and over in her head, like she was trying to push her mental positivity into the minds of the kidnappers.

Secondly, she wondered how the men had located the almost invisible place she had hidden the family in. Was there a mole in their midst, as Morgan had spoken about, or were the criminals that competent?

She bit her lips, yet watching her environment from the tinted glass, her feet dropping slow beats on the floor of the car, impatient to get to level ground, to begin the mission.

Spider had promised his innocence in all this, so the competency of the criminals dwindled before her eyes. Or was there someone like him, someone he had groomed while working with the gang? Someone who had no loyalty to Ewan...

"Athena, you shouldn’t worry. Spider gives me updates every five minutes. Nothing will happen to Kendra or Lucas."

Although Ewan had no real energy to save Lucas, who had been one of the tools used to destroy his relationship with Athena more than five years ago, looking at Athena’s worried face was enough motivation. And there was the part that he had to forgive the male for lying against his wife, as he had been forgiven.

"And what has he said in the last five minutes?" Athena’s question drew Ewan from his thoughts.

"That they are safe. Lucas is losing blood, but he will survive if we arrive there as planned, if the extraction goes as planned."

Athena nodded, yet looking through the window, thinking of the nature of beating they must have given her former best friend, for him to have bled that much. Beating with iron?

She sighed, and looked away from the window, turning to meet Ewan’s gaze. "What do you think about this mission? I don’t want to be too positive."

"Maybe you should be," Ewan said softly, meeting her eyes, wishing he could hug her, that he could nestle her in his arms and comfort her.

With this thought came the strong feeling to do as he felt, and so to curtail this thing, especially with her looking at him that way, he asked about her boyfriend; the name tasted bitter in his mouth.

is Antonio? Did you inform him of this

"He already talks about his work being strenuous. I didn’t want

returned to watching the sights from her window; and Ewan

talk about his confession to the Thornes a few moments ago? Exhaling from his mouth slowly, he reverted his gaze to the

Floodlights cast the tarmac in pale gold, where the Thorne’s jet waited like a bird of

the large warehouse meters away from the jet, she knew there was more than one flight machine in the

must have been awoken from their sleep to

he wouldn’t want to hear that though. To him, paying his employees higher than their counterparts in the same

heard Ewan say, and

opened and men flooded out. Just five men in

rushed in as Athena opened her own door,

had seen it before, in the news media of course—the Thorne’s

with the waiting crew. She watched as the men saluted him–this man she thought wore authority like

Cabin prepared," one of

in five,"

paused, to tell the few agents with them

to get in and out, and then go to our beds." A short smile touched his lips. "Not that any of us are alien to this

I feel rather refreshed when on missions like

cocked a

me to stay back too, citing something like age as you told Old

with his friends—Athena managed a smile—diffusing the tension

was the statement that rang through in their minds as they

their boots as they filed aboard. Inside, the jet’s cabin gleamed—cream leather seats, polished wood panels, soft recessed lighting that tried but failed to soften the remainder of the faint tension

as before. Everything will

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