Sweet Hatred Chapter 485: Preparation

I stood there, phone still pressed to my ear, my entire body vibrating with rage and fear and helplessness.

"Tell you got sothing," I said, my voice barely recognizing myself.

The tech lead looked up, sweat beading on his forehead. "We got a partial trace. He was right about the proxies, signal bounced through servers in six countries. But, " his fingers flew across the keyboard, ", there was a two-second lag in one of the bounces. A mistake in their routing protocol."

He pulled up a map on the main screen.

"We narrowed it to a three-block radius. Here." A red circle appeared on the digital map, highlighting an area in the industrial district.

Hayes moved closer, his tactical training imdiately kicking in. "That’s—"

"The sa location Sylas found," I finished, my heart hamring. "The defunct restaurant with the underground level. Aria also ntioned being underground."

"Confirmation," Sylas breathed from his station. "She’s there. Aria’s in that building."

For a mont, relief flooded through so powerfully I had to brace myself against the table.

We found her.

We knew where she was.

But the relief was imdiately swallowed by a new wave of urgency.

48 hours.

Andrew had given 48 hours to decide, but I knew, I knew, that waiting that long was a death sentence. Every minute we delayed was another minute Los Fantasmas had to move her. To hurt her. To realize we were closing in and eliminate their liability.

"We go in," I said, my voice cutting through the sudden buzz of activity in the room. "Now."

Agent Morrison stepped forward, his credentials practically radiating authority. "Mr. Roman, we need to plan this properly. A tactical assault on a fortified position requires—"

"We don’t have ti for proper planning." I turned to face him fully, and whatever he saw in my expression made him take a step back. "You heard her. You heard what they’re doing to her. We go in now, or I go in alone."

"Kael." Ash appeared at my side, her hand on my arm. "Morrison’s right. If we rush in without a plan, Aria could get caught in the crossfire. They could use her as a hostage. Could kill her before we even breach the building."

"And if we wait," I shot back, "Andrew moves her. Or decides she’s too much trouble and puts a bullet in her head like he did to Sarah."

The reference to Sarah’s murder hung in the air like smoke.

Morrison exchanged a glance with Hayes, so unspoken communication passing between them.

"We can do this fast," Hayes said finally. "But we do it smart. Tactical entry. Minimize casualties. Priority one is extracting Ms. Thorne alive."

"How fast?" I demanded.

"Give two hours. I can have a full assault team ready, schematics morized, entry points identified."

Two hours.

120 minutes.

Thousands of seconds of not knowing if Aria was being hurt. If our baby was okay. If Andrew was already moving her to a new location.

But Hayes was right. Going in blind was suicide.

"Two hours," I agreed. "Not a second longer."

The command center exploded into coordinated chaos.

Hayes pulled his tactical team together, spreading building schematics across a table. FBI agents coordinated with local SWAT. Sylas worked with the tech team to get real-ti surveillance feeds of the target building. Ash was on the phone with our legal team, preparing docunts in case we needed leverage or warrants.

I moved to my personal locker, pulling out tactical gear I hadn’t worn since my military days.

Vest. Holster. Glock 19 with extended magazine. Backup piece at my ankle. Combat knife. Radio with encrypted frequency.

My hands moved on autopilot, muscle mory taking over while my mind replayed Aria’s voice over and over.

Even terrified, even hurt, she’d been thinking... Trying to help out.

God, I loved her.

And I was going to get her back.

Or die trying.

"Kael."

I looked up. Olivia stood a few feet away, her face pale, her eyes red from crying but her expression determined.

"Bring her ho," she said quietly. "Please. Just bring her ho."

"I will." The promise felt like an oath. "I swear to you, Olivia. I’m bringing her ho."

She nodded, then surprised by stepping forward and hugging , brief but fierce.

When she pulled back, there were fresh tears on her cheeks.

"She’s stronger than you think," Olivia whispered. "She’s survived so much. She’ll survive this too. Just... just get to her in ti."

In ti.

The words echoed in my head as I finished gearing up.

In ti before Andrew moved her.

In ti before Los Fantasmas decided she was too much trouble.

In ti before,

No. I couldn’t think about that.

Hayes appeared, fully kitted out in tactical gear, his team assembled behind him. Eight n, all forr special operations, all trained for exactly this kind of extraction.

"We’re ready," he said. "Surveillance confirms five guards visible on the periter. Unknown how many inside. Building has three entry points, main entrance, service entrance, and an old delivery tunnel that leads to the underground level."

He pulled up a 3D rendering of the building on a tablet.

"We hit all three simultaneously. Alpha team takes main entrance, creates a distraction. Bravo team goes through service entrance, secures upper floors. Charlie team, that’s you and , we take the tunnel. Go straight for the underground level where she’s most likely being held."

"And if they hear us coming?" I asked.

"Then we move fast." His expression was grim. "We get to her before they can use her as leverage."

Agent Morrison joined us, his own FBI tactical team suited up. "We’ll provide support and secure the periter. Make sure no one escapes."

"Especially Andrew," I said coldly. "If he’s in that building, I want him alive."

Morrison nodded. "Understood."

I checked my weapon one last ti, the familiar weight of it grounding .

Around the command center, final preparations were being made. Radios tested. Equipnt checked. Routes morized.

Ash caught my eye from across the room. She didn’t say anything, didn’t need to. The look on her face said everything.

Be careful. Bring her back. Don’t die.

I gave her a single nod.

Then Hayes was moving toward the exit, his team falling into formation.

"Let’s move out," he said.

I followed, my mind focused on one thing and one thing only.

Aria.

I’m coming for you. Hold on just a little longer.

I’m coming.