Chapter Forty-Two Creighton
Chapter Forty-Two
Creighton
Lassiter was also just walking into my office. I showed him my screen, and he gave a nod. He came inside, but shut the door and remained quiet as I accepted the call.
“Gus.” The lead in my IT department. “What’s up?”
“Uh.”
Lassiter and I shared a look.
Gus was never uncertain. Eating. Excited. Nervous. Never hesitant.
“Gus,” I said again, more assertive. “What’s wrong?”
“Okay.” He let out some air and plunged ahead, sounding out of breath. “We might—I mean, you—you might have a problem. You told me to corrupt the AI drone program, right?”
“Right,” I said, dryly.
“Well, I was working on it last night. Or early this morning, depending on your definition—”
“Gus, get to the point,” Lassiter snapped.
He was quiet, which didn’t last. “Lassie? You’re there?
Awesome. That’ll help, but okay, yeah. Getting to the point.
So, anyways, like I said, I was working on the program, and I intercepted some communication about the program.
I didn’t want to miss anything, so I wrote a program to automatically scan for anything relating to it.
I got an alert around four this morning.
The communication itself was earlier between the guy in charge of the whole thing and another person.
It took a little bit to identify the other person because he had all sorts of IP addresses to hide his identity, but I found him.
The conversation was mostly asking questions about the program, what territories it’ll patrol. Things like that.”
“Gus!” I barked.
“Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. Right. Okay. The other person was Spence Calloway.”
Lassiter’s head jerked to me, growing eerily still.
“I know that he works for Cole Mauricio, so I was thinking maybe he was asking of behalf of Mauricio—”
“No.” I shut that down. It was a waste of time. “You said there was an alert as of four this morning?”
He coughed. “Uh. Yeah. Calloway reached out to ask if the program was up and running, and he asked for a certain location too.” He cleared his throat before speaking again, picking up speed, “The guy never responded, but the program isn’t up and running.
It’s not set to start until next month. I got curious anyway and pulled up any security cameras in the area Calloway was asking about .
. . Well. I checked your phones. It’s more out of habit than anything.
You, Lassie, and Levi were all in Octavia last night.
Blake too. Then your phone and Blake’s phones left.
Lassie’s left after a bit. Levi’s stayed. ”
My phone buzzed. So did Lassiter’s.
Gustav’s voice got dramatically quieter, “You need to see what I found.”
Lassiter said, “It’s a video.”
“A few different cameras, but I put the footage together.”
I pulled it up and hit play.
Two vehicles pulled up to the back of Octavia.
Their rear brake lights lit up as they reversed to get as close to the door as possible.
The back door of the club opened. Spence stepped out, giving the vehicles a motioning wave before disappearing inside.
The two guys both got out of the vehicles and disappeared inside the club.
I cursed at the sight of them.
“Who are those two?”
My voice grated over my throat. “Crispin and Penn Worthing. Two more of my cousins.”
Lassiter’s gaze went to me.
I cut my eyes to him. “You don’t have to say it.”
“You decided to let them live when you purged your family. What was your reason again?”
I gave him a look. “I thought they were useless. I’m guessing they aren’t . . .” My words died as my cousins emerged from the club, each carrying a body over their shoulders.
“Fuck,” Lassiter’s curse was swift and quiet.
The first body was Palma. Over Penn’s shoulder.
The second was Heath. Over Crispin’s shoulder.
Both were placed in the back of the vehicles.
Crispin and Penn disappeared inside again, coming back out, carrying Finch together.
Crispin had him under his shoulders. Penn had his legs.
They repeated, and the next time they appeared, they were carrying Levi’s giant body. Spence Calloway was helping.
I hadn’t seen this one coming. I expected this from West or Walden, not a club manager for Cole Mauricio.
“Find Blake’s whereabouts,” I clipped out to Gus.
Hearing his fingers typing, he said, “Already on it. I can’t get a hold of Scooter. He’s supposed to be watching her. His phone says he’s outside her place. He’s not picking up. But . . . Oh, fuck.”
Lassiter lowered his phone, only focused on mine now. He migrated over.
“Boss . . .”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Gustav. Say it Now!”
Another button was pressed.
My phone buzzed, just mine.
It was a second video. For a moment, one split second, I didn’t want to hit the button.
As I did, it began to play out as Gus filled in the blanks, “While you were catching up on that earlier footage, I was already looking for Blake’s phone.
She got a text from Spence. I can send that to you, if you want, but I fast-tracked until her phone was turned off at this location. That’s the video you’re seeing.”
The video showed a car turning down an alley, slowing down, and parking at the edge of the camera’s lens. There was no movement for a bit, then the car shut off. The driver’s door opened, and Spence Calloway got out, dragging Blake with him.
He kicked the door shut, then they were out of eyesight.
Lassiter’s phone beeped.
I wasn’t paying him attention. Blake was in danger.
I was about to tear the world apart.
My phone buzzed again. And again.
Gus said, back to business, “First text is the location. Second text is the time stamp. This happened—”
Lassiter was looking over my shoulder. He cursed. “Thirty fucking minutes ago.”
I began for the door.
Lassiter didn’t.
I glanced back once, scowling. “What?”
He glanced at his phone before shoving it in his pocket. His jaw tightened. “You know that thing you wanted me to get last night? DNA from Calloway because we couldn’t find any information on who he is. Got the results back.”
I already knew what he was going to say, but I bit out, “Fucking say it, Last.”
“He’s a Worthing.” He paused, grimacing. “He’s your cousin.”
“He’s going to be a dead cousin. Let’s go!”
Lassiter ran for the door, close on my heels.
I was saying to Gus, “I want all of my men within a ten-mile radius to converge on that location. Send someone to check on Scooter. You got that?”
“On it, but . . .” He cursed again.
I was getting tired of the cursing. “Gus,” I warned.
Lassiter darted around me. He was yelling orders to my men in the nightclub. I wasn’t paying attention, only paying attention to whatever Gus was going to tell me as I shoved out of the door.
“A few minutes after they arrived, they had visitors.”
“Who?”
Lassiter shoved out the door with me, and he jerked me in his direction.
“I’m a faster driver.” We got in his own truck.
When I saw more of my men spilling out of the door behind us, I said quickly, “No. Only a few of them come with us. The rest stay. We have more of my men closer to that location who will be there. They’ll need to stay and protect any assets here. ”
“Got it.” Lassiter flung open his driver’s door, getting inside, and at the same time was speaking into his phone, relaying my orders.
I went around to get in his passenger side. Gus still hadn’t told me who showed up at the warehouse. “Gus.”
“Right. I was just waiting—” He sighed into the phone from his end, his voice suddenly bleak. “Tristian West and Ashton Walden showed up, along with their bodyguards. They’re heavily armed.”
Panic swarmed up, an emotion I’d never experienced before.
Anger was there. I knew that feeling, but this new one, panic alongside fear, was unsettling.
I slammed Lassiter’s passenger door shut.
“Keep monitoring everything. See if you can find some way to get inside that building. We’re on our way. ”
Lassiter was about to throw the truck in reverse when one of my men sprinted over, motioning for me to roll my window down.
I did, and he handed me a bag. “Guns.” Two bulletproof vests were next.
He opened the back door and picked up a much larger, longer item.
He got in with us, bringing a high-precision, long range sniper rifle.
He had it wrapped in a blanket, but I knew what weapons I’d acquired.
He pulled his door shut and got to work. “Walden’s got his own sniper. I figure let’s even the playing field. Drop me off around the block, and I’ll keep the front door clear for you, Boss.”
Lassiter didn’t wait for anyone else to say anything. He fishtailed out of there.
As we went, as my sniper reached forward and began to help put one of the vests on me, I was on my phone. I called in the man of mine in charge of guarding my four hostages.
“Yeah, Boss?”
“I will need you to bring the four Christmas gifts to a location I’ll be texting you. You will keep them a block away and wait for my orders.”
“Got it.” He ended the call, and I caught Lassiter’s disapproval.
I did not give one fuck. “If they don’t leave by the time we get there, they will use Blake as a hostage. I will use any and all resources at my disposal to get her back and alive. You don’t approve, I don’t give one shit.”
He huffed, but his disapproval lessened. “It’s not that. You asked me to feel out the brother. I’ve been doing that. And the mom has cancer. Blake’s there. She won’t want you to harm those four, and you know it. Keep that in the back of your mind.”
I fixed him with a look. A hard look, and repeated something I recently said to Blake.
“I’d rather she hate me and be alive than be nice and have her dead. You can stop sharing your opinion right fucking now.”
He shut up.