Chapter Nine
“W hat are you looking at?” Steel asked, trying to glance over his shoulder. They were the same height, so it was a challenge.
Justice closed the app and tucked his phone away before shooting his friend an annoyed glance.
His buddy smirked back at him.
He’d known Steel since the Army Special Forces and he had been hella surprised to find the guy working for Genesis. From the moment of reconnecting, he and Steel had hung out shooting the shit and made it a point to drink as many beers as possible when they did get together. He had to admit that it had felt really good catching up on old times.
Saying that Steel was striking would not do justice to the man. With dark hair and equally dark scruff on a square jaw, Steel had a very sexy vibe. The man was covered with muscles and tattoos…those along with eyes the color of blue steel had heads turning wherever they went.
“Come on,” Steel said, elbowing him. “Tell me.”
“Nunya,” Justice said and ran his eyes over the crowded nightclub that was jumping on a busy Los Angeles Friday night.
With enough money, anyone could be found, and finding out where Blue typically hung out had cost them a cool twenty grand. The snitch had taken a bus out of town. Justice hoped the guy made it and stayed gone.
Fucking with assassins was like putting a target on your back.
“Show me that sketch again.”
“We should have brought more people,” Steel bitched, discreetly pulling up the artist’s drawing on his phone.
Justice glanced at Steel’s phone and the sketch of Blue that Echo had provided.
He shook his head. They didn’t need more men. They just needed this fucker dead so he could go home.
“We can handle this guy,” he said, leaning back in his chair and running his eyes over the crowd. Echo had told them Blue had white-blond hair. Finding a blond in a sea of brunettes shouldn’t be all that hard to spot.
His friend shrugged. “It would be easier with more eyes.”
“Since when have you ever wanted easy?”
Steel released a puff of air that sounded like a snort and tossed back the shot of whiskey. Justice had opted out of drinking. He wanted a clear head when he did this hit and be able to get back to Fisher.
He pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
“There he is.” Steel jerked his chin toward the south side of the room. “How are we going to get him out.”
“We wait,” Justice said and cracked his neck and flexed, stretching his muscles for a moment and then continued studying Blue.
The man looked like a businessman in his dress slacks and button-down shirt, but the intel they’d gathered told a very different story.
The guy was a sexual predator who had supposedly given up that kind of life to become a stone cold killer. Perhaps Blue still dabbled in the former, Justice didn’t know nor did he care.
The sick fuck was dying tonight.
Several men were standing near Blue. Justice suspected they were either friends of Blue or his bodyguards. It didn’t matter. If they were protecting Blue, then they would die as well.
It stood to reason that the sick son of a bitch would take over a place off the radar and that was fine with Justice. The place had been vacant for years in Los Angeles. Graffiti covered the outside and a ten foot chain-link fence surrounded the perimeter.
He and Steel crept through the dark taking out two men who got in their way. Neither man had been able to fire off a shot or radio Blue they were coming. The place didn’t have cameras, so that wasn’t something he needed to bother with.
Justice shot out each light as they made their way deeper into the eight-story abandoned building.
The city had plans to convert it to a new hotel next year, so it was only right that they were here cleaning house tonight.
All in the name of helping society out.
The guy turned out to be a fucking rabbit. The only one he’d seen come close to how fast Blue was had been Echo. Not only was Blue fast, but he disappeared like Fisher did.
One minute, Blue was there and the next minute, the fucker was gone.
Justice launched through the building, taking the stairs upward as Steel jumped downward. They would cut this fucker off and leave him no way out.
He stopped just at the door to the fourth level and eased it open. Something moved down the hallway and Justice raced out of the door and after the moving shadow.
Almost to the door, he slowed and pulled his nine-millimeter. If that room was a dead end, then he’d bet money a gun was aimed at where his head should be.
He crouched.
If it was an exit, he didn’t have much time.
Fuck.
He launched upward just as a force hit him and slammed him into the wall. Pain lanced through his head and shoulder, but he hung onto his weapon.
The fucker was huge and he was lifted and slammed to the floor as if he were a doll.
Justice rolled and shoved from the wall. Laying on his back, he put a bullet into the big body coming for him.
The fucker didn’t even wince. He fired again just as the man’s hand wrapped around his throat.
The bullet went wide.
His air was cut off by the brutal grip. Cocking the gun sideways, he pressed it into the man’s ribs and fired six rounds into the fucker.
The hand loosened and the giant toppled forward on top of him.
Growling, Justice shoved at the dead weight and pulled himself from beneath the body. He slumped against the wall and rubbed at his neck. His hand came away wet, and he staggered to his feet.
It was the perp’s blood. Trying to quiet his panting, he moved back to the edge of the door and took a quick peek inside. The room was empty with a few open windows.
He found the fire escape that Blue had gone down.
“You okay?” Steel asked from the doorway.
“Yeah,” he croaked and swung his attention to Steel before he gave a quick nod.
“You’re covered in blood.” Steel stalked closer.
“It’s not mine.”
After looking him over, Steel moved to the fire escape and glanced out the window.
“Bummer.”
“Yeah. Who the fuck knows when we’ll get another chance.”
“We will, we just need to be patient.”
“Time is not something I have.” Justice closed his eyes.
“What?”
“I need to go home.”
Steel placed a firm hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“You did the right thing.”
Those words rang in his head as they left the building.
But Justice wasn’t sure about anything anymore.