Chapter Twenty-Six
The next afternoon…
F isher left Boston waiting at the top of the brick wall surrounding Dave’s estate.
It was better the boy was out of harm’s way in case he came up against resistance. Not that he thought this would end badly, but he wasn’t one for trusting.
Once Boston was lying flat on the top of the wall, Fisher put a finger to his lips. Boston saw the gesture and gave a quick nod. He liked that about the kid. Boston was quiet when needed. The teenager acted so much like him that it was uncanny.
Guards made the rounds every ten minutes and he waited for an opening. Jumping from the top of the wall, Fisher landed lightly in the grass before he sprinted over to crouch down near the hedges that lined the luxurious three-story home. The inside was even more stunning with soaring ceilings and high-class modern amenities, all while maintaining the feel of a real home. At least it had felt that way to him the few times he’d been inside.
He hovered behind the hedge, lingering in the shadows. This was going to be the tricky part.
Not getting shot by Dave’s bodyguards.
Maybe he should have called ahead? Nah, that wasn’t his style. He was more of a shock-and-awe type of guy.
“What are you doing?” a young voice asked him from above.
Craning his head back, Fisher gazed up at a dark-haired teenage boy sitting on the roof, legs dangling over the side.
The boy had to be one of the young assassins from Solomon’s facilities, but fuck if he knew what the kid’s name was.
“I’m here to see Dave,” he said quietly, darting a glance toward the circular driveway and the guards standing there.
“To kill him?”
“Ah, no. I want to see if my friend can hang here for a few days.”
It was clear the boy didn’t trust him, but Fisher smiled anyway.
“And you are?” he asked.
The youth snorted a tad haughtily, which was very cute.
“I’m Azrael.”
“Ah, okay, I’ve heard of you.”
“Where’s your friend?”
Fisher pointed toward the wall and Azrael glanced over.
Boston waved.
“Boston,” Azrael hissed and scrambled to his feet.
Running across the roof, Azrael leaped the distance to the wall. Landing like a fucking cat, the teenager raced along the top of the wall until he reached Boston.
The boys grabbed each other and hung on tight.
“Don’t fucking move,” a voice snarled and something hard pressed against the back of Fisher’s head.
Well, shit.
“I haven’t seen you since the streets!” Azrael said on the verge of tears.
“I’m fine.” Boston wiped at his own nose with his long sleeve.
The two boys hugged each other tightly.
Dave turned toward him when the boys were led out of the room by the butler.
Fisher gave a small shrug. It was one of those moves that denied knowing anything, but he didn’t think for one minute that Dave bought into his bullshit.
“You’re just the man I want to see,” Dave said.
“Oh?” Surprise widened his eyes.
“Yes, stay for dinner tonight.”
“I’m pretty busy,” Fisher said, tucking his hands into the front pockets of his pants.
“Spare some time. Now, sit down, Fisher, and talk to me,” the SecDef ordered.
On the verge of telling the man to fuck off, Fisher rethought that idea. He didn’t want to piss him off.
Fisher shot a look toward Stone. The big hulk of a man stood nearby and gave him the stink eye.
Stone Michelson needed no introduction because they’d met before. Stone’s reputation of being a badass, take zero shit type of guy proceeded him.
Fisher sank into one of the chairs in Dave’s library that also served as the man’s office. The view from his chair faced a lavish garden and he tapped his fingers restlessly on his thighs.
He was hungry, so he’d take up Dave’s offer and stay just long enough to eat.
“So, what do you want to know?” Fisher asked.
The SecDef’s phone buzzed and Dave held up a finger to answer.
“Yes. I will. Thanks.” Dave hung up the phone and tapped on the screen for a few seconds and then placed it on a nearby table.
“Now, where were we?”
“We weren’t.”
“Right.” Dave drew a breath. “I know what happened between you and Justice. It was bad. But I want you know that he was given an order and he took action. The problem is that anyone called in to detain you might have done the same thing.”
“You think? Lock me in a cage?” Fisher glanced at the tranquil scene out the window.
“Maybe not exactly. Perhaps they would have just cuffed you to the water heater and left you. While Justice, on the other hand, placed you in a safe enclosure.”
Fisher squeezed the arms of the chair.
Safe enclosure. Was that what they were calling it nowadays? The fucker had locked him up like an animal. Granted, the place was a far cry from Solomon’s warehouse, but still.
“Justice didn’t know, Fisher,” Dave broke into his thoughts. “He honest to God didn’t know about your past.”
He knew that!
Out of all the fucked-up shit that had gone down, that was the only thing that had kept him sane. Justice had innocently done what he’d done and it hadn’t been to purposely torture him. He was smart enough to think about the circumstances.
It didn’t mean he wasn’t still pissed.
“So, I hope in time you can forgive him. If not, I’ll move him.”
“What?” That caught him off guard and he frowned, shooting Dave a squinted look.
Move him? Like Justice was a fucking object?
“I can’t have discourse in Erebus. It’s too volatile as it is.”
He glared at Dave.
Nobody was fucking moving Justice any fucking where.
“You won’t need to move him. I’ll see to it,” he snapped, then took a breath and tried to calm the fuck down. He’d been in the military and this man was the former SecDef. “Sorry, sir.”
“I’ll give you this one time to get it all out, but in the future, I hope your attitude changes.”
“I can’t promise that, but I can promise I won’t take it out on you,” Fisher said honestly.
“Fair enough. Let’s talk about something else for a minute,” Dave said.
Fisher squinted. “What do you want to know?”
“Why did Solomon tell Azrael that Boston was dead?”
Fisher rubbed at his face with both hands. Fuck, he was tired. He dropped his hands into his lap and simply told the truth.
“Because of Tanis.”
“Don’t you mean Blue?” The lines on Dave’s forehead crinkled with confusion.
“No.”
A couple of hours later, Dave’s large dining room table sat filled with enough food to feed an army, but with the number of hungry people gathered around the large vats of enchiladas, tacos, rice, and beans, it might not be enough.
Fisher had corrected Dave’s assumption that Blue was in charge. He told Dave that Tanis was an up-and-coming player in their world. The discussion about Tanis’ lucrative business had lasted more than an hour.
Dave had called in the boys and Boston had stumbled over his words about Tanis, not giving much, but it was something. Azrael had stood mute—refusing to say a word. It was clear to Fisher that Azrael had been owned by Tanis.
That motherfucker.
When Dave turned to him, Fisher shook his head. Now was not the time to tell Dave about his own history with Tanis.
Mainly because he wasn’t ready to talk about it. So, all that shit would have to come on another day.
And maybe not even then. There were parts of that past even he didn’t remember.
Forks clattered against dishes, bringing his attention back to his plate of food. The men gathered around consumed the meal with gusto and the low murmur of conversation filled the room.
A familiar voice swept in from the hallway and Fisher froze with a half-eaten taco in his hand.
“Excuse me,” Dave said, scooting his chair back and leaving the room.
The voice sure the hell sounded like Justice, of that, Fisher had no doubts.
He sat on pins and needles, eyeing the doorway, holding his breath, waiting to see the blond-haired, blue-eyed man appear in the doorway.
What would he say to him? Should he just keep quiet? Or should he leave before Justice came into the room?
Screw that.
He was done running.
On the heels of that decision came another. It was time that they talked this shit out. The way things were right now was going to make working together fucking suck.
Oh, he was still pissed, but he also didn’t want his anger to affect his performance.
Yeah …it was his performance he was worried about and nothing else.
No one else.
Keep telling yourself that.
He took a savage bite of taco and pasted a glare on his face. And as pissed as he was with Justice, he didn’t want the guy going to work somewhere else. Right then, he didn’t look too closely as to why.
After fifteen minutes that felt like fucking hours, Dave finally returned to the room. The SecDef resumed his seat and cut a bite of the enchilada on his plate.
Fisher gazed down at his food and then darted his eyes to the door.
The doorway stayed empty.
He took a few more bites, but Justice didn’t appear.
What the fuck?
Justice couldn’t even be bothered to come inside the fucking dining room?
Fisher clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw ached.
Dropping what was left of his taco onto his plate, he sipped at the water in his glass.
He’d lost his appetite.
That asshole.