Chapter Thirteen
The New Hideout
Thursday
Late Afternoon
W ell, holy shit! Remmy was freaking surprised at the new location. This was something that even as CIA, he hadn’t seen before. There was no way Elizabeth had gotten this place up and running in two days.
This had to be in the works for much longer, and had just been completed.
It was too spectacular to be a rush job.
As they pulled up, all of the MATE-linked vests beeped, and then, and only then, did the door open giving them access to the parking garage.
What the hell?
This place was…sweet.
And secure.
That was the part that Remington liked best. Now, Calyx would be safe.
From where he sat, Jagger saw the look on his face.
“Crazy, right? When I say it’s top of the line, I mean it’s stacked. She didn’t hold back on this place, and we’d better not get it blown up.”
MATE wasn’t amused.
“Uh, J, let’s not blow me up. I like the Matrix,” she offered. “It’s technically my body.”
He laughed, and Remmy was confused.
“Is that what it’s called?” he asked, looking around to check it out. There were motorcycles, other Hummers, and a big door that said armory.
“No, it’s called Area Fifty-Two,” Zayn said. “The Crazy Train named it.”
He laughed.
Of course she did.
Honestly, that sounded exactly like something his friend would come up with on her own.
Elizabeth was entertaining—if nothing else.
When they parked, the doors opened, and people came down the stairs to help out. Dimitri, Heath, and Maura were there.
When she went to carry some of the loot, he stopped her.
“I have NOT lost my mind yet that I’m letting my pregnant wife carry something heavy while she’s already doing the heavy lifting of making a baby.”
She snorted.
Her husband was predictable.
“Okay, fine,” she said. “Can I kiss my husband at least?” she asked.
That he’d take.
He wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her in. Then, he kissed her.
It wasn’t lost on some of the nuts they lived with and worked with, either.
“Awww, look at the little guy go,” Zayn said, only to have Maura hook her boot around the back of his knee and pull it out so he went down.
All while never breaking the kiss.
When Zayn went to his knee, he shook his head.
“He is little! I’m pointing out a fact! Why do you always get testy!”
Maura broke the kiss.
“Newsflash, Godzilla. We’re average size people. Five eight and five nine are not short. YOU’RE just abnormally large.”
He grinned.
“That’s what she said,” he joked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Maura just laughed.
This group…
When would she learn?
As they unloaded, Maura gave Remmy a tour. He was looking around and spooks were curious creatures.
ALWAYS.
“Here’s the armory,” she said, and when the door opened, he whistled.
“Nice.”
She shared what they’d found out.
“We now have enough fire power to protect this place,” she said. “That’s always a good thing when it comes to our survival in NOLA.”
When Jagger slapped her on the ass on the way past her, she hurried it up.
“Let’s go reunite you with Calyx. I’m sure she missed you.”
He was curious.
“Did she make it here in one piece?” he asked. “I didn’t hear anyone mention a hospital.”
She snorted.
“She’s fine. You know Jinx isn’t going to let anything happen to your girl. She’s upstairs. Come on.”
When they headed up, the men lugging the loot, he found Calyx on a couch sitting beside Greyson Croft. They were talking intently, and he felt that wave of jealousy.
It was stupid, but Calyx was his.
“Hey,” she said, glancing up and seeing him. “We were just talking drinks,” she said, getting up to hug him.
He kissed her.
“Drinks?”
“Yeah, you know. Cocktails.”
Greyson clued him in.
“I didn’t know how many ways you could use whiskey in a drink. Calyx was just telling me a few of her favorites. I happen to love whiskey—much to my wife’s dismay.”
In that moment, the jealousy was gone.
Greyson had been keeping her mind off of what was happening, and helping her feel like she was part of the group. Remmy knew what he was doing, and he appreciated it.
“Thank you for keeping an eye on her. She gets into trouble.”
It made her laugh.
Only, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye in his peripheral, he turned his head and jumped.
“What the hell?” he asked, seeing a woman standing there, but she was see-through.
It was MATE.
In a dress.
Smiling at him.
“Uh, that’s not alarming,” he said. “Why is there a hologram inches from me?”
The rest of the team was taking off their gear and Zayn let her explain.
“You tell him, MATE. This is your home.”
“This is the Matrix. I can walk around in here fully visible. Elizabeth is running the new software here to see if it’s compatible with Autopsy One and her home office. We’re an experiment.”
The big Native man rolled his eyes.
“How could that go wrong?” Zayn asked. “I love being the FBI’s lab rat.”
Because she was just like Elizabeth, MATE flipped him off.
Zayn gasped.
“ HEY ! She just gave me the bird. Who the hell taught her that?”
There was chortling, and she appeared right beside him smiling.
He jumped.
“Major! Control your cyborg!” he said, moving away to go stand behind Stella.
His wife wasn’t sure why he was standing behind her. It wasn’t like Stella could stop her.
“Okay, guys. Let’s talk about what we found out,” Maura said. “We can be spooked by MATE later when she hunts us for our skins to wear us.”
Zayn was not amused.
NOT.
AT.
ALL.
“You guys go first,” she said to Jagger. “We didn’t find loot. Just some tech that Dimitri pulled from the back room.”
Jagger did.
“There’s a lot of money,” he said, pointing at the seven bags, and then, there’s the normal fun stuff,” he said, motioning to Rogue.
When the man dumped out the bag of jewelry, it cascaded all over the counter. Every single woman in the room ooohed and ahhhed .
Girls were girls.
There was all kinds of diamonds, gems, and things that were no doubt stolen to fund Alexsandr.
“Oh, look at that ring,” Jinx said.
Rogue motioned to all of the women to move closer. To the victors went the spoils, and that meant making sure their women were happy.
What were the men going to do with jewelry except give it to them?
“Ladies, pick what you fancy,” he said. “Except the Major. She’s going to ask if there were any guns.”
She snorted.
“Come on now. I kinda like that sapphire bracelet. I’m not a freaking heathen. I like girl things.”
Calyx stayed by Remmy’s side, and when Jinx looked over, she saw she wasn’t by them.
“Girl, get your ass over here. This is the spoils, and we call this a victory.”
She hesitated.
“Are you sure…?”
Maura stopped her.
“You’re our family. You kept Remmy alive. That ruby necklace would look gorgeous on you,” she said, luring the woman in.
Well, that had her attention, and she really wanted to be part of the family. She had never had one before.
Remington watched as his family, the people he loved so very much and had helped him heal after his loss, took care of his girl.
They draped her in sparkles, and they doted on her like she was super special. He knew they were doing that for him, and he couldn’t love them more.
They could have picked them for themselves, but they wanted Calyx to feel like one of them.
The only thing they didn’t give her?
The diamond rings.
Why?
They knew what was in his pocket just waiting to be put on her finger.
When Maura winked at him, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Take this home for Emma,” Jagger said, handing Greyson a gorgeous emerald necklace with the earrings that matched.”
“I will, thank you. She loves emeralds.”
Rogue picked out a giant cocktail ring that had to be ten carats and handed it to Heath.
“Give this to Nikki. It’ll look beautiful on her hand, and she’ll love it.”
He grinned.
“She will really be knocking people out with that stone. It’s almost as big as Nikki’s knockers. Almost.”
Maura laughed.
“No, it’s really not. We’ve all seen her waving them around.”
He winked at the Major.
Dimitri sputtered.
“How come she can talk about Nikki’s knockers, but if I say a word…?”
He shut that down.
“Because that’s the Major. The only person I’d pause to listen to over her is my father.”
Greyson patted Dimitri on the back.
“Son, give it up.”
He was going to.
When they handed Dimitri a canary diamond pendant on a platinum chain, Jagger explained.
“That looks classy like Poppy. I think she’d like that one.”
He grinned.
“She is classy, isn’t she. I have no idea why she’s with me,” he said, the Russian accent in his voice.
Before Heath could say anything snarky, MATE appeared beside him.
“Because you’re pretty.”
He actually laughed. Who was he to argue with AI? It was smarter than most of them.
BUT…
He went there.
“Greyson, so help me God, if you ask Elizabeth for this in Boston , I’m quitting.”
He snorted.
“I already sent the email begging like the bitch I clearly am. If that doesn’t work, someone steal a vest so I can borrow her.”
That amused them even more.
They divided up the loot, and each woman had five or six pieces.
Calyx was draped in them, and Remington saw how happy she was. It was clear she never had a family like this, and he was grateful to be able to give it to her.
She deserved it.
After all, this was The City of Second Chances for a reason. They were all redeemable.
Even the bad guys.
There was no doubt that he really loved his family for welcoming her with open arms, and giving her a place in their world.
At some point, he was going to have to tell them that he was healed enough that he could walk away.
Granted, it wouldn’t be far, but he was ready to start living thanks to them.
“Okay, you found jewelry and money. Anything else?” she asked. “That we didn’t hear over the com?”
Jagger shook his head.
And explained.
“No, but we ended up killing a city councilman, a judge, and some other big wigs. Alexsandr has used the Chinese to get into the upper powers in NOLA. We don’t know how deep he’s gone, or how bad it is. It was clear they were being schmoozed with some gambling.”
Great.
That made it more difficult to clean up this mess.
“They are handled, and they didn’t know where Shing was, as you heard.”
Yeah, they definitely heard.
“Well, then, let’s talk about what we found,” Maura suggested. “We got some good stuff.”
That had her husband’s attention.
“Like?” Jagger asked, as he sat on the couch, and his wife parked her derriere in his lap. It was clear that she had something, or she’d be bitching they only found money and valuables.
“Merry, tell them what you’re working on right now,” she suggested.
The woman did.
“Team one found tech, and as I got into them and have been digging around. I found an account number.”
Yeah, that most definitely had their attention.
Consider their attention piqued.
“For Alexsandr’s money?” Jagger asked, looking excited. “If we can break him financially, he won’t be able to do Jack shit here in the States.”
They were aware.
Merry explained.
“Well, that’s the issue. It’s a VERY old number. I’m running it now to see if I can find the bank. Once I do, I’ll be able to answer that.”
Okay, well, they could give her some time.
They still had one more Chinese stronghold here in the city, and that was the bayou adventure tour.
After that, they had until tomorrow morning when Alexsandr landed.
“Give me an hour to ninety minutes. I’ll be able to give you more. I have MATE running the number to pinpoint if it’s local or in the Caymans. Once I narrow that down, we’re good.”
There was no rushing their genius. Most of the time, Merry saved their asses when it came to tech.
Greyson had something he needed to discuss with the people here.
“Remember when I said I had a plan B?” he asked, sharing with them.
They all nodded.
“Well, it’s arrived in NOLA. Would you guys be okay if I brought them here?”
Zayn was curious, and not in a good way. He was particularly skittish about strangers around him and the family.
“THEM?” he asked.
Now, Greyson had no choice but to explain.
“It’s my daughter, Alyona, and another person on our security. Let’s just say she’s an expert in Alexsandr. I’m twitchy with my child not close by where I know she’s safe.”
Well, that was something they could all understand. It was also clear he was worried about her.
“Sure. Get her here. Your family is always welcome with us. We’re tied together by the Irish mob, and Jinx.”
Greyson figured that was what they were going to say.
Thankfully.
He glanced over at Dimitri. Can you take Heath and get both Aly and Jax here?” he asked. “Since we’re not staying in Chartres, we’ll all be safe here.”
Boone raised his hand.
“I’ll go with them,” he offered. “I didn’t have to go out yet, and Merry doesn’t need my help with the tech.”
That was true.
Merry could hold her own.
“Okay,” Maura said. “We’ll update you on the adventure tour into the swamp later. You and your lady will be going on a double date with Remmy and Calyx.”
Remmy lifted his brow.
Apparently, he was going back out later. Well, that was technically his job. He was a little less twitchy with Calyx with him, but not by much.
When the three men were gone, Maura figured the rest of the team would want to know about tonight.
It was time to talk about her game plan.
“We have to hope Shing will be around at the adventure tour,” she began. “So, the Marines are going in.”
Greyson stared at her and opened his mouth. Only, she shut him down.
“Sorry, Greyson. You’re too recognizable to put you on the boat, and you’re not a Marine to sneak up on it. While I know you’re a sniper, that’s not the skillset we need.”
He sighed.
“Always a sniper, never a Marine.”
She snorted.
“Anyway, I want Merry and Boone to show up with Remmy and Calyx. Boone and Remmy can keep the ladies safe, and be our eyes to let us know what’s going down on the boat.”
Merry clued them in.
“Not a Marine, but I can use a gun. It’s not like I’m Stella,” she admitted.
The other woman gasped.
“HEY!” Stella said, sputtering. “I can handle a gun just fine. The bigger the gun the better.”
Yeah, her shooting at the range proved that was a FALSE statement. They didn’t know how someone so smart couldn’t point and aim.
Zayn kissed her on the top of her blonde head.
“Not that gun, Baby. A gun-gun.”
She was caught so off guard she began laughing. How could she not?
Her husband was funny.
She hoped he was laughing later when he wanted to snuggle up to his wife—who was like an elephant and had a long memory.
Greyson wasn’t offended.
“It’s the bane of my existence, this face.”
Jagger laughed.
“Yeah, I bet you told all of the ladies that before Emma rolled into your life.”
He snorted.
“Pretty much.”
From where he sat, Remmy was confused.
“Uh, how are the Marines coming into play on this since you said we’re double dating on this.”
Maura explained.
“We had Merry book out the whole adventure tour for the four of you. Greyson is going to be here with Dimitri, Rogue, and Dakota. The rest of us are going swamping.”
Dakota lifted a brow.
“Why don’t I like the way that sounds?” he asked. “For some reason, that makes me twitchy.”
Eve kissed him on the cheek.
“All of the Marines are going to be in the swamp, lying in wait, and then handling the boat.”
He stared at his pregnant wife like she’d lost her mind.
“IN THE WATER?” he asked, looking at her face, then her belly, and then back to her face again.
Rogue wasn’t laughing either.
“You’re putting my wife in the swamp?” he asked. “With the other snakes and I’m not talking about Eve?”
She tried to calm them down.
“Listen, this is a big boat. Merry, pull up the picture,” she said, and the woman did.
When the website was on MATE, that’s when they realized it.
Greyson pointed it out.
“That’s Shing Reung,” Greyson admitted. “Fang’s right-hand asshole. He just might be there.”
She was aware.
“We found it when Merry was booking it out for the night.”
It looked as if that was one more problem solved.
They found him.
Okay, well, that made their jobs a little easier. If anyone knew about Fang’s plans, it was Shing.
“That was once a gambling boat. We all know how big they are, and it’s going to be suspicious when no one else shows up. Buying out the whole cruise to look at gators?”
The one man gasped.
“There are going to be gators?” Dakota asked. “Oh, Jesus. I’m not surviving this pregnancy,” he said. “My son and wife are going to be the death of me.”
His one friend rubbed it in.
“Wait until the baby is alive and can fall or disappear,” Zayn said, busting his ass.
Dakota flipped him off.
“HE TAUGHT HER!” he accused, talking about MATE.
The system hummed and MATE appeared.
“You called me ‘her’ . You love me. You really, really love me. Can I bunk with you two?”
Zayn wasn’t amused.
Not.
At.
All.
Somehow, Maura got them to focus.
“ANYWAY,” she said. “We’ll be in the water, and we’ll board to take out the other employees. “Then, we’ll get Shing to spill his guts.”
Basically, to be gator food.
“While we’re handling the other employees, Merry, Boone, Remmy, and Calyx will keep Captain Shing busy, or as he’s calling himself, Jack.”
They really didn’t have a choice. They had very little time until tomorrow morning to get everything dismantled before Alexsandr landed.
“We can handle it,” Remmy said.
Oh, there was no doubt.
Because she had things to do, Merry had to handle her own shit first.
“I’ll get back to work now,” Merry said. “So I can have that bank information handled.”
That worked for them.
“It’s going to be a long night, Team,” Maura said, letting them know in advance. “We might be up all night, or just taking a little nap. Depending on how this goes, it might give us more to take Alexsandr down.”
Or it wouldn’t.
Only, time would tell.
And the clock was still ticking.
* * * H U N T E R – C R O F T * * *
Warehouse
In The Boonies
Thursday
Later Afternoon
Well, this place was certainly in the middle of nowhere, and he appreciated that.
At least this place was secure.
The German had promised him that, and for the amount of money he paid her…
He should have it.
On his way there, he reached out to a few of the mercenaries he had on his payroll, and they agreed to meet him there.
They had weapons to get out to the masses. He was going to flood the streets with weapons to make the three people who killed his parents busy.
They were about to have their hands full.
As he got out of the vehicle, alone, he saw the mercenaries not far away. They were strapped with guns and looked like they were in the mood to raise some hell.
“Gentlemen,” he said, his Russian accent barely detectable. “Thank you for joining me. Where is everyone else?” he asked.
The one man laughed.
“The Hunters took everyone out. We’re it. We can’t find any of our fellow mercenaries. We think they drove them out of town or bribed them.”
Well, shit.
Speaking of which, he pulled out a few envelopes and handed it to each man. If everyone else was gone, he was going to need these men on his side.
War was coming.
“What’s this?” the one mercenary asked.
He clued them in.
“A bonus, of sorts. We’re going to see what we have here, and then, start the planned attack.”
They took the money, grateful to have it. The woman who had been running it was stingy with the greenbacks.
When they tucked it away, he led them toward the warehouse door, and he used the code that the German had given him.
It should unlock the door and turn off all of the protection devices inside.
SHOULD.
Now, he’d see if she had lied to him.
Carefully, he punched it in, and luckily for her, it worked. If it hadn’t, he would have sent his assassins after her to make her life miserable.
When Two and Three returned, they’d have another mission.
At the door, he had the one man open it, just in case, as he followed him in.
As soon as they did, the smell hit them, and hit them hard.
“Jesus. What is that?” the one mercenary asked, his hand over his mouth and nose. “It reeks in here. What was stockpiled here? Shit?”
Alexsandr knew that smell.
It was death.
Was that why the German woman hadn’t gotten back to him? Had she come to some untimely death?
They moved into the building, and inside, there was a pile of bodies.
Rotting.
Corpses.
He stared in horror.
“There should be thousands of weapons here. There should be an arsenal!” he said. “What the hell?”
The mercenaries looked around.
On the ground, there was a note. The one mercenary picked it up, and it was addressed to Alexsandr.
“Uh, it’s for you.”
Well, that didn’t bode well for him, now did it?
When he opened it up, he unfolded it, and saw inside there was some handwriting.
This had better not be from the German screwing him over. There would be nowhere on this earth for her to hide if it was.
As he read, he soon saw it wasn’t from her.
And, suddenly, he wished it was.
‘Dearest Alexsandr,
Welcome to the United States of America. Can you hear freedom ringing? The eagles screeching as our National Anthem plays over and over in your ears? NO? You will soon enough. Here’s lesson one. NEVER trust the Germans, especially when they aren’t really German. You were conned by a CIA operative. Artemis Dubois. It’s okay though since she’s really good at her job. Did you know she had the picture of your face? That we know what you look like? That mole by your ear is cute. Still, get it looked at. It might be melanoma. Anyway, your guns are gone, that pile is what’s left of the mercenaries in this town, minus a few I needed to leave for you to have some help. Never let it be said I don’t like to give prey a sporting chance. Now, you’re on my radar, and the people who killed your parents? They are tracking you too. Welcome to our trap. I’m the mother of all assassins, and in a few hours, maybe a day or two, you’ll be done. I hope you’re ready for the hunt. You’re about to be my bitch.
Sincerely, Deputy Director Elizabeth Blackhawk.
The FBI.’
When he saw that, his eyes went huge.
Oh, no.
No.
No.
No.
This was beyond bad.
They knew what he looked like, so his passports were burned. His face was likely all over the wire, and at every airport in the world. Not only that, but he’d sent three of his assassins, Four, Five, and Six out into the States with no way to call them back.
SHIT.
The Americans were annoying.
All he knew was that he had to get out of there.
ASAP.
“So what should we do?” the one Mercenary asked, as Alexsandr’s panic rose.
There was no way she could be right. There was no way that he was burned by a spook, and now the Marines who killed his parents were on his ass.
This.
Was.
Bad.
He’d been lured into a trap, and there was no way out of it.
Yeah, it was time to disappear, and think this through.
“Have a look around. There have to be weapons deeper in the warehouse. I have to make a call, and I don’t have reception in here,” he said, not trusting this location.
“Okay,” the guy said, as the men headed deeper into the building, and Alexsandr got out of there.
He was halfway to the car when he heard the click, and the boom that followed.
It rocked the whole area as pieces of building rained down everywhere around him.
His heart was racing.
It was when his phone rang that he pulled it from his pocket, and he didn’t understand who would be calling him here.
It was a video call.
Hitting the answer button, he saw the emblem and then her face as she appeared to be on a jet.
Elizabeth Blackhawk.
“Well, well, well, Alexsandr. Welcome to the hood. How’s tricks?” she asked.
She’d been alerted by the wildlife cameras they hid in the trees that someone was at the warehouse, and she’d suspected who that was going to be.
A Russian rat.
“What is it that you want, you capitalistic pig?” he asked, his voice thick with animosity.
She laughed.
“Oink oink. You know how it is. What’s it like to be an autocrat’s bitch?” she asked, grinning.
He said nothing as the fire burned behind him—well, not at first.
“What do you want?” he finally said, wanting to cut her open and dance on her entrails.
She was blunt.
“We’re going to catch you. See, we have your face, the car you’re driving, and it won’t take me long to find your jet. Right now, I have agents hitting every small field in the area to find your way in and now, out. Just like Mommy and Daddy were tracked by Marines, you’re about to be too.”
For the first time in a long time, he felt fear.
Elizabeth wasn’t done.
“See, this was a trap. Once I found out that your ‘German’ mail-order bride was bringing you here, we needed you to make it into American airspace. If you spooked before then, I couldn’t hunt you like the dog you are. You walked right into my trap.”
He was furious.
And here, he thought that he had the upper hand since he was coming here a day early.
Fuck the Americans.
Elizabeth wasn’t done.
“You can’t leave the country, and it’s only a matter of time. Turn yourself in, and then, you don’t die.”
He laughed.
Oh, if he did what she asked, it would be far worse. He’d be spending his life in a cage. A concrete one called Gitmo.
Americans were never translucent with their plans.
“Never. You’ll never find me in this country. I have already sent my assassins out. It’s a matter of time.”
She smiled.
“Well, let’s see who’s better at hunting. My Marines or your state sponsored killers. I’m putting my money on the people that took out the Black Butcher and his programed, forced bride.”
He got angry.
No one talked about his mother like that.
“We are KGB.”
She smiled.
“Well, Mr. KGB, I now have everything on your phone. It’s cloned from NSA software and a satellite right above you. I was just stalling to get it. Thanks. When will Russia learn? We have superior tech. Oh, look. You have an Aunt on your mother’s side. Ana, huh?”
He got scared and hung up his phone. Thank God his personal phone was off and in his pocket.
Well, shit.
This wasn’t the trip he’d expected.
Alexsandr, for the first time in his life had fear.
Real.
Fear.
He might not make it home. Maybe coming here had been a mistake.
* * * H U N T E R – C R O F T * * *
Already In The
Air
En Route
Oh, well, Elizabeth hadn’t been expecting that little present to walk right into her trap, but if Alexsandr was going to give it to her, so be it.
She was taking it.
When she landed, she was going to head to the new hidey-hole, and give the team the bad news.
Their intel had been off.
Alexsandr was already here.
If he was just hitting the warehouse, that meant he just landed. Ironically enough, their itinerary said he was still on schedule.
Someone was playing games.
Well, she did love a good game.
That meant this was going to mean a full-on hunt, but she knew the Hunters loved nothing more.
Thus, the name.
They were going back to their roots. When Ethan began this team, they hunted, and now, they were going to have to do just that.
So, this was going to be entertaining.
Across from her on the jet was Ethan, and she’d managed to pull him away from Gene for a couple of days. They were going to get into NOLA, handle this, and then head home, but she needed his help.
Mainly, with Tommy.
Oh, he wasn’t visiting the man.
Hell.
No.
But she would be.
She wanted him around so she could have an alibi when she strangled the man for not freaking paying attention to what she’d previously said.
Yeah, that was exactly why.
When she looked over, Ethan was staring at her. He had that look on his face, and she knew exactly what he was thinking.
“I know,” she said.
“Do you? I don’t like you playing ‘kiss me, fuck me’ , with Alexsandr Dominik, Elizabeth. He’s a menace, and he doesn’t exactly like women.”
She snorted.
“Oh, he hates me. I have him on the run.”
Ethan sighed.
“I’m glad I came. You need a babysitter.”
Not far away, a pack of Marines cleared their voices, proving they were listening.
“Uh, what about us?” Michael inquired. “We technically are her babysitters.”
Ethan didn’t miss a beat.
“You guys need babysitters too,” he said, glancing over at Ivan, Michael, and Raphael.
Ivan shrugged.
“I mean, he’s not wrong. In NOLA, we do tend to do bad shit.”
That was an understatement.
A HUGE ONE.
Elizabeth reassured him.
“I’ll be okay. We’re going to take a little trip to the bunker, two-point-oh, and then, I have to go visit Tommy. Without you.”
His eyebrow went up.
“Pardon?”
“I’m going to have a little man-to-man with him,” she said.
“You’re not a man,” Ethan reminded her.
From where they were parked in the jet seats, the Marines laughed.
“That’s a technicality,” Michael said. “Her balls are massive.”
She smiled at him.
“You’re my favorite.”
Oh, he was well aware and winked at her.
Because she knew Ethan worried, she reassured him.
“I’ll be fine.”
Ethan stared.
“I wasn’t worried about you getting hurt, Elizabeth. I was more worried about you going to jail for homicide.”
She shrugged.
“And that’s why I needed you with me. You’re my alibi. When it goes down, we were having sex at the time of his untimely homicide. Really good sex too. I was on the top and…”
All three Marines leaned in.
Ethan wasn’t having it. He was definitely going with her whether she liked it or not.
“Knock it off, chucklefucks,” Ethan said. “Or I’m having them drop you off here. Ten thousand feet up.”
That slowed their roll.
The men moved to the front of the jet to work on their plans for keeping the woman safe.
When they were gone, Elizabeth reassured him.
“What could happen in NOLA? It’s just me, The Hunters, the Crofts, Marines, your ex’s ex, and a Russian oligarch wannabe. That’s a normal day in my life. Now, if we add in a cannibal hooker eater, then, maybe I’m in over my head.”
Ethan stared at her.
Oh, Jesus.
This was exactly what he was afraid of.
To his bones.
His wife had lost her damn mind.