Chapter 26
I watched as Tatiana disappeared into the shadows and wondered if there would ever be a time she’d do as I asked.
My step faltered mid-stride as a very uncomfortable question hit me, would there even be a next time?
Would she continue to work for Z Corps after this mission or would she…
be on her way? Surely she wouldn’t go back to working for Leon Brown. The douchebag was up to something.
Who gave the order to have the firing pin removed from her weapon, making it completely inoperable, remained to be seen.
Maybe the whole kill order was bogus and he was testing her loyalty to him.
It was a plausible scenario; tell her there was a mission shift, it was top secret, and send her out with the intention of actually having her kill Sefa.
It was dangerous and stupid but not beyond the realm of possibility for an asshole like him. Or was he trying to get her killed?
All the fine hairs on my neck stood on end and dread coated my gut. Fuck.
Before I could turn, the barrel of a gun was pointed to the back of my head.
“I would’ve thought the stupid bitch learned her lesson,” a thick Middle-Eastern accent spoke from behind me. “The prince doesn’t like people?—”
The sound of suppressed gunfire took me by surprise. A millisecond after I realized I hadn’t been the one hit, I swung toward the sound and saw Tatiana still had her weapon aimed at the dead man on the ground.
I yanked my phone out and took a photo of what was left of the man’s face. It was debatable if Garrett or Tex would be able to run a facial recognition trace, but I’d rather I had something to give them. I patted the man down, took his phone, and as I was straightening, I noticed a tattoo.
“Fuck.”
“What?”
“He’s Omni,” I said, pointing at the peacock feather tattoo.
“How do you know?”
Not having the time for a lengthy explanation, I gave her the basics. “We had trouble back in the states. All the men who worked Omni had the same peacock feather tattoo. Let’s roll before we have company.” I picked up the gun with two fingers, trying to preserve any fingerprints we could pull.
Without a word she followed me back to the car down the street. Even with a silencer on her sidearm, I’m sure we’d woken a Nazari or at least a few of their neighbors. Contrary to what most people thought, a suppressor did not silence the sound of gunfire. It merely stifled it—barely.
“What the hell was that?” she asked once we’d gotten into the car. “How the hell did he know where we were?”
“Good fucking question. Call Declan, would’ya?”
She pulled her phone out, and after dialing, lifted it to her face. A few seconds ticked by before she ended the call. “No answer.”
“Dammit.”
I slammed the gas pedal to the floor. We made it back to the area the condo was in half the time it should’ve taken.
“That van’s new,” Tatiana said.
“New how?”
“It wasn’t there when we left.”
“Was that gunfire?” she asked and rolled down the window.
It didn’t take long for another volley of shots to ring out.
I slammed on the brakes, the vehicle going from fifty to zero in seconds. We came to a sliding stop and before I could tell her not to move, Tatiana was out of the car running toward the condo.
Christ Almighty, she was going to be the death of me.
No plan. No discussion. She just bolted.
Not bothering to turn off the car, I jogged in the direction she’d gone.
There’d been no gunfire in at least two minutes but that didn’t mean jack shit.
Luckily, I found Tatiana crouched behind a cement wall, gun drawn, watching.
“I don’t see anyone,” she whispered.
Hyper-aware of our surroundings, I listened and watched. Not seeing any movement, I pointed forward and she nodded. Fortunately, she let me take the lead. I could feel her close, matching me stride for stride. We slowly approached the condo; no shots fired, no movement.
I heard three sharp whistles and turned to Tatiana. “We’re all clear.”
“How do you know?”
“We don’t always have the luxury of radio communication. Three fast, consecutive whistles is our code,” I explained. “Keep your eyes open.”
We continued to make our way to the front of the condo. Max turned his gun and pointed directly at Tatiana. In the dim light I could see his face was hard and he was pissed.
“What the fuck?” I muttered. “Lower your weapon.”
“You,” he spit out.
I glanced over at Tatiana and shockingly she was lowering her gun and holstering it even though Max had not done the same. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d continued to take aim.
“What. The. Fuck,” I repeated.
“You in on this bullshit?” he asked, nodding to his right. My gaze followed where he was gesturing and I saw two men covered in blood crumpled on the ground. Both very dead.
She hadn’t taken her eyes off Max. Hadn’t moved.
“I suggest you lower your gun.” There was no mistaking the anger in her voice.
“ I suggest we all go inside before we get sniped.” I tried to calm the situation.
“And what happens if I don’t? You gonna send in another hit squad to try and take us all out?”
Her body jerked back like he’d physically struck her. “Is anyone injured?” she asked, before I could question Max.
“Lucky for you, no. It’s the only reason you’re still breathin’.”
“What the?—”
“You think I did this? I sent them?” she cut me off.
Max continued, “Funny thing is, before today I was starting to trust you. But I don’t believe in coincidences.
Before you showed up, no one was shooting at us.
Before you, we had a clear-cut mission. Before you, it was a quick in and out.
Now everywhere we go, we’re fucked and the only thing that has changed is you. ”
“Are you fucking crazy?” She stepped toward Max.
At that moment in time, I’d say they both were.
He was making wild accusations and she was stepping closer to a very pissed off, deadly man pointing a gun at her.
“I’m gonna ask you one more time to stop pointing your gun at me.
I see you’re upset. But I’m unclear how you’ve drawn the conclusion I want any of you dead. ”
“Upset? You haven’t seen upset, woman.”
I’d had enough. I moved between Max and Tatiana and held my friend’s stare.
“She saved my life tonight. One of Al Issa’s men got the drop on me.
Pointblank to the back of the head. If Tatiana had been one second later, I’d be dead.
Tell me, does that play into whatever fucked-up scenario you have swirling around in your head?
If she’d set this whole thing up, why’d she save me? ”
Declan walked outside and entered our standoff.
“I totally fucking get it now. I always thought Zane just liked being an asshole. Thought he got off on watching everyone scramble when he growled and barked orders. I was wrong. Really wrong. He’s an asshole because trying to keep all of you pricks straight is a feat unto itself.
I need divine intervention.” Dec stopped by Max’s side and continued, “Put your fucking gun away. You’re not gonna shoot anyone.
But I’m afraid Tatiana may kick you in the testicles the next time you’re not looking. ”
“What happened here?” I asked.
“From what I heard you tell Max, it sounds like the same shit that happened to you. Those two over there tried to take a few shots. Other than Dickhead Number One’s bullet nearly taking Max’s head off, they didn’t get close to gaining entry.
By the way, you think we can all go inside now?
Two of you almost died tonight. I’d prefer not to have to add a detailed explanation as to why someone is dead to my SITREPS. ”
Tatiana ignored Declan’s request and marched right up to Max, who thankfully had holstered his weapon. “Are you okay? How close? Did it graze you? Do you need stitches? Are you bleeding?”
Max’s lips twitched. “I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Listen?—”
It was like an action movie was playing out in slow motion.
I saw it before it happened, was too stunned to warn Max.
Tatiana balled her fist up, brought her hand back, and even pivoted her hips to follow through as she punched Max in the stomach.
The loud grunt followed by the labored inhale had cut off what I assumed was going to be his apology.
“Glad you’re okay. And Declan’s right, watch your balls, friend.” With a pat on his shoulder, she walked into the house, not sparing a backward glance.
“Goddamn.” Max had finally sucked in enough oxygen to speak. “I was gonna say I was sorry,” he grumbled.
“Don’t think she forgives you.” Dec chuckled. “Did you get anything from Nazari’s?”
“Yeah. I have the dead guy’s phone and gun. Oh, and he’s Omni, he had the peacock tattoo. I need to go park the car. I’ll fill you in when I get back.”
“I’ll go with you,” Max offered.
“What, you don’t want to go into the house yet?”
“Hell, no. She can hit fuckin’ hard, bro.”
I’d planned on beating the hell out of my friend for being stupid enough to point a gun at my woman. However, true to form, Tatiana took care of it all on her own. Getting gut checked by a woman half your size was way worse than me leaving a few bruises on his face.
We were halfway to where I’d left the car when Max asked, “She really save your life?”
“Fuck, yeah. I was as good as dead.”
“Damn.”
Damn didn’t begin to cover it. I owed her big time.