Thirty-Three
Than
Waiting was the smart thing. But fuck that. If the bastard had gotten on this property, then I was going to end this.
The first tap on the window I’d thought was part of a dream. But the second crack of a limb from a foot stepping on it hadn’t been a dream.
I sent a text to Bane and Oz before taking my Glock from beneath the mattress, where I’d stashed it while Montana was in the shower, and headed for the door. Hopefully, she slept through this. Stepping out onto the front porch, I had my gun already cocked. Bane’s text said to wait, that he was on his way. Then there was one from Oz.
Oz: What the fuck!
Which was what I thought too. Trying to figure out who the son of a bitch was who had snuck past, undetected, and how wasn’t something I had time for. But I knew he had. Just like I knew he’d tapped on the window to her bedroom, knowing she was in there.
This would be the last time I underestimated him. He was a professional. One who knew too much. And he had some obsession with Montana. My skin felt too damn tight, and rage simmered under the surface. I tried to ease myself with the reminder that we were going to catch him and I’d end his life. Along with his obsession.
The sound of an engine grew closer, and I muttered a curse. Which one of them had driven out here? I wanted to catch the son of a bitch, not send him back into hiding. After glaring in the direction of the headlights, I turned my gaze back to the darkness. If he was still out there, then he was scurrying off into whatever hole he’d crawled out of.
Dammit!
Bane’s truck pulled up in front of the cabin. Scowling, I waited for him, keeping my eyes on the darkness. I wanted to track the fucker back to where he’d gotten onto the property, but that meant leaving Montana here alone, and that wasn’t happening. Not now that I knew the guy wasn’t just a pro at overriding security cameras, but sneaking past us. Which wasn’t something I would have thought possible. Someone hadn’t been paying attention.
“I told you to wait,” Bane said, coming up behind me.
“It’s not like he’s gonna be out here now that you drove up in a truck.” I didn’t hide my irritation.
Bane might be the leader of the Mississippi branch one day, but he wasn’t yet.
“Didn’t have time to come on foot. Seeing as your ass is doing exactly what I guessed you would be. Disobeying orders.”
“You don’t give me orders,” I snapped.
“Maybe not yet,” he drawled with warning dripping from his tone.
My scowl deepened. “He was outside her fucking window. How did that happen? Who all is on watch tonight?”
“How did you hear him outside her window? The sofa seems like it would be a little too far away,” he said instead of answering my questions.
Grinding my teeth, I cut my eyes back at him. “You know that answer.”
He nodded. “I figured.”
A crackle of leaves to the left of the house had me spinning around with my gun aimed while Bane’s was out of his holster and pointed in that direction almost instantly.
“It’s me.” Oz’s deep voice carried through the darkness.
Both guns lowered in unison.
“Why the fuck are you coming out of the goddamn woods?” Bane asked.
“Why the fuck did you drive here? If he was out here, then you scared him off,” Oz retorted.
I looked back at Bane. “Like I said.”
“If I could have trusted you to stay the fuck inside until you had backup, then I would have come through the woods like a ninja too. But I knew you’d be out here.”
“What is with the bickering? Jesus,” Oz muttered.
“He’s pissed I drove. Did you see anything?”
Oz shook his head. “No. If he was here, he didn’t come from the north end.”
“Not the south either,” Bane replied.
“How would you know? You drove,” I retorted, annoyed.
“Because he wouldn’t have slipped by me. My guess is, he made it past Forge. Ransom would be too hard to slip by. We need to do a thorough sweep of the east end.”
As much as I hated that he was making this assumption due to age, I had to agree with him. Out of the two, there was no chance the bastard had made it past my brother.
“I’ll head that way now,” Oz said.
“Not alone. I’ll go with you,” Bane told him, then looked at me. “Stay here. And stay out of her bed.”
Oz’s eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t say anything.
“I’m not fucking her,” I snarled.
“Sure you’re not,” he quipped sarcastically.
“I’m not. She gets scared at night.”
Bane nodded his head once. “And you just comfort her. In bed. Alone. Sure, Than. That’s believable.”
“I said I wasn’t fucking her.” My teeth were clenched so tightly that my jaw hurt.
“Okay, if you two could stop bickering like you have cunts, we might find the fucker and all get to sleep in bed with our women at night again.”
Both our eyes swung to Oz.
“Did you just call me a cunt?” Bane asked him.
Oz looked amused, if that was possible. He rarely showed much emotion. “I said you were bickering like one. Can we go now?”
Bane shot a warning glare back at me. “If you hear anything, text me. Don’t come out alone.”
“Fine,” I agreed just so he would fucking go.
I waited until Bane and Oz disappeared into the darkness, going east, before heading back inside. It wasn’t like I was going to go back to sleep, but at least I’d get to watch Montana while she slept. Yeah, that wasn’t messed up at all. I might be fucked.