12. Dax
DAX
Aman dressed in a hotel uniform rolled in a cart ladened with food, and my stomach growled loudly at the smell.
My mouth started to water as he removed the lids from all the plates and set them on the table along with the sides.
Now I could see the perk of having a dining room table in the suite—certainly was convenient.
After he set out the last of the steaks, there was still one covered tray.
At first, I assumed it might be the dessert Sprocket had suggested, but when the man stepped in front of it shielding the sight with his body, I reacted.
Before he even had the chance to lift the lid, I’d fired off a shot hitting him in the back of the skull.
There was no sound other than a grunt before he crumpled to the floor, taking the lid with him.
“Holy fucking shit,” Picasso swore from where he’d just taken his seat and then been covered in blood from the head shot.
Eagle headed for him and grabbed his brother’s face to look at making sure it was just cast off from my victim. “You’re not hit, right?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s not mine,” Picasso muttered, shoving Eagle aside so he could get up. He yanked his shirt up and off, using it to clean off his face and arms. “What the fuck, guys? I thought we were supposed to be safe here in the city, and now we have some dick trying to blow us up?”
My gun was still trained on the man, my mind reeling with everything that could have just happened.
Someone came up behind me, then large hands I knew and trusted took my gun, pulling me to his chest. “You saved us, little demon. If you hadn’t acted as fast as you did, we’d all be full of more holes than Swiss cheese. ”
I felt cold, my gut twisted, and I couldn’t tell why this bothered me so much. People had been coming after us for months now. Why was this moment any different?
Then it slammed into me. I was fine being attacked, it wasn’t anything new in my life, and something told me it would always be that way to a degree.
What had me shaking like a leaf was that this attack targeted them.
My family, the men I loved more than I thought was possible for my heart to understand.
They weren’t after just me. Whoever sent this man wanted to take us all out.
“Shortcake,” Wes said as he stepped into my line of sight. “Dax, you’re shaking. Are you okay?”
I couldn’t talk, the fear that had been churning in my gut had morphed into white-hot rage. It reminded me of how I felt after they tried to use my miscarriage against me. This time I didn’t know who sent this bastard to our room to blow us the fuck up.
“No,” I whispered. “I’m not okay.”
Void held me tighter, and Wes cupped my face, forcing me to look up at him. “What do you need?”
“This to be over,” I stated, my voice sounding cold and detached even to my ears. “He crossed the line. Marco can do whatever he wants to me, but not you. Not any of you. My people, my family, they’re off-limits.”
Weston’s face softened as he looked at me, one of his thumbs caressing my cheek.
“Yeah, I get that feeling. It’s how I feel every time this bastard tries to take you from us.
Every one of us feels that same rage you’re experiencing now.
To be honest, it’s what’s making us so goddamn clingy and overprotective, even though it drives you crazy. ”
Grabbing his wrist, I turned my head and kissed the inside of his palm, then nuzzled it before releasing my hold. “Can we eat first, or do we need to deal with the dead body?”
“Personally, I was thinking we make sure the bomb doesn’t go off, but with your luck, loba, you should eat while it looks like there’s time,” Cognac suggested. “I’m not sure what it is about you and meals, but damn, they really don’t want you to eat.”
I let out a harsh laugh, but he was right.
Shit always hit the fan right before I could eat, and this time was no different.
Void urged me to turn and nudged me forward to the table.
“He’s right, little demon, go on and eat while we deal with this.
Cam’s already looking over the bomb, and out of all of us, he’s got the connections to get people here to help us if he can’t. ”
Taking a seat at the opposite end of the table from the dead body, I did as they suggested and devoured that steak.
It was delicious as were the sides, the ones with no blood in them, that is.
Cam was on the phone with someone while the others took videos or pictures of something about the bomb and sent it off to the FBI person helping us to disarm this thing.
It turns out this type of bomb didn’t have a way to be neutralized and would have to be set off in a controlled environment.
A bomb squad was on its way as well as a team to take care of the body and attempt to identify him.
Since nothing about the government went quickly, I had plenty of time to finish my meal as did the guys.
Picasso even managed to get in a shower.
We relocated to the couch. It just seemed safer to be further from the bomb and the dead body.
The blood splatter only ruined two steaks, so everyone divided the remaining steaks up so we all had some.
These things were massive, so it all worked out in the end.
I refused to let whoever tried to kill us make us go hungry on top of it all.
“So does this change your mind about staying for a few days?” Sprocket asked.
Curled up in the corner of the couch, I hugged the fluffy pillow to my chest, resting my chin on it as I watched them eat.
“No, I refuse to let them chase me out of here. Now that we know our location is blown, we’ll just have to be more cautious.
As far as I can tell, everything they’ve tried has failed, so this means they’re getting desperate.
This whole thing…” I said, flapping a hand over at the dining table, “… was sloppy. Like really, a bomb? That’s what you use when you’re running out of options.
Anyone could set that thing off with the flip of a switch.
I bet you that man was just some idiot they blackmailed into doing the job. ”
“You might have a point, but that doesn’t change the fact we’re being hunted,” Void pointed out.
Chewing on my thumbnail, I wrestled with that. They’d proven tonight they would do whatever it took to get to me, no matter who was around me. My inclination was to dig in, fight fire with fire, but was that the best choice?
Letting out a groan, I shoved my face into the pillow and screamed long and loud, letting out all the frustration that had built up in me.
After I did that two more times, I felt a little better, but it had just taken the edge off.
Lifting my head, I looked at my men, each wearing matching worried expressions.
“I can’t be the one who makes this choice,” I stated.
“What do you mean, loba? We will follow your lead. If you want to stay, we’ll stay,” Cognac assured me.
“That’s exactly the problem. It’s like we were talking earlier about how Marco knows so much about me,” I explained.
“From this moment on, I need to be the support, but I think Cam and Sprocket need to be the front-runners in this for a bit. The combinations of their brilliant minds will match mine, yet we’ll each view it all differently.
Sprocket will keep things from going too far like I would, and Cam has connections in the world none of us would have access to.
If we are going to get ahead, I can’t lead. ”
They all sat there silent for a bit, almost stunned at my choice.
“Spitfire,” Picasso said hesitantly. “While I get where you’re coming from, none of us could match the level at which your brain works. Fuck, not even Wes saw what you figured out back at the office, and he’s the one who wrote the damn code.”
“Not to mention you also out-maneuvered that FBI agent earlier,” Eagle added.
Cam remained silent as he watched me, arms crossed as he leaned against one of the picture windows.
He knew I was right, and this was the move that had to be made right now.
Every great leader knows when it’s the right time to take a step back and let someone else direct things.
Knowing your team’s strengths and weaknesses is integral to being successful, but knowing your own flaws is even more important.
“Little rebel, is this what you believe will give us the best advantage in this fight?” Sprocket asked, leaning forward.
“Yes,” I answered with conviction. “I’m not saying cut me out of things, but I’d offer support instead of driving things like what’s been happening.”
Sprocket nodded with a contemplative look on his face.
“Then I think we need to bring the triplets into this full-time. The more people Marco doesn’t know, the better.
If we can rattle him enough to even the playing field, that will go a long way in all this.
We made a big move taking out Diego and putting Tommaso in play.
As much as we’d like, Tommaso isn’t in a place to help us in this fight.
He’ll probably be able to add interference or a distraction while we make the real play, but he’s not in a position to be a heavy hitter. ”
“I agree,” Cam said finally. “Working with them to shore up plans for the takeover was invaluable. They also have access to supplies we might not have thought of. Dax has the pull to get us what we need, but those three are rather creative when it comes down to it.”
“If we’re playing the game of flipping things on their head, I think that means Daddy Black needs to join in the fun too,” Wes pointed out. “That man is on level with Dax in every way that counts.”
All of them nodded in agreement to that. It seems having Dante around has given us a chance to see the mastermind at work. I agreed a hundred percent with Wes that Dante is exactly who needed to be involved.