27. Hayden
27
HAYDEN
I fucking hated this shit. The team was in the field, and Scott and I were stuck here watching the monitors.
Just in case.
That’s what Foster said, and it grated. Just in case what? What the fuck could we do from here?
Our phones went off, simultaneously.
I moved away from Scott and answered Declan’s call.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Get to the restaurant. Now.”
“What’s going on?”
“Hayden, I love you, and I will fully admit you are the Dom to my switch, but right now, put that shit away, and do what the fuck I’m telling you. Get to the fucking restaurant.”
“Okay. Scott’s on the phone, but I’m on the move, keep talking.”
Declan swore, and I could see him scrubbing his face before running his hands through his hair.
“Caleb was in the fucking studio. I don’t fucking know how he fucking managed it. They gave Katie flak about letting us in. They kept saying their security could handle things.”
“But you got in?” I asked as I grabbed the laptop and the charger, just in case.
Just in case.
“Yeah, but when Katie said she saw him, we split up. Jackson and Katie are with Foster and Celeste. Lucia, Heidi, and I are still at the studio.”
“Okay,” I said, pausing in the hallway, waiting for the elevator. The door to the suite opened and closed, and Scott rushed out to wait with me, his hands full of gear.
I opened the laptop he handed me, tapping my foot impatiently as I waited for it to load, hoping it did so before the elevator opened. The doors swished open, and Scott walked into the car, but I waited.
“Declan, they’re turning into a parking garage near the restaurant. We’ll see you there. Stay safe, vato.”
“You, too, Papi.”
Downstairs, the concierge handed Scott a set of keys to an SUV that sat at the curb, running.
Within moments, we were on the way, the GPS barking orders at us until I turned the fucking thing off. Traffic was a bitch in Midtown, and we couldn’t afford to get stuck.
I watched four blinking dots on the screen, and swore when I noticed two of them moving away from the other two.
I called Declan, worried that calling Foster or Celeste would distract them at the worst possible moment.
“Are you in the car?”
“Yes. Scott’s driving, and I’m watching the trackers. We’ve got a problem. Katie and Jackson’s trackers are moving away from Celeste and Foster’s.”
“Fuck. There’s only one reason Foster would send them off.”
“Agreed. Scott and I are going to get as close as possible with the car, then go on foot.”
“I’m texting Cato. He’ll loop himself into the team’s comms link. There’s a set of earpieces in the bags we told Scott to grab. I’ll get him to send you the app for the trackers as well.”
He paused, but I knew in my gut he had more to say.
“Hayden, are you strapped?”
“Of course.”
Was he fucking stupid or just scared? I was a Marine, I carried everywhere I went.
“Jackson is probably carrying, too. So, be careful. The boy’s fully trained, but this is his first time protecting someone and…”
“It’s the love of his life. I got it, carino. I’ll protect them both with my life. I love you. Get to us as soon as you can.”
“I love you, too.”
The worry he had in his voice put the Daddy in me on edge. I wanted him next to me, not running through the fucking streets chasing after a madman, but I knew he had to be feeling the same, so I shoved that shit out of the way only for Marcie’s face to flash before my eyes.
“Fuck!”
I called Cameron, praying he fucking answered.
“Hey, man, how’s the lap of luxury in New York?”
“FUBAR tell you anything?”
“What’s going down?”
I gave him the rundown.
“Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition sounds like the perfect description. What do you need from me?”
“Protect my girl.”
“Of course, Sarge. Keep me in the loop. She’s been adamant about staying here at Gavin’s, but it’s not ideal.”
“If I call you and tell you to bug out, toss her ass over your shoulder and fall back to the rental with the Holts. She’ll get over it.”
“I’ll tell her you said that.”
“You do that.”
“Watch your six, Sarge.”
“I’ve got Scott with me. We’ll be fine. Y’all do the same.”
The call disconnected, and I pulled out the comms earpieces Declan mentioned. I turned them on, placing one in my ear and handing the other to Scott, who did the same.
“Sergeant Marin, my name is Cato. I work for Holt. Declan said he explained I’d be dropping into the comms link.”
I looked over at Scott, who was concentrating on the traffic, acting like there wasn’t someone speaking directly to me through our link.
“If you’re waiting for Sergeant Blackstone to acknowledge my voice, you’ll be waiting a while. I’ve isolated our connection. I’ll be adding Sergeant Blackstone to the link shortly. The two of you don’t have trackers like the Holts, so I’ll be tracking your phones. Do not leave them behind. Nod if you understand.”
I nodded, utterly freaked out by the guy in my head.
“Welcome to the family. Hurt Declan again, though, and I’ll make sure you live to regret it.”
I wiped my hand over my face trying to figure out what the fuck I’d gotten myself into that night at The Seaman when I picked Declan up.
Cato’s voice came over the comms link again. “Sergeant Blackstone, I want you to turn left at the next alleyway.”
“What the fuck!” Scott yelled, pulling the earpiece out of his ear.
“Put it back in. That’s the Holt IT guru.”
Laughter of a diabolical sort cackled in my ear, but Scott put the piece back in his ear and didn’t seem to notice.
“Guru. I like that. It sounds better than Gray Hat Hacker. And that’s a family secret, by the way, because the gray can be kinda charcoaly-black at times.”
I swallowed.
“Sergeant, the turn is coming up.”
I followed Scott’s gaze and agreed when he said, “There’s no fucking way we’re fitting in that hole.”
“With the right motivation…”
He trailed off, but I knew the saying well.
“Fuck, do we trust him?” Scott asked.
“Yes,” I said, taking a gamble.
Declan sent the guy to help us. And I trusted Declan implicitly. The realization took me by surprise, given how much my not trusting him over the last three years had cost us.
“I wouldn’t call this fitting,” I yelled over the sounds of the SUV mirrors scraping the brick walls on either side as we ping-ponged off them.
“It is not my fault your driver sucks.”
“Fuck you, dude!”
“That wouldn’t end well for you. My Master and Daddy get a little twitchy when someone stares at me too long. I can only imagine what they’d do if someone actually touched me.”
Scott’s eyes grew round as he turned to look at me. I understood the Daddy and Master’s thought process. If I caught someone putting the moves on Declan or Marcie, I’d loose my shit.
“Just follow his instructions. Declan sent him.”
“Dude’s an asshole.”
“I’m aware. Turn right.”
We came to the end of the alley, and an ambulance flew past us.
“Follow the paramedics.”
Oh, shit.
Scott looked at me. The words, oh shit, so clearly seen in his eyes, they might as well have been written on them.
Sirens and lights from the ambulance joined with the sirens coming from the police cars up ahead. We stopped and hopped out just as Celeste, Lucia, and Declan pulled in behind us.
As soon as I saw Declan, I grabbed him, pulling him toward me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” he yelled, pushing past me toward the ambulance, “It’s Jackson.”
“What do you mean?” I yelled after him, moving to follow him.
He ignored me and continued toward the ambulance, and the other one, pulling in behind it.
When we got to the police tape, Heidi squatted next to someone on the ground, and Foster stood shirtless, his hands and chest covered in blood. A man in a suit, a detective, if I had to guess, stood next to Foster, who seemed to be answering questions reluctantly.
“Foster and Heidi beat us here. His mic was hot and transmitted everything he said.”
“Is it still transmitting?”
Declan shook his head as he stepped forward. An NYPD officer mirrored his actions, and Declan stopped.
“They shot Jackson, and Katie is unconscious. She collapsed and hit her head. Based on what I’m hearing, Jackie’s…”
“C’mon. Let’s get you in the SUV so we can follow Jackson and Katie to the hospital.”
I tugged on him, but he didn’t budge. When the paramedics lifted the gurney, Jackson’s voice pierced the air as he screamed Katie’s name. Declan’s knees gave out.
“What the fuck am I supposed to tell his Mama and Daddy. I fucking failed them. I was supposed to keep him safe.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
He spun on me, rage and self-loathing evident on his face. “Tell me how you got to that conclusion, so I can use it with Walker and Lillian and the rest of my goddamned family when they try to fucking lynch me.”
“First of all, there are seven of us watching over them. Seven. Second, Foster is the point man on this op. Not you.”
“Detail.”
“What?”
“If you’re gonna do this work, you need to learn the lingo. An op is a military operation. We are a protection detail. Which apparently, I fucking suck at.”
Jackson and Katie’s gurneys were loaded into the back of the rigs with Foster and Heidi climbing in behind them. As the doors shut, Declan turned and stalked off.
“Cato… Are you still there?”
“Yes.”
“What hospital?”
“I’m texting you the name and address. Tell Declan to call me when he settles down some.”
“Will do. Is there any footage?”
“I’m working on that. I’ll let someone know when I’ve searched all I can, but at this point, if the assholes are smart, they’re heading out of town.”
The guy is nothing if not smart.
I walked back to the SUV. Declan sat behind the wheel while everyone else stood outside the vehicle. Scott shook his head when I cocked a brow at him.
“The three of you take the other car. Declan and I will be there shortly. I’ll send you…”
“No need, Hayden. Heidi texted me. Take care of Declan,” Celeste said as she gripped my arm. Lucia and Scott followed behind her. A moment later, they were gone, and I walked to the driver’s door where I knocked on the window.
“Go away.”
“You either let me in or I will bust out the window. I’m not fucking joking, vato.”
His eyes fell closed. His shoulders rose and fell, and the door unlocked.
“Either crawl across or walk around. Those are your options, carino.”
He didn’t look at me, but I watched his jaw clench, and the muscles in his face pop. He slid out of the SUV and walked around to get in the passenger seat.
Once we were both inside, I started the car and pulled out into traffic as I asked, “Do you need a meeting?”
“No. Not now. I’ll call my sponsor, but if…”
“Don’t borrow trouble, vato. Okay?”
“What about you?”
“I’ll call Angel when we get to the hospital.”
“Angel? The MMA fighter you worked for?”
“Yes. He’s my sponsor.”
“Wasn’t that…”
“Yes, but I was in a bad spot. I’d lost my sponsor, so Angel stepped up. It was never supposed to be permanent. When Lucia asked me to help her open the security firm, there was no need to make the change.”
He nodded, then he turned to look at me, his eyes blown wide, his face ashen. “Oh, shit. Marcie.”
Growling a curse, I pulled out my phone, and texted Cameron when we got caught at a red light.
Hayden
Exfil.
Cameron
Wilco. Sit rep?
Hayden
Male shot. Female unconscious.
Cameron
Copy.