Chapter 6 Wraith
Wraith
I groan as my phone vibrating on the nightstand stirs me from sleep. It’s not morning yet. Well, not morning enough to get up, anyway, so whatever it is must be important. Very few people even have my number.
Rolling over, I feel around in the dark for the phone, cracking my eyes open when I reach it.
There’s a message in our Murder Buddies chat.
Shadow: Downstairs in the rec room in ten. Mandatory.
A shiver moves down my spine. Fuck. What could be happening in the middle of the night? Whatever it is, it can’t be good.
I roll out of bed and grab my discarded pajama pants, tugging them on before stopping in the bathroom for a quick piss.
By the time I enter the rec room almost everyone is there.
Phantom and Ghost trail in a few seconds behind me, all of us focused on Shadow, who looks like he’s about to blow some shit up.
Specter is next to him, arms folded across his chest, eyes downcast, but his expression is full of anger.
“What the fuck happened?” Carnage asks. “Who are we fucking up?”
Shadow raises his hand and bows his head slightly, his jaw ticking with tension. “Whisper found the guys who shot Specter.”
My eyes immediately move to Whisper. He’s sitting in his chair as stoically as usual, so only those of us who know him well can see the tiny hints of rage simmering under his skin.
The vein pulsing in his temple, the tight set of his jaw, the creased skin between his brows. He’s barely keeping it together.
Last year, on what was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill job, we were ambushed by an unknown group and Specter ended up shot. Worst night ever. We thought we were going to lose him just as he was finding his place with Colson. We’ve been working on finding out who was behind it ever since.
“Whisper will explain,” Shadow says, glancing at our brother.
“Nimble was close, but either they moved or they have spots all over the city. He called me tonight asking for backup to Blackwell Bridge because he saw a familiar car.”
Nimble nods but doesn’t chime in.
“We followed them,” Whisper continues. “And found the house where they must spend the majority of their time.”
“How do you know that?” Phantom asks.
“Because I watched the place for six hours. They arrived at staggered times and every single one of them had a relaxed demeanor when they arrived. There was no party, no extra guests, no noise at all. They live there.”
I nod, glancing at Specter, who is practically vibrating with rage.
“So what’s the plan?” Carnage asks.
“Murder,” Specter says, his voice dark and rough. “They tried to take me from Colson.”
Shadow looks down at his watch. “We have four hours until the sun rises.”
“Let’s do this,” Ghost says. “Any specific approach?”
“Descend like the angel of fucking death on that house,” Shadow says, his eyes burning with anger. “Everyone you find dies how you see fit, just make it quick. By the time the sun rises, none of them are still breathing.”
I clap my hands. “Let’s go.”
“Meet in the foyer in ten minutes,” Shadow says. “I’m coming with you. I want to see their faces with my own eyes before they die.”
Specter squeezes Shadow’s shoulder in comfort. This whole situation tore up our boss. He felt betrayed and that he’d put our lives at risk, which is ridiculous. Everything we do puts our lives at risk.
I hurry up the stairs and get into proper clothes, twisting my hair into a bun instead of brushing it. No time. I’m ready to make some motherfuckers bleed.
By the time I get downstairs again, we’re all there except Carnage. Colson and Specter stand close together, arguing about something, judging from their heated body language and urgent whispers.
Shadow walks over, inserting himself between them and speaking softly to Colson, who grabs Shadow’s arms, raising his voice and startling all of us.
“You can’t let him get hurt, Shadow. He’s my world. You can’t let anything happen to him. I won’t survive it.”
Colson’s desperate plea is a reminder of why finding love is such a dangerous game. Colson loves Specter and my brother loves him back, and that increases the risk every time he walks out the door to do his job.
“No one is getting hurt,” Shadow says, more calmly than I would have guessed he could given Colson’s grip on him. “There’s strength in numbers, and we know what we’re dealing with this time. They have to pay for what they did, and they will.”
Shadow closes the distance between him and Colson, leaning in so far that Colson has to tilt his head back, but he doesn’t flinch. He’s a fighter.
“Your job is to be a source of strength for Specter, not to add to his worries. He cannot be effective if he’s worried.”
Colson’s hands fall from Shadow’s arms and he nods. “I-I understand. I’ll work on that.”
“Good. He’ll come back to you in one piece.”
“Thank you,” Colson whispers before turning and pressing his forehead to Specter’s shoulder. “I love you. I’ll be waiting.”
Specter lifts Colson’s face and presses a soft kiss to his lips. “Motivation to get back home.”
We walk out as a team, heading to the garage stall before separating into two groups.
I join Specter, Whisper, and Carnage, while Shadow, Ghost, Nimble, and Phantom take a different car.
Soon we’ll have Stealth back in the mix, and I really wonder if we can go back to the way things were.
Well, not completely. That’s what led to this event in the first place.
Specter is seated next to me, his jaw so tense he looks like he might crack a tooth. I reach over and squeeze his knee. He closes his eyes and blows out a breath.
“Thanks, man.”
“Just a reminder that we’re here for you.”
“I know. It wasn’t even personal. They didn’t come after me specifically. They came after all of us.”
“But you have Colson now, so you’re worried.”
He shakes his head. “No. I’m not worried when I’m out here doing my thing. I’m worried about the effect this life will have on him long term. Look what happened with Bellamy. Am I being selfish by keeping him?”
“Do you have a choice anymore? Could you let him go?”
Specter swallows hard. “No.”
“Right then, so what are your other choices?”
“I don’t fucking know.”
“You have to know, ja?”
Specter nods. “I could help him. Help him understand how protected we are. That getting shot was an anomaly and it won’t happen again.”
I grab his hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, bror.
There are risks in this occupation, and we know what they are.
Give him truths he can hold on to. Tell him the precautions we take, our history as a team.
Don’t compare him to Bellamy. They couldn’t be more different.
Your relationship is different too. We have no idea what Shadow talked about with him. ”
Specter tilts his head back before he blows out another breath. “You’re right.”
Carnage turns around while Whisper navigates the roads. “What do you think it’ll be like when Stealth gets back?”
I shake my head without answering while Specter shifts in his seat. “Don’t fucking know,” he says. “I wasn’t close to him before it all happened.”
“None of us were,” Whisper grunts. “That’s part of the problem. We should’ve…” His words trail off as he shakes his head. “We should’ve noticed.”
“We can’t beat ourselves up,” I say. “He’d hate that. We have to do our best to treat him as normally as possible.”
“Shadow will set the tone,” Carnage says. “We’ll follow his lead.”
My stomach twists with unease. We followed his lead before and we almost lost a brother. I rarely question our leader’s directions, because he’s almost always right, but he wasn’t this time. I’m willing to push back if I have to.
“It’s coming up,” Whisper says. “Get ready, boys.”
I feel Specter tense beside me, and my thoughts drift back to the man waiting for him at home.
It’s gotta feel nice to be loved, but then you have to deal with this too.
The fear of loss, of abandoning someone who makes your fucking heart beat steadily.
That’s why staying unattached is the safer way to go.
It’s why all my brothers are single except Specter now.
Shadow tried, and look what that got him.
I rub my forehead, forcing out any thoughts but the ones I need tonight.
Hunt, kill, repeat.
Whisper turns down a narrow street. There’s only one working streetlight and it’s flickering like it’s on its last legs.
Which house we’re heading for is obvious.
It’s the only one with a light on and several cars parked in front and on the cracked driveway.
The rest of the houses look abandoned and nearly condemned.
No one lingers outside. No drug dealers, no sex workers, no homeless.
I guess that’s why they chose this street.
We park farther down the street so as not to attract their attention. Shadow appears next to the driver’s side and Whisper lowers the window.
“We’re just busting through the door,” Shadow says. “Element of surprise. Kill everyone you see unless we find people who shouldn’t be there.”
We all know what that means. Women, children, and other non-consenting adults.
It’s pretty common in our line of work to stumble upon such unpleasantness.
We’ve only taken out one woman before, but it turned out she was leading a major drug cartel and sex trafficking ring, so none of us lost any sleep over that one. Even hit men have limits.
We exit our vehicles, gathering on the sidewalk for a moment while we all check our weapons and load them. This should be quick and efficient. We go in, we shoot them up, we leave. Easy. Cops won’t give a fuck, if they’re even found. Who’s gonna be looking for them?
“The leader is a guy named Billie,” Shadow says. “He’s distinctive looking. He has white-blond hair and a mole on his upper right cheek. “I want that one.”
“Got it, boss.” Phantom cracks his knuckles. “We doing this?”
“Yes,” Shadow says.