Chapter Twenty-Five
Later around 1 AM…
B ack at the Nevada ranch, Real frowned at his phone and then pulled up his laptop. Still no messages from Crow and that was concerning.
Genesis had a rule that every twenty-four hours, they made some type of contact. It was now two hours past check-in time.
“What’s up, boss?” Winter asked, stepping into his office along with Rip.
He had called both men there to go over something that was bothering him.
“I haven’t heard from Crow in twenty-six hours.”
“So, he broke protocol,” Rip said.
“Yes, and I need you two to go to Los Angeles and find him.”
“You got it, we going commercial?” Winter asked.
“No, the Black Hawk will take you.”
Winter and Rip left without another word and Real got up and walked to the window.
Crow had never missed a check-in and Real had a bad feeling.
Pulling out his cell phone, he called Dave.
“What’s going on?” the former SecDef answered on the second ring.
“Can you send a few men to a location for me? I lost contact with Crow.”
“I can do that,” Dave said and spoke to someone in the room for a moment before he was back. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, Winter and Rip are on their way, so make sure your guys know that. Rip can fill Stone in,” Real said and then gave Dave the shorter version of the job involving crime boss James Lincoln and the why—for two different reasons—Crow and Rebel were involved.
“Will do,” Dave said.
“Thank you for this.”
“It’s not a problem, you know that.”
“I know, but I also know that you’re set to retire and Will is going to take over. I just don’t want to add to your plate.”
“Yeah, well even if I do retire, you can always call me.”
They talked for another moment and then Dave ended the call.
Dave gazed at Stone. “Who are you taking?”
“I’ll take Ice and Echo if they’re available. If not, I’ll snag Wrath and Rogue. We can be in downtown Los Angeles in roughly two hours. What’s the job?” Stone asked.
“To save time, call Rip from the road, he and Winter are en route. Rip can fill you in on the details of the case.”
“Got it.” Stone hesitated and when the man’s hand lifted to touch his shoulder, Dave gave a brief nod and stepped away from the touch.
Without a word, Stone turned and walked out.
Dave fisted his hands and stood still until the door closed, then he walked over and dropped down into one of the two leather chairs that sat facing his gardens.
“What happened to Crow?”
Dave closed his eyes when Azrael spoke. The assassin had a habit of curling up with a book in his study and Dave was forever forgetting to double-check.
When Azrael sank into the other leather chair next to him, Dave gave the slender teenager a slight smile.
“It’s nothing that Stone can’t fix.”
In the hallway, Azrael ran into Boston. The boy had been home for about a week and wasn’t happy about it.
“You heard?” Azrael asked.
“Yes. Rip and Winter are on their way and there’s a problem with Crow and Rebel.” Boston held his gaze.
“What are you thinking?” Azrael moved further from Dave’s study. No way in hell did he want the former SecDef to overhear him and Boston.
Taking the hallway to the stairs, Azrael jogged up them and didn’t stop until he and Boston were inside his bedroom. Going one step further, Azrael opened the bedroom window and stepped out onto the roof.
It was his favorite spot.
When he sat on the tile, Boston lowered down at his side.
“I’m thinking they might need help,” Boston said.
“Probably not. We’d only get in the way.”
“That’s not true. We know how Rebel thinks. We lived that life. Tanis and Solomon subjected us to the same fucked up shit as Rebel.”
“True.” With that knowledge, they’d have the wherewithal to be more help than hinder. “So, what were you thinking?”
“If we could only find out their location,” Boston said.
Azrael huffed a short laugh.
“What?” Boston asked with a frown.
“Every vehicle in Dave’s fleet has a locator.”
Boston held his gaze.
Azrael’s smile widened.
Ice and Echo were currently out of town on a job, so Stone had called Wrath.
“Rogue and I will be there,” Wrath told him.
Barreling through the streets, Stone stayed just a tad over the speed limit to avoid getting stopped.
When Stone reached the hotel, he waited in the front lobby.
He was worried.
Genesis had a protocol that Erebus didn’t have and that was to check in every twenty-four hours. He glanced at his watch, with the drive time from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles included, the total hours were now twenty-eight.
Rogue roared an SUV into the valet parking and both men jumped out.
“What room?” Wrath asked.
“1806,” Stone said and turned toward a voice when his name was called.
The men of Erebus converged into the hotel lobby. Erebus team leader Savage Markel had called ahead and they were met by a doorman with a key to Crow’s suite. The man led them to a side door to avoid the metal detectors.
“Thank you for this,” Stone told the guy.
“Savage saved my family. I owe him everything,” the doorman said, walking them to the elevator. The man pushed the button and then walked away.
Stone checked, then double-checked the clip on his weapon as the elevator zoomed upward.
Reaching the door, Stone frowned. “No signs of forced entry.”
“That doesn’t matter, with enough money people can buy a key card,” Rogue said and flipped the temporary card against the reader.
The door beeped and when Stone pushed it open, only darkness shone through the crack.
Wrath put a hand on Stone’s shoulder and blocked Rogue from entering.
“I think only one of us needs to go in. Not all of us. If he’s wounded, he will kill us,” Wrath said and shot a glance at Rogue and then back to Stone.
“You’re right,” Stone agreed with a nod.
“I’ll go in.” Rogue shouldered them all aside, even Wrath, who gave the bigger man a hot glare. “If he attacks, I have a better chance of overpowering him.”
Wrath rolled his eyes. “Not on a bet.”
“I’m going in. I need to do this,” Rogue said quietly and Wrath deflated.
Rogue cupped the back of Wrath’s neck and leaned in, pressing his forehead to Wrath’s for a moment before he stepped back and slipped inside the room.
Wrath placed the toe of his boot in the crack to keep the door ajar and he strained to listen.
Rogue advanced through the dark, letting the sounds and smells settle around him. Water trickled somewhere near what he assumed was a bathroom. The low hum of the air conditioning buzzed in the quiet.
Rogue waited.
His eyes adjusted somewhat to the dark, but really, he couldn’t see shit so he had to risk turning on a light.
Flipping on the small reading light near the king-sized bed, a small glow shot the room.
That’s when he saw Crow.
In the middle of a blood bath.
The assassin was sprawled out on his back, unmoving.
Dead body upon dead body lay grotesquely on the floor. Throats slashed, limbs broken, necks snapped.
Rogue stepped over bodies to get to Crow. He picked up the dead perp lying over Crow’s legs and tossed it aside. Another man lay pinning Crow’s arm and Rogue picked up and tossed that dead fucker like a leaf.
“Crow!” he hissed, hoisting the man up, but Crow’s head bent forward.
That’s when Rogue noticed the dark matted hair on the side of Crow’s head. He carried Crow to the bed and placed him there.
“Clear!” Rogue yelled, pressing his fingers to Crow’s throat. He found a strong pulse and gave a sigh of relief.
Wrath barreled in followed by Stone.
“Is he dead?” Wrath went right into medic mode.
“No, but should we call the EMTs?” Rogue asked roughly.
Crow’s cheek was cold to the touch, but that could have been from lack of blood and the air blowing in the room.
“Let me assess him first.” Wrath moved him aside and took over.
Rogue was glad for it. Wrath was a former Army medic and sure as shit knew his stuff.
“Grab me those sweatpants,” Wrath said and Rogue snatched up the sweatpants and helped pull them up and over Crow’s naked hips.
“See if you can get that wound on his arm to stop bleeding,” Wrath ordered Rogue and bent closer to assess the slice on Crow’s chest. “That’s not too bad,” Wrath told Crow.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Rogue pressed the bed sheet to the open wound where a bullet had creased Crow’s arm.
Moving Rogue out of the way, Wrath tor? a piece of the sheet and tied it around Crow’s arm.
“You’re lucky, neither of them needs stitches,” Wrath said.
“Thanks,” Crow said gruffly.
Wrath frowned when Stone pulled his phone out.
“You calling 911?”
“Are we really going to call the fucking cops?” Rogue snapped at Stone.
Stone’s eyes hardened at Rogue’s tone of voice, but he had to remind himself that Rogue didn’t report to him.
“Savage…” Stone said into the phone. “We need cleaners in Los Angeles.” After listening for a moment, Stone hung up.
“How long?” Wrath asked.
“Savage will have someone here in fifteen minutes.” Stone waggled his phone at Rogue and turned his eyes to Wrath. “Now you need to decide if we’re taking him to the hospital.”
“Concussion—” Wrath began after he bandaged Crow’s arm.
“Fuck that,” Crow said with a low groan.
They all turned toward Crow, who lay looking at them. Wrath pressed a hand to Crow’s forehead, checking for a fever, and found none.
“Do you hurt anywhere else?” Stone asked, moving closer to the bed.
“My fucking head is killing me,” Crow said and groaned when Rogue helped him sit up.
“Definitely a concussion,” Wrath said, looking through his hair at the knot. “Do you feel sick?”
“No, I’m pissed.” Crow swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood.
The room rushed around him, but he fought it and the need to throw up. Rogue placed a steadying hand on his back.
Crow drew in several slow deep breaths. When the moment passed, he walked over and retrieved his clothes.
“Tell the cleaners not to touch the clothes hanging here in the closet. I want them sent to my Nevada residence.”
“Um…okay,” Wrath said.
Carrying a change of clothes, Crow disappeared into the bathroom and stepped beneath the shower.
Jimmy Lincoln had taken Rebel, and Crow was going to take great pleasure in taking the man apart.
Piece by fucking piece.