Chapter Seventeen #2
Keys donned his service overalls, as did Master.
They went straight through the front doors and checked in with the desk.
There would be no fingerprints of theirs; they wore false ones.
The cameras saw faces that weren’t their own.
Their identities checked out with the repair service the penthouse contracted to Declan and Co.
Corporation. In fact, the corporation owned the repair company and used it to install cameras in the homes of those they wanted information on.
Their tools were those of repairmen. They had been officially called to resolve a problem on the floor below the penthouse, and they responded quickly, as Declan and Co.
Corporation insisted they were always the first priority.
Preacher and Ice had been busy wreaking havoc in the building, overloading circuits and generally causing minor problems. Nothing big enough to raise the alarm until the floor beneath the penthouse suddenly went dark and sparks jumped out of several outlets.
That was a major problem that required immediate attention.
In the meantime, Lana and Alena had dressed carefully for the party in the penthouse.
Both wore beautifully pleated silk pants and silk blouses with light jackets.
Torpedo Ink knew it was no real party with multiple guests.
Code had uncovered how the three men lured women to their apartment, locked them in and proceeded to rape and beat them, allowing their bodyguards to participate as well.
Declan was not a regular at the events, and there had been no sign of him for weeks.
That wasn’t unusual. He often disappeared, taking off on his own, away from the others, for trips overseas.
Torpedo Ink knew he was in the United States and they needed to flush him out. Keys had no doubt that Declan would surface once his entire pack was dead—and that was the goal: exterminate the four men who followed his every command.
Lana and Alena took the private elevator up to the penthouse. Keys and Master were already on the floor beneath and simply hitched a ride on the elevator via the shaft. They waited to make certain Lana had disrupted the cameras before they made their exit.
Owen opened the door with a broad grin, his gaze sweeping over the two women.
Behind him, three bodyguards and his two friends Nolan and Leo leered at them.
The women appeared not to notice but walked in with total confidence, giving Owen a huge smile.
He closed and locked the door. The sound of the lock clicking in place stopped the women from advancing into the room.
They glanced back at the door, then uncertainly at Owen, before looking around the huge room.
“Where’s the party?” Lana asked.
“You’re the party,” Owen said, a huge grin on his face. His gesture took in the men in the room. “You’re going to have a real good time. Well, maybe. It’s guaranteed that we’ll have a good time.”
The two women looked at each other. Lana lifted her chin. “I think there’s been a mistake.”
“No mistake, honey. You walk around looking like you do, a little cock-tease, someone is going to take you up on it,” Nolan said.
The men circled the women. Alena and Lana went back-to-back, but did so naturally, as if each one was warily watching the men for signs of aggression.
A sudden, persistent buzzing at the door startled everyone. Owen gestured toward one of the bodyguards, a man with a bald head and a scar over one eye. He obeyed instantly.
“Repairmen,” he reported.
“Get rid of them,” Leo snapped.
Lana smiled at him. “Don’t do that. My brothers love to party. We invited them. And just so you know, you’re the party.” Her gaze went to the bald bodyguard. “You might want to step away from the door. They do love their party favors.”
The warning was barely out of her mouth when the door flew inward, splintering apart and propelling the bald bodyguard across the room. The explosion was directed inward, and the force drove huge splinters and fragments of wood and steel into the guard’s torso and head, killing him instantly.
Keys and Master walked right in through the smoke and debris.
As they did, Alena attacked Nolan, her foot sweeping up and around to catch him on the side of the jaw, driving him down.
She followed up, smashing down with her fist and then stomping with her foot onto his throat, crushing it.
She bent down and made certain he was dead.
Keys kicked a gun out of the second bodyguard’s hand and continued his forward momentum, slamming his hand into the man’s throat, driving into his windpipe.
The bodyguard choked and gasped and dropped to the floor, eyes wide with shock, lungs desperate for air that was never going to get through the shattered windpipe.
Master was on the third bodyguard, catching his head in a lethal hold and dispatching him without mercy.
Owen held up his hand as Lana began her advance. “Whatever this is about, we can come to an agreement.”
It was Keys who answered. “You should have left Lyric alone. She’s mine.”
“Ours,” Alena corrected. “Our family. You don’t have enough money in the world to make up for what you’ve put her through.”
“You don’t have any idea who you’re dealing with,” Leo said. “Seriously, you’re going to want to make a deal.”
“You’re the ones who have no idea who you’re dealing with, especially when you were stupid enough to take the bait,” Lana said. “Really? Did you think we’d want to party with you in any capacity?” Her voice was filled with contempt. “You do think a lot of yourselves.”
She kicked Leo in the chest, driving him back away from her.
The kick was strong enough that his spine smashed into the wall so hard that pictures crashed to the floor, sending glass shards scattering.
Lana followed the body down, jabbing him in the throat hard and then catching him around his neck, snapping it with a sudden jerk.
“Three minutes,” Alena said. “Get it done.”
Keys didn’t hesitate. He moved like lightning, catching Owen by the throat with crushing fingers and spinning him around and over one shoulder, breaking his neck.
“Three down. Miles will be four. Expect to hear any minute,” Keys said.
“Let’s get out the way we came in, people.
Make certain cameras are down.” He didn’t have to worry, he was wearing someone else’s face, but Lana and Alena had waltzed right in.
“We’ve got two houses and a warehouse to hit before we can go home. ”
Alena sighed. “Where another party awaits us.”
“Think of it like a barbecue,” Master advised. “Where we get to uncover a traitor or two.”
“The Johansens own a plumbing business,” Code reported, indicating a building on the corner of a long string of warehouses. “They store everything there.”
“Any security guards?” Alena asked. Her road name was “Torch” for a reason.
“Preacher and Ink checked it out thoroughly,” Code said. “You’re good to go.”
“Insurance?” Keys asked.
Code flashed a grin. “Well, you know, they started out with a very small insurance policy on this warehouse and both homes. They have huge numbers now, millions on both homes and this warehouse. They aren’t the smartest criminals when it comes to insurance fraud.
Not only did they suddenly change the policies, inflating numbers, but they immediately committed arson.
” He laughed. “Convenient those homes are next door to each other, all safe behind gates in one of those real upscale communities they wouldn’t let the likes of you in, Keys. ”
“Yeah, well, they didn’t let the likes of their daughter and sister into their little upscale community either.
They threw her away.” He still wasn’t entirely convinced he should let the three evil holier-than-thou assholes live.
Czar had talked him into a different type of lesson for them: wipe out everything they had and leave evidence of arson and insurance fraud.
It was so blatant that the policies would raise red flags instantly.
“Nice that we have three targets, so each of them can take the blame for a fire,” Master said. “I appreciate, by the way, that no one asked me to go to the prison to do Miles in.”
Keys sent him a slight frown. “Absinthe is working on expunging your record. I think it was very clear you’re not going to do the dirty work anymore. We have friends in that prison; they owe us a huge favor. Czar called it in. Miles will be dead by tomorrow morning.”
“Don’t like calling in favors for dirty work,” Steele said. “But in this case, it will be impossible to trace the hit back to us.”
“Lyric has several scars from where that fucker stabbed her with a knife. She was eighteen and thought he was a friend,” Keys said. “Hopefully, they’ll follow the same pattern on his body and let him know why he’s taking his last breath.”
“We sent them the request. If they can get that done, they will,” Code assured him.
“I want you to know, I would have gone back to prison to get this done for you and your woman, Keys,” Master stated without looking at him. His voice was gruff.
Keys nodded. “I know you would have, but then your woman would have sliced me into little pieces for letting that happen. She’s tiny but mighty. We all live in fear of her.” He was only partially kidding to make Master smile. Ambrielle wouldn’t hesitate to protect her husband.