Chapter Two
T he helicopter touched down on the concrete pad located at the rear of Dave’s estate.
Crow jumped out, then the pilot waved and lifted the bird into the sky. Sometimes it paid to work for people in power. He hefted his pack higher over his shoulder and headed down the walkway that wandered through the large grassy area between the landing pad and the back of the Santa Barbara estate.
Dave’s right-hand man stood in the doorway waiting for him.
“Thanks for this,” Crow told Stone when he entered the warmth of the home.
It was noisy with loud laughter coming from one of the rooms off the entryway.
“Kids are playing some new game Dave bought them,” Stone said, shutting the door and pointing to the stairs. “Your room is on the third floor, fourth door down on the left.”
“Thanks.” Crow started up the stairs but then paused when Dave spoke as he came out of his library that also served as the man’s study.
“Do you have time to go over your plan before you head out?” Dave asked.
Crow tipped his head. His plan? His only plan was to find Rebel and talk him into coming back to Nevada with him. If that didn’t work? He’d knock the kid out.
“Sure, let me shove this in the room,” Crow said and jogged up the stairs.
Roughly fifteen minutes after Crow arrived, he walked into Dave’s study.
“Coffee?” Dave asked.
“Please, black,” Crow said and settled into one of two large leather chairs in front of a wide window.
Dave filled two mugs and brought them over. Crow took the cup and sipped at the hot brew as Dave sat in the other chair cradling his own mug.
The garden beyond the window was thick with trees that changed with the season. September had the leaves turning from green to gold and some even orange.
“Why didn’t Rebel stay here?” Crow asked Dave.
“I don’t know. I think it was a combination of him feeling there were too many rules or it could have been because he quit Erebus after a week and thought he couldn’t stay here.” Dave sighed. “I never got a chance to ask and before I knew it, he was gone.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty crafty.” Crow nodded.
“So, what’s your plan?” Dave asked him and Crow sighed.
“I’m heading over there later this afternoon.”
“There?”
“The place where Rebel’s mother lives.”
“Is it a stable home?”
“Not hardly,” Crow admitted. “But he’s very committed to her.” Crow shifted, he hated that Rebel hung around that place.
“How did you meet Rebel?”
Crow gave a half snort. “I caught him breaking into my truck back when I was here helping on the Tanis case.”
“No shit,” Dave said and chuckled.
“Yup. He’s fast or I would have kicked his ass then,” Crow admitted.
“He must have been sixteen at the time.”
“Yeah, about that. He turned eighteen a month ago.” Crow only knew that because Savage had texted him a copy of Rebel’s ID. It was standard procedure for Erebus to keep phones and IDs while the assassins took on jobs. That way, the hits couldn’t be traced back to the organization.
At first, Crow thought everything was going fine, but after a week, Rebel quit Erebus. Which was all well and good, but the young man was out there killing. Thankfully, Rebel had only taken out demonic people, but the kid was so reckless, Crow knew it was only a matter of time before he did something he’d regret for the rest of his life.
Easy, he silently cautioned himself. He had no say in Rebel’s life. His only mission was to get the man to Nevada and the team there would do an intervention. And if Rebel couldn’t be saved?
Crow frowned.
“Plus, we had words back at the ranch when I tried to give him advice,” Crow told Dave.
Dave rubbed his chin in thought. “I see.”
“So…What happens if Rebel doesn’t want what Genesis is offering?” Crow asked.
“We haven’t come across that situation yet. If he doesn’t like Nevada, I’m having another facility built in Colorado,” Dave said.
“I know, but what if Rebel doesn’t want any part of any of it?”
Dave ran a tired hand down his face with a sigh. “Then we might have to have him locked up rather than have him out there doing god knows what without authority.”
Crow snorted with disbelief. “You do know that there are hundreds of black-market assassins out there. They advertise on the dark net.”
“I know. And there’s nothing we can do about that. For every good in the world, there is always a corresponding evil. For every criminal Erebus and Genesis take off the streets, there’s an innocent killed by the black-market assassins,” Dave said bleakly.
“How many of Solomon’s boys do you think ended up in the black market?” Crow asked.
“I’m sure most of them did.”
“So why pressure Rebel?” Crow squinted and took a swallow of his coffee.
“Because we know of Rebel.”
“And we don’t know the others,” Crow agreed.
“That’s right, and Solomon didn’t keep written records. But as we come across them, we’re going to bring them in. Just like we did with Boston, Beck, Cash, Apollo, and Azrael,” Dave murmured.
“So, I plan to stake out his mother’s neighborhood until I find him. Then I’ve got a sedative I’m going to give him. From there, I’ll get him to Nevada.”
“Use one of my SUVs and bring Rebel back here. You can take the chopper back to Nevada, it will be faster,” Dave suggested.
That sounded a hell of a lot better than renting a car to haul Rebel clear across the state.
“Thanks.” Crow took Dave up on the offer. “I’ll be in touch,” Crow finished and left the room, giving Stone a slow nod in passing.
Stone shoved from where he had been leaning against the doorjamb and approached Dave.
“What do you think of Crow?” Stone asked and settled into the chair vacated by Crow.
“He seems to be a straight shooter.”
“Yeah, I wanted to bring him to Erebus, but Real flat-out said no. Something about how the current SecDef would have a hissy fit.” Stone locked his fingers behind his head and stretched out his legs, crossing one combat boot over the other.
Dave ran his eyes over the badass operative and turned his attention to the gardens. He quickly took a sip of cooling coffee and grimaced.
“I don’t know Crow very well, but he’s been trained in the military and works for Genesis. He’ll get the job done.”
“What about you?”
“Me?” With surprise, Dave turned his attention to Stone. “What about me?”
“When are you making the move to Colorado?”
“Oh that.” Dave gave a slight smile. “They broke ground on the new facility, and I’d probably be in the way at the moment.”
“Are you selling this place?” Stone asked roughly.
“No.” Dave sounded shocked at the idea of parting with his Santa Barbara residence.
“Good.” Relief swept through Stone and with an abrupt nod, he stood and stalked out of the room. Lately, he couldn’t stay long around Dave because he was afraid he would do something stupid…like kiss the guy or beg him not to move out of state.
Dave watched Stone stride like a jungle cat from the room. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head against the back of the chair and cleared his mind.
It was far better to do that than to think of things he couldn’t have.