“I believe so. I tried getting ahold of him, but all his phones are shut down.”
I swore and walked away from Brunswick. We had a killer on the loose, going after a senator with no remorse. That didn’t bode well for the rest of us.
“If he got to Cortez, he could get to any of us.”
“That’s if Cortez gave us up,” Brunswick said hesitantly.
“What’s your opinion on this? What are the chances that Knight would get that information out of him?”
He just raised an eyebrow at me.
“Where do we go from here?”
“We have to put a stop to him. I know you didn’t want to go full force on this, but that time is up. If we don’t get this situation under control right now, we risk losing everything. And not just the project. This guy is not someone you mess with. He’ll come after us, and he won’t stop until we’re all dead.”
“So, give him back his wife,” I said frustratedly. “Just hand her over and end it.”
He shook his head. “That won’t work. You’re not listening. We already fucked with him. He’s not just walking away. Once he gets his wife back, he’s coming for all of us! We have to get in there and cut the head off while we can. Use the element of surprise, while he’s still vulnerable.”
I hated it. This was never supposed to get so far out of control, and I began to wonder if any of it was worth what we would gain in the end. But we were in too deep now. If what he was saying was correct, the only thing we could do was wipe out the threat.
“Do it.”
Brunswick nodded, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him in close to me, lowering my voice to a threatening level.
“But you make sure this is finished or I’ll make sure you’re finished.”
He jerked out of my grasp and scoffed. “If this doesn’t work, we’re all finished.”
Chapter Eleven
Cap
I paced the office in Cazzo’s house, trying to figure out my next move. I had a senator in the basement, which wasn’t wholly a problem, if I planned on getting rid of him. But I wasn’t so sure that killing him off was the way to go. A man like him should pay for his crimes, but by bringing those to attention, he had to be alive. Before I could even think of making Cortez pay for his crimes, I needed to find out everything I could and help Blake get out of the mess she was now wrapped up in. I promised her and her family that I wouldn’t let her down. The problem was, I didn’t have any contacts that I trusted at the moment. This thing was too big, and if I picked the wrong person to trust, it would hurt us all.
“Hey, boss,” Storm knocked and then entered. “Uh, just so you know, Cole’s here.”
“Great. Just fucking perfect. Stall him for me or something.”
His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he pointed to his chest. “You want me to stall Cole for you? When his cousin is missing and you didn’t bother to tell him? No way. Not gonna happen.”
“Come on. Be a team player. Do this for me.”
“I did my part to be a team player. I helped out when your wife dragged Jessica through the creepy house of horrors and then had her baby in the pit. I was a team player when you all wanted to go play Ghostbusters in the haunted house. I was even a team player when I wasn’t even on the fucking team yet. You can’t ask me to step between you and the man that wants to kill you.”
“I just need some fucking time. I’m trying to find a way to get information on Blake. She’s being held by the FBI and I have no fucking clue how to find out what’s going on with her. I need just a little fucking time before one more person comes to me and-”
“What about Jessica’s grandmother’s friend?”
“Who?”
“Remember Elsie? She’s part of the old lady gang that beats up on the men around town, Hunter and Derek in particular.”
“What about her?”
Storm sighed in frustration. “Her husband was an agent. She still has contacts inside the FBI.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know them.”
“But she does, and chances are, they’re old school. They’re not going to like these younger guys coming in and trying to change the way they do shit. I bet if you ask her, she could put you in contact with someone.”
“Get me her contact information,” I snapped. I would take any help I could get at this point.
“Sebastian!” Cole shouted as he stormed through the front door.
Storm turned to rush out of the room and I grabbed for his shirt, but he squirmed away from me, shooting me a funny look as he ran for it. Cole pushed past him into the room and rushed me. I ran around the conference table, doing everything I could to avoid him. I was running in circles around the table, staying just out of reach of him. I tossed a chair down in his path and laughed when he got tripped up. But I didn’t see him turn and run in the other direction. My eyes widened as my feet skidded to a halt. I climbed up on the table to run away, but he was faster, grabbing at my ankle and yanking me off my feet. My face bounced off the table, and then he was dragging me back to him. I scrambled to grab onto anything I could, but the table was smooth, and the few papers that sat on the table weren’t going to save my life. Or were they?
I grabbed the papers and slashed out at his face. He flinched back, cursing at the paper cuts I gave him. “Goddamnit, that hurt!”
I held the papers out like a weapon, ready to attack if he tried to come near me again.
“What? Are you going to hold me hostage with papers?”
“If I have to,” I said with conviction.
“Paper cuts don’t scare me.”
“Don’t make me do it, man.”
He glared, moving slightly, and I shoved the papers at him once again. He held up his hands in surrender, backing off slowly. I slipped off the table, backing away from him as I held the papers up. “Now, let’s just talk about this like calm, rational adults.”
“Did you forget to tell me something?”
“I didn’t forget. Hunter called you.”
“Hunter isn’t my friend,” he sneered.
“No, no he’s not, but he’s Knight’s best friend,” I countered, “and he is responsible for all things to do with Knight.”
“It should have come from you, and you should have called as soon as she was taken.”
“Look, I understand you’re upset, but attacking me isn’t going to change anything.”
“No, but it sure will make me feel better,” he said, lunging for me. I held the papers up in defense, but he blew right through them, slamming his fist into my face. I blocked as much as I could, punching back where I was able and kicking to get him off me. I finally tossed the heavy fucker off and stood back from him, heaving in deep breaths.
“I’m sorry, man. We’re doing everything we can to find her.”
“Are you? Tell me what the fuck you’re doing.”
“Knight’s working on-”
“Knight works alone. What are you doing about it?”
“There’s a lot going on here that you have no clue about. This isn’t just about Kate getting taken. There are other things at play.”
“I only care about getting Kate back. I don’t give a shit about all that other stuff.”
“In order to find Kate, we need that other stuff. Cole, this is…I’m not sure exactly what this is yet, but it’s fucking huge. We’ve got the FBI breathing down our necks and if we don’t figure out what’s going on and fast, we’re going to lose any chance of finding out where Kate is.”
“And why is Kate missing? Why not your wife?” he sneered.
“You know it’s not that simple. It’s not like I traded one life for another. And don’t forget what Maggie already did for Kate.”
His eyes softened and he nodded. “That was out of line. I’m sorry.”
“I know you’re pissed. We all are, but we have to find out what’s going on first. Did you bring Alex along?”
“Yeah, she’s in the panic room with the ladies.”
; “Good.”
“So, what can I do? Where’s Knight?”
“He’s sleeping off a drug hangover. Hunter had to sedate him so he didn’t kill a senator we need information from.”
“A senator?” he scoffed, running his hand over his scruff. “Leave it to Knight to attack a senator.”
“You know he would do anything for Kate.”
He nodded slightly. “I’m still pissed at you.”
“Yeah, well, when this is all over, you can take me in the ring.”
“Just don’t bring any fucking paper. Pussy,” he muttered as he walked out of the room.
“Elsie, this is Sebastian Reed at Reed Security.”
“Yes, I remember you.”
“I’m in a bit of a tight spot and I was wondering if you still had any friends at the bureau?”
“I don’t have any friends at the bureau, but I do have some…friends that know things. What exactly do you need?”
“I need someone that’s discreet and wants to fight back against people that are willing to use their power to gain even more power.”
There was silence for a moment. “I think I know someone that can help you, but he gets paid in favors.”
“I don’t have a problem with that.”
“Then you must be in more trouble than you realize. Send me an address and I’ll have him meet you.”
“Uh, we’re kind of all in the same place. We’re not in the office because the feds are on our ass.”
She chuckled lightly. “I don’t think he’ll have a problem with that. Send me the information and I’ll get ahold of him.”
“Thank you, Elsie.”
“You’re welcome.”
I sighed in relief. Finally, something was going our way. But I didn’t know how long it would take for him to get back to us. In the meantime, I still needed to find out what I could from the senator. There was still a huge chunk of the puzzle missing.
Becky appeared in the doorway, a strange look on her face. “Um…Cap, you have a collect call from the state prison.”
I jerked back in surprise. Who the hell did I know at the prison? Nobody, but with all the strange things that were happening lately, I couldn’t really afford not to take the call.
“Put it through.”
I picked up my line and waited for it to connect. “Sebastian, my man! It’s so good to hear your voice!”
“Who is this?” I snarled into the phone.
“I know, I miss you too. How’s little Michael doing?”
Michael? Shit, Parker. “Uh…he’s good. How are you doing?”
“A little rough, to be honest, but I’ve gotten a few visitors lately, so that’s made the time easier.”
“Who was there?”
“You remember my old pal, Denny? Yeah, he stopped by for a visit. I should have known though, he only wanted my old gambling book.”
Gambling book? What the fuck is that? He must be talking about the journal. “Yeah? Did you give it to him?”
“Yeah, he seemed to want it really bad, but I told him to go fuck himself,” he laughed. “I’ll probably get in trouble for that one, but that’s just the way shit goes sometimes. Anyway, my time is up. Tell Blake I said hi.”
The line went dead and I stood there for a minute just processing all that. Shit. Parker was in jail, and if he was getting the same treatment as Blake, there was no way in hell I was getting him out unless I found the evidence I needed to prove the senator was crooked.
“Who was that?” Becky asked.
“Someone from inside the prison. Parker’s there. Dennick really wants that journal, so let’s figure out whatever it is that’s so important in there, so we can get him the fuck out.”
Chapter Twelve
Knight
I woke up to a pounding headache and the worst case of cotton mouth I could ever remember. Where the fuck was Cortez? And why was I laying down in a fucking bed? I needed to get out of here. I needed to find Kate. If someone had gotten the drop on me, that meant that Hunter was in trouble too. I couldn’t have two people’s lives on my conscience.
A flash of Cortez lying on the ground, taunting me and taking his life in his own hands swirled in a haze in my mind. Wait, I had been there. I was about to kill him and then it all went to shit. What had happened?
I tried to sit up, but my arm jerked and kept me down. I was in the medic room. Looking down, I saw a fucking handcuff around my wrist, keeping me tied down to the bed.
“What the fuck is this?”
Hunter sat up in the corner, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “I figured you might be a little pissed when you woke up, so I decided to keep my life safe for just a few more hours.”
“You did this?” I accused.
He sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Hud, you were about to kill someone that could give us information on what the hell is going on.”
“I don’t give a shit about what’s going on anymore. All that matters is Kate.”
“Maybe to you, but you dragged us all into this. It’s not just Kate’s life that’s on the line anymore. Blake was arrested, and you know they’re not going easy on her. And Cap just got word not too long ago that Parker was arrested.”
“I told him he shouldn’t go see Keira.”
“But he did, and now they have him. Now that this is all set in motion, we have to see it through and figure out what the fuck is going on that’s so dangerous that we have the government breathing down our necks.”
As he talked, I found a paperclip on the table next to the bed and picked the lock, then scooted to the end of the bed. God, my head was fucked up right now. I needed coffee to set me straight. Hunter stood and walked over to the counter, getting a syringe and filling it with liquid.
“If you think you’re coming near me with that, you’re about to get it shoved into your neck.”
He tapped at the syringe and turned to me with an exasperated expression. “Relax, I had to knock you out last night. This will help with the side effects.”
I watched him warily as he approached. I trusted Pappy with my life, but right now, he had a different agenda than me, and I couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t give me something else just to achieve those goals. But as he stepped up to me and smirked, I knew that was more along the lines of something I would do than he would.
“Still don’t trust me, Hud? After all these years. After I broke you out of that transport and stood by your side through all that shit with Kate, you still think I would turn my back on you?”
“I don’t trust anyone when it comes to Kate,” I said as he plunged the needle into my arm.
His eyes flicked to mine. “There was a time that you did.”
I nodded slowly. I had asked him to watch over Kate when I had “died”. I put her life in his hands, because I couldn’t be there with her as much as I needed. He didn’t even know I was alive, but he had still forgiven me when he found out.
“I’m not gonna screw you over. I know what your main objective is. But is it really too much to ask that the rest of us can interrogate our only source of information before you kill him? You don’t even have to be in the room.”
I knew he was right. They could have at Cortez all they wanted. I needed to get back to looking for Kate. I pushed off the bed and stalked for the door, grabbing my jacket off the chair on the way.
“Hey, Hud-”
Whatever he was going to say, he didn’t get to finish it. The alarms sounded around the building, signaling an incoming attack. Hunter’s eyes flashed to mine just a split second before we both ran out the door toward the control room. Everyone was filtering in, trying to find out what was going on.
“Three inbound helicopters,” Becky called out.
“How far out?” Cap barked.
“Half a mile.”
“Cazzo, Chris, and Jackson, get on the guns and be ready to fire.”
The three of them ran out of the room.
“What?” Sinner
asked in astonishment. “You know that’s my job.”
“Sinner, you get the SUV,” Cap said irritatedly. “Gabe, you’re driving.”
“Drones are up and running,” Rob confirmed. “Should I set them to firing mode?”
“Standby.” Cap leaned over the desk and looked closely at the incoming helicopters. “Switch to firing mode. If these fuckers are here for us, we need to be prepared.”
“What about the women and children? Are they all in the bunkers?” I asked.
“They should be.”
“Negative,” Becky said. “We had a training session going on in the kid’s training center. It looks like the panic room closed down before they could get there.”
I raced out of the IT room, a few of the guys on my heels as we booked it down to the weapons room. I snatched what I could and grabbed an earpiece, shoving it in as I took off toward the training center. I ran outside, but it took us too long, and by the time we got there, the helicopters were already firing at us.
“Where the fuck did they get a Gatling gun?” Hunter shouted as we dove for cover behind a building.
“Did they steal a fucking helicopter?” Derek asked.
“Someone has connections,” I said, getting the grenade launcher ready. “Cover me,” I shouted, running out to get into position to fire. I saw the gun on the helicopter turn to me. I felt the pavement breaking apart as the gunfire hit close to me, but I held steady. I wouldn’t get many shots at this. I fired just as one of the bullets nicked my leg. My shot was true, flying right through the goddamn windshield and taking out the pilot. The helicopter spun out of control, heading straight for the ground. I started running, ignoring the biting pain in my calf as I headed for the training center. Hunter and Derek were running toward me, firing at something over my shoulder, but I only had one objective right now.
Men rappelled down ropes from the second helicopter, running for cover and blocking my entrance to the training center. But then I saw one of them slamming a sticky bomb against the lock and I understood what this was about.
GoodKnight: A Reed Security Romance Page 6