Room For One More (Herc's Mercs Book 8)

by Ari McKay

  “Got it.” Drew took the fob and then released his seatbelt as well. “Have the reinforcements keep back, okay? I’d prefer to handle Joe myself. I have a better idea about his headspace than the rest of you do.” He paused, drawing in a breath. “He’s skirting the edges of going dinky dau, Herc. You know what that means.”

  Cade raised a brow at Drew’s use of the old military slang term for someone on the verge of losing it. “Joe’s the last person I would expect that from. He’s a rock.”

  Drew shrugged. “With enough pressure, even rocks can shatter, and he’s had a lot of pressure, believe me. I don’t know about all of it, but I can guess. He’s carrying guilt and anger and jealousy and pain, and I think he’s close to the breaking point. So let me handle him, at least for the moment. If I can’t talk him down, I’ll conk him on the head and we’ll get him back that way.”

  Cade nodded slowly. “All right, Joker. You’ve had a hell of a lot of experience with PTSD, so I’ll defer to your judgment in this. Just… take care of him, okay? Finn’s not the only one who values him.”

  “Yeah.” Drew wasn’t sure of how much Cade knew about the triangle of he, Joe, and Finn, and what it was costing all of them, but he didn’t feel the need to elaborate. Not yet, at least. “Don’t worry, Herc. I’ll keep him safe. I promised Finn.”

  “You do that.” Cade nodded and then got out of the SUV. A minute later Drew was heading out of the parking lot and toward the airport, hoping that he’d get there before Joe did something drastic. Not that Drew gave a damn if Joe rendered Jalal Emani into microscopic bits if it made him feel better. The torturer deserved whatever he got. Drew wasn’t going to try to save Emani’s life—he was going to try to save Joe’s. Because there was no way Drew wanted to face Finn again without Joe safe and sound beside him.

  18

  It took Joe twenty minutes to reach the airport, five of which he spent on a brief diversion to retrieve a couple of items from his house, which fortunately was on the way. He also changed from the Hercules Security SUV into his own private vehicle, because taking an armored car loaded with weaponry onto the airport property was a sure way to get stopped and questioned, even with his company license and identification. Besides, for what he planned, he didn’t need a lot of firepower. He had his concealed carry weapons and two extra magazines. If he ended up using that much ammo to deal with Jalal Emani, he was probably a dead man anyway.

  His credentials got him into the general aviation section of the airport, where private planes were loaded and serviced. He’d been through the area many times, since he had a pilot’s license and was even qualified on the two helicopters Herc had bought for the company.

  At the gate to the private aviation hangars, Joe showed the guard the picture of his quarry. “Have you seen this guy? He’s meeting with my clients and isn’t answering his phone.”

  The guard squinted at the picture and then nodded. “Yeah, he came through about fifteen minutes ago. Headed for the G.A. terminal.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Joe set off toward the terminal. He parked the SUV and then reached for the laptop he’d picked up during his brief stop at home. Within sixty seconds he was looking at the flight plans filed by the pilots of the small private aircraft based out of the terminal. If Jalal Emani was making an escape, there would have to be a flight plan filed, and it would likely have been done in the last fifteen minutes.

  “Where are you, you son of a bitch?” he muttered as he scrolled through the flight lists. For a small airport, RDU was generally quite busy due to the presence of large corporations like SAS and the other players in the Research Triangle area. There were several listings, but then a new one popped up in the queue for an Eclipse 550 private jet, bound for Ottawa. “Gotcha!”

  It was only a few hundred meters to the hangar listed in the queue, and Joe left the SUV, hurrying toward it on foot. He had to be cautious, since he wasn’t sure if Jalal had any other allies still in play. He doubted it, but he was too close to his goal to risk getting careless now.

  As he approached the hangar, he kept close to the wall to avoid being spotted. When he reached the big doorway of the hangar, he peered around the corner, immediately spotting the Eclipse. The door of the plane was open, and he could see movement inside. He slipped into the hangar, drawing one of his guns and circling around so he could approach the plane out of sight of the door. Since he wasn’t sure how many adversaries he faced, he needed to get a closer look before rushing on board.

  Through the front windshield he could see only one person, and the guy definitely looked like Emani. He was wearing a headset and holding a clipboard, probably preflighting the plane as quickly as he could. But if Emani was the pilot, that was a good sign he was alone. Joe took a deep breath and made his move.

  Running fast and silent, he crossed the hangar floor out of Emani’s sightline and then ducked under the wing. Moving more slowly, he mounted the steps into the plane, keeping as silent as possible. Emani was muttering under his breath in Urdu, obviously annoyed at the list of checks to be performed before takeoff, but apparently not yet desperate enough to avoid the safety protocols. That meant he wasn’t expecting Joe’s presence, and that gave Joe the element of surprise.

  He moved up behind the pilot’s seat and then pressed the barrel of his gun to the back of Emani’s head. “I don’t think you’re going anywhere, Jalal,” he said softly in Urdu. “So put up your hands and get out of the seat, nice and slow, so we can have a talk.”

  Emani froze in place, obviously recognizing the feeling of a gun against his skull. He lifted his hands and slowly rose from the seat. Joe backed up, and Emani turned, his eyes widening as he caught sight of Joe.

  “You must be the one we were looking for. How nice of you to turn yourself in to me so I can take you back to Pakistan.”

  It was all bravado, Joe knew, but the guy had balls. “I might be going to Pakistan, but you aren’t,” Joe replied.

  “What, are you going to take me to jail?” Emani asked mockingly. “Tie me up and haul me in to face justice? You Americans are so weak on your own soil.”

  “Are we?” Joe smiled nastily and then lowered the barrel of his gun slightly. “No, I’m not taking you in to face justice, I’m going to dispense it myself.” With that he squeezed the trigger, shooting Emani in the leg.

  The man cried out, his leg buckling, sending him toppling to the floor. The shot had made little sound because of Joe’s suppressor, so he wasn’t worried about attracting too much attention.

  “That’s for what you did to Finn’s leg,” he continued. “Now, we can have a conversation about your employer. I’m told you are after me because I killed your head honcho’s son. I want the name, and I want it now. Or so help me, my next shot will be between your eyes.”

  “Go to hell!” Emani was holding his thigh, trying to staunch the bleeding. “I won’t tell you!”

  “I see you need some more persuasion.” Joe stepped closer. “Let’s see if you can take it as well as you dish it out.” Joe drew back his foot and then kicked Emani in the ribs as hard as he could. He actually felt the snap as ribs broke. “How about now? Want to tell me?”

  Emani’s face was twisted in pain. Joe felt nothing—no satisfaction, no hatred, nothing at all. He needed information, and he was prepared to do whatever it took to get it.

  “No!” Emani gasped, glaring at Joe in defiance.

  Joe shrugged and then moved again, lifting his foot. He pressed it against the ribs he’d just broken. Emani squirmed, cursing at Joe in Urdu, but Joe didn’t relent. He pressed harder, knowing that he was probably causing internal damage, but not much caring. “How about now?”

  Apparently Emani’s ability to handle pain wasn’t as great as his ability to inflict it. “Stop! Stop! I’ll tell you!”

  Joe eased his foot back, but kept his gun pointed at Emani’s head. “I’m listening.”

  “Ismail Abbasi is my employer. You killed his son Farrokh, and he wants you dead i
n return.” Recovering a bit of his bravado, Emani sneered. “He won’t stop, you know. I may have failed, but he will send others, again and again, making your life the hell you made his.”

  “Not if I put an end to it.” Joe didn’t feel victorious, just a slight sense of satisfaction that he now had a name. “And speaking of endings, I think it’s time to put some closure on this. And make sure that you never hurt anyone I love ever again.”

  With that, he began to squeeze the trigger, fully intending to kill Emani and make sure Finn was safe.

  “Joe! Stop!” A familiar voice made him pause, and he glanced back to see Drew rushing up from behind.

  Joe frowned, annoyed at the unexpected interruption. Why did it have to be Drew, of all people? “You shouldn’t be here. Go back to Finn. You need to take care of him while I’m gone.”

  “Finn is just fine.” Drew stood beside Joe and rested one hand on his shoulder. “We’re more concerned about you.”

  “I’m fine, too.” Joe didn’t lower the gun, keeping it trained on Emani. “You should go. You don’t want to be a witness to what I have to do.”

  “You don’t have to do it,” Drew said, his voice low and gentle, and he squeezed Joe’s shoulder. “I’m sure this asshole has enough on his record to get sent away for life. He’s not worth killing.”

  Joe considered for a moment. He’d not thought beyond getting rid of Emani to eliminate the threat to Finn, but maybe Drew had a point. “I can’t stick around for the cops. I need to get to Pakistan.” He glanced at Drew. “And I warn you, I’m not going to let you stop me. I have to do this. I have to make sure no one comes after Finn.”

  “Then let’s truss him up and call Herc,” Drew said. “Let him handle it. We’ll head on to Pakistan.”

  “What do you mean, we?” Joe shrugged off Drew’s hand. “This is my problem. Not yours. I’ll handle it. Trust me, you don’t want to be involved. This whole situation takes fucked up to a new level.”

  Drew moved to face Joe and fixed him with a relentless stare. “After you left, Finn and I had a talk. We agreed that you’re a stubborn dumbass, but you’re our stubborn dumbass, so one of us needed to go with you to make sure you don’t do anything stupid. Finn couldn’t, so here I am, and this is definitely my problem, too. I want both of you to be safe.”

  While Joe no longer thought that Drew had it in for him, and had even started to trust him a little, he had no doubt Drew was there only because Finn requested it. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be much Joe could do about it at the moment, so he’d have to let Drew ride along. But Joe had a plan, and it didn’t involve taking anyone with him, so he’d just have to lose Drew as soon as he could. “Fine. I don’t have time to argue the point with you right now. This plane has a takeoff window in about ten minutes, and I intend to use it.”

  “Then let’s get him secured and be on our way,” Drew said, appearing satisfied.

  “You want him secured, you do it.” Joe holstered his gun and then stepped over Emani. He slid into the pilot’s seat. “I have to finish preflighting the plane.”

  “On it,” Drew said. “Won’t take but a couple minutes.”

  Joe shrugged and picked up the headset, putting it on before reaching for the clipboard. If Drew wanted the guy alive, it was now his problem. If he didn’t make it back to the plane in time, Joe was leaving, no matter what. Dismissing Emani from his mind, he turned his attention to readying the plane for takeoff.

  Less than five minutes later, Drew dropped into the copilot’s seat. “Package is secured in the hangar and ready for pick up. The delivery service will be here shortly.”

  Joe didn’t acknowledge the comment, instead turning his attention to the telltales and seeing that Drew had secured the door. “Fasten your seatbelt. We’re cleared to head to the runway.”

  The next phase of Joe’s plan was underway. Ismail Abbasi was already a dead man. He just didn’t know it yet.

  19

  Drew emerged from the bathroom with a towel secured around his waist, his skin still rosy from the heat of his shower. He rubbed his short hair dry with a hand towel as he sauntered over to the king-sized bed he’d claimed. Joe was stretched out on the other king bed, focused on his laptop and seemingly not paying attention to Drew, which wasn’t unusual. Joe behaved as if he wanted to ignore Drew out of existence—or at least out of his and Finn’s lives. But for now, Joe was stuck with Drew because he wasn’t about to let Joe go to Pakistan alone.

  Joe had flown them to Dulles while Drew contacted Herc about getting them on the first available flight to Pakistan. He didn’t bother hiding that he was asking Herc for help; they had the resources, so they might as well use them. If anyone could pull strings on their behalf, it would be Herc, but the earliest they could leave was on a nine o’clock flight the next morning, so Drew arranged for a hotel room as well.

  Fortunately, there were plenty of shops in and around the hotel, so Drew could buy clothes, toiletries, a carry-on, and a charger for his phone. Joe had stopped by his house and picked up everything he needed on his way to find Emani, but Drew only had his wallet, passport, and the clothes on his back, and while he was no stranger to roughing it, he felt like he’d done his fair share already during all the years he’d spent deployed in the desert. These days, he intended to enjoy the comforts of air conditioning, clean clothes, and regular showers.

  “Bathroom’s all yours if you want it.” Drew loosened the towel around his waist and let it drop as he reached for a pair of black boxer briefs on the bed, not thinking twice about flashing his ass. He’d left body modesty behind in boot camp, and besides, if Joe saw anything he’d never seen before, he could throw his hat at it.

  Joe glanced up, though if he was surprised to find Drew naked he didn’t show it. Instead he perused Drew’s body in an almost clinical fashion, one brow raised. “Thanks. I’ll shower in a few minutes.”

  Drew wasn’t sure whether to be amused or offended by the dispassionate appraisal, but he settled on amused. “Like what you see?” he asked, unable to resist teasing Joe just to see if he could get a reaction.

  JOE FROWNED AND THEN SHRUGGED. “You have a good body, and you know it,” he said. “I was a little curious, that’s all.”

  “Not bad for forty-four, eh?” Drew smiled wryly as he got dressed in the boxer briefs, a pair of gray sweatpants, and a Museum of Air and Space T-shirt. “Of course, I have to work a lot harder at it now than I did a few years ago.”

  Joe sighed quietly and then looked back at his computer screen. “Finn seems to like it. I guess that’s all that matters.”

  “He hasn’t voiced any complaints so far. I don’t have any complaints about his either.” Drew tossed his damp towels back into the bathroom and then went back to stretch out on his bed. “I haven’t gotten to see yours yet, though, so I can’t venture an opinion.”

  Joe looked up again, and there was a flash of something in his eyes. Drew wasn’t sure if it was pride, or temper, or maybe even challenge, but it wasn’t as cold as the expression Joe normally showed him. “Why would you even care?” he asked. He closed his laptop and then put it aside and rose to his feet. “I don’t have anything I’m ashamed of.”

  “I care about as much as any gay man cares when looking at a hot guy,” Drew said with a little shrug. “You’re an attractive man when you’re not glaring at me like you wish you could kill me with your brain.”

  Joe grimaced and then ran a hand through his hair and muttered something under his breath in Russian about not losing his temper. “Look, I’m trying to make the best of things, okay? I realize you aren’t out to sabotage me with Finn, and you proved that you can be trusted. I don’t want you dead, because yeah, that would hurt Finn, and Finn has suffered enough because of me. But this isn’t easy. I don’t know you, I don’t know what you really want. I don’t even understand why you’re here. I don’t need a babysitter, and I’m not even sure I need your help.”

  “I’m here because Finn and I agreed
we don’t want you going on this mission alone,” Drew said in the patient tone he usually reserved for small children—or grown men who acted like small children. “What I want…. Well, there are layers to that.” He leaned against the plump pillows and stacked his hands behind his head. “In the short term, I want to eliminate the threat to you and Finn. I’m here as your partner, not your babysitter, and while you may not think you need help, Finn and I do. As for not knowing me, that could change on this little road trip. I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better.”

  There was no mistaking the look of cold anger on Joe’s face. “Don’t patronize me. You may have been an XO at Lawson & Greer, but you sure as hell aren’t my boss.”

  “No, I’m not your boss, but I know a brat when I see one,” Drew said. Given that Joe already hated him for existing, he didn’t see how he could make things worse by being blunt. Hell, maybe Joe would come to respect his straightforward approach. Stranger things had happened.

  Instead of giving Drew a glare or an icy reply, Joe’s head rocked back as if Drew had slapped him. His face turned white, and he abruptly spun away, walking quickly toward the bathroom as though he couldn’t tolerate being in Drew’s presence for another moment—or maybe because he was trying to hide something he didn’t want Drew to see.

  Drew watched him go, deciding not to say anything for now. He got the sense that he’d stepped on something painful, and he intended to apologize, but Joe might be more receptive after a little time and space. Instead, he picked up a book from the stack on the nightstand. They had a long trip ahead of them, so he’d bought several books to keep him occupied on the flights.

  After a couple of minutes of silence, Drew heard water running in the shower. It ended a short time later. After another short pause, Joe walked out of the bathroom completely naked.