“He’s probably already dead, Ian.” Rowe shook his head. “These kinds of guys don’t play around.”
“We don’t know that. And I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t try to help him.” Ian knew he sounded belligerent, but he could also tell they weren’t all totally with him on this. Not that he could blame him. He was demanding they risk their lives for a guy who had been trying to destroy Ian. “You’ve got some new toys you want to try out, right?”
Rowe perked up a little, but it was Dom who spoke first. “Ooooh…the new doorbuster and the lighter night-vision goggles. They need a field test.” Ian saw Dom and Garrett grin at each other like a pair of kids at Christmas.
“Maybe I’ll let you pick the code names,” Ian pressed when Rowe didn’t look totally sold. Dom and Garrett were a good start, but he knew he needed Rowe and Noah in on this mission. He’d be happy if Lucas and Snow returned home to their respective spouses.
Rowe twisted a little to look over at Noah. “You wanna go take down a drug lord?”
Noah shrugged nonchalantly, but Ian could see that he was barely holding back his grin. “It has been months since we blew up that building. Could be interesting. Also…code names.”
“I want a good one,” Ian interjected.
“You’re not going!” Rowe and Lucas said at the same time.
Ian narrowed his eyes and got ready to argue as fury erupted in his chest, but Hollis surprised him by speaking up.
“This is Ian’s mission. Hell yes, he’ll be there. And he should get to pick the code names.”
Dom spoke up. “He should get to come. You can put him in body armor.” The redhead was sitting in one of the chairs next to the conference table.
Garrett snorted and ran his hand over his short black hair. “We’re all gonna be in body armor if we’re going into a place like that. Those dudes will be armed to the teeth.”
“Then let’s do this.” Rowe rubbed his hands together. “I’ve got all kinds of goodies we can break out. Body armor, sniper rifles, and some new tranq guns.”
The others burst into questions.
The talk over just what would be needed nearly frightened Ian out of going, but he didn’t let it. He’d been left out of a lot of these missions over the years and this one was his, dammit. His restaurant had been set on fire, and he felt responsible for the situation Max was in, even though logically he understood he wasn’t. Not entirely.
Max had made his choices in life after getting free of Jagger, but Ian had been honest when he’d said he was the one lucky enough to meet Lucas, Snow, and Rowe. And while he’d never wish that were different, he could understand where Max was coming from.
“I managed to find some floor plans for the place,” Quinn announced into the noise of the room.
All the guys and Gidget quieted and gathered around his computer to study them. Hollis rubbed his hand up and down Ian’s back, and Ian leaned into him. This was taking too long, and all he could think about was Max and what he was going through right then.
Were they beating him?
Was Rowe right and had they killed him already?
All the shit Max had done to him paled when compared to that. He leaned harder into Hollis, who wrapped an arm around him. He was thankful his husband had spoken up in his defense. Lucas, Snow, and Rowe would always try to protect him. Not that Hollis didn’t feel the same way—they were just on equal footing, and Hollis never let him forget that.
“We need to hurry,” Ian said, feeling antsy and worried.
Rowe nodded and led everyone down to his toy room to get them outfitted. Ian held back, his hand on Hollis’s arm to stop him from following.
“You okay with all this?”
Hollis smiled down at him and cupped his face. He kissed him briefly. “Yes. You have a big, big heart, and it’s one of the reasons I love you so much.”
“But I’m putting everyone in danger over this, and a part of me is feeling pretty damn bad about that.”
“These guys wouldn’t do this if they didn’t feel it’s right on some level. Even I feel bad for the kid.”
“He’s not a kid—he’s probably around twenty-seven years old. Remember, I was a little older than Jagger liked them when he got me.”
Hollis grimaced. “Yeah, but Max never got to be a kid. Like you.” Hollis kissed him again. “This is someone who had all his rights taken away, and then he was thrown out onto the streets after living a nightmare. I can understand why you want to help him.”
“It could have been me, Hollis.”
Hollis pulled him in for a hug. “But it’s not you, and I for one am glad. I never would have met you if you hadn’t taken the life path you did. I’m the luckiest husband on Earth.”
Ian smiled into his sooty jacket. He hugged him back and pulled him toward the door. “Come on, let’s go look at what Rowe’s showing everyone.”
All the guys picked out their “toys.” Gidget and Quinn were going to work remotely with them and watch for cops. Gidget was also going to work her magic and take the power down at the site.
Ian was given two guns, one a tranq and one real. They felt weird in his hands, but he didn’t share that feeling, not wanting everyone to be more nervous than they already were about arming him. Years ago, Ian had gotten some shooting lessons from Lucas and Rowe as a “just in case.” Ian had been sure he’d never hold a gun again after those lessons, but life takes strange turns. Lucas and Noah took him into the firing range for a quick refresher course, but Ian knew he’d need a lot more than one lesson to be comfortable shooting a gun.
It wasn’t long before they were piling into SUVs and driving through the dark, quiet streets of Cincinnati. There was a strange hush to the city this early in the morning, but Ian knew a lot of that strangeness was linked to what he was about to do. Raid a known drug den.
He looked over at Hollis to find his husband watching him closely. His man was worried about taking him on this mission despite his earlier words. Not that he blamed him. Ian was a freaking chef, after all, not an ex-cop.
As they drew closer to the warehouse, Ian’s nerves threatened to eat him alive. He ran his sweaty palms down his slacks.
A memory of flames licking their way through Rialto flashed through his mind, and his heart threatened to break. Ian violently shoved that worry to the side. He needed to keep his head in this. Not only was his life on the line, but the lives of his family and friends. He wanted all of them returning home safe and sound at the end of this.
They parked several blocks away and one by one, the men drifted into the night carrying their weapons. Ian, gripping his gun with sweaty hands, followed on Hollis’s heels.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hollis crouched down behind a car, a gun clenched tightly in his right fist as he tried to ignore the cold. It had rained earlier in the evening, leaving the pavement damp and peppered with puddles. His shoes were already soaked. But the physical discomfort was nothing compared to the fear and panic battling it out in his chest. Ian was squatting behind the car with a gun.
Ian was holding a gun.
His sweet, loving, soft-hearted husband had a gun.
It was something he never thought he’d see or even have to contemplate. There was no one kinder or more loving than Ian. Hollis couldn’t fathom Ian ever shooting someone.
But there had been no way any of them was going to allow Ian into this drug warehouse without a weapon to protect himself. As it was, they’d already cleaned Rowe out of body armor. Noah and Lucas had pulled Ian aside and given him some tips on using the weapon along with a few minutes in the firing range. Hollis knew they were all praying that Ian never had to squeeze the trigger. That the gun was a last resort in case the entire operation went pear-shaped fast.
There had been no point in calling the cops. Trying to explain everything and then convincing them to lead a raid on the place for one poor guy with a history of drugs and prostitution was a waste of time Max didn’t have. There was
a small part of Hollis that wanted to just leave Max to the drug dealers holding him. The guy had hurt Ian, Sean, and Wade. He’d made his choices in life, and he had to suffer the consequences. Particularly if they put Ian in danger.
But Hollis could too easily see Ian’s point of view.
Were it not for a small whim of fate or luck, that could have so easily been Ian. If Jagger had chosen Max over Ian. If Lucas, Snow, and Rowe had met Max instead of Ian, would they have helped him, saved him? Would Ian have been left behind to be tortured for several more years before being tossed to the streets without a penny to his name?
Hollis knew in the end, it had been Ian’s drive and determination that got the man to not depend on Lucas and the others. He worked hard to become a great chef and open an amazing restaurant. He worked hard to have the incredible life he had.
But it also didn’t hurt that Ian had a great base from which to rise. Lucas, Snow, and Rowe gave him a loving, stable environment from which to recover and find himself.
Max never had that.
He could now, though, if he’d just listen to Ian and let him help.
Of course, that was assuming they all got out of this insane plan alive so they could even offer to help Max.
A hand gripped Hollis’s shoulder and squeezed. He twisted around and saw Ian’s worried eyes watching him while a weak smile lifted the corners of his mouth. Hollis wished he could reassure Ian that he had no regrets. That he was there because he’d do anything to make Ian happy, that he was there because it was the right thing to do.
But there was no denying he’d prefer that his heart was far from this place, maybe even back at Ward Security with Quinn and Gidget.
But Ian had a right to be there. As much as any of them did.
Max didn’t deserve to be left behind a second time.
“All right, kids,” Rowe drawled in their ears through the coms they were all wearing.
Hollis smirked and looked over his shoulder at Ian, who rolled his eyes. Hollis had heard so many tales about the infamous Rowe and Noah assaults with the crazy weapons and code names, but he’d been involved in only the small one with Rowe, Noah, and Ian down in Kentucky and then the crazy operation at Union Terminal against Jagger.
Good to know that if the police got wind of this, they were all going to jail together.
“Is everyone in position? Check in,” Rowe continued.
Ian winked at him, some of the worry and fear finally leaving his eyes. “Dorothy and Toto are in position outside the western entrance. No guards.”
There was a low snicker, but it was too soft for Hollis to identify. Yeah, he was Toto to Ian’s Dorothy, but he didn’t care. As soon as the plan was being sketched out, Ian quickly announced that he had the theme for code names decided. No one grumbled. Apparently, it was becoming understood that the family member behind the mission got to pick the code names.
It didn’t hurt to hear the enthusiasm in Ian’s voice. He was finally being included in a mission, in the secret plans of Rowe, Snow, and Lucas. Hollis just could have done without risking Ian’s life in the process.
“Wicked Witch and Flying Monkey outside the front door,” Noah said, referring to him and Dominic. “Two visible guards.”
“Glenda on the roof,” Garrett announced. “No guards, but the door is sealed shut. I’m going down through the skylight.”
“Shit. I knew I should have picked the roof,” Dom muttered. “Did you bring the flamethrower?”
“No, Wicked Witch confiscated it,” Garret grumbled.
“Damn straight I confiscated that. It’s not a toy!” Noah snapped. “Plus, I didn’t get to play with it before it ran out of fuel.”
“Focus, gang,” Rowe interrupted, putting them on track again.
“Scarecrow is in the crow’s nest,” Lucas said darkly.
Hollis had been initially surprised to hear that Lucas was taking up the sniper position, when it was supposed to be one of Noah’s specialties, but apparently Lucas was damn good with a gun, particularly at a distance. He also suspected that it was Rowe’s attempt to keep the daddy out of the line of fire as much as possible.
“Confirming two guards out front. I can see at least two more people walking around in a room on the second floor. I’m blind to the rest of the warehouse. No one approaching,” Lucas continued.
“Wizard in position and sees all,” Gidget chimed in from her remote position at the office. “They’ve got a security system. Fancy one. Lots of cameras. Everything is quiet in our part of town on the police bands. Standing by.”
“Lion and Tin Man at the south entrance. We’ve got one guard,” Rowe finished the roll call.
“I don’t understand why I had to be the Tin Man,” Snow mumbled.
“It’s a perfect fit for you.” It sounded like Ian was just barely holding back his laughter.
“Should have made him a member of the Lollipop Guild,” Lucas added.
“Shut up, Scarecrow.”
“Shut up, everyone,” Rowe snarled. “Wizard? You ready?”
“Yep!”
“Work your magic.”
Hollis held his breath as he waited. A couple of seconds ticked by with nothing, and then it was like watching a wave of darkness sweep over the city as one block after another went down. There were no lights for as far as they could see. An eerie hush fell over everything, suffocating and thick. The sounds of cars was softer and farther away than they had been. Crickets and other night creatures stopped stirring and seemed to hold their breaths. They knew something was about to happen and they wanted to watch.
“Oops…” Gidget whispered. “That was a little bigger than I was expecting.”
Someone chuckled and Hollis swore that it was Garrett or Dom. It confirmed that Gidget managed to take down more of the electrical grid than she’d been initially aiming for.
“Don’t worry about it, Wizard. How much time do we have?”
“At least five minutes, but I’ll try to stretch it longer.”
“Go!” Rowe ordered.
Hollis rocked on the balls of his feet and launched himself forward, moving directly toward the door he’d been watching. He heard only the tiniest scrape of rubber sole across the pavement as Ian followed. His heart pounded in his chest, and his fingers tightened around the gun in his hand. This one was loaded with tranquilizer darts, but they each had a second gun and two magazines loaded with real bullets.
For now, they were going in quietly and taking down their drug dealers with tranq darts. As Noah had said, they were starting off civilized since they weren’t cops, but they were willing to fuck shit up if things went south.
Hollis had a feeling that it wasn’t going to take much for the whole mission to go to hell fast, but he was hoping it wouldn’t.
“Two guards down. Flying Monkey and Wicked Witch heading inside,” Dom said. His voice was deadly serious and cold. Something Hollis was sure he’d never hear from the man.
“Glenda is holding position,” Garrett said with no small amount of frustration. Hollis couldn’t blame him. A large man crashing through the skylight would throw the entire mission out of the covert category fast. He was one of their last lines of defense if things went to shit.
“Tin Man and Lion inside. One down,” Rowe whispered.
Hollis reached the side, the metal handle cool even through the leather gloves he was wearing. Very carefully he turned the handle and winced to hear the loud whine as the door opened. While it wasn’t locked, the door apparently wasn’t used often or maintained. He was pretty sure he’d announced to everyone in the warehouse that someone was coming through the side-fucking-door. Wonderful.
“Down!” Ian barked and Hollis immediately dropped to his knees, his head tucked down to his shoulders. In the darkness, he could see Ian lift his gun in both hands and squeeze off a round. The guy who had been standing in the now open doorway grunted. He was a monster of a man, standing close to seven feet and as wide as a refrigerator. He looked down at t
he dart that was sticking out of his chest.
Ian gave a little shrug and fired a second dart into his chest. With all his bulk, the fucker probably needed it.
The man swayed and fell forward. With one hand, Hollis grabbed the guy’s bicep and made sure he fell as quietly as possible.
“Nice job, Dorothy,” Lucas said from his perch. “Pay attention, Toto.”
Hollis looked over at Ian to see him give a little shake of his head in the darkness, but Hollis couldn’t argue with Lucas. He needed to pay better attention if he was going to keep Ian safe.
“One guard down. Dorothy and Toto inside,” Ian relayed to the rest of the team.
By his count, six of them were inside the warehouse while Garrett was standing by on the roof and Lucas was positioned on a nearby rooftop with a sniper rifle and a high-power scope. Rowe really did have the best toys—not that he’d ever tell the man that to his face.
The interior of the warehouse was pitch black. Hollis pulled on a pair of incredibly heavy night-vision goggles, since all the lighter ones had been grabbed, and tried to tamp down the same giddy thrill he’d felt when Dom had handed him a pair at Ward Security. Really…the best toys.
The entire world was bathed in a strange green light, but he could now see the towers of boxes and crates. The open area in the middle of the room was filled with long tables and what looked to be a very organized drug packaging and processing outfit.
It was fucking gutsy to have all this shit out in the open. Hollis’s old cop senses were tingling. Either CJ was a complete moron, or the bastard was confident because he had a cop or two in his pocket.
People ran around, knocking into shit and tripping over metal folding chairs in their haste. A few were smart enough to pull out their cell phones and turn on the little flashlight app so that slender shafts of bright light swept over small swaths of the warehouse. They were the first targets. The lights needed to stay out.
As one guy ran close to their position, Hollis took aim and squeezed off his first round. The man stumbled as he passed, twisting around to touch the meaty part of his shoulder where the dart hit. They were lucky most of these guys appeared to be wearing T-shirts despite the cold air of the warehouse. Less padding the darts had to sink through to get to flesh. He was pulling the dart out of his arm when he went down in an unconscious heap.
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