“You’re a cop,” Dakota stated. “In fact, you’re the cop who was harassing my friend.”
Yeah, well, they were screwed.
So much for don’t go in as the law. He should have had both of them in Kevlar and packing many guns.
“We’re on the up and up. I’ve worked with Elizabeth,” he stated. “I met her on a case down here. Call her,” he stated.
“Where’s your partner?” Dakota asked.
Zayn didn’t like ANY of this. They’d just let a cop into their base. A cop who was following Rogue around.
That made him want to put holes in things.
With bullets.
“We were pulled from the case. Elizabeth asked me to take time off. I’m here to help. I swear.”
Zayn lifted the man’s sports jacket and removed his gun. Then he dropped and found a clutch piece at his ankle. He pocketed that too.
Merry was next.
She was clean.
“Seriously. Call her. My wife is the scientist who will get the carbon off that book.”
Okay, he wouldn’t know about the book unless he’d spoken to Elizabeth, so he felt a little better about that, but he still wanted confirmation.
Not for him.
For the edgy Native who liked killing.
Dakota hit a button on the tablet, and it sent a video link to the big screen. It didn’t take long for Elizabeth’s face to appear on the screen.
“Dak, this better be good. I’m busy,” she said.
“Why did you send us a cop? Are you trying to kill me?” he asked. “This is about us dating, isn’t it? You’re sick.”
She laughed.
“I have better things to do than torment you, darlin’.”
He turned the tablet around.
“That’s Boone,” she said. “He’s a good guy.”
“He’s also the cop who is investigating Charlotte’s murder. A little warning would have been helpful.”
“Boone has vested interest in this city. He loves it. He’s also very good at what he does. Let’s face it, Dakota. You have nothing.”
“I told her I wanted in,” he said, pointing at the guns. “Can we put those away? I don’t want my wife shot.”
Dakota tucked his gun into the back of his pants, but Zayn didn’t do the same.
Shocking.
“How much does he know?” he asked.
“Enough. Why don’t you catch him up to speed while Merry does her thing? You need help. You have a sex trafficker to find, you have a missing Harrington, and you have two on the lam. Plus, you’re looking for Bonnie, Zayn is searching for Chesky, and Rogue needs to find his father. Take the help, Dak.”
He relaxed.
She had a point.
He picked the book up that Sarah had placed in a plastic bag. Then he handed it to Merry.
She smiled.
“Point me at a table,” she stated. “I need to do my thing. I miss science.”
He did just that.
Elizabeth rolled her shoulders.
“Zayn, he’s not going to attack you. Give him his guns, and stop looking all angry.”
“You sent us a cop. Are you insane?”
“Yes. Next question?”
“You’re a sadistic bitch,” he added.
“Yes, but that wasn’t a question.”
Dakota rolled his eyes.
“Let me help,” Boone stated. “I can work any case,” Boone offered.
Elizabeth pointed at Dakota.
“While you may think this is your rodeo, cowboy, it’s not. It’s an FBI operation. While it may be unsanctioned, you need our help to do it—like we need yours. Take the help.”
“Let me discuss this with my partner,” Dakota stated, knowing he had no choice. He’d lost it on Sarah and look how that ended.
Stella hated him.
Zayn wanted to bitch slap him.
Oh, and Sarah was gone from his life.
“I’ll help Merry set up,” Boone offered, knowing that he was hanging in a den of vipers—not Dakota, but the man behind him screamed ‘serial criminal’.
“Great. Next time, call me with an emergency!” she stated. “Blackhawk out.”
The screen went black.
“Zayn?”
“I’m keeping his freaking guns,” he muttered, following Dakota into the kitchen.
“What do we do?” Dakota asked.
The man laughed.
“Why are you asking me? This is YOUR team. I’m just the muscle, Stella is just the doctor, Rogue is just the thief, and…”
He couldn't bear to hear her name.
“Okay, I get it. I’m a douchebag. I’m sorry. You were right. I was pissed that my girl went to another man to get, I’m sure, an astronomical loan for a business that I could never even pretend to get her.”
Well, it was a start.
Zayn let him continue.
“I was a dick to her because that was a shot to the ego. How would you feel if Stella went to another man?”
“I wouldn’t yell at her. I’d kill him. I’m a simpleton like that.”
He stared at him.
“You’re insane.”
“Yes, I know.”
Dakota gave up.
“I was a dick to all of you. I am a tyrant. Now stop being a douchebag back. We only have room for one on this team. Now I have the women angry with me, and a cop in the living room. On top of that, my girl dumped me. Help me, Zayn,” he said, running his hands through his hair.
He was ready to break.
Dakota could only handle so much, and Sarah had bailed on him. She’d left him high and dry when he needed her.
It stung.
Elizabeth dumped him and wouldn’t marry him, and now Sarah did the same.
He was lost.
Zayn couldn’t stay irritated at him. He knew Dakota well enough to see he was struggling.
“The detective stays. Elizabeth is right. We need the help with this, and he can tell us what he knows.”
Dakota was shocked.
Had Zayn agreed with him?
Yeah, he must have had a stroke.
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Uh, okay.”
He patted Dakota on the back.
“Besides, I have a contingency plan. I always do. If it goes bad, we can kill them later.”
He was horrified.
“Jesus. We are not killing a cop. You can’t even put that out there, Zayn!”
He shrugged.
“It won’t be the first time. If you’ve killed one, you’ve killed two. Once you get to five…”
He stopped him.
Dakota knew he was going to die today. It was clear that they were trying to slowly kill him.
“Stop talking about that! He’s in the next room!”
Zayn really didn’t care.
“The only thing better than peeling a dick like a banana is tying a urethra like a bowtie around a neck.”
The picture…it was…wrong.
Before Dakota could say anything, the door in the kitchen opened, and Rogue walked into the room.
Great.
He looked like hell.
“I know I’m really late. Before you start riding my ass, I made a huge mistake.”
“What?” they both asked.
“I screwed-up. I slept with her.”
They both paused.
“Not the cop,” Dakota stated. “Please don’t tell me that the ‘her’ you’re talking about is the cop who is working this case, and the partner to the man in the other room.”
“What? Her partner is in the other room?” She’d mentioned that, but he didn’t understand.
Before he could ask, Zayn was off on his tangent again.
“My week is getting better and better. I have more cops to kill,” Zayn stated, rubbing his hands together.
“You can’t kill her!” Rogue stated.
“SHHHHHH!” he hissed. “It’s no fun if you warn them in advan
ce. I like to sneak up and BAM!”
They both jumped when he yelled the last word.
“Is her partner in there?” Rogue asked again.
He led him to the door.
“Look for yourself. He knows Elizabeth,” Dakota stated, as Rogue peeked into the living room and toward the dining room.
“Oh, Jesus!”
They told him about Elizabeth sending them their expert, and it just happened to be the wife, an ex-Fed, of a cop. The cop investigating Charlotte’s death.
“This is a mess.”
Oh, they were aware, but it was about to get worse. Dakota hadn’t even begun.
In fact…
“Oh, since we’re talking about messes,” he began.
Dakota smiled, and Zayn knew it was coming. He’d been waiting for the man to lose his mind on the other man. It was about to go down.
“Don’t,” he warned. “There’s a cop…”
It was too late.
“Oh, and Rogue?” he said.
“Yeah?”
When the man turned, Dakota pulled back and sucker punched Rogue in the face, right in the nose.
There was that gasp and the fall in slow motion as Rogue hit the ground.
With one hell of a thud.
“What the hell?” he stated, staring up at him. “Are you insane? Why did you just fucking punch me in the face, and not even pull it, you asshole?”
Him an asshole?
Oh, well, Dakota had news for the man on the ground with the bloody nose.
He hadn’t seen anything yet.
He was about to be a major asshole, and pain in Rogue’s ass.
“Does buying Purgatory ring any bells, FRIEND?”
Jesus.
Today, Rogue should have stayed in bed.
Chapter Ten
Tuesday Noon
I t took a good couple of hours for everyone to calm down, but finally, it happened. Rogue had stopped bleeding, Zayn wasn’t as twitchy, and Stella exited her room—but still wasn’t talking to Dakota, and the man, who had everyone’s ire, was trying to reach Sarah.
They were about to discuss work, and her phone was off. They couldn’t find her anywhere, and even when he tried to track any credit card purchases, they lost her outside Café Du Monde over two hours ago.
She was gone.
Well, this was bad.
Dakota and Rogue were okay now that they’d come to blows, but they were still dealing with other woman issues.
Rogue had slept with the detective leading the case to find Charlotte’s killer—Chesky—and in the process compromised all of them.
“What were you thinking?” Dakota asked.
“Oh, we could ask you the same thing,” Rogue stated. “I can’t believe you hurt her like that. You’re a menace.”
“Why would you let her buy that place? Why would you give her the money to do it? It’s dangerous!”
“I did it because Sarah can handle herself. If I thought she couldn’t do it, then I would have said no. I had to look at it from her perspective, and that of a businessman. Owning Purgatory is a good step for me. I was banned from the place. You do realize that when this is all over, I will have to go back to my real job. I won’t be saving people. I’ll be stealing things.”
He didn’t speak.
Well, that was a kick to the solar plexus part two.
“So you’re leaving when this is over too? You’re going to walk away?”
“I meant…”
Dakota stopped him.
“Don’t bother. It’s okay. This friendship will fall apart. I really thought we were all in this together,” Dakota stated. “You’re already thinking exit strategy. Family my ass. I can’t hold this circus together. It’s fine. When it’s over, leave.”
“I have to!” Rogue stated. “I have to worry about my own ass. It’s clear you’re only thinking of yours. You shoved Sarah off of our team with your issues. That’s not a unit. That’s everyone thinking about themselves.”
It was escalating again.
“Uh, guys, take it down a notch,” Zayn stated. “First, we have people in the other room, and secondly, this is going to shit. What the hell is wrong with both of you? It’s a sad day when the one with the worst temper is the calmest one in the bunch.”
Oh, they were aware.
Today was an odd day all around.
That should be a warning for all of them to go back to bed and redo the day tomorrow.
“We can all admit we’re only here to get what we want,” Rogue stated. “You want Chesky, you want Bonnie, and I want my father. That’s the only reason we’re doing this.”
Was it?
Dakota’s heart hurt.
“Well, that says it all,” he stated. “So we finish the job, and we call it a day.”
Zayn shook his head.
“You’re both in really shitty moods. If anyone leaves, I have to kill them. Sorry, but we all know WAY too much about each other. In fact, the two straights in the living room do too.”
“You’re not killing a cop and his wife!” Dakota stated. “Stop saying it!”
“Well, there goes the bossy again,” Zayn stated. “It’s like you haven’t learned a damn thing. What am I supposed to do? Slap you until you get it?”
He stopped talking.
“Yes?”
They all turned to see who Dakota was talking to. It appeared their little conversation was over.
They had company.
“Uh, is this a bad time?” Merry asked. “I found something under the carbon.”
“Oh, good,” Dakota stated, trying not to sound like they had just been standing there talking about ending her life. She was a really nice woman, and she was an ex-fed. She didn’t have to help them.
“Are you really going to kill us?” Merry asked, not holding back. She’d heard them, and she called out Jackassery.
“Yes.”
“NO.”
She laughed at them.
“You think that’s funny?” Zayn asked.
“I was feeding my son this morning, you know—breastfeeding—and I was thinking that I hope this is an adventure. I used to have so much fun with my job.”
“You have a baby?” Zayn asked.
“Yeah, and I’m pregnant. I’m just trying to find a time to surprise my husband. He doesn’t know yet, so when you kill us, can it be after I tell him?”
They all looked at Zayn.
He squirmed.
“Oh, shit! I can’t kill a mother and pregnant woman. Stella would kick my ass.”
Merry laughed at that. That was exactly why she told him that.
“You’re crazy,” he stated.
“I’ve worked for Elizabeth Blackhawk. We faced down killers, sickos, and horrible people. I’m laughing because you three…yeah, not even close. You’re decent men. I can tell. I married one.”
Zayn looked horrified.
“I think she just insulted me,” Zayn stated.
“Oh, and your wife?” she stated.
“Yeah?”
“She’s pretty awesome. We’re going to go out for lunch sometime, you know…when she’s not hiding from her father, the murdering bastard.”
It appeared Stella had spilled the beans.
“Well, now I really can’t kill her. She made friends with my wife. I won’t get laid for a good year if I ‘accidentally’ shoot her.”
She laughed even more.
“Anyway, I have some goodies for you if you’re interested in the names in that book.”
They followed her in.
At the table, Stella was wearing goggles and helping clean the carbon.
“It reminds me of my days in college,” she said, beaming at her husband. “The Savages are really awesome people. We should have them over for dinner. You know…after we kill the people taking women.”
Well, shit!
Now she couldn’t kill him either.
Marriage screwed-up all of the killing.
“Can
we not talk about killing anyone?” Dakota asked. “It’s giving me a headache.”
“Sucks to be you,” Stella stated, giving him a dirty look for Sarah. “You deserve it.”
“Please tell us what you found,” he stated.
“Merry found two names. We have an Anna Lambert and a Jake Bradshaw. Do those ring any bells?” Boone asked.
“Uh, well, the second one does,” Dakota stated. “Storm mentioned a Jake. She heard his name at one of her captor’s ‘parties’.”
“Do your research,” Zayn stated, pointing at the tablet. Before Dakota could pick it up, Merry had it.
“If you don’t mind?” she asked.
He was relieved.
“Are you good with…?”
Before he could finish, her fingers flew over the tablet, proving that she did work for the FBI. She knew exactly where to run it, where to look, and that made their lives easier.
“Yeah, I can’t kill her.”
“WHAT?” Boone asked in horror. “Why are you planning to kill my wife?”
Boone swallowed.
Zayn simply smiled and stared at the man.
“This is a very weird day. I said I wanted to help find a killer, and I ended up in a house with people who freak me the hell out!”
“They’re harmless, babe,” Merry stated. “The one with the crooked nose is cool,” she said, pointing at Rogue.
“Is my fucking nose crooked?” he asked, touching it and then glaring at Dakota. “Asshole. You could have pulled it.”
Then Merry pointed at Dakota.
“He’s trying to hold it together, but he’s out of his mind,” she stated.
“Well, she nailed that,” Zayn stated.
“Oh, and the big one…he’s a teddy bear. Did anyone tell you that you’re big like…the Hulk?”
He sputtered.
Merry moved on to the information she found.
“Okay, here we go,” she stated, sending the information to the screen.
“You have Jake Bradshaw. He’s got an arrest record a mile long. On it, you have all of the normal suspects. What you also have is hired gun. Oh, look. He’s a mercenary. There seems to be a lot of that going around.”
“It’s New Orleans. You can’t spit without hitting one,” Zayn stated.
“Really?” Boone asked.
“Copper, open your eyes. Why do you think it’s called The Big Easy? It’s easy to find a big-time killer to do your deed.”
Absolution: The Hunter Mercenary Series (Book Two) Page 28