The Exit Strategy Bundle

by Jocelynn Drake

  Justin Mallory was ex-special forces. Gabriel would bet a former SEAL or maybe Marine reconnaissance, but he couldn’t begin to guess what would send such a well-trained killing machine to hiding behind a keyboard. It didn’t make sense. Justin belonged in the field, all those barely concealed muscles flexing and straining as he hunted his prey.

  For a second, the image of Justin pinning him down to the bed, his larger body covering his, hips thrusting, flashed through his mind. Justin leaning down, that mocking smile on his lips, his light brown hair threatening to fall into his brown eyes. Gabriel nearly shivered as he forced the image aside. Such a stupid thought! There was no way Justin was gay and even if he was, nothing in this world could tempt Gabriel into pursuing a sexual encounter with the man, no matter how fucking good looking he was.

  He wasn’t the only one to notice. Women turned and stopped as he walked by, making no attempt to hide their ogling as he passed. And Justin certainly wasn’t blind to it. He smirked and winked at the gawkers as he sauntered closer to Gabriel.

  “I thought you were going to change,” Justin said the second he was standing in front of Gabriel.

  He glanced down at his black button-down shirt and black slacks. The hard-sole dress shoes had been traded out for a pair of rubber-sole shoes. While not exactly fashionable, they were good for sneaking, climbing, and running. He hoped they would need to do only one of those things. Gabriel preferred not to have to start running until he at least got the lay of the land.

  “Who said this outing was going to be my only entertainment for the evening?” Gabriel shot back. He pulled at his left shirt cuff and then his right, settling his shirt about him while trying to ignore the sheen of sweat he could already feel forming. When the hell did this city cool off at last? He would have preferred a T-shirt like Justin, but he didn’t wear such things in public if he could help it.

  “Really, Mr. Prescott? Bar-hopping on the schedule tonight after a little B and E?”

  “I don’t expect this escapade to take long, and I’m sure you’ll be eager to get to bed, seeing as it will be past your bedtime.”

  Justin flashed him a lopsided grin. “Only if I’ve got someone joining me. Interested?” He spun on his heel and started to walk back the way he came. Gabriel’s heart stuttered for a second before speeding up. Had Justin just flirted with him? What the fuck? Clenching his teeth, Gabriel squashed the unexpected rush as he followed the infuriating man.

  Mallory wasn’t flirting with him. He was taunting. He was feeling him out to see if Gabriel was gay, and he would betray him later. No, Justin wasn’t serious in the least. He was only trying to keep Gabriel off balance so he could keep the upper hand in this partnership. It wasn’t going to work. Gabriel has survived far worse and more devious than the bastard strolling along the sidewalk beside him. And if the man continued to push, Gabriel would be more than happy to kill him when the job was over.

  Two blocks over from Fountain Square, Justin stopped by an unmarked black sedan parked toward the back of a parking lot. He tapped the key fob in his hand and the lights flashed once.

  “Don’t touch anything but the door handle,” he said, his voice unexpectedly serious. It was one of the few times Gabriel had heard him use the tone and it was very arresting. His voice dipped down, becoming little more than a growl.

  Gabriel stood by the passenger door and looked down at the roof. “Just washed?”

  “Not quite.” When Gabriel lifted his gaze back to his companion, he found the smirk had returned. “I’m testing out a new color coating tonight. It’s not supposed to rain, and I wanted to see how well it held up.”

  Gabriel leaned closer, trying to inspect the quality of the temporary paint, but there wasn’t much he could see in the low light. “Water based?”

  “Nope. More of a powder. Goes on pretty damn even.”

  Gabriel nodded and pulled the handle, opening his door. “But you doubt the durability. Understandable.” He caught the somewhat surprised expression that crossed Justin’s face before he slid into the passenger seat and closed the door. While he hated to admit it, Gabriel knew the feeling. When was the last time he’d been able to talk a little shop with someone else in the same line of work? Five years.

  Something cold and hard sank into his stomach with the answer. Five years, three months. He hadn’t been there when Ivan was executed, but he’d watched the video that had been secretly recorded from a camera hidden in a vent. He’d heard the questions and accusations. Ivan didn’t lie and didn’t fight. He’d been tired of hiding the truth. Tired of layer after layer of lies until sometimes Gabriel wondered if Ivan even trusted him. But that night…some part of Gabriel still hated him for not lying one more time.

  Closing his eyes for a second, Gabriel focused on pulling on his seatbelt. He needed to stay here in the moment, focus on the job at hand. Ivan was dead. That life was gone. And he was better off now.

  On the drive out of the city, Justin tried a couple times to start a conversation, but Gabriel kept his replies to terse one-word responses, killing any further discussion before it could take off. He didn’t want to get to know this man. He didn’t want to be comfortable or friendly. They’d work together on this job for a couple months at most and then go their separate ways, never to see each other again. And that was assuming they didn’t kill each other before the end of it.

  “Where are we?” Gabriel demanded as they snaked down another dark road. Trees thick with leaves stretched above them, blotting out the sky, creating the feeling of going through a tunnel that steadily closed in on them. Justin had turned off the interstate more than twenty minutes ago.

  “Loveland. Why?”

  “Just good to know in case you decide to try to leave me for dead on the side of the road.”

  A low rumble rose from Justin before he jerked the car to the side of the road and threw it into park. As he turned in his seat toward the passenger side, Gabriel couldn’t stop himself from reaching for the knife on his hip. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, Justin braced the other on the side of the passenger seat. The low interior lights did little to illuminate his face, but Gabriel could make out heavy lines cutting across his brow.

  “Can we just get a few things clear here?” Justin started. “I hate the idea of working with someone. I don’t trust people, and considering your special skills, I really don’t trust you.”

  Gabriel nodded when he paused. “That’s fair.”

  “And I know you don’t want to work with me, and you definitely don’t fucking trust me.”

  “Also fair.”

  “But it’s a lot of fucking money for not a lot of work.”

  Some of the tension eased from Gabriel’s shoulders and he unclenched his jaw. “And we need each other.”

  “A truce. We work together. We don’t try to kill each other or betray each other.”

  “You want me to have your back,” Gabriel said softly, tearing his eyes from Justin’s intense stare to gaze out at the thick darkness that surrounded them. He didn’t want to examine too closely the twist in his stomach or the jump in his heart. To be a part of a team, to be trusted, even in some small way and to trust another — Gabriel never thought he’d have that again.

  “Look, G. I’m not asking you to be my wingman next time I go trolling for a piece of ass,” Justin continued when the silence had stretched for too long. “I just want you to keep me from getting shot in the back.”

  “Or the ass,” Gabriel muttered.

  “Well, it is one of my best features.” Justin grinned wide, his white teeth catching some of the low ambient light.

  “I’m sure plenty of men have told you so.” Gabriel smirked back, hiding his own surprise that he’d even said the words. Something about Justin seemed to drag the mocking, teasing words out of him. Hell, he’d already spoken more on this job than any other in the past three years.

  “Ahhh… G, are you jealous? If I’d known you would come into my life one day, I would have s
aved myself for you.”

  Gabriel turned his head, feeling both flustered and amused. The man was ridiculous — serious one second and utterly irreverent in the next.

  “We’re good. I’ll watch your back and I won’t stick a knife in,” Gabriel said, pulling them back to the issue at hand.

  “And I’ve got you, G. Ain’t nobody gonna get near your ass but me.” As Justin laughed, he threw the car back into drive and continued down the road. Gabriel closed his eyes, counting to ten. His body clenched at the image of being pinned down and pounded into by Justin. Blood rushed to his groin, and he fought the urge to shift in his seat. He would not let Justin know how his words affected him. As far as he knew Justin was straight and baiting him. Gabriel was not ashamed of being gay or his attraction to Justin. He’d just learned the hard way that letting anyone know the truth about his sexual preference was a death sentence.

  “Don’t call me that,” Gabriel said when he could speak evenly.

  “What? G?”

  “Yes.”

  “How about G Love and I can be Special Sauce?” he countered with a cheeky smile.

  Horror filled Gabriel’s face and Justin cackled, causing the car to swerve slightly. He tapped a button on the steering wheel and issued a couple commands. The car accessed the music from Justin’s phone and soon a warm, bluesy song filled the car.

  Justin pointed to the radio. “G Love and Special Sauce.”

  “You’re a disturbing man.”

  “It’s all part of my Special Sauce.”

  Gabriel looked away, staring out the window, but there wasn’t much to see besides darkness, trees and the occasional house set back at the end of a long driveway. It was becoming harder to fight back a smile.

  “Don’t hurt yourself over there, G. I don’t think they’ll revoke your bad-ass assassin card if you happen to laugh.”

  “Don’t call me G.”

  “How about Gabe?”

  “It’s Gabriel or Prescott.”

  “Well, that’s not going to work for me. Why don’t you just tell me your real name and we’ll go from there.”

  Gabriel groaned and sank into his seat. There was no point in denying his accusation. Gabriel wasn’t his real name, but there was nothing in the world that was going to convince him to tell Justin his birth name. No, that man was dead, and that name wouldn’t be uttered again.

  Luckily, he was saved from having to answer as Justin slowed the car and pulled into a long driveway that curved in front of a single-story modern house full of large windows and sharp angles. The front porch light and some landscape lights glowed as if someone was home, but Gabriel suspected a timer was holding the illusion in place.

  Justin led the way to the front door, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. He handed a spare pair to Gabriel over his shoulder before withdrawing a lock pick from his other pocket. Gabriel watched the man as he pulled on the gloves, not bothering to hide his surprise. Gone was the teasing, mocking person who seemed completely incapable of taking anything serious. Here was the trained specialist he believed him to be.

  Reaching behind him, Gabriel palmed the gun hidden under his shirt at the small of his back. With the weapon in his right hand, he carefully scanned the area, but his night vision had largely been destroyed by the front porch light. Trees blocked the view of the house from the road, but he’d feel better when they were inside.

  Sweat trickled down from his temple to slide along his jaw. The heat was fading, and a breeze stirred, bringing some relief. Crickets and toads serenaded them. Darting between the trees, little yellow lights flickered on and off. He hadn’t seen fireflies for the first time until he was well into his teens. He’d always summered with his family in cooler, drier climes that weren’t the preference of the little beetles. But even now, years later, he still found something magical about the little lights.

  “We good?” Justin demanded, breaking into his thoughts.

  “Good.”

  The second Justin opened the door, a security alarm sounded. He rushed in and quickly tapped in a code, silencing the alarm. Gabriel followed him inside, closing the door again. “You knew the code?”

  “In the case file I pulled from the police database.”

  Even in the low light leaking in through the front windows, they could clearly see the chaos that consumed the living room. Pictures had been knocked askew and pulled down from the walls. Stuffing exploded from torn sofa cushions. The coffee table had been broken, its pieces left scattered about the large bloodstain dominating the center of the carpet.

  “It was staged,” Justin murmured, stepping into the room. “They say he was pulled from his office at the back of the house, dragged to the living room and then beaten, possibly for a few hours, before they killed him.”

  “Do you think they got the information they wanted?”

  Justin shook his head. “No idea, but he wasn’t the first and I doubt he’s going to be the last.”

  Gabriel followed close behind Justin as he led the way through the house, his footsteps silent and unerring as he turned when he reached the kitchen and headed down the hallway past the master bedroom to the doctor’s study. The man had obviously studied the layout of the house before they’d arrived.

  “Any guesses as to who is contracting these murders?”

  “Potentially someone high up in Iaso, protecting their investment.”

  The office didn’t look much better than the living room. The only thing missing was the bloodstain. Pulling a small penlight out of his pocket, Gabriel flicked it on and handed it over to Justin as he quickly searched through the bits of paper and desk drawers. Gabriel moved to the open doorway, standing guard, straining to hear any noises that were out of place. Justin would know better what he was looking for and Gabriel’s strength lay in force.

  “Any luck?” Gabriel asked after five minutes.

  “Couple scraps of paper with notes. A few names that might be co-workers. A portable hard drive.”

  Gabriel pivoted on his right heel to look over at Justin. “How the fuck did someone miss that?”

  Justin held up a worn copy of Lord of the Rings. When he peeled back the cover, he revealed that the good doctor had cut out a section of the pages and slipped the small hard drive inside. “Seems like Dr. Weiss has seen one too many spy movies.”

  Gabriel snorted and turned back to face the hallway. “Worked for him all the same.”

  “Done? We’ve been here long enough.”

  “Think the house is being watched?” Justin’s voice sounded closer even though Gabriel didn’t hear a single footstep across the carpet. The man moved like a ghost.

  With his gun in front of him as he started down the hall, Gabriel led the way, sure that Justin was following. “If they didn’t get what they wanted out of the doctor, then it is.”

  Slipping back through the house, Gabriel led the way, checking the exterior one last time before moving away so Justin could follow him to the car. The sooner they were back in the city the better. The overwhelming darkness and the thick crowd of trees made it difficult to spot anyone who might be watching them. He preferred to operate in the city than in the middle of nowhere.

  “Well, that was depressingly simple and uneventful,” Gabriel announced as they turned back onto the interstate half an hour later. “When you mentioned an outing, I had hoped for something more entertaining.”

  Justin’s eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror before he shifted to the center lane. “You understand that I prefer to keep this a low-key operation. No explosions, car chases, or cross-town shoot-outs that leave behind a pile of bodies.”

  Gabriel lifted both brows at his companion’s surprisingly serious tone. “I can be discreet and still have fun.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Justin flashed him a wide grin. “Someone has been following us since we turned off the doctor’s street.”

  “Where?” Gabriel demanded, turning in his seat to look out the rear window.

  “Tw
o back on your side. The dark sedan.”

  “Police?”

  “Possibly… but doubtful. I think our friends are waiting to see if we will lead them somewhere interesting.”

  “And do you have somewhere interesting we can lead them? Preferably somewhere private.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got a place.”

  Gabriel didn’t bother asking where Justin was leading their newly acquired shadow. He didn’t know the city, not yet. Their meeting was just supposed to be an introduction and then he planned to spend a few days surveying the city, learning the major roads and landmarks while he waited for Justin to pull his shit together.

  The truth was, Gabriel felt out of sorts and edgy being the one utterly unprepared. He’d been in the business long enough to know you were a dead man if you weren’t prepared when walking onto a job. And yet he still did it. Was he getting bored? Restless. Careless. He didn’t let himself examine the potential answers too closely. Not one of them was good. And neither was the fact that for the first time in too long, his pulsed raced and he felt the urge to laugh. The thrill of the unknown put the excitement back into the job.

  As they got closer to downtown, Justin chose an exit that ended up putting them in an area with squat buildings, rusting warehouses, sagging chain-link fences, and boarded-up homes. The recession had taken a baseball bat to the neighborhood and then left it to die. At just after eleven, there were few cars on the road. The only stores with lights on were fast food, liquor, and the occasional grab-and-go. It was the type of place they could slide through unnoticed.

  Gabriel glanced over his shoulder, watching as the dark sedan made the left at the light to follow them down the block. The other car picked up speed, no longer trying to hide that it was following them. “How do you want to handle this?”

  Justin scratched his chin in thought for a moment. “Care to lay down some cover while I see if they want to talk?”

  “I can do that.”

  “Don’t shoot until they start.”

  “Fine,” Gabriel grumbled.

  “And leave someone alive to answer questions.”

  “If these are police officers?”