Taking It Slow (Code of Honor Book 4)

by Reese Knightley

  He tucked his ear piece back in to give Eagle a status when he heard the man going off.

  “Stupid son of a bitch! Spencer, check the fuck in or so help me God,” Eagle growled.

  “Checking the fuck in,” he snarled into the mic and kept moving.

  They wanted to play with fire? He’d fucking show them fire. He’d burn the fucking world down.

  An arm came around his waist and he spun and jabbed his hand into the man’s face. Only, the guy ducked and hung on.

  “Spencer, it’s me,” Link growled when his elbow came down on the man’s back.

  Link let go and Spencer shoved him away. Only Link didn’t fall back, he came forward and pushed him against the wall.

  He was big, but Link was bigger. “Spencer, calm down. You need to calm down.”

  He gasped for breath, the sound ragged between them.

  “They took him.”

  “We’ll get him back and we’ll kill them all, but you need to have a clear head,” Link whispered.

  After several moments, he was able to get his breath back. Link finally backed up and stared at him.

  Spencer ran a hand over his face and sucked in another breath.

  “You’re right,” he said gruffly. He wasn’t going to apologize for going ballistic.

  “You okay?” Link didn’t move.

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  “Now, let’s go get this fucker.” Link said grimly.

  They split up from there. Link went west and he headed east along the hallway.

  “Eagle, tenth floor, hallway near the east stairwell,” he said into the mic.

  “All right, I’m heading up the nearest stairwell,” Eagle whispered.

  Spencer moved on. Forest wanted this bastard arrested? It wasn’t likely.

  He was out for blood.

  Coming to a corner, he turned. The hallway seemed to run the length of the building and he carefully checked each room as he moved toward the exit Eagle was coming up.

  Rapid gunfire erupted, and bullets dug into the door near his head. He crouched and then lunged out, sprawled on his back sideways in the hallway, and put two in the perp’s chest. The guy gasped and stumbled away before he fell dead to the floor.

  Several more sharp blasts echoed from behind the stairwell door and Spencer rolled to his feet.

  “Eagle, Spencer?” Link snapped through his ear piece. “Check in!”

  “Fuckers got me pinned down. I think there’s two of them.”

  “Copy,” Spencer said. “Eagle, I’m coming down from above.” He eased the exit door open, checked the all clear, and ran in hunched over.

  “Any sign of the councilman?” Eagle asked, gunfire coming through his mic as he returned fire.

  “Yeah, I got him,” Link growled. “He tried to barricade his door.” Link’s voice was filled with amusement.

  “Stop shooting upward, asshole,” Spencer snapped at Eagle when a bullet pinged against the metal railing. “I’m coming down.”

  Below, two men were shooting downward over the railing at Eagle, who was pinned in one of the lower stairwell curves.

  Spencer caught one perp with a head shot. When the guy went down, his friend spun and fired upward. Spencer dropped low and shot between the railing, hitting the guy in the leg. The man yelled and fell, firing wildly. Spencer put a bullet in the gunman’s chest and the guy toppled over.

  Silence filled the stairwell.

  “Spencer?” Eagle whispered.

  “All clear,” he grumbled and stood with a grimace. He glanced down and pulled his wet shirt away from his side. Goddamned stray bullet had hit him just at the edge of his vest.

  “Where are you hit?” Eagle asked and he looked up to see the soldier gazing at the blood on his shirt as he came up the stairs.

  “Just a graze.”

  “Let’s go.” Eagle stepped past and headed out the door.

  When they reached the office area where Link was, they found the soldier sitting on the edge of the councilman’s desk going through files.

  The councilman was gagged and tied in his own desk chair.

  Spencer kept coming and yanked off the gag. He kicked the back of the chair and it slammed against the floor with a loud crack. The councilman screamed.

  Spencer leaned over and looked the fucker dead in the eyes.

  “Where’s my little brother?”

  “He’s in the basement,” the councilman gasped.

  “How many men are down there with him?”

  “Four.”

  Spencer yanked the chair upright when Link approached.

  Spencer loaded his weapon and was out the door. He ran into FBI agent Shane McDaniels in the hallway.

  “Oh, look here,” he heard Link say from behind him. “A bunch of documents. I wonder if it’s a list of your accomplices.”

  “You can’t touch those!” the councilman screamed. “You don’t have a warrant.”

  “I have a warrant,” Shane growled, stepping around him and into the room.

  Spencer didn’t hear any more as he ran down the hallway.

  Thank fuck for the FBI and their crossing Ts and dotting Is. Fury didn’t work that way, but Forest wanted to keep everything above board on this one.

  Forest wanted to throw them in a prison that, the agent assured him, only a few knew existed.

  Spencer wanted to kill them all.

  He shoved the stairwell door open only to find Eagle at his six. They didn’t need to speak, they moved in sync down the stairwell toward the basement.

  Reaching the basement door, he eased it open and slid inside. Eagle went left and he went right.

  Reaching a small electrical room inside of the basement area, he heard laughter. Lifting up to peek inside of the foggy window, he saw four men sitting around a table, playing cards. A television played a ballgame with the announcer calling the score.

  In a corner next to an old beat up refrigerator sat Wesley with a gag in his mouth, hands tied together in his lap, and a tear stained face.

  Eagle came up to the other side of the door in a crouch.

  “You take the two on the left and I’ll take the two on the right.”

  He nodded and instead of kicking in the door, he gently turned the knob. The sound was drowned out by the television noise.

  Spencer dodged in and fired two shots, taking out the two on the right. Eagle shot the other guy before he could reach for his weapon. The fourth guy had kicked back so his chair toppled backwards, but before he could roll away and pull his weapon, Eagle was over him with a knife.

  Spencer was across the room untying Wesley and pulling him into his arms.

  “I knew you’d come for me,” Wesley said in huge gulping gasps.

  “I told you,” he whispered into his brother’s sweat dampened hair as he cupped the back of his head. “I’ll always come for you.”

  Wesley sniffled and he eased the boy back. “Did they hurt you?”

  “No.” His brother shook his head. “Just tied me up.”

  Spencer reached out and rubbed the marks at Wesley’s wrists to get the circulation going.

  “What’s he doing?” Wesley gaped over at Eagle.

  Spencer turned sharply and the room whirled.

  “Eagle.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Fucking tie him up. I need help,” he admitted before he slipped sideways.

  “Spencer!” Wesley cried out.

  “Shit!” Eagle hissed.

  That was the last thing he heard before the room went dark.

  Liam

  The door slammed open on its hinges and Liam strode to the kitchen doorway just in time to see Wesley in the entryway.

  “The guard let us in!”

  Liam held out his arms and Wesley flew into them. He hugged the crying, sweaty boy tightly.

  Huge ugly sobs filled the room and Liam looked over Wesley’s head expecting to find Spencer, but instead Link and Eagle stood in the doorway.

  “Where’s Spe
ncer?” Fear froze him.

  “At the hospital,” Eagle said quietly.

  His heart lurched.

  “It was through and through, Colonel. He’s lost a lot of blood and needs some stitches, but he’s going to be okay,” Link assured him.

  “Wesley?” Adam’s voice came from the hallway.

  Wesley pulled away from him and walked to Adam and Jessica. The teenagers hugged each other tightly and then disappeared down the hallway. He heard Wesley telling the other two how Spencer and Eagle had saved him.

  “Take a shower!” he yelled after them, but really didn’t care at that moment. Snatching his truck keys off the counter, he turned to Link and Eagle.

  “Anna and Mrs. Walters are here, but can you watch the house?” he asked the pair.

  “Of course,” Link replied.

  “He’s at General Medical Center,” Eagle told him and headed into the kitchen.

  Traffic took forever and by the time Liam reached Los Angeles, his hands ached from squeezing the steering wheel. He entered the sliding doors and approached the desk.

  “Colonel Cobalt to see Captain Turner.”

  “Yes, you’re listed as his contact,” the front desk said after checking the records. She hurried to show him the way to the ER.

  “No, I don’t want any pain meds.”

  Spencer’s annoyed voice reached him as he drew near the room.

  “Get that thing away from me.” Something crashed.

  Liam stepped into the doorway in time to see an attendant knock over the table tray. The “thing” Spencer was referring to was a thermometer.

  “Why don’t you want your temperature taken?” He crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb.

  Spencer’s head jerked up and those blue eyes ran over him before the man scowled. “They took it an hour ago.”

  Liam jerked his head toward the door and the nurse and attendant left the room in a hurry. Liam closed the door and took a slow, menacing step closer.

  “Are you giving them a hard time?”

  “And if I am?”

  “I might have to punish you.”

  “That’s new.” Intrigue grew in Spencer’s eyes. “How?” Spencer licked his lips.

  “By kissing you breathless for starters.”

  “Is that so?”

  He drew close and stopped when his legs hit the side of the bed and he leaned over, hands on either side of Spencer’s head, caging the man.

  “Yes,” he muttered and then slashed his mouth down over Spencer’s parted lips.

  Spencer moaned and pushed his tongue against his. Liam answered the tight moan with one of his own and nipped at Spencer’s mouth until the man’s lips were swollen with his kisses. He only let up when they were both panting.

  “I was worried.” He brushed a thumb over Spencer’s bottom lip.

  “I’m fine. It was just a graze.”

  “So I heard.”

  So much needed to be said. He wanted to know if they had a future, but fuck if he was going to bring it up now. It definitely wasn’t the time.

  He’d made up his mind to give Spencer what he wanted. Spencer wanted to take things slow, and he was going do it even if it slowly killed him.

  “I’ll have Wesley over to your apartment as soon as I can drag him away from Adam and Jessica. Do you know where you’re going to put him?” he asked softly.

  Spencer shook his head.

  “You could sleep on the couch and he could take your bed.”

  Spencer stared at him as if mute.

  “It wouldn’t be much to get a second hand dresser for his things. He told me there’s a high school near your apartment.” He wandered to the window and then turned.

  “Are they keeping you overnight?”

  “No. I’m getting discharged in a few hours,” Spencer finally found his voice.

  “Would you go out with me Friday night?”

  “What?” Spencer looked baffled.

  Liam smiled. “On a date. I think we missed a step in all the hanging out at my place.”

  “We did?” Spencer blinked.

  “Yeah. We haven’t gone on a date. Just the two of us. You know dinner and maybe a movie? I’ll even let you pay.”

  “You will?”

  He nodded. A confused Spencer was a sight to see.

  “Yes, I will.” He approached the bed again and leaned over to drop a quick kiss on Spencer’s lips. He drew back when Spencer tried to deepen it further.

  “I’ll see you when I drop off Wesley. If you or Dillon aren’t home, I’ll wait with him.”

  “Um…okay.” Spencer chewed on the inside of his cheek and kept staring at him.

  He nodded and walked out. When he was out of view, he stopped and leaned back against the wall. He hoped like hell he was doing the right thing.

  He’d made his intentions known. He couldn’t keep pushing Spencer into something he didn’t want. If Spencer didn’t know by now that he could trust him not to treat him like his ex, then he never would.

  He couldn’t keep beating his head against a brick wall; that did neither of them any good. Deciding to back off and give Spencer his space had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done.

  Now, the ball was in Spencer’s hands.

  Spencer

  The day was dull, gloomy, and a lot more somber than the cremation of his mother had been. He’d offered the urn to Wesley, but his brother had declined. Spencer had her buried next to their father.

  He was still numb from the conversation he’d had with Liam two days prior. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever get feeling back from the hole in his heart.

  “How’s Isaac?”

  “I’m sorry, Spencer.”

  “What?”

  “He didn’t make it,” Liam whispered.

  “Oh my god.” He stared at Liam.

  Liam reached for him and Spencer let himself be pulled close. Tears wouldn’t even come. He stayed like that for a long time.

  Finally, he drew back and wiped at his face.

  “Where’s Zane?”

  “MIA,” Liam rasped.

  “Fuck.” Spencer covered his mouth to hold back further sound.

  The crack of the drums jerked him back to the hill. Military personnel were dressed in full uniform and lined up in perfectly straight rows. People in black gathered around the mound of dirt and casket off to one side. The top was draped with an American flag.

  With burning eyes, he watched as one of his friends was laid to rest.

  Both the minister and Liam said a few words, but Spencer couldn’t tell anyone what they said. He blocked it all out.

  This was his fucking fault. If he’d told Mayer to take a flying fuck instead of paying the guy off, then Isaac would have never been involved in the sting.

  The flag was folded and presented to Isaac’s mother, who sat in a foldout chair next to Dillon. Her shoulders shook and Spencer had to look away.

  He gazed blankly around for a moment and then studied each face of those gathered.

  Zane was still missing.

  Boom.

  And just as the gunfire faded, another cracked filling the silence.

  One final round echoed.

  Then the silence became deafening.

  He clenched his fists and stood as still as stone when the last gunfire echoed in respect for a man who’d given his life in service.

  Dillon took a step forward and stood silent and still staring at the gravesite. His face a mask of stone. Spencer couldn’t imagine his pain of losing his little brother.

  Oliver stood with tears streaming down his face and River’s arm around his shoulders. Across the distance, he suddenly caught Maddox’s dark gaze.

  Something whirled in their depths. After a moment when Maddox didn’t look away, something crawled across the distance between them.

  He frowned and some insane urge had him glancing left and then right before he gazed back at the casket.

  A closed casket.

>   No viewing.

  Why would they have a casket with no viewing when Isaac died of a knife wound?

  With burning eyes, he ripped his gaze away from the shining metal and focused back on Maddox.

  What the fuck was going on? His heart clenched.

  Very slightly, the corner of Maddox’s lip twitched.

  Fucking Christ!

  “Ready,” Liam murmured from his side.

  He spun and stalked away toward the car, leaving Liam behind. He waited impatiently until he heard the door unlock and then he slid inside and slammed the door.

  Liam hurried around to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel.

  “Son of a bitch!” He punched the dashboard and glared out the windshield.

  A moment of silence rang against his ears.

  “I wanted to tell you,” Liam said gruffly.

  “Oh really?” He turned and sneered. “Is that why you told Maddox first?”

  “I didn’t tell Maddox.”

  That drew him up short and he felt a bit better.

  “When were you going to tell Infinity?”

  “There’s a top-secret meeting happening in the morning.”

  “Dillon is going to kill you,” he huffed.

  Liam stayed silent.

  “What happened?”

  “Mayer wasn’t dead. He took off running and Zane and Isaac followed him to a residential area. It seems like Councilman Coulier wasn’t at the top. Governor Van Vorst answered the door. Zane and Isaac entered the backyard and saw Van Vorst kill Mayer in cold blood.”

  “Jesus Christ,” he whispered.

  Governor Van Vorst was one powerful son of a bitch.

  “Yeah. The Governor’s men cornered Zane and Isaac. They fought their way out of there, but there’s a three million dollar bounty on each of their heads.”

  “Fuck. So, you staged Isaac’s death?” He frowned.

  “No. That was all Forest. He also helped Zane disappear.”

  Spencer snorted and then rubbed a hand down his face. “Fuck. I’m at a toss up between being relieved and being pissed.”

  “I was set to tell you after the funeral.”

  “So, how did Maddox find out?”

  “Isaac called Dillon and then Oliver.” So much for secrecy.

  Spencer gaped. “Oliver’s tears were staged?”