by Dale Mayer
Geir had a serious look at his face. “You’ll be just fine the way you are. He’s got Stone, and Stone doesn’t mind anyone knowing about his missing leg.”
“I know, but I’m not sure I’m up for the same level of expertise and action that we were in before.”
“I hear you there, but I want five minutes with this asshole,” Geir said. “I want to know if this was what was going on for these last couple years and if he had anything to do with our original accident. For a long time, I wondered. I started doing my own investigation, thinking surely this reality had to have been contrived. That somehow we hadn’t screwed up so bad. That the world didn’t hate us so much. But to think somebody got away with it just eats me up. And then when I heard from Erick about these accidents …” He couldn’t finish speaking. His jaw locked, and he ran out of words, his gaze obsidian hard.
Cade understood. There was no easy answer here. “We’ll get answers,” he said. “You can count on it.”
Geir gave one short quick nod. “I am counting on it. That’s why I’m here.”
Cade glanced back at Erick. “Still no word on Jager?”
Erick shook his head. “Not yet.”
“I’d feel better if he’d at least check in. He had nothing to do with it, I know. But it’d be nice if we were all at least together and not one off alone on a vigilante mission.”
“I don’t think he’s doing that at all,” Talon said. “Jager was always the best of us at night hunting. And, if he’s gone dark, you can bet he’s gone dark all the way. As long as somebody is feeding him intel, we need to know what he’s up to. So we’re not reproducing the same work because we don’t have the time or the energy or the funds for that,” he said. “Jager will keep doing his thing. And eventually we’ll track this guy down who has done this to our unit, to our families.”
Erick’s phone buzzed. He read the message, “Michael is at the hotel.”
“Already?”
“He got a second message, saying the meeting was to move ahead to noon.” Everybody checked their watches. “It’s ten now. That’s only two hours.”
Immediately they brought up the blueprints of the hotel and set about coming up with a plan.
“I doubt the hired gunman will be taken alive,” Laszlo said. “We have to consider that.”
The men nodded.
“I want him alive long enough to answer questions.”
“I doubt he will be for long. Either way, we must make sure he’s stopped.”
“Gotcha. It would be nice to have some personal belongings to go through, a computer, laptop, cell phone too.”
Erick’s phone rang again. “Michael again,” he exclaimed. “He just got another message. Our target wants the meeting as soon as possible now that he knows Michael is in town.”
“He can’t go in alone,” Laszlo said urgently. “Don’t let him do that.”
Erick jumped to his feet. “We’re about twenty minutes away from that hotel. I suggest we get moving.” He turned to look at Cade. “You need to stay here with Faith.”
Cade’s fist closed.
“If the guy is at the airport hotel, then she doesn’t need protection here.” The words came from behind them.
Cade turned to see Faith in the doorway, her arms crossed. “Take him. Just make sure nobody here gets hurt again. I’m fine. I’ll have the door locked. And, yes, I’ll text if anything should even bark outside.”
Cade didn’t know what to do. She was right, in the sense that, if this guy was at the hotel, she should be safe, but he didn’t want to take that chance either. As he looked at the men, he realized just how many of them there were to go after one guy. “You’re right. I’ll stay here.”
Faith rushed to his side. “No. This is too important. You need answers before you can move on. I’m not part of your past. I’m part of your future. But, in order to have it, you must deal with your past. Now go.” And she wouldn’t listen to any other arguments.
Within minutes they were out of the apartment. They took three different vehicles, approaching the hotel from three different sides.
Inside, Cade’s stomach was in knots. He said to Erick, “I still hate to leave her alone.”
“As long as she stays locked up, she should be fine. We’ll be back in no time.”
Cade nodded, but it still felt wrong. He hated to see anything happen to her. They pulled into the hotel parking lot. As he went to get out, Erick pulled him back in.
“Remember, this guy knows who we are. We can’t have him see us and throw this off. Michael is already very skilled at this. He can take down this asshole. It’s just that we want to make sure we’re there right afterward. We’re the insurance that nothing happens to Michael and his team. But it’s Michael and his team who are taking down the hired gun.”
Cade took a deep breath and settled back. “Thanks, I needed that reminder. I wanted to go in there and rip this asshole limb from limb.”
“I know. But that doesn’t mean it’ll happen.”
The two men sat in the vehicle. Cade could feel his nerves clenching his gut and constricting his chest. He wanted to bolt inside. But Michael was meeting in the restaurant. Just a business meeting between two men. His buddies would already be inside, having searched out the restaurant first. And Cade wanted to go in and have a seat at the table himself. But, if this guy knew them, Cade would completely mess up the project.
Cade checked his watch. Five minutes to the meeting time. He rubbed his temple. “Of all the missions in the world we have completed, this one has my guts in a knot.”
“Because something will go wrong?”
Cade shook his head. “Because I want this guy so goddamn bad.”
“Ditto.”
Laszlo had done a walk-through in the hotel lobby. He was an expert at disguises. They were waiting for his call to tell them if the meeting was on.
The time clicked by on the clock. The dashboard digital light flickered ever so goddamn slowly that Cade wanted to pound it to make sure it was still working.
Finally they got a message from Laszlo on Erick’s phone. It’s on.
They sat back, and a breath of relief gusted out of Erick’s chest. “Thank God,” he whispered. “I was afraid the guy wouldn’t show at the last minute.”
“We’ll take him down,” Cade said. “We need a place that’s private to hold him.”
“That won’t happen. I wouldn’t mind taking him out in the restaurant,” Erick said. “There are boardrooms. As they separate, I suggest we maneuver him into one of those. It’s not like he’ll be able to fight back.”
“No, it’ll have to be outside,” Cade stated. “Otherwise we’ll end up involved in hotel security, and then we’ll have the cops all over us.”
“Good point,” Erick said. “Let’s bag and tag him, and toss him in the truck and move.”
“As long as we’re not seen,” Cade said. “What we need to do is make sure this is handled as quietly as possible.”
A second text came in. Meeting is over.
They exited the vehicle and walked up to the front of the hotel. Michael was a pro. While they could trust that Michael knew how to handle any situation, they couldn’t take for granted the fact that this hired gun was a wild card, one who appeared to be doing very well for himself.
He walked out and headed straight for the elevator. Interesting. The men slipped into the stairwell as Michael appeared to walk out the front door. He never looked back.
Outside he got out his phone.
Inside the stairwell they could still see Michael. Erick answered the call. “What happened?”
“Deal is done. I have the money. Now pick him up.”
“Any idea where he’s staying?”
“Sixth floor.”
Erick was already running. “And your men?”
“They’re on the sixth floor.” Michael’s voice was dry when he said, “Don’t shoot them.”
“Where are you going?”
“I�
��m carrying ten million dollars. I’m not going very far.”
Cade raced up the stairs. “Ten million, Jesus.”
“I know, right?” Erick said to Cade, while still holding the phone so Michael could hear their end.
“But this guy is not likely to stay at the hotel for long,” Cade said, his breathing a little winded as they neared the sixth floor.
“Just long enough to complete his business,” Erick added. “And then where the hell is he going?”
“I didn’t ask him,” Michael said.
At the sixth floor they opened the door to see a stranger walking down from the far end. It wasn’t the man they were looking for. Just then a hotel room door opened. They headed toward it. And sure enough, it was their bearded hired gunman coming out with a laptop and briefcase in his hands. He looked up, saw them, dropped what he held to reach into his jacket, as Cade and Erick rushed him, pushing him back into the room.
He glared at them and freed his gun from his shoulder holster.
Cade and Erick both saw the move coming. Cade grabbed the gun-toting arm and squeezed, the man releasing his grip and the gun dropping in Cade’s other hand, while Erick kicked him in the knee.
The hired gunman dropped to all fours on the floor, glaring at them.
The two men snorted as Laszlo and Talon slipped in from the back.
The hired gun sneered at them all. “Nothing but a bunch of wounded ex-warriors.”
Cade reached over and casually smacked him across the face. And he used his prosthetic hand to do it. The man stared at Cade’s arm, his hand going instinctively to his cheek. And that’s when Cade saw the scars and scratches on the back of his hand. Just as Faith had said. And there … he studied the look in the man’s eyes and saw the same thing the gas station attendant had seen—a cold and dead look. And dead was what Cade would be if this guy ever got the upper hand. His gaze promised retribution for this atrocity.
“Where did you get the ten million?” Erick asked.
The man’s eyebrows rose, while a smirk curled his lips. “What ten million?”
Erick laughed. “It doesn’t matter. Because the money is ours now.”
The man’s haughty glare never diminished. “Money won’t help you guys.”
The men shrugged. Cade grabbed the hired gunman, pinned his arms behind his back as the others searched him. He had a small handgun in his left sock but nothing more under his jacket. They pulled out his wallet and checked his name, confirmed it was the same as they had seen many times already. And his wallet was stuffed full of cash. Erick pulled it out, shuffled it through his fingers and whistled. “There are thousands in here alone.”
“Petty cash. Take it,” the hired gun said. “Buy yourselves a new life.”
The men just glared at him and remained silent.
But Laszlo already had the hired gun’s briefcase and the laptop. “He says that’s petty cash. Take a look at this.” He flipped the briefcase around, and, sure enough, it was stacked full of cash.
The men stared at the cash and then at the hired gunman, and Cade said, “We need to have a talk.”
The man chuckled, then shrugged.
Laszlo opened the laptop and booted it up. “It won’t matter if he talks or not. This laptop should tell us what we want to know.”
“Look. It was a job,” the hired gun said. “That’s all it was. It was a job.”
Hearing their loved ones cut down for “work” in exchange for money was beyond a slap in the face.
Several of the men took a deep breath and stepped back, realizing how close to the edge they’d all come. Laszlo had the laptop up and booted. “He’s got it locked with a password.”
“I know what it is,” Cade said instinctively.
Laszlo turned toward him and frowned. “What?”
“Try the word, Mouse.” Cade had uttered the words, but the hired gunman still had a lot of explaining to do.
Chapter 15
She hated waiting, but Faith didn’t have much more in the way of options. She wanted to text Cade to see how things had gone down, but she knew it could be the worst thing she could do right now.
This really had nothing to do with her. She just hoped that, at the end of it all, he’d come back, and she’d be safe.
As she sat on the couch, her phone rang. She checked the Caller ID to see it was Mary. She frowned. “Hello, Mary. What’s up? Is Elizabeth okay?”
Instead Elizabeth’s shaky voice said, “Hey, girlfriend.”
Faith burst into tears. “Oh, my God! You’re awake!” she cried out, laughing and cheering. She jumped to her feet, dashing around the living room.
“I am. I’m still pretty weak, but I’m awake. And I survived, which I’ll put down in part to your presence.”
Faith started to bawl. “Oh, my God! It’s been so tough not knowing what was happening with you.”
“I’m fine. Or I will be,” Elizabeth amended cheekily. “I woke up a couple hours ago. I didn’t even know what had happened. The doctors have been talking to me, and the nurses have all told me about you sitting here for days until Mary insisted you be kicked out.” Elizabeth’s voice cracked. “I’m so sorry.”
“I was horrified. I felt so betrayed and so helpless,” Faith said, rubbing her face, wiping away the tears coursing down her cheeks. “I didn’t know how to defend you when I was not even allowed to be there.”
“And I heard you. In a weird way, I heard you calling to me. You were talking about our childhood, the things we got into trouble for and the things we did together.”
“Yes,” Faith cried out. “That’s exactly what I was doing.” She sat down for a moment in awe, quietly sobbing. “I’m so happy you heard me.”
“Me too,” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “I don’t know what your schedule is like right now. And I’m definitely not in any way ready to have company, but maybe, when I do get back on my feet, we could take some time off together.”
With Faith still sobbing quietly, they made plans to talk a little more, and then Elizabeth said, “I have to get off the phone now. I’m not allowed to do too much. But I wouldn’t go to sleep tonight until I’d had a chance to connect with you.” And with that Elizabeth rang off.
Faith sat for a long moment, clutching the phone to her chest, so overwhelmed with joy that she couldn’t fathom it all. She had so many questions to ask. She presumed the sisters were at least talking, and that’s how Elizabeth had managed to call from Mary’s phone.
At the same time, Faith wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to forgive Mary for what she had put Elizabeth—and Faith—through. It just wasn’t fair. She sobbed quietly, letting the relief and pain for the last few weeks wash over her.
Curled up on the couch, she finally fell into a light doze. She woke up when there was an odd sound outside and realized it was the men coming back.
She glanced at her phone as she walked toward the front door, hearing the doorbell ring. There was a message from Cade saying it was all over. The men were returning and bringing food.
She laughed. This was the best day ever. She could hear them outside and realized she must have fallen asleep longer than she supposed at first. It was two o’clock. She opened the door to see a complete stranger standing there. She smiled up at him. “Hi.”
He smiled at her. “Hi. I have a message for Cade. Can you give it to him for me?”
She nodded and beamed. “Of course I can. What is it?”
He said, “It’s a simple phrase. If you could remember to tell him, How is Mouse? That’s all.” And then he waved at her, turned and walked down the hall.
Sleepy, it took her a minute to remember how important that name was. She frowned after him, realizing Cade would absolutely shoot her for opening the door. But the man disappeared down the stairwell. She hadn’t recognized him at all.
Just then her phone rang. She turned, closed and locked the front door, then answered the phone to find Cade calling. “Are you okay?” came his voice.
> “Elizabeth phoned me.”
“Elizabeth?” he said. “From Norway? She’s awake?”
Laughing and crying at the same time, she told him about Elizabeth’s call.
“Did she say anything about why Mary did what she did?”
“No, she just told me that she could hear me and what I’d been saying. She said she wasn’t allowed to talk on the phone for very long.”
“Excellent,” he said. “I’m so happy for you.”
“I know. Me too.” She looked at the clock. “Are you guys done yet?”
“We’re going through the guy’s laptop now. We have the money. We have everything, but he’s not talking.”
“Of course not. He’s killed a lot of people.”
“The trouble is, we don’t know exactly who he’s killed. But it is the same guy who was in Norway.”
“Right. Now don’t be mad. I saw the text message that you were picking up food and that you would come here.”
“Sure, but not for a little while yet.”
“Oh, I didn’t see that part of the message,” she said. “But I heard noises outside, so I opened the door. There was a man standing there. I was expecting you. He said he had a message for you.”
“What? You opened the door without checking?”
She winced. “Remember that part about don’t get mad?” At his ominous tone on the other end of the phone, she said, “Look. It’s okay. He’s gone. But he had a message for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes. His message was, How is Mouse? That’s all he said, and then he turned and walked away with a hand wave.”
There was dead silence on the other side of the phone.
“Cade?” she asked nervously. “Are you okay?”
“No,” he said, his voice glacial. “We’ll talk about it later. But if you open that door to anybody else but me, then you will have to face me when I get there.” His tone was beyond angry. “Do you understand? Likely you were just talking to the man who hired our hit man.”
Cade turned to face the men and to stare at the hit man still on the floor, still not saying a word. He didn’t appear to be biding his time, waiting to make an escape, though they couldn’t trust him. Cade said, “Somebody just went to Faith’s door and left a message for me.”
