No Good Dead (Bad to Be Good #1)

by Dana Volney

  “Those calls were placed the night of the alley.” She didn’t know what else to call it. The night Agent Wheeler had been murdered right in front of her? “Was Agent Wheeler in Hume’s pocket?” Teagan asked.

  “He’s clean.” Sabene scrunched her face. “But his partner, Jacob Bostick, not so much. This cat is dirty, man. Like, half of what he does isn’t for legal consumption.”

  Agent Wheeler didn’t have a chance once she’d called, and he’d been the one appointed her contact. “What’s the good news?” She held her breath, hoping Sabene would say something like “but I’ve taken care of all of them and they’re in jail as we speak.”

  “The people who wanted us dead are dead. We got all of them.” Samson crossed one ankle over his knee and put his arm across the back of the couch.

  And they had the thumb drive, which meant she could put Hume away for selling the weapons and vindicate her sister’s death. With that, the footage Sabene had from the alley shootout, and now the soft evidence that some law enforcement members were on the take, surely the charges against her would be dropped.

  “That’s that then.” Milo stood from his seat opposite Rife and clapped his hands once. “It’s been fun boys.” He glanced at each of the women. “Ladies.”

  “This shit is unreal.” Rife crossed his arms over his chest, his feet planted shoulder length apart. When he’d gotten up from his spot she had no idea, but he didn’t look like a man who was going anywhere but to hunt down Hume and whoever else he was working with.

  “We have a choice to make. Each of you do.” Able gazed around the room. “No one else is going to be able to stop Hume. He has the police in his pocket and probably politicians, considering the information he has.”

  “We have to help.” Sabene sat back in her chair. “We don’t know where his pockets end. Although ... ” Her attention trailed off to her laptop.

  “What does that look like to you?” Milo turned to face the rest of them, but his stare was intently on Able. “We kill everyone who works there? The top tier? What?”

  Able ignored Milo. “We have the power to do something not because we’re getting paid. We can look out for more than just ourselves. Do actual good for a change. Just this once.”

  Her chest warmed. Could there be hope for him getting out of this so-called profession he was in? There was no telling what he could accomplish on the side of good with his brain and skills. Okay, that was a future issue. Now, she snuck glances around the room to see how the others were reacting. She was onboard, of course, but she wasn’t who mattered. Able needed all of this team to take down Hugh.

  “All of this for a good fuck, huh?” Milo’s palms were up and gesturing to the group before he stuck them in his suit pants’ pockets.

  Holy shit.

  Able was in front of Milo in less than a heartbeat. “What did you just say?”

  “You have a thing for Teagan. We all see it, bro. I think what Milo is trying to say,” Samson glared at Milo for a split second, “is that we want to know if this is a good idea or if recent events that involve your girlfriend might be clouding your judgment on where our services are warranted.”

  She wanted to blend into the walls. And Able didn’t have a thing for her, nor was she his girlfriend. They were screwing and she was staying with him, but that was due to circumstances and a shared common goal. It wasn’t lasting. It’s not like they’d met and consciously decided to date.

  Able was too logical to let any emotions rule a decision like this. He wasn’t doing it for her, really; she suspected he had other motives, like proving to himself that he wasn’t such a bastard. Besides, she was damn fine with the way she was living her life. Milo and the others could judge all they wanted.

  “Our servicemen and women are already in harm’s way, and now this Hume fucker is putting them in more danger. I can’t let this stand. Buck the fuck up or get out of my way,” Rife said. If she didn’t know he wasn’t specifically mad at her, she’d have peed herself.

  “I’m in.” Sabene sat back in her chair and Arkham stood at her feet. “Completely.” She reached into her bag slung across the back of her chair and pulled out a treat, giving it to him then patting him on the head. Satisfied, he laid down.

  “Me, too.” Samson said.

  “I have my reservations, but this can’t stand. We’ve come this far. I won’t be able to sleep until I know this is completely closed up.” Claire answered to Able and Able only.

  “Oh, I’m in all right.” Milo leveled his gaze with Able’s. “I just want to make sure we’re all thinking clearly so no one on our side dies. Action, not reaction.”

  Something had changed in the way Milo spoke or stood or his demeanor—she couldn’t put a finger on it. She’d taken him for a guy who was flighty and trying to be charming, but there was more than charm behind those eyes and the way he carried himself. Then she blinked and when she glanced at him again, he was back to being unassuming in every way. Curious indeed.

  “Then it’s settled. We’re all in.” Able took a seat next to her on the couch.

  “We have to go at Hume pronto. Catch him while he regroups.” Samson was in big time, but his leg injury might prevent him being in the field for a while.

  “We can’t just hurt him or his company. We have to take him out completely.” Able had a far off look in his eyes. “We have to find out what he’s doing with all the information. If he’d moved on it already, we’d know.”

  “Why keep it in the first place?” Milo sat on the edge of the other couch.

  “Because these powerful types are always keeping track for their own glory and never think they’re going to get caught.” Rife shook his head. “Or for blackmail.”

  “So he’s got more around somewhere? Records of more off-the-book deals?” Teagan asked. “One of them could be for information on all the operations.”

  “I don’t know, Teagan,” Claire finally weighed in. “With Hugh going legit and wanting this new defense contract as much as he seems to, with hiring Rodney and such, he may already have wiped everything on his end to be done with it. By cleaning up all the people who’ve done a dirty deed for him in the past, he’s ensuring none of his secrets get out.”

  “Wait a minute.” Sabene drug her words out as she focused on her laptop, and then the screens were white with documents. “It looks like he has a senator in his pocket. Yep, that’s where he got the information from. Senator Gibbs is the chairman of the subcommittee on readiness and management support. He’d have access to critical data on weaponry, training, and missions with that intel and his other contacts on the Hill.”

  “We need to get into his office and see if he’s got the where and when he intends to sell the info,” Samson said.

  “I’m in his phones and this drive. I can’t get into the office system. It’s closed,” Sabene said.

  “He probably keeps a safe in his office. That’s where he’d put it if he wrote it down somewhere. Otherwise, I’ll need more time to get it out of that mind of his,” Claire said. “These spook types don’t crack easily.”

  “We need to make our play today.” Samson was really set on moving on this quickly.

  “Agreed.” Able nodded.

  Rife jacked back a giant handgun he was suddenly holding. “One between the eyes sounds pretty good to me.”

  “I can get him out of the office. Tell him I have the drive. It’s been two days, right?” Teagan sat forward.

  Able flashed a dark glare at her. “You’re not going into the field again.”

  She held his stare as she stood. She couldn’t let all these people fight her fight and not be involved. “Why not?” She slapped her hand on her hip and cocked it to the side.

  “Because we had to take out two pros in broad daylight last time.” Samson didn’t seem mad, it was just a statement about killing people. “That’s sloppy, and we need to be smarter this time.”

  “And that’s done and now you’ve cleaned up everyone on his team and Hume�
��s alone.” Look at her, using euphemisms for murder. Just like a pro.

  Able stood and the heat coming off his chest made hers melt. He was damn sexy when he was worked up. “He’s not going to stop until you’re dead, and he’s not alone.”

  “He’s hired new assassins already?” She raised her brows.

  “No.” His glance flicked to her lips for a second. “You’re forgetting about the legitimate security he has through the corporation. They are usually ex-military and trained.”

  “Oh.”

  “We can handle them,” Samson said. “The trick is going to be how to actually catch and stop Hume.”

  “So killing him is off the table?” Rife’s disappointment was palpable.

  “As a first option, yes,” Able said. “We don’t know who else is involved and whether taking Hume out will make a difference or just cause a new head to grow.”

  Rife jacked the barrel back and ejected a bullet out of the chamber, caught it in midair, and stuck the gun into the back of his jeans.

  Was it wrong that part of her was happy Hugh Hume might die—that Rife and maybe some of the others were so willing to kill him? As a moral and ethical human being, yeah, it was wrong. As a person who wanted to see ultimate justice for her sister, it was more of a gray area.

  “We can set the meeting and I’ll go instead,” Able said.

  “I can go.” Teagan’s brows wrinkled together and a pain started at the base of her neck. The tension hadn’t let up since she’d found out Tabitha was dead—with Able’s arms wrapped around her it had lessened, but now with him arguing about duties, it came back in full force. She didn’t know how to wield a weapon necessarily, but that didn’t mean she was useless.

  She opened her mouth to tell him as much, but he kept going.

  “You’ll need to help the others get into Hume Corp. and find something. Rife will be with me.”

  Because you’re going to kill Hugh?

  Able was skilled, both in brains and brawn, but Rife was definitely a shoot first kind of guy. She liked this plan.

  “I just need some personal details and I’m ready to go,” Claire said.

  “I’ll go in with you,” Samson said.

  “Actually, I think Milo should go in with Claire,” Able said, and Milo’s head whipped to him. “He is the thief, after all. Between the two of them, Teagan sharing what she knows with Sabene so they can run the op from here, and you going as the lookout to back them up, I expect results.”

  Able turned but then paused before facing Sabene. “Wait. You said Senator Gibbs?”

  “Yep.”

  Able nodded like a fucked-up plan was coming into view. “Me and the senator go back. He’s definitely Hume’s inside man.”

  “How far back?” Teagan asked.

  “Enough that I know about the deep, dark secrets he’s managed to keep buried for decades.” She could see the gears turning in his head, the strategist taking over.

  “Anything I can dig up for you?” Sabene asked.

  “I need more on a Mission Beverly Hillbillies, Sabene. It’s how he rose to power in the first place, and he’s managed to keep it most likely with shady deals like this one with Hume. There’s no telling how many times he’s done this.”

  “He can just sell us out like that? Where’s his sense of patriotism?” Rife’s tone was getting darker and darker. Frankly, Teagan was surprised he was still in the room and not actively hunting Hume down to gut him like the pig traitor he was.

  “The only thing that sociopath cares about is power. I think Hume and the senator are in this together to benefit one another with money and a career boost. Too bad for Gibbs his reign is coming to an end.” Able swiped his jacket from the table by the kitchen.

  She understood the monetary boost from selling information on US foreign ops, but career motivations? “What do you mean by career boost?”

  “Hume gets a shiny new contract that puts him heads above his competition and Gibbs is probably working an angle for power,” he answered.

  “Power?” Politicians were hard to keep up with.

  “Knowledge is power in Washington, and if he knows who has the information on missions, he could presumably use it to his benefit. Not to mention the leverage having a defense contractor at your beck and call would bring.”

  “What do you plan to do?” she asked, because she knew he already had one.

  “Set him up to burn it all to the ground.” A sly smile crossed Able’s lips, and she hated a little bit that she loved it so much.

  “I’m so in with this plan.” Milo smiled, and there should’ve been a starry flash of white like a cartoon his teeth were so bright.

  “Text me the senator’s number and his schedule. I’m going to do a drop-by.” Able was talking to Sabene but looking at Teagan. This was quite the plan he’d just spit-balled and put into action, and his stare said he was still thinking of possible outcomes. But there was more to it. More to the way he studied her.

  Then he leaned over and tingles filled her belly as his lips brushed her ear. “You’re coming with me because I am not letting you out of my sight.”

  White-hot coals stoked the simmering embers that burned for him. She’d take him right there on the couch again if the audience were gone. She raised a brow. Or maybe it didn’t even matter who was around. They all had their opinions on the subject anyway and she didn’t much care what they thought of her or her choice of hook-ups.

  Whatever their relationship was, or wasn’t, that’s not why she was here.

  She stood and followed him to the stairs. He scanned the rest of group, involved in their own side conversations.

  “Find out where Hume and Gibbs’s normal meeting spot is. I’m sure they have one, and nothing is done digitally. Gibbs is old school that way. Scope it out. I’m going to make sure all of this goes down tonight. And find a fucking cop we can trust who will be able to make the arrest and a prosecutor with the balls or at least ambition to make it stick. Oh, and for fuck’s sake, take care of Rodney.”

  She hurried down the stairs after Able. “You’re just going to go up to this senator and call him out?” They had probably one shot at getting this right. “And what are you doing with Rodney?” A chill ran down her back as cold air hit her face. Were they going to take him somewhere and kill him and dump him in the river? She wasn’t swimming in any kind of river ever again.

  “Yes. There really isn’t any other way to do it. It’s not like I can call and make an appointment the senator would take.” He didn’t answer her last question.

  They walked around back to where his Oldsmobile was parked.

  “And you’re sure this is going to work? How?”

  He opened the door for her and she stopped in front of him, chest to chest, before getting in.

  Her lips stole his gaze for a moment. “Because I know people. And I know Gibbs. He’ll play ball.”

  She raised a brow. The cockiness dripping from his grin and goatee was enough for her to want to kiss it right off of him.

  “Blackmail doesn’t faze people like him. It’s all about how you use the information.”

  She slid into the passenger seat and he slammed the door. When this was over with, she didn’t want there to be any question that Hume or any of the people he was in league with was innocent. There would be no way he wiggled out of the charges to hurt more families.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Able guided Teagan to the sidewalk that looped the National Mall in D.C. The senator often ate lunch in the outside area, even in the dead of winter, and that’s exactly where Sabene had tracked him to.

  Able had wanted to do this for years. Gibbs was a bastard long before getting into this operation.

  They needed to clone the senator’s phone. Teagan was going to have to do that while he had the older man’s attention.

  “Take this.” He handed Teagan the phone Sabene had given him earlier. “When we’re close enough, press this app and make sure it hits 100 percent.”


  “What’s it for?”

  “Gibbs’s phone.”

  Able ushered them toward the silver-haired man as he took a bite of his sandwich. He didn’t look heartless or ruthless. He looked like someone’s grandpa. Had even twenty years ago. That was how he disarmed people into listening to him.

  “Mr. March.” Knowing, dark brown eyes met his. The senator didn’t even look surprised to see him after all these years.

  “Gibbs.” Able stuck his hands in his black jacket pockets, but he was alert, scanning the area for any unfriendlies. “I’m going to get right to the point so you can continue enjoying your lunch.”

  “I always did appreciate your directness. What is it this time?”

  “Two fold. I know about your new arrangement with Hugh Hume. Which is sick, even for you.” Able glanced at Teagan, who was standing behind him and to the side. Her hands were in her pockets, too, and he’d bet she already started the cloning procedure. “And, I have the specific mission details of Beverly Hillbillies in case you’re not inclined to extend a friendly invitation.”

  “And?” Gibbs’s sneer was thick.

  “I want in.”

  “And there it is.” Gibbs set down his plastic fork in his salad.

  “There’s plenty to go around. And I hear he’s a little short on guns. I know people who’d love to lend a hand.”

  “Or what? You’ll go public?”

  “Something like that.”

  He’d kill the bastard then let the information out for good measure to ruin his reputation.

  “Who’d believe you?” Gibbs asked.

  “It’s all about the spin these days. And when you’re not around to defend yourself it’s easier to believe the information at your fingertips.”

  “Humph.” Gibbs stood and rivaled Able’s height. “I’m not succumbing to your imbecilic threats. I happen to be in the market for a good shot myself.”

  “There’s more. I want to be a part of the meeting and I want it to happen tonight. Call him and set it up. I need him to know I’m responsible for taking out his new hires and that I’m now a part of them team you two have formed.”