The Exit Strategy Bundle

by Jocelynn Drake

  “Nothing upstairs,” he announced.

  “Nothing a good housekeeper can’t fix,” Gabriel said.

  “I don’t think anyone has been here.”

  Gabriel shook his head. He gripped the back of one of the chairs in the formal dining room. There was some old mail on the polished surface and some other flotsam of life. He had a feeling that this room was rarely used. The small family probably ate most of their meals around the little table in the kitchen. It was more intimate and warmer.

  “With the contract bounty so high and open, it would be too big of a risk to just set a trap for Devlin, waiting for the man to return home. The odds were greater that he’d be spotted and killed while he was on the run.”

  Justin nodded. “I agree.”

  Gabriel sighed. “Then why don’t I feel good about leaving him alone here while we return home to Colorado?”

  “Because you’re a smart man,” Justin replied with a grin. “Someone wanted this man dead. Went to the extent of killing his husband. I know the contract has been canceled, but this doesn’t feel done to me.”

  Gabriel nodded. It wasn’t done. They needed to find the person who started all this. “How about you do a quick sweep through the backyard? I’ll go tell Devlin and Jake that it’s clear. They can at least start taking steps to reclaim their life while we do a little more legwork. Track this fucker down.”

  Justin walked around the table and pressed a hard kiss to Gabriel’s lips. “Damn, you’re sexy when you’re in a killin’ mood.” He continued through the kitchen, whistling to himself as he exited through the back door.

  He was a strange man. But Justin Mallory was his strange man.

  Chapter 17

  Justin paced over to the large window overlooking Elliott Bay. Gabriel had insisted that it was better that they get a room in Seattle rather than Devlin’s small town so as not to draw notice. It had also given him the chance to get a posh room in the Four Seasons rather than a more rustic room at one of the local motels. Not that Justin could complain too much. Gabriel had already fully outfitted them with weapons, cash, and some additional gear from his secret stash.

  God, he loved this man.

  After some amazing sex and equally amazing room service, they were ensconced in their quiet room. Gabriel was seated on the bed, wearing only his boxers, with a laptop as he went through the latest bit of data they had. Marilyn had written earlier in the day saying that neither Coleman nor Oliver worked out as a possible contract holder. She was still checking, but it looked like they were back to square one.

  “This is ridiculous!” Justin snapped. “I’ve got nothing. I never have nothing. There’s always something.”

  “Have you heard from Kai?”

  Justin shook his head as he walked over to the massive king-sized bed. He flopped onto his back across the bottom, just missing Gabriel’s feet with his head. “Nothing. But your ex doesn’t seem the type to send funny texts for the hell of it.”

  Gabriel glared at him over the top of the computer screen for a second before looking down again.

  “Did he ever tell you how he managed to find Devlin in the first place?” Justin asked when the clatter of laptop keys stopped.

  “No. I didn’t press him for it. I thought we were just relieved to have them safely in our custody.”

  Justin pushed off the bed and walked over to the dresser where his phone was currently charging. “Do you think he’s in town?”

  “Kai? No idea. Why? What are you thinking?”

  Justin was already dialing Kai’s number, not sure whether to expect Kai to pick up or not. “I’m thinking I want to know how Devlin was spotted by Kai. And I want to know how he was found at our house.”

  Now that he’d said both things out loud, Justin realized that they were the two thorns that were still sticking in his side about Devlin.

  At first, the rush had been to find him before the other assassins found him, particularly Kai. Then it was about keeping Devlin and Jake safe while he completed his research. They’d worked hard to protect and hide them from the world, but there’d always been this nagging feeling that eventually they would be discovered.

  To Justin, it had always been about when, not if they’d be discovered.

  They’d plugged up the holes as much as they could. Jess knew about their presence at the house, but she didn’t know their last names and she wasn’t the type to gossip. He couldn’t imagine her telling anyone else that they had guests. Devlin didn’t go into town when they ran errands. He remained hidden in the house. Jake accompanied Gabriel or Justin a few times, but Justin was sure that it was unlikely the little boy was going to be recognized.

  So how was Devlin found in Colorado?

  “What do you want, Mallory?” Kai demanded when he answered the phone.

  “It’s so nice to talk to you too,” Justin mocked. He turned and leaned his butt against the edge of the dresser, smiling at Gabriel, who had set his laptop aside. He was now sitting on the side of the bed with his feet on the floor as if he were trying to decide whether to stop whatever evil Justin was planning.

  “Is there a point to this call? I’ve got work to do.”

  “I thought we could chat. We’ve got so much in common.”

  “I’m hanging up.”

  “How did you find Devlin in Montana?” Justin quickly asked before Kai could end the call.

  “What?”

  “Montana? You remember—about two weeks ago when you were determined to kill an innocent man.”

  “Fuck you!”

  Justin was secretly glad that he hadn’t put the call on speaker, because he was already getting under the man’s skin. Gabriel was sending him a warning look to behave himself, and he knew he really should be a little nicer. It was just that jealousy was still nipping at him when it came to Kai. He was a tall, sexy man who had touched his G Love. It didn’t matter that it had been long before they’d ever met. He didn’t want anyone touching his Gabriel ever.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to at least sound contrite. “I’m serious, though. Contract is canceled.”

  “I saw that.”

  “Devlin and Jake are home again. But I don’t think they’re safe. My spidey sense is tingling. How did you find them in Montana?”

  “His bank account. He did a wire transfer in Montana when he bought the truck. I followed him there. Caught some traffic cams of him outside of Helena. I fucking lucked into a glimpse of the truck while I was passing through a town one day but lost him again.”

  “And the cabin?”

  Kai gave a low, rusty laugh, and Justin couldn’t help tensing. “I was in the grocery store picking up some supplies when I saw Gabriel. For a minute, I thought he’d followed me, looking for a second round.”

  “Watch it,” Justin snarled, which only got Kai laughing again.

  “But he seemed oblivious to me. I figured that he must be in town for Relic. Since I’d lost the target but knew he was close, I thought I’d keep an eye on Gabriel for a while. See if he had a better lead on Relic.”

  “And that’s when you followed us to Devlin’s cabin in the woods,” Justin murmured, filling in the rest of the story.

  “Exactly. I’m guessing you were so excited to spot him that you didn’t even notice me tailing you.”

  Justin gave a ragged sigh. “We’d been wandering through the woods and small towns for days with zero leads. Marilyn intercepted an email he’d sent to a friend asking the person to pull money out of his bank account in Washington and wire it to this grocery store in Montana.”

  “Pretty smart.”

  “It was a good try. If Marilyn hadn’t seen the email, we wouldn’t have been able to find him.”

  “What about your house? There was trouble there, right? Attacks?”

  “We’re still trying to figure those out.”

  “But you think he’s still in danger,” Kai pressed. His voice was becoming harder, more urgent.

  “It’s just a fe
eling. Someone went to a lot of trouble to get rid of Devlin. Went to the extent of killing his husband. Even with the contract canceled, I don’t know if this person is simply going to walk away.”

  “I think your feeling is right. How far away from Devlin are you?”

  “About twenty minutes. Why?”

  “I’m more than an hour south in Tacoma. Keep an eye on them until I get there.”

  Justin was shocked at the command and it took him an extra second to find his voice again. “Wait! Do you know who issued the contract?”

  “Not a fucking clue,” he grumbled. “I’ve been tracking down the bastard that would kill an innocent schoolteacher. He’s been taken care of, but he didn’t know who issued that contract or the one on Devlin’s life.”

  “Are you sure—”

  “Trust me, I know how to ask questions.” There was something frighteningly cold in the man’s voice. Justin had little doubt his target had given up his darkest secrets by the time Kai was done asking questions. If he ever knew the contract owner, he would have spilled. There was a good chance that the hit man had never bothered to look into the contract. Just saw the payday and took it.

  “We’re leaving shortly,” Justin said.

  “Keep them alive,” Kai ordered and then hung up.

  Justin lowered his phone and stared at it in confusion for a moment. He was stunned by Kai’s words and actions. After the contract had been killed, Justin had fully expected Kai to walk away from his whole thing. It had likely been a huge expense and a disaster for him. Justin had figured he’d want some distance from the mess. But he was still here in Washington. He’d taken out Adam’s killer.

  “What’s up?” Gabriel asked. Justin dragged his eyes over to his lover to find him standing beside the bed.

  “Kai’s in Washington. Tacoma. He took out the man who killed Devlin’s husband.”

  Gabriel’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. He looked just as surprised as Justin felt. “That’s…unexpected,” Gabriel finally said.

  “He’s heading north to Devlin’s to keep an eye on him. Wants us to watch the house until he gets here.”

  “Does he know who wants Devlin dead?”

  Justin shook his head and proceeded to fill Gabriel in on the conversation he had with the mercenary while throwing him the pants he’d taken off earlier. He’d really been looking forward to sleeping in that big soft bed, his body wrapped around Gabriel, but it looked like they were going to be spending the night in the rental SUV. He guessed it was better than the car they slept in during the winter in the Ukranian woods, but not by much.

  While Gabriel tracked down the rest of his clothes, Justin glanced over at the bedside clock. It was just after eight in the evening. Not too late. He dialed Devlin’s number. He just needed an answer to one more question.

  “Hello?” Devlin greeted on the second ring.

  “Hey, Devlin. It’s Justin,” he replied, forcing his tone to remain casual and light when he was feeling anything but. “Sorry to bother you so late.”

  “It’s no bother. I was just giving Jake his one-hour warning before bedtime. He’s been reacquainting himself with all his toys since he got home.”

  Justin chuckled and this one was genuine. He could only imagine how relieved the little boy was to be in his own home with the promise of sleeping in his own bed that night. He’d been on the run for so damn long.

  “Something has just been nagging the back of my brain, and I’m hoping that you can help me.”

  “Sure, anything.”

  “Gabriel and I are trying to figure out how the mercenaries found out you were staying at our house. We were so damn careful.”

  “I know. I was shocked. Jake and I always felt so safe with you.”

  “You didn’t tell anyone you were staying in Colorado, right?”

  “No, of course not!” Devlin said on a gasp.

  “I didn’t think so, but I had to ask. Was there any way for Jake to tell a friend?”

  “No. Jake doesn’t have a cell phone or social media accounts. He’s far too young for that nonsense. He doesn’t email. I never saw him with a phone. I don’t even think he has any phone numbers memorized.”

  “I didn’t think that was likely either,” Justin said. He cut off Devlin’s ramble. “We just have to explore every avenue, no matter how ridiculous.”

  “I understand. What about Jess or her family?”

  “Maybe. We never gave any of them your last name, but there’s a small chance one of them said something to a neighbor in town. I’m going to call them next. When you were talking to the other scientists, did you ever talk on the phone?”

  “It was all email.”

  “And you always went through the VPN? You always used the network Gabriel set you up on?”

  “Yes. Of course. I—” Devlin’s voice suddenly cut off and there was a long tense silence on the line. Justin’s heart skipped a beat and he held his breath, waiting for Devlin to continue speaking. He’d remembered something. Something critical. “I answered some emails on my phone. I was taking a break from work one afternoon. I’d sent all the research out and I was exhausted. My brain was so fried.”

  “It’s okay…” Justin said calmly while his heart raced.

  “No, it’s not. I-I walked out onto the back deck to get some fresh air and I’d grabbed my damn phone out of habit. Several emails popped up while I was sitting out there and I replied to them without thinking.”

  “Was it your real phone or that disposable I saw you with?”

  “Umm…the disposable…I think.”

  “Any phone calls with either phone?”

  “No…fuck, yes. One. It was the disposable and was really short. Maybe only two minutes. It was a coworker at the think tank. He was worried about me and Jake.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Fuck. I screwed this up. I’d been so careful for so long, and I fucked this all up,” Devlin moaned.

  “Devlin, we don’t know that. But I do need this person’s name. Just so we can check into him. It could be nothing.”

  But it didn’t feel like nothing. The use of his phone probably meant that he’d been tracked through the cell phone tower in the area. There were fewer than a dozen homes served by that tower. He knew personally because he’d checked shortly before they bought the house. Justin was determined to know all the perks and shortcomings of his home if he and Gabriel were going to stay safe.

  There was still a chance that the information had been given away by Jess or one of her family, but at this point, Justin was willing to put his money on the person Devlin called.

  “I…I talked to Liam Monroe, but I know he’d never want to hurt me. He’s a good guy. Nice. Funny. He was there for me and Jake when Adam died. He checked on us. He never believed the whispers and accusations when people thought I was behind Adam’s death.”

  Maybe because Liam knew exactly who killed Adam, but that was still speculation. Liam could be the person behind the contract. Or someone could just be watching Liam. Using him to get to Devlin. Either way, he needed to be checked out.

  “Was there anyone else you talked to?”

  “No. No, I don’t think so.”

  “Who did you email on your phone?”

  “I’m not sure. I’d have to check.”

  “Check for me and text me the names when you have a moment.”

  “I’m so sorry, Justin. You and Gabriel have done so much for me. Put your lives in danger for me and Jake. I—”

  “It’s okay, Devlin. We knew the risks.”

  “But Repeat…”

  “It’s okay,” Justin repeated calmly, his heart going out to the man.

  Justin knew what it was like to be exhausted on a job. Slipups happened no matter how hard you tried to be careful. Devlin had been running on fumes for weeks, if not months. It was their own fault for not insisting that he take more time to rest and recharge his own batteries.

  “Just text me those names. We
’re going to do a little more research.”

  “Are we safe? Should I get Jake and find a hotel to stay at?”

  “No. Stay right where you are. Gabriel and I decided to stay in town for the night. We’ll do some digging around while we’re here. I’m sure you’re safe. This is just checking to make sure all the loose ends are tied up.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem. Gabriel and I will be in contact.”

  He quickly ended the call and turned to find Gabriel fully dressed. He’d pulled on a leather jackass rig over his black button-down shirt that accentuated his shoulders and chest in such a way that Justin was suddenly thinking that maybe he should ask him to wear it to bed one night. He didn’t need to have the two guns in the holsters under his arms. But the leather was definitely a turn-on.

  “Sex later,” Gabriel said firmly as if reading his thoughts.

  Justin smirked and reached down to adjust himself in his jeans. “Definitely. I’m thinking we should invest in some leather for you.”

  Gabriel huffed a laugh as he finished checking the magazine for his final handgun before shoving it into the holster.

  “Will I get a whip or a flogger to go with it?”

  Justin rubbed his eyes, but it was too late to get that mental image out of his head. At least he knew his sex life with Gabriel would always be interesting. “Let’s table that for when we get home. Liam Monroe.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Coworker of Devlin’s. They talked on the phone. The pay-by-the-minute phone. I’m thinking either Liam or someone watching Liam tracked Devlin by the cell tower.”

  Gabriel grabbed his own phone from his pocket and started typing. “I’m texting Marilyn. See if she can do a little digging. I’m sure it’s going to cost us,” Gabriel added as a warning.

  Marilyn had gone above and beyond on this job. She was their handler, which meant that she dealt with contracts, acted as a middlewoman, a negotiator. She researched contracts and contract owners, but only to protect her interests. If she handed bad jobs over to mercenaries, she was less likely to negotiate more contracts for that person.