As I was shutting down the shop to go get Rafi, I had Omar giving me intel on his location. He spied Rafi talking to a man with a dangerous affiliation, and I don’t know that anyone else on the team would’ve recognized the medallion hanging from his neck. Even scarier, the man didn’t bother to hide it. We were in motion before they’d ever put their hands on Rafi and Parker.
We found the driver right away, but he ran when he saw us. I almost sent Omar after him, but I could only think about getting to Rafi and using overwhelming force to do it. Once we’d gotten the situation contained, and I had Rafi by my side where he belonged, I saw the driver walking around the periphery of the property, talking into his phone. I’d sent Omar and the twins to put a knot in that particular loose end.
I step back out into the alley and hop into the bed of the truck, tying up these morons with ruthless efficiency, not bothering to be gentle. One of the assholes tries to give me shit, and I stuff paper towels into his mouth. Anders and Odd come in from their sweep of the area. “Their ride is seven minutes out,” Odd informs me.
Now that I have a few minutes to cool my heels and beg my dick to take a downward position, my brain starts shouting panic-inducing scenarios.What kind of trouble is Rafi in?
Anders eyes the two guys in the bed of the truck and chuckles. “Damn, you fucked them up with that rope.”
“Not necessarily.It’ll only hurt if they decide to struggle.”
Omar scopes out the shop. “Where is my brother-in-law?”
“I’ve got him and Parker in the safe room.”
He seems to support this decision, even though it involves family, and that’s what’s going to make him a kick-ass operator for our little ragtag crew.
“And hey…you probably shouldn’t go back to your apartment.”
Anders sidles up next to us and gives Omar a brilliant smile. “Darlin’, if you need a place to stay, you can always bunk with me.”
“No, thank you.” Omar’s attitude is solid stone, and I have no idea why Anders keeps throwing pebbles at him.
“No worries, man. Offer stands. And hey, sorry we fucked up your first mission. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of bad guys to kill.”
Irritation crosses Omar’s face, but he hides it quickly. “I’m not that worried about it. What are we going to do about my place?”
Odd answers, “We’ve got some guys to check it out and make sure there’s nobody waiting for you, plus do a sweep for bugs, and our tech guy, Jake, is checking out the surveillance cameras and satellites for the area, just to see if anything pops up.”
Omar inclines his head, clearly not happy. “Sounds good. Think we’ll get the all clear by tonight?”
I swear, I’m going to need a mouthguard after this. “Probably, but I’m not comfortable with Rafi going back there.”
“No shit. I just want to know if I’ll be able to pick up some necessities, or if we should stop by Walmart.”
We stand there for a moment, quiet as the sounds of South Congress filter through the buildings. Anders and Omar are standing guard over our charges, so I sidle up next to Omar.
“What do you think this is?”
Omar pauses and considers something before shaking his head.
“What?” I suspect that he doesn’t want whatever scenario he just imagined to be true.
He lets out a sigh, then brings his eyes to mine. “You and Anders were right before—you’d taken out my father’s entire organization except for a few minor players. These three guys should be it, but…I can’t shake the feeling that they’re not. That last guy was on the phone withsomebody.”
I know better than to dismiss an operative’s intuition. “Give me your worst-case scenario, then.”
“I have a cousin in the States.”
My jaw ticks. “You said Rafi was the only relative you have left.”
He nods, grimacing. “I was disowned by everyone except Asadi.”
I wonder briefly if this is where he admits his sexuality, though his closed expression tells me otherwise.
“Why would this cousin hate Rafi? Does he have ties to your father’s organization?”
He shakes his head. “More like his money. By the time everything was said and done, a big portion of my father’s cash was given to his firstborn. Asadi.”
