Aiden and Jericho rolled their eyes. On the ground at their feet was a body wrapped in trash bags. Well, really, it was just a bunch of newspapers wrapped in trash bags and strategically duct taped to give the appearance of a dead body. It wasn’t great but it would pass from the window. Nobody had wanted to worry about dumping a random corpse and cleaning up a real murder. Crime scene clean-up was tedious and time consuming.
Besides, they just needed Micah so invested in collecting his ‘evidence’ that he wouldn’t see Seven or the twins coming up on him from behind.
“Do you have a visual confirmation?” Aiden asked.
“That it’s Micah?” Avi said. “No. His face is covered.” The next response was said not to them but to Asa, though the mic was still hot. “It’s one of those balaclava things like you wear to chase Zaney around in the woods during sexy times.”
Thomas’s voice was farther away but his exasperation was loud and clear. “Please, spare me.”
It was so weird having Thomas Mulvaney himself on an actual mission. But it did explain why Seven had insisted on tagging along. And why he’d insisted on being on whatever team Thomas was on for this little take-down operation.
“We’re sure he’s alone, Noah?” Jericho asked.
Noah piped in. “Yeah, all other cameras are clear.”
“You’ve got an audience. He’s at the window. He’s filming you,” Seven noted.
“Let’s go,” Asa said just before the comms went quiet in his ear.
They stood there doing their part to look like they were invested in this Halloween decoration of a dead body, pretending a camera wasn’t trained on them as they spoke. There was a startled cry, then boots on gravel, a thud against the side of the cabin and then the door burst open, Asa and Avi dragging a man in black cargo pants, a black polo shirt, and black boots between them. Not hiking boots, but the fancy kind that white collar guys paid hundreds for and only wore on date night.
They man was shouting at them and wrenching himself this way and that, but he was no match for the twins. Levi’s stomach plummeted as he met the man’s eyes. That wasn’t Micah. The moment the handcuffs secured him to the chair, Aiden whipped the man’s balaclava off like they were dealing with a Scooby Doo villain.
“Who the fuck are you?” Aiden asked, floating closer.
Levi didn’t care who he was. He pulled his phone from his pocket, his mind reeling. He first thought to call Shiloh but then stopped. He didn’t want to freak him out for no reason. Just because Micah wasn’t there didn’t mean it was a set-up. Maybe he just didn’t want to risk going himself. Instead, he dialed Nico.
“‘Sup, man. Finish him off already?” Nico said by way of greeting.
“Is everything okay?” he asked in a rush. “Is Shiloh okay?”
“He’s fine. What’s up, dude? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“Where’s Shiloh?” Levi repeated, a hard edge to his voice.
“Sleeping in your room. He passed out after dinner.”
“You’re sure? You have eyes on him?”
“Dude, hold on.” Levi’s heart pounded as he listened to Nico’s footsteps. A moment later, his phone chimed. Levi clicked on the image file. Shiloh was curled up on his mattress, his curls fanned out around him, one foot hanging half off the bed. He wore Levi’s Animaniacs boxers and a t-shirt with Jericho’s garage logo on it.
“There you go, dude. Proof of life. Tell me what’s happening. You sound like a lunatic right now.”
“What’s going on?” Levi heard Mal ask.
“I have no idea. Levi is freaking out,” Nico said.
Levi knew he was on speakerphone when Mal said, “Micah didn’t show, did he?”
“No. I don’t know who this dude is but he’s definitely not Micah.”
“Not surprised. Micah only does his own dirty work when it comes to Shiloh and me. It’s weird, though. My brother wouldn’t trust one of those morons he keeps around with something as important as this. Maybe he hired out,” Mal mused.
“Just keep Shiloh safe and maybe don’t tell him about this. I don’t want him panicking.”
“Yeah, hopefully he’ll just sleep through it,” Mal said. “But what do we do about Micah now?”
“Fuck if I know. I’ll find out what the plan is and then text you once we figure out who the fuck this dude is.”
