She’d expected the nickname to grate on her nerves just as it had a million times before, but this time that didn’t happen.
Weird.
When she stopped at Gunnar’s door, she held her breath until the door opened under her hand. Thankfully, Remi hadn’t done a reset since this morning and forgotten to tell her. She waved at him and called, “Good night.”
“Night.”
Jorja shut the door behind her and made sure it was locked before climbing the stairs to the main living space. She poured herself a glass of wine and fixed a bowl of cereal. “It’s been a long-ass upheaval-y kind of day. Sue me for wanting to go to bed tipsy.” She brought the wine and cereal into the living room with her and found the TV remote down the back of the couch, along with two bullets, a pen, and some kind of tool which looked like a snowflake, and rolled her eyes. “Better get used to this, sister. Talking to yourself in an empty house. Finding bullets down the back of the couch… figure out if you can deal. If not, now is the time to walk your butt right on out the door and go home.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
A lot of times,having a metric shit ton of money sucked. Especially when you didn’t know if people were your friend for you, or for the amount at the end of your bank statement. At other times, it fucking rocked, Gunnar decided. Especially when you wanted to land at a private airport, transfer a prisoner to a blacked-out truck, and transport him across town to your fancy ass compound which had a cell with his name on it. “Hit the wire there, will ya, Colt, and tell Dory we are two minutes out.”
“On it.” Colt picked up the handset. “Yo, Dory, flip the switch. We’ll be there in two.”
“Copy.”
“I can’t wait to have a real fucking shower.” Colt replaced the handset on the hook. “This shit of having sand and dirt itching the crack of my ass is getting old.”
“Maybe it’s you who’s getting old,” Gunnar teased.
“You’re older than me, bro.” Colt waved at the camera as they swept through the gates of their Agadir compound and around the back of the building. It wouldn’t do for anyone to get a glimpse of them hauling the asshole Zombie hadcaptured in the front door. “What’s that make you? Grandpa?”
“Mature. It makes me mature.”
“Sure.” Colt drawled out the word. “If you say so.”
Sometimes having brothers, especially younger ones, was a pain in the ass. His mom should have listened when he’d begged her to send them back when he was two. Instead, here he was four decades later and stuck with them. Gunnar pulled the truck parallel with the entrance and jumped out to open the door for Marco. It took both of their efforts to haul the prisoner out, and they half carried-half dragged him toward the cells. “Move, motherfucker.” He jerked hard on the prisoner’s upper arm. “You’re going in there the easy way, aka walking, or the hard way, with me dragging your ass. Don’t matter none to me which it is.”
“This is illegal…”
“Quit whining and move your ass,” he grumbled.
What the hell ever happened to taking your punishment like a man, for fuck’s sake?
“My government will pay to get me back.”
“Your government won’t pay jack shit,” Gunnar deadpanned. “I don’t need your country’s fucking money. I couldn’t spend what’s in my bank account if I went shopping with my ex—wife for six months straight.” He nodded to Talon and his brother made a clicking sound with his tongue.
Zombie immediately snarled and snapped at the back of the prisoner’s calves without making contact. Gunnar bit back a grin when the man jumped and shot forward. There was nothing like the threat of a pissed off MWD to get someone’s reluctant ass in gear. This moment right here reinforced the reason he had fought so hard for Zombie to retire from the military with Talon. It had taken a personal guarantee of continued service via Black Ops to the President of the United States to secure those orders, but Zombie wasworth it. With Zombie’s aid, they got the prisoner into the holding cell.
One of Dory’s men ensured the door was secured before taking up guard duty in front of it. “Dory is waiting for you upstairs, Sir.”
“Thank you.” Gunnar nodded to Dolan, a recent recruit to The Four X’s Group from Delta Force. Dolan would spend at least another six months here, completing the BUD/s style course before graduating to field ops. In his book, there was no such thing as too much training. Fail in training, succeed on the field was one of the core values of his business. All his commanders ensured their guys complied or were cut loose. “If he insists he needs some shit or to use the john, the door is not to be opened unless me or my brothers are present. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.” Dolan stood at parade rest. “You have my word.”
“Store your crap, boys.” Gunnar headed for the elevator which would take them upstairs to what had been the hotel kitchen before he purchased the former hotel. “We’ll be here until he tells us everything.” As much as he’d love to be on a flight back to Italy, this wasn’t a job he wanted to hand over to someone else. This was personal. This fucker had sent lead down range toward him. He wanted to know why and how he’d earned himself a spot on the shit… sorry… hit list.
The elevator doors slid open. He greeted the man standing waiting for them. “Hey, Mojo.” They bumped fists and kept walking. “Am I not important enough for Dory to drag his sorry ass down here?”
“Nah, he’s squaring away some operators and the Nemesis man you sent our way.”
“Ah.” He grabbed a cookie from a tray on the countertop and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing as he spoke around it. “Do we have a problem?”
“Nah, nothing we can’t handle.” Mojo pushed open thedoor and led him into the dining room. “Coffee is made and in the usual spot. Dory will be here in a minute.”
“Thanks.” Gunnar bypassed the coffee and headed straight for the line of bottles on the top shelf. He grabbed a glass, filled it, and tossed it back, before refilling it and swallowing it down too, then taking the coffee Talon handed him. “Thanks.”
