"Ready?"
Separately, we got in three different SUVs with four guards each. A certain persona had to be upheld, and we were playing the part of powerful men arriving at an important event. Timing was everything, so we circled the block when we arrived a few minutes too early.
"Fuck, is that Lucian Peralta?" I hissed.
Noah glanced out the window next to him and frowned. "Looks like it, boss."
"That motherfucker is supposed to be inside by now."
If they weren't inside the dining area of the venue in time, they wouldn't be injured, much less killed, in the blast. It was imperative that we took out the head of the Peralta Family in this hit.
I contemplated circling the block another time, but the vehicles had surely drawn attention by that point. I let them pull up to the curb without a word, and mentally prepared for whatever we might face. Just as I stepped out of the vehicle, Lucian turned to the man next to him and clapped him on the back. Together, the two men made their way inside, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Glancing at my watch, I saw that we had about sixty seconds until detonation time.
Caden and Logan climbed out of the two vehicles behind mine, turning to speak to the security men inside. Noah, Sam, and Mike exited the vehicles and stood near the curb.
"Just act like we're heading in at any second," I whispered to the man standing closest to me.
"Yep," Noah said, fiddling with his cufflinks and taking one step toward the front door. Without conscious thought, he scanned the surrounding area for any sign of a threat.
Sam adjusted his earpiece and spoke into the microphone hidden in his cuff. "Forty-five seconds."
"Got it." I figured I could move another ten feet forward without reaching the impact zone we'd mapped out, so I began to amble off.
A car pulled up behind us at that second, tires screeching as the driver hit the brakes. Carson got out and followed me, but Mike spotted him first.
"Mr. Gallagher!"
I turned at the sound of my name, spotted my father, and scowled.
"You thought you could plan all this hullabaloo without me?" Carson shouted.
"Now is not the time," I said through gritted teeth, trying to take Carson's elbow to steer him away from the building.
Carson walked past me, limping in the direction of the front door. "It's never the right time with you! I don't care what you think you're doing, but I'm attending this meeting." He reached for the door handle.
"Fuck's sake, old man, don't you listen to anything—"
As promised, the explosion was devastating. People on the sidewalk screamed, ducking for cover. Uniformed employees ran out of the burning building, dodging falling debris. Logan, Caden, Noah, and the others ran toward the last place they'd seen Burke and Carson.
Through the ringing in their ears, the shouted discord of terrified patrons, and wailing sirens rapidly approaching, Logan and Caden called for their boss. Thick smoke curled around them, hazy and blinding. It stung their eyes and watered their noses.
"They weren't that close to the blast!" Logan shouted. "They should be okay!"
"The glass above the door shattered," Caden said. "Be careful."
"What?"
"Over here!" Sam called.
They found them several feet from the last place they'd stood. In a crouch, the five men began to pat down both Burke and Carson, looking for obvious wounds.
"Burke," Logan called. "Burke, wake up!" Logan slapped his cheeks a few times, but the sight of the white tuxedo shirt stained red did not bode well.
"Mr. Gallagher? Carson?" Caden shouted, trying to rouse his uncle.
"Goddammit, Burke, open your eyes and say something!" Logan shouted in his ear.
Instead of opening his eyes, his friend remained motionless aside from the shallow rise and fall of his chest.
