Clay Langston and the others from Reflex had not had a clue what went on in the operations section of the microbrewery. She snorted silently.Those sorry fuckers probably thought guzzling Miller High Life meant they knew everything they needed to know about beer.Pausing for a moment, she thought it odd that she hadn’t seen nor heard Jack or Thom, especially because of Rob Kilgore’s betrayal, but then shrugged and dismissed it.No matter. They’re probably coordinating something else with their sleazy little embezzlement grift.Worrying about one of them on-site as opposed to three of them was far preferable in her book.
She and Indi were hidden in a good place at the moment, but she knew that wasn’t going to last. Brooke adjusted the messenger bag draped over her body. When Langston realized the information he was looking forwasn’tin the office, he would know one of them had the papers on her. There was a lot of equipment and materials in the operations section, so it would be difficult for her and Indi to defend themselves from where they were currently hidden, even though they were both armed. Clay Langston would have a much cleaner shot coming through the entrance into the operations room. Determined to get his hands on those folders, he would come in, actively shooting, and force them to keep a defensive position as he advanced.
How in the fuck were they going to distract him?
She was hidden behind one large containment tank, and India was concealed behind another. The operations space was large, but it wouldn’t take forever for Clay to locate them. The tanks were their best chance of concealment in the brewery itself.But how can the entire setup and layout back here be used to our advantage?she thought, racking her brain in frustration.
And then, suddenly…it hit her.Utopia.
Brooke remembered the day Blake had explained to her that Drew Hollister was “smoke,” a legendary phantom in Purgatory and amongst the criminal element of the Tampa Bay area. “If my cuz doesn’t want you to see her, youwon’t,” Blake had explained to her. “Drew calculates where you expect to see her, then makes sure she is anywherebutthere. Consequently, no one ever sees her coming, making it much easier for her to take them down.” When Brooke had taken her maiden test drive in Utopia with Blake’s crew, she’d used what Blake had taught her about Drew’s methods to create a disruption that had allowed the APS team to divert the enemy combatants’ attention enough so they could take them out.
That’s it. That’s how we’ll get him!
Leaning back so she could see Indi’s face, she flashed her a thumbs-up sign, then pointed at herself to indicate to Indi she should follow her lead. Puzzled, Indi nonetheless nodded, alert to Brooke’s movements as the graphic artist felt a wicked smile curl the edges of her mouth. Clay Langston had no fucking idea what he had bought himself with his sleazy con and all the harm he had done to the people Brooke cared about. But he was about to learn a verypainfullesson, if Brooke had anything to say about it.
Because this piece of shit fuckstick was about to godown.
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“No movement that I can see.” Trill was across the street from Cask & Canvas, a spotting scope with night vision in front of her, peering through the big picture window in the front of the microbrewery. The St. Petersburg police were diverting traffic around the block, citing a possible underground water main break—while making it appear the Public Works department was investigating—so no suspicions were aroused. “This is a fucking shitty vantage point. I can barely see dick in there, even with the night vision on the scope. We can’t breach through the front entrance until Teagan’s team ensures the alarm has been disabled. Remy’s working on it now.”
The rest of the APS management team, scattered in different places so they stayed off radar, remained alert. Kenn and Casey were covering the rear of the facility, Bryn was having a discreet conversation with one of the police officers, and Blake kept Brooke up to date via comm so Brooke could keep abreast of their plans. “I’ll let you know when the alarm has been disabled, baby, and we’re ready to breach. Drew and I will be the first two in as soon as we can confirm the taproom is still clear. Be alert because we’ll be moving fast. We have no way of knowingif Langston is in the office or in the rear brewing section, but I suspect he’ll be focused on looking for information in the office. Hang tight.”
“Less than ten minutes before Rem has the alarm disabled, cuz. She’s moving carefully so she doesn’t trigger anything else,” Teagan told her over the comm. “We’re almost there. Shae and Dani are on-site now, Riley has them in the loop, and they’re communicating with Indi. Right before we breach, we’ll let Brooke and Indi know through the comms to stay concealed and hold their fire because we’ll be in there. That way, we can take that motherfucker down without any issues.”
Blake blew out a deep breath, praying that her woman was okay, knowing the whole explosive situation was about to ignite. “Let’s hope, Teag. Let’s hope. Because I will ventilate that human piece of garbage myself, if it’s the last thing I ever do.”
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Fuck.Brooke closed her eyes for a moment when she heard Teagan’s words.
She and Indi didn’thaveten minutes. Hearing Clay Langston screaming in fury because he couldn’t find what Rob Kilgore had hidden meant he was on the verge of storming into the brewery operations room to hunt them down until he found them. Thinking rapidly, Brooke used hand signals to convey to Indi that she wanted the Infinity operative to draw Langston’s attention toward her and the storage tanks positioned in the middle while Brooke snuck around the outside of the last containment tank where she was hidden. Understanding lit India’s expression, and she nodded, immediately focusing on the door to the office as Brooke slipped around the side of the last tank. Her heart in her mouth, she heard Clay stomping to theentrance to the operations room a moment later, yelling at the top of his lungs.
“You fucking bitches aredead.” Clay appeared in the doorway between the microbrewery office and the operations section. “What did you do with those files, you cunts?Iknowyou have them! Swear to Christ, when I find you, a bullet in your thick skulls is too good for you!Now, where are they?!”
Temper, temper,thought Brooke maliciously.Eat shit and die, dickhead.She signaled to Indi that they needed to wait until Langston had started across the room. Clay, however, hesitated before starting to make the trek to where the tanks were located. “You have something up your sleeve, you little bitches, don’t you?” He cocked his head, thinking for a minute. Then he shook his head, the rage on his face growing. “Thehellwith this. I don’t have the time to fuck with you.” Firing two shots at the containment tanks, he advanced across the operations floor as liquid started trickling out from the tanks, seeping onto the floor below.
Here goes, thought Brooke, taking a deep breath as she signaled to Indi to make a small bit of noise to draw Langston further away from where Brooke was hidden.
Come at us, you piece of shit. This is for Sandy and Gene and Marion and all the others you have cheated and stolen from over the years and destroyed their lives. The inside of a prison cell is theonlything you deserve to see for the rest of your life, asshole, and I will do whatever it takes to help put you there. Whatever else, you can bet on that.
Chapter 28
“Shots fired.” Drew was terse. “Fuck the alarm, Blake, let’smove. The gunfire sounded as though it came from the back of the facility. Be careful because we’ll have to clear the taproom and office as we go toward the operations area—based on how Brooke has already told Blake the microbrewery is laid out—and we still don’t know where Brooke and Indi are.” The two APS team leads ran to the door, standing to the side to allow Teagan and Riley the precious few moments it took to access the microbrewery without a key, while Remy immediately cut the alarm, past worrying about triggering a secondary warning. Crouched down, guns drawn, Blake and Drew moved swiftly but silently into the darkened taproom, alert for either Langston or one of his hirelings as they headed for the office in the back.
Until the sound of two additional shots rang out in the rear of the microbrewery, shattering the silence once again.
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As Clay Langston stomped further toward the containment tanks in the back, Indi reached over and smacked the side of the tank farthest away from her—as if her hand had slipped—making it appear she was further in toward the middle than she actually was. “Ah, ha!Gotyou, you goddamn bitch!” An evil grin spread across Clay’s face as he stopped and planted his feet, shooting the tank twice more before advancing. Ignoring the soft grunt she heard, Brooke popped out from behind the tank she was concealed behind, in a totally different place from where he had expected to see either one of them, and took careful aim at ashocked Clay Langston, whose eyes grew wide as he spun around and saw the revolver in Brooke’s hand.
“Rest in hell, you fuckingtwat,” she spat as she fired twice, watching grimly as Langston took both shots to the chest and crashed to the floor, unmoving.
Indi came barreling out, one arm covered in blood, as she ran over to Langston and pressed two fingers to the side of his neck. “No pulse,” she said briefly, then touched the comm in her ear.
“Indi! You’re bleeding!” Brooke yelled, looking around frantically for something to stem the flow.
“Deflected bullet. It’s just a shallow flesh wound, babe. Trust me, I’ve had worse.” As the Infinity operative spoke softly into her comm, Blake and Drew burst into the brewery, Teagan and Riley on their heels. As Drew went to Indi to check the extent of her injury, Blake sprinted to Brooke, then swept her woman up into her arms, holding her tight.
