My thoughts exactly.
Only I wasn’t the one to make the declaration.
CHAPTER 18
Maverick
Weapons.
Alexia watched me intently as I slapped a new magazine into my Glock, shoving it under my waistband of my jeans before noticing her purse had been tossed onto the end table beside her, the handle of the SIG Sauer she’d mentioned making an appearance.
She noticed my line of sight and as if it was an involuntary action, touched the gun, fingering it lovingly. All the while, her eyes were locked on the small room hidden behind the bookcase.
“You’re prepared for a war,” she said absently.
There were several guns placed in holders on one wall, other weapons including a selection of knives on the other side. “If necessary.”
“Is every vigilante’s home adorned this way?”
Chuckling, I nodded while contemplating whether to slide a knife into a duffle bag and keep it by the bed. Not a bad idea. I grabbed another magazine, adding everything to a small bag before taking a step away and allowing her to see the interior of the room. “There’s a panic room as well where the majority of my weapons are stored.”
“A panic room. Like in the movies.”
“Very much so. No one can get inside. There’s access to every security camera located on the property as well as communications to the outside world that can’t be shut down even with the loss of electricity. There’s food. Water. Blankets. Something for you to keep in mind.”
“You think he’ll come here?”
“I don’t know what to think any longer.”
“Everything for survival.” Her voice was somewhat hollow. I couldn’t blame her after the day we’d had. I’d almost killed the bastard when he’d attacked her. I’d been close enough if the guards hadn’t interfered, the man would be dead and I’d be behind bars.
The rage lingered, festering inside.
Samuel’s brother had used a mentally impaired man, able to convince him that he was a killer and that what he’d done was a good thing. I still couldn’t fathom how anyone could do that to a family member.
It was late and the two of us were exhausted. Tomorrow I’d have a meeting with Raven Intel so we could combine knowledge and begin a formal hunt for the killer. With one girl missing, it was only a matter of time before more were taken.
What I felt certain of was that Samuel’s visitor had more knowledge of what the hell was going on than he wanted to admit. I’d put in a couple of calls to try to bypass the system. If the warden wanted to play hardball, he wouldn’t like what happened at the end of the day.
I’d do what was necessary to keep Alexia safe and locate the missing woman, including having personal bodyguards that she couldn’t dodge. “As much as possible.”
“Do vigilantes compare notes?”
After turning off the light, I tossed the duffle closer to the table and closed the door along with moving the bookshelf back into position. Before I answered, I returned to the couch, sitting down while keeping my distance from her. She’d been so lost in thought I had no clue what was going through her mind.
“Raven Intel.”
“What?” Her eyes lit up.
Nodding, I grabbed my glass of scotch, inhaling the rich scent. “What we call ourselves. And you won’t breathe a word of what I’m about to tell you.”
“Mum’s the word. I pinky swear. How many of you are involved in the group? Where do you operate out of? Do you have regular missions?” The questions flew from her mouth.
“Whoa. Hold on. Five core members, but we have others who work with us, experts we’ve worked with over the years. We have no one base of operations.”
“Which is why you have a panic room full of weapons and a computer system designed for a hacker.”
“Something like that. We know each other very well and can easily place our trust in one another.”
