So close I can taste it.
Blood and freedom and forever with them, mixed together on my tongue.
FORTY-NINE
TRISTAN
We land at Teterboro just after two, and I feel the shift before the wheels stop rolling.
Three cars wait on the tarmac instead of two. Black, tinted, and identical except for the plates. But that's not what catches my attention.
It's the additional security detail standing beside them. Six men in matching suits who don't belong to Calder's usual roster.
And then there's the seventh guy.
Tall and built like a brick house. Dark curly hair, sharp jaw, dual-colored eyes. The face that's been plastered on sports magazines and billboard before. He's wearing the same black suit as the others, an earpiece curled around his left ear.
Dominik Lewis is standing on a private tarmac in New Jersey, pretending to be a hired gun.
The captain of the New York Slashers. My brother in everything but blood.
Which means Aaron's team is already in position.
The plan is moving forward.
Some of the tension in my chest loosens.
Calder's head of security is already directing traffic, gesturing the nanny and Hale toward the third vehicle. Keira moves tofollow them, but Calder's hand shoots out and he turns her back, saying something low in her ear.
Her face goes pale.
I'm crossing the tarmac before I can stop myself.
"—the Langham on Fifth," the security head is saying into his phone. "The boy stays there until tomorrow's breakfast gathering."
The Langham.
That's not the plan. Hale was supposed to be at the same hotel as Keira, extracted from his room during the gala. This throws a wrench into Phase One.
Fuck.
"Mr. Calder's orders," the man adds, catching me listening. "Changed this morning."
"Why?"
He looks at me like I've grown a second head. "Excuse me?"
"The change. Why wasn't Mr. Calder's personal detail informed?"
"I don't know and I don't care." He steps closer, dropping his voice. "And neither should you."
"I don't like when plans involving my watch get changed without notice."
He leans in, full of coffee breath. "Hey, asshole, we have the same boss. You want to question his decisions, take it up with him. Otherwise, do your fucking job."
Then he walks off, my eyes boring into his back. I stand there with my fists clenched.
He just made the list.
