As they opened the door, I heard Badger gasp and curse. I stopped typing. “What is it?” I tried to remain calm, squinting at the screens to get a better view.
“We found the smell…” Arrow stated before Badger could.
“It definitely wasn’t my ass,” Buddha grumbled.
“Fuck!” whispered Chief.
I gasped as I accessed the camera for the last room. Three cages filled with dead bodies could be seen on the monitor, with a large-framed male bled out in front of them. With their guns drawn, my team circled the man on the ground.
“Who is it?” I asked, unable to get a good view of the person's face.
“It’s Moretti,” Arrow confirmed.
My heart sank. Fuck! Lorenzo Moretti was the key to getting to Ricci because he was one of the men he used for all of his dealings. Something clearly had ruined the foundation of their relationship if we were finding him like this.
“The place was attacked before we got here,” Badger added, unnecessarily.
“It looks like they didn’t want any loose ends,” Buddha concluded. “No signs of life.”
I cursed and ran my hands through my long brown hair. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my racing heart.
This mission was supposed to bring me closer to redemption. My mother was currently trapped in an insane asylum because my stepfather put her there. A failure meant she would be stuck there longer. She wasn’t insane. I knew now, from all my “observing” that she had caught on to my stepfather’s extracurricular activities and his role in my father's death.
As I watched the screens that lined the side of the undercover van, my team exited the warehouse. The homicide unit had already shown up with ambulances and a forensic specialist’s team to take care of the deceased. We would know soon if the dead matched the missing persons reports that we had gathered.
My team was somber as they hopped in the van a block away from the warehouse. All of them knew how important this mission was to me. They had been with me since Chief, aka Derrick Fleming, caught me hacking into government databases and recruited me. They were the only family I needed after my stepfather admitted my mother to the insane asylum and sent my sister off to private school. My brother Matthew was out on his third deployment, and I’d been left alone, with only my thoughts and burning appetite for revenge as company.
Buddha was the first to hug me. The rest of the team knew I needed time to sort through my thoughts, but there was nothing like a Buddha hug. Buddha, also known as Patrick Parsons, was a walking contradiction. He looked like the Rock with his bald bronze head, packed muscles, and tattoos cascading up his arms and chest. He came off as beastly, but in reality, he was a gentle giant. Although his personality was soft, his artillery skills were some of the sharpest in the world. His knowledge of weapons and ammunition was second to none.
Arrow, also known as Aaron Nelson, nudged me with his shoulder as he sat beside me. He didn’t need to say anything. I knew I would see him later, and he would fuck the anger out of me. At work, we were strictly professional, but outside of work, he was my porn star. Who could say no to his blond hair and dark eyes? He looked like Justin Hartley as Oliver Queen, which made his nickname even more ironic. He was also the most skilled archer in the world. Guns were nothing to him, he was more lethal with an arrow. He was a real-life superhero with his skills on the team and in the bedroom.
Chief and Badger entered the front cab of the van. “Wewillget them, Evie,” Badger promised, looking back at me.
I’d never had a lot of girlfriends, but now she was my absolute best friend. Jessica Fitzgerald got the nickname Badger because of how lethal she was. She specialized in jujitsu, martial arts, and hands-on combat. Like the honey badger, she seemed cute, cuddly, and innocent; however, also like the honey badger, she could be deadly. The blonde bombshell had her longhair in a tight high bun. She propped up her long legs on the dash while her piercing green eyes promised me the revenge we both desperately wanted. Her family had also been affected by Ricci Enterprises. This operation was as important and personal to her as it was to me.
Chief grunted in agreement. He was like a dad to us, although he was only ten years older. Derrick Fleming was a decorated Marine and former CIA Agent. He had more tours under his belt and mission successes than any of his seniors. Sleeves of tattoos covered burn scars on his arms. Only those close to him understood where those scars came from and why this unit had been created. Every one of us on the team had some sort of connectionto Ricci Enterprises. We all wanted to destroy it and its leader.
Pulling up to the base, we unloaded our gear and parked the van in the garage. Our base was a warehouse building disguised as a gym. In the front was Domino’s Gym, owned by Chief. The back, however, was outfitted with all the government equipment one could ask for. To the outside world, and our patrons, our team all worked at the gym. Badger led jiu-jitsu and self-defense classes, while Buddha was in charge of weight training and yoga classes. Arrow and Chief ran conditioning classes and helped oversee operations. I did everything in the background, ensuring that the disguise of the gym was never revealed, along with vetting all members. Ourteam was elite in all senses of the word.
Being on a special ops team had its perks. We were designed for a specific purpose: Mission R. We chose to call ourselves the Elite Squad for Mission R. Now, THAT was a badass name. The gym that we used as headquarters was a great cover for anything that might try to infiltrate us.
After everything was unloaded and parked, we all parted ways. Buddha and Badger went to clean their equipment, while Chief went to his office to review paperwork for our next missions and undercover roles. Arrow followed me to Bug, shaking his head. “When will you get a new car? She’s seen better days.”
I glared at him and pet the roof of my baby. “Don’t listen to him, Bug; he’s jealous that I ride you more than him.” I stuck my tongue out at him as he chuckled.
He bit my tongue before I could put it back in my mouth. “I’ll meet you at your place. I look forward to you riding me.” He smiled before pecking me on the lips and palming my butt before turning to walk to his blacked-out Jeep Wrangler. I bit my lip as I took a glance at his perfectass. I couldn’t wait to get lost in passion and forget today’s defeat.
Pulling into the lot for my apartment building, I took a second to take a few deep breaths and rested my forehead against the steering wheel. We’d been so fucking close today.
Before I could spiral further, I jumped out of my car and walked quickly to my apartment. The building itself wasn’t fancy, but it was secure and inconspicuous.
While I opened my door, Alfredo, my cream-colored cat, sat patiently for our daily ritual. I picked him up and held him like a baby. He purred instantly, the sound alleviating some of the tension I had. I kissed his head and put him on my couch, then draped a blanket over him and the top of the sofa to make him a little fort. It was his favorite and a ritual we always did when I came home.
My apartment was a simple garden style, with two bedrooms and one bathroom. Its open concept in the living and dining area made the space seem bigger than it really was. Thankfully, the landlord had updated the unit before I moved in, so everything was clean, light, and bright. I didn’t have too much in the apartment, just the basics. We never knew where our job would take us, so it was essential to be able to relocate quickly in case of an emergency.
Walking into my room, I stripped, threw everything in the hamper, and placed my pistol on my nightstand before covering it with a fake book and putting my two knives in the drawer. Although I wasn’t in the line of combat, I still was armed and trained like I would be.
I walked into the bathroom and started the shower, letting the water warm up while I removed my makeup at the sink. When the room started to fill with steam, I steppedunder the spray and willed the water to wash away my stress and anger from today’s failure.
