“In the best way possible.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back.”
Slipping from the room before I can’t, I shake out my shoulders, thinking about what Whisper said to me. How do I fight for Pax? Could I really walk away from this life and my brothers for a shot at love? Would he accept me, knowing my past?
I find all my brothers gathered in the rec room except Carnage, who stumbles in a few minutes later, clearly having rolled straight out of bed. He grins at me before slumping into an armchair. Only seconds later, Shadow darkens the doorway. He looks pale and tired, and guilt washes over me knowing it’s my fault.
“Morning,” Shadow mumbles. “Thanks for meeting on short notice. I’ve recently learned some significant information, and it’s important to share and talk through next steps.”
Ghost and Nimble look very concerned, while Phantom appears more curious than anything. The rest of us have our normal resting bitch face expressions.
“Apparently,” Shadow starts, “I’ve gotten a bit lax on my vetting of clients. One of them has turned out to be a prolific trafficker. Drugs, exotic animals, even kids.”
Specter’s face fills with rage, his eyes narrowing and jaw twitching. “What?”
“I didn’t know, obviously. We were hired to take out someone who knows all about the operation and was trying, poorly, to stop it from continuing. He got in over his head, but his intentions were good.”
“Wait,” Carnage says. “We were hired to kill the good guy?”
Shadow waffles his head back and forth. “Essentially, yes. He’s very good at evasion, and their guys couldn’t find him so they called us for backup. The target has proof—names, dates, all that. He could take down the whole operation and I think he got close to doing that, but the stakes changed and he got scared.”
“How did you find this out, boss?” Nimble asks.
Shadow looks at me. “It’s Wraith’s assignment. He found the target and subsequently uncovered the full situation.”
Ghost lets out a low whistle. “You didn’t do it yet, did you?”
I shake my head. “I came to Shadow first.”
Shadow exhales slowly. “Wraith learned that we were hired to kill someone who is essentially innocent, and it made me wonder how many times this could have happened in the past. I know the types we normally deal with make it clear which side of the law they’re on, but how many have slipped through the cracks?”
We’re all silent in response to the barely contained emotion in Shadow’s voice.
“I gave it some thought,” he says after a few silent moments. “After we finish the current list of assignments, we’re taking a hiatus.”
I pull my head back. I wasn’t expecting that.
“We can afford the break, and perhaps it would be good for all of us to have some downtime. During that hiatus, I’ll be reviewing our systems and seeing what we can do to ensure this doesn’t happen again.” He turns to me. “What you did was brave. You took a risk, and I’m thankful you did.”
I nod. “Thank you for being open. Have you considered what I should do now?”
“Of course.”
“Do you want us to leave?” Specter asks.
“No. This is for all of you to hear. Anyone who is available, I’d like you to work with Wraith to find the target. We need to get him to safety. I also have the client’s information, and we’ll need a group of you to handle him, myself included.”
Whoa. Not what I was expecting.
“From what I learned, this ring is global and it stretches far beyond our reach, but we can disrupt it by taking out the Mistone players. In order to avoid starting a war, we need to be discreet and efficient.”
“I have an idea,” Stealth says softly. “If you know where theystay, or at least where they meet, we can make it look natural. A gas leak?”
Carnage scoffs. “Come on, man. You think I’m gonna let some kid rapists die in their sleep? Fuck that. I’m ripping heads off.”
Stealth shrugs. “Shadow said discreet.”
