“I thought you were coming back hours ago,” he says as he rubs his eyes. Had he fallen asleep on my couch?
We can’t move about most of the building, even the stairwells, without tripping cameras or signaling alarms.
“Fell asleep with Gigi,” I say as I walk in, closing and locking the door behind me. “That woman is too damned comfortable.”
Gris gives me a one-sided grin. “Right.”
Moving to my large bedroom with sweeping views of the city, I open my nightstand and pull out the other phone.
Sure enough, there is a single text message with an address.
I know the area, it’s deep in Sinclair territory.
“We doing this?” Gris asks from behind me.
“Yeah. We’re doing it.” I shake out my arms and pocket the phone. In my home office is a bookshelf that disguises a door. It leads to a set of back stairs that is not armed with cameras and runs on its own private alarms.
I turn that alarm off now, swinging the bookshelf open, that disguises the doorway, and unlock the door. “You’ve thought of everything,” Gris mutters.
The truth is, when I added this staircase, I didn’t know if I’d need it to get in or out of the building. But I knew I needed a secret entrance.
Gris and I start down the stairs. It’s a long way, but it gives me a chance to shake out my muscles.
When we reach the basement, I exit into the alley where a black sedan awaits. It’s not fancy, a reimagined Toyota Camry, actually. The point is that it’s meant to be unmemorable. Blend.
Gris climbs into the driver’s seat, starting the car. I use the burner to map the route. “Take a right up here.”
He nods, following my directions, otherwise, we’re both silent.
We stop at the address, we’re in an alley next to a vacant building as far as I can tell, when Gris cuts the engine.
From the shadows, Killian appears, his jacket flapping in the night.
“Fuck, he’s my brother, and sometimes he still scares the shit out me,” Gris mutters before he pops open the driver’s door.
He’s joking. I think.
I am not afraid of Killian and I never have been. It’s not that my brother isn’t a killer, but he’s always killed for all the right reasons.
This is not something most of society wants to face, but death is part of life, and it’s a man’s job to deliver it in order to provide for his family.
From hunting to war, we protect with our violence, to keep those we love safe and cared for.
He stops in front of the car, his stare unbroken as I climb from the car. “Brother.”
“Brother,” he replies. There is no softness in Killian now. No anger either. He is a machine.
I take a breath. That’s what I need to be too. A machine with one purpose. The destruction of Vigo Sinclair.
“Come,” he commands, turning to lead the way.
I don’t hesitate as I follow, shaking out my stiff legs.
Gris falls in behind me, as we weave our way through the dark streets, deftly avoiding any light.
I take note of the way Killian moves, how he chooses his path.
Killian is a man of shadow, for the most part, the rest of us live within the light. But he’s about to be a father…hell, so am I. Emma will be mine.
