"I've got a few contacts that might be able to help. Let me see what I can find out."
I dipped my chin. "I appreciate it."
"In the meantime, watch your back. Anita is a wild card, and I would prefer not to attend your funeral."
I chuckled at the thought. "You would have to find my body first."
Callahan laughed with me. "You're probably right."
Something told me if Anita wanted to make me disappear, it wouldn't be hard for her to do. I was pretty sure she had the resources, and she proved once again she had the skill. As a rookie, I had been overly confident that I could handle her, but she’d quickly proven me wrong. Despite all the training I've done the past seven years, Anita was still better than me. Somehow that didn't deter me from finding her attractive. If anything, it made me want her more.
I didn't know what that said about me. There had been a time in my life when I thought my type was a docile woman. Anita quickly proved that wrong. Her cold exterior called to me in a way no other woman ever could. I wanted to break through it and see what lay beneath.
But I knew that would never happen for a variety of reasons. One: Anita would never let it happen. Two: She was involved in one of my cases, and I didn't mix work and pleasure. And three: She wanted to kill one of my witnesses. That was the opposite of what I stood for.
I mentally kicked myself in the ass. I needed to stop thinking about Anita and focus on how I was going to get Mason to testify because that was my goal at the moment. And nothing would stop me when I was laser focused on a case. Certainly not a sexy woman in black.
CHAPTER FIVE
ANITA
Three sets of eyes settled on me as I walked into the common area.
"Well, I didn't get notified that a cleanup crew was needed, so I guess that means things went well." Nyx crossed her arms over her chest and stared me down.
"I left Beckett in one piece if that's what you're asking." I wasn't happy about it, but for once, I did the smart thing instead of acting out of haste.
"What did you find out?" Lilith looked almost bored as she asked.
"Nothing and he's not willing to help us. Beckett is keeping things close to the vest. He definitely doesn't trust me."
"Do you blame him?" I glared at Nyx who merely shrugged her shoulder. "Don't give me that look. The man has no reason to trust us after you threatened him."
If only Nyx knew what I did this time. If she thought Beckett didn't trust me before, she would have my ass for how I treated him this time around. "I threatened him because he didn't listen to me when I said Mason would run," I snapped back. "Had hetaken me at my word, we wouldn't be in this position." Nova's body wouldn't be missing, and I would've been able to lay my best friend to rest.
"Maybe so, but once again, you running your mouth caused us to lose a valuable source."
I took a step forward, prepared to unleash the fury I was forced to rein in when I was talking to Beckett, but Sloane was faster. "Enough!" She held her arms out to stop Nyx and I from coming to blows. "We don't have time for this shit right now. Hawk has an assignment for us."
Hawk was the wizard behind the curtain. No one knew Hawk's identity. Hell, we didn't even know if they were a he or she. All communication was sent through encrypted channels. Hawk had come into our lives a year after starting Ghost Team. Whoever they were, scoured the dark web for contract kills. They knew we lived by a code. No killing innocents or children. Everything else was fair game. We were assassins for hire and damn good at our job of removing the scum from the earth. Hawk was an ally, and if they had an assignment, then it was important.
"Where are we going this time?" I kept one eye on Nyx as I asked Sloane.
"Off the coast of Florida." I waited not so patiently for Sloane to continue. "It's a pro bono assignment. Thirteen-year-old girl was sold to a drug lord who's known to hook his whores on drugs and let his men rape them."
"Son of a bitch!" Lilith hissed. "Why are we just hearing about this guy now?"
"Supposedly he's new to the auction scene. First time bidding on a minor. Hawk ran the guy’s name and discovered the rest. Hawk asked us to do a solid, and I said yes."
Normally we would discuss taking assignments as a team, but in this case, Sloane did the right thing. There was no way we would pass up this opportunity to save a child.
"Did Hawk put together an ops plan for us?" I was already running a few things through my mind in case.
"Yup. Hawk knew it would be a rush job, so everything is ready. We just need to catch a flight."
"Good. We leave in thirty minutes."
I was headed to my quarters before the words fully left my mouth. There was no telling what horrors that child was forced to endure, and it would be a cold day in hell before I let it go on longer than necessary.
