“That Crawford’s jet?” Bones pointed to the only other aircraft on the strip.
Coulter recognized it instantly from the intel photos he’d studied ad nauseum when he was first assigned the case. “That’s it.” He pulled one of the pistols free. “We should clear it, just in case.”
Moving as one, he and the team kept their weapons up and at the ready as they approached the nearby plane. When they got nearer, Digger took charge and used hand signals to give silent directions.
Bones, Digger, and Apollo went left. Coulter and Garrett took the plane’s right. The steps had been left down, so the jet’s door was wide-open. There were no sounds or obvious movements coming from inside.
Not a good sign.
Garrett took the lead as the two brothers madetheir way up the stairs. When they ducked inside, Garrett let loose with a curse. Stomach dropping, Coulter pushed his brother to the side so he could see.
Blood and some other stuff covered one of the chairs on the left. There was also some splattered on the wall. But it was the body in the aisle that had them both reeling with confusion and shock.
“Guess that closes the case on Crawford,” Garrett muttered.
Because Gordan Crawford was dead.
“What the hell?” Garrett moved in for a closer look. “You don’t think this was Alex . . . Do you?”
Coulter shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. My guess is our boy Vas decided to become his own boss.”
After a hurried check of the bathroom and the private bedroom in back, he felt comfortable assuming Vas killed Crawford and then took Alex with him.
“She’s not here.” He stepped over the body without giving it a second glance.
“Pilot’s dead.” Garrett thumbed the door behind him with a frown.
“We need to move, but . . . shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I just realized we have no way of getting to that house.”
As if conjuring up a ride from his panic alone, the sound of an approaching vehicle reached their ears.
“Our ride’s here!” Bones hollered up from the bottom of the jet’s folding stairs.
“What ride?” Coulter raced that way, skipping every other step on his way down.
The other man pointed to Coulter’s right.
He turned that way to see a black SUV rolling to a stop nearby. “Crawford’s dead, by the way,” he announced unceremoniously to the team’s medic.
“You’re kidding.” Bones frowned.
Coulter shook his head, more than a little glad to deliver the news. “Thankfully, no. But that means Vas has Alex, and he’s far more unpredictable, which makes him all the more dangerous.”
“Good thing we’ve got a set of wheels.” Bone winked. “You can thank Shadow once we get back home. She just called Dig to give him a heads up that some guy she trusts named Mike agreed to pick us up and take us wherever we need to go from here. Apparently she was worried we’d shoot first and ask questions later.”
“That’s fair.” Coulter shrugged. “But how did she arrange a ride for us on such short notice?”
“Ours is not to question how or why, my friend.”
“Bones is right.” Garrett gave him a nudge as he walked past. “I don’t know how that woman pulls off half the stuff she does, but she’s saved our asses more times than I can count.”
“Yes, she has.” Digger showed a rare smirk as the five of them made their way to their newly acquired ride. “In more ways than one.”
A man none of them knew stepped out from behind the wheel and greeted them with a wave. “My name’s Mike. I’m assuming you’re Shadow’s friends?”
