Page 19 of All In

All four are part of my team at Assurance Security.

I’ve managed to train a great many new hires, but very few actually stick around to work with me.

I used to find it tedious, but recently, I’ve found the convenience in all of it.

Only the toughest stick around for long, meaning the weak weed themselves out fairly quickly.

I am a fan of natural selection, after all.

“How long will it take to manage their necessities?” I ask, focusing back on the schematics of the compound.

“Not more than an hour,” Maverick says, shrugging.

I nod. “Handle that swiftly. We won’t be heading to the warehouse district. I have another plan in mind.”

Assurance Security is the perfect cover for the work we do on the side. The owner is a former spy for one of those secret service agencies the government likes to pretend doesn’t exist. The upside is that he has a lot of high-level military connections. The local police also tend to be much more forgiving when they realize the company has such a stellar reputation.

I’m counting on many things to go my way, but I’ve played out every possible scenario in my mind until I’m confident I’ve accounted for every possible variant.

We need to get Laken back safely and neutralize Andretti’s men. If all goes well, I would love to snag Lucien Andretti for my basement.

If not, I have three of his top enforcers in mind.

They’ll do, in a pinch.

We need information on Lucien’s business dealings. If I can’t extract it from him directly, then I’ll need to locate those who can possibly be of use.

I type on my phone, ensuring several moving pieces stay mobile and away from where they think they’re going.

My sister altruistically offered herself up as a trade to Lucien Andretti to get Laken Spencer back.

Unfortunately for our new brother-sister bond, I’m not actually willing to put Sparrow at risk. Partially because she’s the only family I have left, but equally because it’s safer for everyone if she’s not involved.

My sister and her other two alphas will only be told the details of our operation once all major threats have been eliminated.

I strategically placed myself in an SUV with the two packmates of Sparrow’s that I can trust to ruthlessly and efficiently clean house.

Despite what Tanner implied while pouting, I do trust certain individuals. Mostly those I’ve worked with previously or trained myself, but in my line of work, it’s a dangerous endeavor to go into a mission next to someone you don’t trust implicitly.

If Tanner would like to gain my favor, he can help distract my sister and keep her safe once she arrives. If all goes well, Lucien will be neutralized and Laken will be safely recovered before Sparrow ever realizes the plan changed.

The mission goes smoothly, except it becomes blatantly obvious how much of a coward Lucien Andretti truly is. He and his brothers viciously murdered my parents, but now that it’s time for him to be introduced to his karma, he chooses to hide.

How can anyone call themselves a leader when they won’t fight alongside their men?

No one will ever find me issuing an order that I wouldn’t follow through with on my own. In some cases, it’s impossible for me to be in two places at once, but that’s an entirely different situation than hiding in a safe room and expecting my men to fight my battles.

My disgust rises as the minutes tick by.

I specifically asked my team to snag any of Lucien’s upper-level lieutenants and enforcers that they could grab without risking their own lives.

I leave two men guarding the door to Lucien’s safe room and stride out the door to meet my men in the yard.

It’s time I have a conversation with Lucien’s associates.

Let’s see how they feel about protecting their leader when they realize he quite literally ran and hid.

It’s a quick trek through the house before I step out into the cool night air. I come around the corner to find an AR-15 pointed directly at my skull. Perhaps the dead bodies on the trip gave me a false sense of security.

---