Page 55 of Without Fail

Marshal grabbed the garage door opener from his jeep just as Jaxon West and Hayden Thorne rolled up onto the scene followed by five black SUVs.

The bodyguards arrived in a show of force that was impressive. All dressed in tactical gear carrying fully automatic weapons.

Marshal expected to be ignored after the shit he’d pulled, but it was to him that Jaxon strode to.

He held his boss’s gaze.

“Brief me.”

“I called Real,” Marshal admitted.

“Old habits?” Jaxon smirked.

Caught off guard, Marshal could only stare, feeling stunned. Nobody knew that he had worked for Real in the past, but it appeared his secret was out.

“How did you know about that?” He kept his voice down to avoid being overheard by the cops.

“I used to run Erebus and Real handles Genesis,” Jaxon quietly reminded him.

Erebus was a group of assassins that ran in the deep, dark underground. The group reported to the former Secretary of Defense.

Genesis, on the other hand, was an ex-military assassins unit that answered to the current SecDef. And while they were two very different teams, they were both connected to POTUS.

He should have realized Jaxon would find out all there was to know about him prior to his employment.

But did the man know everything?

“I’ve been in touch with Ryker,” Marshal swiftly changed the subject and turned toward Scott, handing the SWAT officer his phone that displayed the video feed. “If you can get us inside the garage, I have a way into the house.”

The bodyguards and police officers closed in around him and Jaxon and the phone. After watching the feed for several moments, Scott handed him back the phone.

The SWAT officer flipped open a paper map and pressed it flat to the hood of one squad car. Stepping closer, Marshal realized it was the plans for the Langston estate. Thankfully, it didn’t show any of the hidden hallways and panels on the blueprint, so that meant the perpetrators inside may not know about the secret passageways.

“The place was built during the civil war, there are hidden access panels and hallways all throughout the main house that these plans don’t show,” Marshal told Jaxon and Scott.

“Can we all make an entry?” Jaxon asked.

“It’ll be a tight fit. Single file.” Marshal nodded his head. “The hallways are about four feet wide in most places. You’d want to stagger in teams of two as you go in.”

“That will work.” Jaxon checked the clip on his weapon and Hayden shoved a spare clip into his own jacket before taking the lead toward the garage.

Jaxon and Hayden were together and when they did jobs, they moved together as one. Like they were in tune with each other in a way that Marshal had rarely ever seen.

It soon became clear that SWAT and the Cobalt bodyguards were also in sync. It wasn’t uncommon for Denver PD to work with Brick and Jaxon, so Marshal wasn’t all that surprised.

“Ryker is making his way through those hidden halls to the garage and I’m going to meet him,” Marshal said, taking up a position at the edge of the building.

When everyone was ready, Marshal hit the garage door opener and SWAT converged into the wide entrance. After a moment, Scott deemed it clear. The perps hadn’t taken time to secure the garage, and that would work in their favor.

Marshal settled in, staring at the panel that should open up when Ryker came out of it.

And he waited.

And waited.

“He should have been here by now. I’m going in,” Marshal said after five long, excruciating minutes.

“I’ll go in with you,” Felix said, coming up to stand next to him.

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