Page 77 of Overstaying His Welcome

“He did,” I said, my eyes locked with Stabler’s. “And you haven’t been implicated at all up until now. But considering you’ve helped this far, and your partner has admitted to helping hide her family’s dealings, then I think it’s safe to say you’re stuck with us.”

The man groaned as his head dropped back. “I’ve been trying to make it to retirement, guys. That’s it. Then you rope me into this mess and now it’s bigger than ever.”

Damari raised his hand. I pointed to him. “Sorry about that. This is on me. If I’d never reached out for help, then you all wouldn’t be involved.”

“And you’d be dead,” I added once he was done.

Ronan wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, as if the words would physically hurt him. Instead of getting upset, Damari gave me a look that said he understood what I was implying.

“Even if you hadn’t led us to them or vice versa, there would have been another case to have done it. This organization was far too powerful, and it needed dismantling. Everything else since your first call has been what’s meant to happen.”

At my encouraging words, he sunk into Ronan’s hold. The men around us made noises as if to agree, while a few whispered words of encouragement to the young man.

Turning to Memphis, I motioned to the wall. “Give us the details. It’s time to pin down Pratt so we can get to Lune. I’m ready to finish this.”

CHAPTER 27

TANK

Once Memphis hada lock on Pratt’s location, and we had a solid enough plan that meant we weren’t going to go in guns blazing — though that was my preferred method to be fair — we saddled up for the drive. It took some arguing on my part to get them to let me go. Chance was worried I was still too injured.

After assuring him and the others that I wasn’t too far gone to join the fight, I was allowed out of the building. It helped that I took enough pain medicine to combat the worst of my aches. It wasn’t enough to knock me out, though it was plenty to keep me upright.

Pratt’s location showed to be in a home just outside the city limits in an up-and-coming neighborhood. The space only had a few tenants so far based on the records Memphis pulled. That meant whatever happened, hopefully, we wouldn’t have to convince too many people to keep quiet. And hopefully zero casualties.

I wanted to get this taken care of as quickly and quietly as possible.

The less attention we drew, the better off we were.

Since this was going to be a simple retrieval mission, the team consisted of myself, Godric, Cohen, Takeshi, and Orion.Ronan stayed at the office with the others, including a pissed off Chance.

My boyfriend couldn’t understand why I didn’t want him to come with us. He thought this would be more like the visit to the Linds. I’d had to explain there would be some not so nice methods of getting Pratt to come with us rather than tea and story time. Only then did he agree to stay behind.

“You still good, boss?” Orion asked for the second time as we neared our destination.

Memphis snorted through the comms before I could answer. I shook my head as I replied yet again, “Yes, Dad. I swear it’s good. Whatever happens, we’re solid.”

Our phones all buzzed at once, letting us know we had texts from Takeshi. Since we needed to stay dark on this mission, this became the best means to communicate with him.

Takeshi:Don’t push too hard. We will get him. The end for him is near.

I smiledat the confidence behind the message. It was good to know my team believed things would go well.

While I had high hopes, I also suspected this had gone far too easily. Pratt and Lune had evaded us for months. We shouldn’t have been able to get to this point without roadblocks coming up.

There had been a few, sure. But nothing that spoke to how talented these men had become at hiding in plain sight.

As we turned onto the street one over from our destination, a hush settled over our group. Cohen and Godric shared some sort of look as Orion whispered something to Takeshi. I tried to ignore the feeling of being left out.

It wasn’t often I went on missions these days. Prior to the Gilded Ones bullshit, I didn’t really leave the office other than to do official NightShade business. I’d become a fucking poster boy for the business rather than doing what I’d originally set out to do — protect people.

The fucking bureaucracy of it all made me sick some days. All this shit had served to remind me of what I’d been missing. While I didn’t want to risk my life all the time, I could admit I’d lost touch along the way.

“We ready?” I asked aloud when the silence became too much.

The team gave the affirmative, then we moved out of the SUV with a uniformity that spoke to our training. Dressed in all black, we blended in with the darkness of nightfall. Shifting between stacks of lumbers and construction supplies, we made our way through the small neighborhood towards the house at the end of the street.

Memphis began giving us details of the area. “There are two bodies inside the house based on the thermal scans I’ve gotten. The rest of the area is clear. You’ve got three points of entry. Front door, back door, and a door to the basement. I don’t detect any security systems, though there is likely some sort of alarm to notify them when someone’s close. Use the signal jammers I sent once you’re within fifty feet. Follow protocol and let’s catch this asshole.”

---