Page 78 of Overstaying His Welcome

The speech made me laugh as I followed Godric and Orion who held the signal jammers at the ready. Cohen brought up the rear of our group, his gaze sweeping through the dark as if he expected to take on a herd of enemies at any moment.

We made the journey at a steady pace, stopping only when there was a need to put out a jammer or we suspected movement nearby. As the house came into view, Chance’s voice echoed over the comms. “Don’t you dare die on me today, Tank.”

I chuckled softly as I shook my head. The sound of the other guys at the office yelling out their agreements came through. My team in front of me nodded along as well since they couldn’t really vocalize anything without giving away our position. My eyes had adjusted enough to see the various expressions they wore.

No one was dying tonight.

Not anyone from my team anyway.

I had high hopes we’d be taking down Pratt and Lune tonight. It wasn’t a guarantee that the two bodies inside would be them; however, it was possible.

“Godric and Takeshi take the back door. Tank and Cohen move to the front. Orion enter through the basement. Our two heat signatures are shown to be steady in the living area. They’re either asleep or watching something. Let’s move.”

As one we moved to our positions. Cohen grinned at me before he went about picking the lock on the front door with his kit. Within seconds, he had it open, and we were shuffling inside.

“All teams are inside. I repeat, all teams are inside. Move towards targets. Treat as if hostile.” I nodded at Memphis’s instruction, gun in hand and at the ready. Cohen had his lifted too as he led us through the short entryway to the living room.

A television was playing as two men reclined on a couch. Their eyes were trained on the screen, neither having realized we were there.

It wasn’t until Godric stepped into the room from the other entry that they shifted. In a flash, they rose from the couch, hands reaching for weapons.

Cohen shot the one closest to us in the thigh, while Takeshi hit the other in the hand. Both men dropped to the ground crying out in pain.

I moved around Cohen and kicked away their weapons. The closer I got, the tighter my throat became.

“This isn’t Pratt,” I said aloud once I got a good look at their faces. “Not Lune either.”

“Fuck. Any sign of either having been there recently?” Ronan’s voice wasn’t shocking. Memphis was likely already deep into his search. If Pratt’s phone was tracked here, then there’s got to be something connecting him.

Before any of us could ask the men in front of us or reply in some way, Orion said, “You guys need to get down here. Now.”

Godric nodded for us to leave. “I’ll keep watch. These two aren’t going anywhere.”

The two men bleeding out on the floor didn’t speak up or argue. In fact, they were far more silent than I thought they’d be. Something about it didn’t sit right with me.

Instead of following Cohen and Takeshi to the basement, I stepped up to the man who’d been shot in the thigh. One look at his eyes, and I knew exactly what I’d find.

Even so, I grabbed his jaw, squeezing until he was forced to open his mouth.

“Boss, what are you — oh, shit.”

I shook my head. “This is Lune’s work,” I said aloud so the team could hear.

“What is?” Arick asked. It was the first I’d heard from him, and I wondered if the others were quiet because they knew or because they’d turned their focus to something else.

“Their tongues have been cut out. It’s to ensure they can’t tell us anything. They’re decoys.”

At my words, Arick hissed. “That’s fucked up.”

I hummed, though I couldn’t really say much. It’s something I’d have done in his position too. But I wasn’t the bad guy here. And as much as I hated these men were part of this, there was nothing I could do to help them anymore. Not without this possibly coming back to bite me in the ass.

“What are you —” Godric’s words cut out when I put a bullet through the man’s forehead. I pointed to the next and did the same before he could intercept me.

“Their lives have already been forfeited. If we let them leave, Lune would simply track them down and hurt them further. This way, they got an easy, painless out,” I said before he could ask more about why.

Godric shook his head. “It still isn’t right.”

“Maybe not, but we don’t have time to wonder. Let’s get downstairs.”

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