Page 14 of Outplayed

Even though the woman annoyed the fuck out of me, she had balls; I would give her that. I’d also try to get along with her for Zara. If only she didn’t piss me off.

When Talon called, “Right, let’s roll out,” I stopped them once more. He groaned. “What?”

“Send Warden in there first, he’ll get any cameras there are offline.”

Talon looked to my employee with doubt in his eyes. Yes, Warden was on the tall and huge side, but he was stealthy. No one detected him before he wanted them to know he was there. Talon nodded, then paced as we waited. Warden came back, tipped his chin and said, “Coast’s clear.” Talon spread his brothers out around the warehouse. I stayed at his side, along with Griz and Deanna.

We made our way to the front door, surprisingly not running into anyone. Reminded me of Travis’s house. A moment later, Blue ran around the corner and informed us his team had taken out five men. Talon replied with a chin lift and walked up to the front door. It was locked. Talon stepped back, no doubt ready to kick it in, when Deanna moved up and knocked on the door. We all stared at her.

Seconds later, the front door opened. A guy in a biker vest with a Vicious club patch stood in it. He went to grab a two-way until Deanna punched him in the face. It was times like that I could actually like the woman.

We left Blue to deal with him and walked into the house. Silently, we took the stairs when we heard a gunshot sound in the distance. My heart cracked to allow the panic through.

“Shit, shit,” Deanna chanted.

We stopped at the end of a hallway. Talon signalled us to stay quiet as he moved to the first door. It revealed nothing. Griz, at the second, showed one of Rocko’s, the Vicious president, men. Griz took care of him with one hit. I went to the next door. Nothing.

This shit started to piss me off. Though, it was better than letting the fear take control. Talon tried the fourth door. It was locked, so I stepped up, took out my lock picking kit, and kneeled on the floor. Within seconds, it clicked open. I moved out of the way, so Talon could open the door; he stepped in with his gun raised.

Noises touched my ears, leading my eyes to the corner of the room where I saw four bodies huddled together. Talon saw it as well. Then we heard, “Dad?”

Cody. Dear God, it was Cody.

“Told ya he’d come,” Cody said to the other people.

“Talon,” Maya, Zara’s little girl, cried as she ran at my brother. He locked his body as she hit against him. He swung her up and hugged her close, gesturing to Cody to come to him.

“Richard? Nancy?” Deanna asked.

The older couple stood. The man stepped forward more into the light from the hallway. “Why, hey there, Deanna girl.”

“Oh my God.” Deanna gasped.

Richard? Nancy? My brain clicked where I’d heard those names. Zara’s parents. They were alive.

“My, my, it’s so good to see you, Deanna, and in the flesh instead of Skype,” Nancy said, stepping around Richard. She looked just like her daughter, only older. My chest expanded, filling with joy for Zara. Nancy went on, causing Deanna and me to laugh, “And you’re just a hot piece of eye candy.”

Turning towards the door, I raised my gun, but the footsteps I heard were only Griz’s. In his arms, he carried a teen girl. “Found her in a room. She’s unconscious but alive.” He lay her on a bed.

“Have you seen Zara?” Talon asked her parents.

“Oh my. No wonder my girl couldn’t resist you with a voice like that,” Nancy commented. Talon’s mouth dropped a little before he snapped it shut; I could tell he wanted to yell but refrained.

“Nance, focus. We saw her earlier, but that was a few hours ago. We don’t know where she is,” Richard told him.

Another gunshot sounded, and it wasn’t far from where we were.

“Fuck,” Talon clipped. He put Maya on her feet. “Stay here with your grandparents. Deanna, you gotta stay here with the girl in case she’s gonna be trouble.” It was a smart move, giving her something to do so she wouldn’t rant and rave about being left behind.

“Sure, boss,” she replied, taking out a taser.

Talon spoke to Richard, Maya, and Cody before we left the room, just as another gunshot sounded. We bolted for the door at the end. Talon kicked it in and entered. I was hot on his tail, only to freeze for a second.

Blood.

So much blood surrounded Zara on the couch.

“Who the hell are you?” David asked.

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