Page 99 of Devilish

With Alessio back at headquarters to give us the rundown in real time, Benoit already on stakeout across from Rupert’s townhome, and Lachlan and King in the lead SUV, I rode in the second SUV with Shep and Theo. Even though my blood ran hot with rage, on the outside I was the picture of deadly calm and focus. I didn’t want small talk. I didn’t want distractions.

What I wanted was Kai.

“Guard Alpha is on the move,” Benoit said. “He just stepped out of the residence and is on alert out front.”

“And Guard Bravo?” King asked.

“Still inside,” Alessio replied. “I’ve got eyes on Guard Charlie manning the back door from inside the house.”

Only three. That was a big mistake on Rupert’s part. With the way I was feeling, I could’ve taken them all with my bare hands, though I couldn’t promise things wouldn’t get messy. Having my brothers with me was definitely the right move.

“Any sign of Kai?” I said.

There was no response at first, and then someone said, “Negative. No eyes on him or the target.”

The target. Rupert. I kept my hand on the outside of my hooded trench coat, feeling the outline of the gun holstered there. I had a feeling I wouldn’t need to use it, not when my fists were ready to do damage, but it was there if things got out of hand.

“Group one, ready for drop-off.”

Because of the way the townhome was positioned, getting to the back of the house wasn’t easy. Lachlan and King would be dropped by the vacant Pack & Ship on the corner, scale the fire escape, and make their way across the joined roofs of the stretch of townhomes packed in together. Once they were in place on Rupert’s, they’d enter through the back and incapacitate Guard Bravo while our team did the same to Alpha from the front.

“Drop-off complete,” Lachlan said, to which Benoit replied, “Great. Get moving, Spider-Man.”

As King and Lachlan navigated the Manhattan skyline, we pulled up on the opposite side of the road to the brownstone and I got my first glimpse of Kai’s prison.

I flexed my hand around the butt of my gun, and Theo reached across the seat and touched my arm.

“Hey, man, you good?”

“Fucking peachy.”

“I’m getting more…murderous, which I support wholeheartedly. But maybe keep your finger off the trigger until we get inside.”

He had a point. With the way I was feeling it would only take a soft breeze to make me squeeze the damn thing.

“We’re going to get him back,” Theo said as he stared at the street lamp outside of Rupert’s, waiting for our cue.

I didn’t bother responding, instead glancing at my watch, counting the seconds as the hand ticked slowly around the face—and when it hit the hour, the lights on the block went dark.

That was our signal.

We pulled our masks down over our faces, the intricate metal concealing our identities as we shoved open the doors to the SUV and made a dash across the street. We only had sixty seconds before Alessio turned the lights back on, and we needed to be in place.Wouldn’t want to alert the neighborhood of our presence, now would we? Just like we didn’t want one of them to see us breaking and entering—or anything else unsavory.

We’d been right in assuming the area would be crawling with cameras, but all those grainy security cams would get were black figures at best.

“King, you in place?” Shep said into his mic.

“Affirmative.”

I narrowed my eyes, pulling my hood over my head and zeroing in on the guard pacing the stoop of the brownstone. He was a big motherfucker. The element of surprise was going to get us inside tonight.

Well, that and our guns.

“I’ll take Guard Alpha, as discussed,” Shep said from behind. “Once he’s out of the way, you and Theo get inside. Guard Bravo?—”

“Is mine,” Theo interrupted. “King has Guard Charlie, and Lucien and Lachlan will look for Kai and the target.”

It wouldn’t be long until Kai was back in my arms, where he belonged, and that was the visual I kept in the forefront of my mind.

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