Page 22 of Assassin's Prey
I could hear the tap of his fingertips on the keys. He hummed in my ear for a moment. “You’re awfully close to ’em,” he finally said.
I narrowed my eyes on the SUV as it turned left near St. Michael’s, the only building in the area with a structure tall enough for surveillance—the steeple. We were definitely being scoped out. “They’re headed for the church. Please tell me Remi has Abby out of there.”
As if he would dare not obey. Eli chuckled. “She went nicely with her jailer, yes. Had a few choice words for you, though.”
When was she going to understand that this was all to keep her safe?
“She does get it,” Eli said, startling me. It was only then that I realized I’d asked the question aloud. “She’s afraid, and unlike us, she can’t shoot right into action to fix the problem. Railing against the injustice of it is the only outlet she has for her frustration.”
God, I hoped he was right. And said so as I pulled into a parking space two streets down from the church.
“When am I ever not right?”
If we’d been in the same room, I would’ve flipped him the bird. “Keep it up, little bro. I’m keeping track.”
“Hey, I’m no kid in need of discipline anymore. We’re not keeping score.”
He sounded a bit too defensive to be sure. I grinned. “You’re not.”
But I wasn’t either, not really. I was distracting myself. Remi would keep Abby safe, I knew, but I wanted to be the one with her. And yes, as always, what I wanted and what was necessary almost never coincided.
I stepped out of the SUV, the calm of battle settling on my shoulders. “Visual.”
Eli rattled off the group’s position, then the individuals. “Definitely doing a sweep. Which way you going?”
I eyed the steeple at St. Michael’s. “I’ll keep a watch here. Just don’t let ’em sneak up on me.”
The first head appeared in the small window at the steeple. They’d be setting up surveillance equipment now. “Any sign they’re focused on the warehouse?”
“Nah.” Wheels rattled as Eli rolled his chair around. “Either they don’t know for certain we’re here, or they’re just getting the lay of the land.”
Too bad for them we wouldn’t be here after tonight. The location was compromised; all that was left was to squeeze our opponents for whatever details we could get before we ghosted.
“Thoughts on which of those three unknowns would sing the loudest?” I asked, knowing Eli would get my drift.
A weighted silence fell as he considered his answer. Then a laugh. “I’m going to go with the one that just took a whiz on the back corner of our location without realizing where he actually was.”
“Sounds clueless,” I said. “What intel could he possibly give us?”
“Doesn’t matter. His bladder is empty; that means I won’t be cleaning up piss at the end of the night.”
And the youngest always got the cleanup. “You’re in luck. We won’t be back, so no need for cleanup.”
“Then let’s go for a smart one.”
After a bit of debate we decided on the guy that we only caught glimpses of—harder to catch but more likely to have what we needed. But harder to catch. I figured being up front was our best bet.
Joining Eli in the warehouse, I proceeded to wait till our man came sniffing around. Alone. When he got close enough, I opened the door.
“Looking for me?”
“Motherfuck—”
He was too focused on me to notice Eli behind him, at least not until the needle penetrated his ass. His elbow connected with my brother’s nose—Eli was too busy pressing the plunger to see it coming—and then the mercenary hit his knees. I caught him before he did a face-plant on the concrete.
Eli had tears and blood streaming down his face. “You’re supposed to duck,” I reminded him.
“Shuh de fuh up.”
