Page 21 of Assassin's Prey
I avoided the rope—no way would it take my weight now. But a quick scramble up the twisted branches of the tree got me to the platform. Ignoring the twinges of painful memories in the back of my mind, my heart, I eased onto the old boards and laid out flat.
Still the perfect vantage point to see the house.
A small set of foldable binoculars in my fatigues pocket came in handy. I lay, listening to the creak and strain of the wood, and watched as what looked like a small army went in and out of the three-story, sprawling stone mansion that used to be my home.
Many of the upper windows—the living areas—were blocked by curtains. My parents had used the lower floor primarily for entertaining, and it looked as if the setup was similar now, as many of those windows were clear enough to see the men lingering in the rooms. They certainly weren’t hiding their presence, nor did they appear to be worried about an attack. Though there were plenty of weapons on display, they were all holstered or waiting at fingertips, not at the ready.
These men weren’t worried. But if they were who I thought they were, they should be.
A flurry of activity accompanied the arrival of a sleek black limo at the door. The driver exited the vehicle, going around to await his passengers. A second vehicle, this one a solid black SUV—the kind I preferred—pulled up behind.
The door to the mansion opened.
A contingent of six men, all armed, all with semiautomatics in hand, came out. They lined the sidewalk, at the ready.
A pause.
A new figure exited, this one familiar. I knew that swarthy skin, broken nose, and thick hair and beard. Rathlin.
I saved my curses for later and waited, eyes trained on the scene.
Two men stepped from the house and stopped at the top of the stairs. Both in suits. I could make out the features of the one facing me as they talked—salt-and-pepper hair, glasses. Classic metro. Was this the lawyer, Chadwick?
Had to be. But the man with him, built like a bull and big enough to block Chadwick completely from sight when he shifted to the side…I didn’t recognize him. Maybe if I could see his face.
But he never turned. With a few words to Chadwick, punctuated with a thick finger stabbed in the lawyer’s direction, the man returned to the house, never giving me his front. I tucked the scene away for further analysis later. For now, I had somewhere else to be.
I made it to the river without incident, and found my car undisturbed. Further evidence that the earlier guard needed to be canned. I waited till the convoy carrying Chadwick passed behind me, pulled out carefully, and followed.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter Ten
The limo peeled off when we arrived at the loop around the outskirts of the city. Chadwick going home or to his office, no doubt. I was more interested in where the mercenaries were headed. When they took the exit that would get them to the warehouse, I called Remi.
“Get Abby out of there.”
A heavy sigh came through the line. “Why?”
“Because a six-pack of Rathlin’s men are headed your way. Maybe they followed us after the fire, maybe they’re just scoping out the area, I don’t know, but I won’t take chances with her.”
Remi swore. The sound of his boots on the concrete echoed in my ear. “She’s not gonna be happy about this. Again.”
“You’re not letting my woman get to you, are you?”
“I’m letting your drama get to me.” I could hear irritation in his voice, but underneath, something else, something deadly serious. “Is this all really worth it? She’s not a toy you can keep, brother.”
For a moment the road before me sheeted red. “Shut the fuck up and get her out of there.”
Remi grunted a reply and hung up on me. That was okay. He’d do as I said whether he agreed with me or not.
And that was a good thing, because the SUV stopped a half-dozen blocks from the location of the warehouse and disgorged three of its passengers. They spread out, obviously canvassing the area. Shit.
I got Eli on the line as I followed the vehicle down the road.
“Yeah.”
“Heads-up, E. We’ve got a crew in the area.”
