Page 79 of Unhinged Cravings
I texted the team leader in place just as we pulled into sight.How many guards on the perimeter? How many people inside?
Five outside. Four inside, two are definitely on patrol.
Assume the others are armed and proceed with caution once we’re in place.
I sent the same message to my men in the third SUV just as another message came in. Confirmation that the men from my second safe house were in place to raid Henley’s home. I hadn’t given them any details on Greyson’s arrival or our plans, hoping if there was a traitor in that team, they would alert Henley and distract his attention from the warehouse. Either way, it worked in my favor. Henley would be nervous for the first time since this began, or he would be unaware of the battle I was bringing to him, still expecting me to come storming in by myself.
Pack pulled up just short of the warehouse and we all peeled out of the cars. Checking my guns, I walked over to Brinks and Raines.
“My men go in first.” I gestured for Pack to take the team we had discussed. Pulling down his mask, he disappeared with them into the night.
“Ski masks?”
“There’s a reason my men are called ghosts, Brinks.”
“Then why not do this on your own?”
The flood lights went out. “Because the men in that warehouse know everything my men know. Training for my men is extensive and military style. Only recently did I have to take shortcuts and turn to on-the-job training. Those men down there are the best of my team, but many of the men in that building match their skill. They may have fooled you into believing they were sloppy, but they played you.”
The emergency system kicked in and dull yellow lit the building. I sent a quick text to my man leading the team at Henley’s house with the okay to attack, then pointed to the ten men who filed out of the warehouse, guns drawn.
“That’s why I needed more men.”
“Den, take the next team in.” Greyson’s order was terse and emotionless. This was business, and my brother was as cool and collected as ever.
“I’m ready to cause some damage,” Raines said. He had a reputation for violence. The muscle of Mason’s family. No one crossed him and lived, so no one dared cross him just like they didn’t dare cross me or my brother. Until these assholes got arrogant and thought they could take all of us on. Their mistake.
“Let’s get my wildcat back,” I said, pulling out my gun and rising from my spot.
“Wildcat?” asked Raines.
“Better than viper,” I taunted, hearing the rumbled growl from him.
“Time to do some damage like old times, brother?” Greyson asked, slapping his hand on my shoulder.
“Just don’t get yourself killed before we can sit down with a glass of scotch and hash our differences out.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to see my sister all ragged and depressed again, Tides. No dying.”
Greyson tucked two guns under his suit jacket and took the safety off the one in his hand. “Considering you and Raines are the ones with recent gunshot wounds, I think it’s you two who need to be careful.”
“Fuck you, Tides.” I could tell Mason meant the response to be harsh, but there was an undercurrent of humor in his words.
As we stalked into the fight, I considered the irony that Henley and the other traitors had intended to turn us against each other, but had instead succeeded in bringing us together.
Our men cleared out the exterior guards, but inside was achaos of gunshots and yelling. I’d taken time to run the other teams through what to look for from Henley’s men. Tricks and moves that made the Omens so lethal. I’d hated to lose the valuable time but if I lost Grey and Mason’s men within the first few minutes of the fight, I would never make it to Ava.
We ran into the fray, avoiding bodies and bullets. Mason and Raines took the right flank, while Greyson and I took the left. A bullet clipped my shoulder, and I cursed at the sting of pain. As I moved further into the chaos, I lost sight of Greyson and the others. The fight was brutal, but the thought of Ava hurt, or worse, fed my fury. It seemed a never ending battle, and the bruises were compounding with every punch I took and gave and every bullet that narrowly missed me.
The flow of Henley’s men slowed, but I spotted the door they were emerging from. A stairway that led to the tunnels we’d suspected housed the true operation. I found Pack and motioned for him to follow me, but I spotted the gun raised across from me too late. A bullet tore through the shooter’s head before his finger could release the trigger at his target: me. The bullet freed as his body fell, just missing my head. Greyson’s intense eyes held mine for an instant before he turned his gun on another victim. My brother had always been an excellent shot, but I suspected the scar he carried from my bullet had encouraged him to become the best.
I rushed to the stairs with Pack at my rear. There had been no sign of Henley or the two who had taken Ava. Pointing my gun down the hole, I started down the stairs. It was too quiet. The fight was slowing above, but down below, there was silence. Stepping over the first body, I suspected I was late to the party. A trail of bodies, some with smashed faces, others with bullet wounds, all dead.
As I reached an open space, I found Raines lounging against the doorframe, his legs crossed, a smirk that was in stark contrastto the blood that covered him including some of his own where a bullet had grazed his temple.
“You Omen with your fancy ghost moves took too long. Rage and muscles do just as much damage.”
Mason stood in the room with his arms crossed, blood dripping from a wound in his arm. “These your guys?”
