Page 30 of Reckless Thief

“Calling ahead, Doc,” Alphabet said. “It’s like you want us to be civilized or something.”

“Or something… Depending on when you get here, if I don’t answer, I’ll leave the details on the line.”

“We’ll be there in twenty-four hours,” Bones said. “We just need to make some arrangements.”

“She won’t like it,” Voodoo commented, but Lunchbox chuckled.

“You not liking it isn’t the same thing, man.” Lunchbox had moved, and he sounded closer to the phone. “Doc?”

“I’m here.”

“How bad is it?”

“They killed my sister.”

Absolute silence greeted my statement. It stretched out for a full minute.

“We’ll be there in twelve hours,” Bones said. “Don’t move without us.”

Then the call ended, and I lowered the phone. My guys were coming. The kids needed to know.

Leaving the quiet suite, I headed downstairs. I’d hoped to find Little Bit with the guys, except it was just Milo, Jasper, and Liam. Anger buzzed in the atmosphere like a live wire had been cut.

I felt for the kids, I did. Liam had just lost his father and his mother was a wreck. He should be with her, yet I understood why he wasn’t. I understood why he had to be here too.

Jasper ran food up to Freddie. Little Bit was still sleeping, or so they thought. Milo said she’d gone up with Kellan. So she’d made sure we were all resting before she went to rest.

I could appreciate it, even if I itched to lay eyes on her right now. I could be patient. Milo didn’t bitch while I cleaned out the disaster he’d made of his hands. They were covered with bruises and cuts.

“So, what’s the plan?” Liam asked, making up a massive batch of scrambled eggs while bacon cooked in the oven. When you fed a huge group, it was the fastest way to go. I cleaned up from dressing Milo’s wounds, then went to brew another pot of coffee.

“My team is coming,” I said, keeping it brief.

“Your team?” Milo said, straightening.

“Four guys who were part of my squad.” The only others to survive that last engagement. “They were the guys who got me out after the firefight.” I didn’t talk much about that battle and had zero intentions of doing it now.

The weight of Jasper’s stare had me glancing over my shoulder. “I’m assuming you wouldn’t call these guys in if you couldn’t trust them.”

He still wanted validation. Some other time the caution might have amused me. Jasper lost trust in me a long time ago, that he’d begun to regain any at all? Yeah, I got the need to trust but verify.

“No, I wouldn’t. They can help. They also have access to heavier munitions, intelligence, and the benefits of not being one ofus.”

“Anyone who did deep background on you would get them,” Liam pointed out. Milo said nothing, his jaw tense, and his lips flattened as if he was still stewing over all this. I left him be—for now.

“Possibly, but we don’t have a lot of public contacts and haven’t in the last four-plus years. They’ve been to Braxton Harbor all of twice, and once was to pick up the cargo you guys needed relocated.”

Calling people cargo would never sit well with any of us, but the important part was they’d taken possession and gotten them out. Then helped relocate them somewhere safer.

“That said,” I continued, pouring coffee into a mug for myself before moving to let Jasper get his own. “They know how to not be noticed until they want to be. They also won’t hesitate to act should we need it, and if we needed to stash Little Bit or someone to get her out of here—they’ll bleed anyone who comes after her.”

Milo jerked his head up, and Liam turned off the heat on the stove as he faced me. I tracked each of their stares.

“Youwant to send her away?” Jasper tested the words like he couldn’t believe them.

“No. I want her safe. This is open war. She doesn’t need to be in the trenches.”

“She won’t go,” Liam said, his tone flat before he served eggs onto each plate. “I won’t force her.” He paused to look at Milo. “No one will force her.”

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