Page 123 of Titan

My boyfriend gave his best friend a slap around the back of the head. Edric rubbed it and pursed his lips.

“That was unnecessary.”

“We need to get inside before they arrive,” Gil said, ignoring Edric’s comment.

“There’s a fence around the perimeter. I haven’t been able to get in.”

Gil nodded before retreating around the back of the car and opening the boot. He grabbed a few things out of it before closing it and coming back around with a bag. He dug into it and handed Edric a pair of heavy-duty wire cutters. I didn’t even ask why he owned those and kept them in his car. Gil was the type of man to be prepared for anything. It was why he had a stupid number of guns hidden around his penthouse, not to mention the knives.

“Let’s go.”

Edric shook his head but followed Gil as he crossed the street. I kept close to them, glad I’d chosen flats. Tottering around on heels would have been a pain right now. The three of us snuck down the fence line until we got around the corner and were at the back of the building. Edric squatted down and used the cutters to make a hole in the fence. Gil grabbed a hold of the side and pulled it back, nodding at me to duck through. Edric went next, followed by my man. He tucked the fence back into place to make it look like it hadn’t been disturbed.

The three of us dashed across the small open area and huddled behind the back of the building. It was a tall brick warehouse. Gil looked at Edric.

“Okay, how long until the meeting?”

Edric checked his watch.

“About twenty minutes. Devlin is inside, but his guest isn’t. I have our men monitoring the entrance. They’ll let us know when they’re here.”

“Right, we get in, scope the place out as best we can, and then find a place to watch them.”

Edric eyed me warily as if he was worried I’d be in the way. I had a feeling Gil was less anxious because I was there next to him. His attention wouldn’t be divided. I intended to stick to his side the whole time.

“You sure about this?”

Gil nodded. His mouth was a grim line.

“I’m done getting played. One way or another, I’m ending this shit tonight.”

Forty

Gilberto

Edric clearly disapproved of me having brought Theia into this situation, but I didn’t care. Having her close was important. I would have been stressed out if I’d left her with my men while Edric and I infiltrated the building. Edric had scoped it out, but I’d been wary about us going in while we were monitoring Devlin, not wanting to arouse suspicion. Edric was sure this was the only place the shipments could be. Devlin didn’t own any other warehouses.

“Let’s go.”

I tucked Theia behind me as we approached the backdoor. There was no one about, but it was locked. I set the bag down and picked the lock with ease. Edric stuffed the wire cutters back into the bag while I opened the door slowly and peered in. The hallway was empty, so I dragged the two of them inside, closing the door silently behind me.

“This way,” I whispered, pointing towards the double doors at the end.

We hurried down towards it. I checked through the windows, eyeing the warehouse floor warily. I could see a few of Devlin’s men standing around, but they weren’t close to the doors. There was an upper level. One man was lounging against the railings, looking over the area where the other guys were.

“We need to get up there.”

Edric looked up at where I was indicating and gave me a sharp nod. Carefully opening the door, I slipped inside, with Edric and Theia behind me. I tucked my hand into hers, wanting to keep a hold of her. We skirted around the stacked crates, finding the metal staircase that led up to the upper level. It was hidden behind more large crates so they couldn’t see us, but I was still wary about the noise we might make. We had to take our chances with it because time was ticking down.

There was the persistent murmur of voices followed by laughing. I took the opportunity to move towards the stairs and creep up them. Theia stayed behind me, with Edric bringing up the rear. We went slowly, making sure our feet were as silent as possible on the metal. When we made it to the top, I paused, checking the area. No one else apart from that one guy was up here, but he was on the other side of the building from us. It was darker up here, making it harder for them to see us if they looked up.

I took the left path, further away from the guy watching the scene below. Some of the crates were stacked high enough that they hid us from view. We found a spot where we could mostly see the cleared area where the men were hanging out, including Devlin Clarke. He was on the phone with someone, and he wasn’t keeping his voice down. I tuned him out as the three of us crouched down. I watched what was going on while Edric pulled out the small camera from the bag and plopped it down next to him. He set it to record, pointing it towards the men. I checked my watch. We had a few minutes to spare.

Edric drew out his phone and checked it before handing it to me. Our men had noted a couple of vans and a car pulling up at the gates. They’d been let through with no issues. I gave Edric his phone back and settled in to keep an eye on everything. We weren’t here to stop the meeting, merely to observe. I didn’t want to put Theia in danger by starting something.

There was a bunch of noise and footsteps sounding from beyond where we could see. Devlin and his men straightened, and then Devlin smiled a moment later.

“Didn’t expect you to come in person.”

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