Page 28 of Rush

“No,” said Trak. “I killed Aruf Grigoryan. I cut his body into tiny pieces for every tiny child he ever touched. I killed his bodyguards and men, and I freed those children, and I do not regret my actions for one moment.”

“But?” frowned Tailor at his friend.

“But I am worried that if Ari has knowledge that it was me who killed his brother, I may be putting you all in danger.” Nine shook his head.

“Trak, when the fuck has anyone ever known it was you that completed a mission? No one. No one has ever known if you were there or not there. You’re like a fucking ghost. No offense to Ghost.”

“None taken,” smirked the man. “But he’s right, Trak. Even if they did know it was you, it wouldn’t change what we’re doing here. We’re in this together. We chose to be here. Old as shit, creaking bones and all. We’re here. As a team.”

Trak nodded at his friends then displayed the map of the small village they were headed to.

“Sniff? Can you get the drones up and see how many people we’re looking at?”

“Of course,” he nodded, going into the other room to gather the cases.

“Joseph, Nathan, Kiel, Zeke, Rafe, and I will go ahead and move into the hills to get a better look. Get settled in our new home, get your new clothing, and we’ll meet you there.”

The six men left the suite as the others gathered the gear. They walked down the stairwell instead of taking the elevator to avoid any crowds. As they left the building, the young man that had approached Caroline the other morning looked at Rush.

“Where is Caroline?” he asked with a demanding tone.

“None of your fucking business,” growled Rush.

“She’s supposed to be working at the zoo with us,” he said, raising his chin upward.

“I’m sorry,” said Rush, walking toward him. “Did I miss something? Are you her professor? Her supervisor?”

“No, but she’s required to do the same work as the rest of us.”

“What she does and does not do is none of your damn business. She has left the country, and her professor is well aware of the reasons. If I didn’t make myself perfectly clear the other day, Antonio, I am her fiancé. If you come near my woman again, I will feed you to the lions.”

“Oh my,” smiled one of the women, fanning herself. “That was exciting.”

“Shut up!” said Antonio. Baptiste reached for the man’s arm, squeezing harder than necessary as he winced.

“If you ever tell a woman to shut up again, I’ll break your fucking arm. You feel me? Boy.”

“Y-yes. Yes. I understand.” He released his arm, and he turned, dashing toward a taxi.

“Thank you for that,” smiled the young woman. “He would never touch any of us, but he definitely had the hots for Caroline. But you should know, she never gave him the time of day.”

“I appreciate that,” said Rush. “If he does ever touch you, report it to the university.”

“We will,” she smiled. “Tell Caroline congratulations.” They nodded as the others piled into the taxi and drove away.

Breaking off into teams of two or three, they took different routes, gathering their new wardrobe along the way. By the time they were in their new digs, they were ready to start hunting. Looking around at the tiny apartment, they all frowned. They were not impressed by the accommodations.

The rotting wooden building along the waterfront had seen much better days and, by all accounts, should be condemned. But the price of only twenty U.S. dollars a day couldn’t be beat and would never attract the attention of Grigoryan.

When Sniff walked in with the dogs, they all looked at him.

“You’re late,” said Ghost.

“You’re welcome,” he smiled, tossing a bag on the table. “I suspected we might need some additional locks on our door. We can tell the landlord it’s a gift when we leave.”

Tailor looked at the three deadbolts and grinned. Taking out the tools in the bag, he quickly put them on the door, and then the men left in groups once again. Using the old truck that Tailor, Alec, and Noah had purchased, they transported several men in the bed of the truck. Rafe bought another truck, doing the same.

Outside of the village, they parked the trucks behind a building, now reduced to rubble. As they began to make their way into the hills, Beast and Monster started crying, making circles around the debris.

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