There is a reason they are keeping his death a secret, and I want to know why.
“Exterior and interior has been cleared,” Diesel says, and we start making our descent from the tree. “Let us know when the cameras are down, Daniels,” he adds as we race across the grounds toward the side entrance.
“Done,” Xavier says. “We’re good to go.”
“The gas gives us one hour max,” Diesel reminds us.
We chose to deploy the same strategy we used when rescuing Anderson from Hearst’s house after the bastard had kidnapped and tortured him. It’s the easiest way of disarming the staff and the guards inside the mansion. The guards patrolling the grounds were taken down the usual way. “Johnson and Travers will escort you inside. The rest of my men will patrol outside. We don’t know what contingency plans might be in place, so hurry.”
We regroup with the others, following Johnson and Travers inside the vast property.
Everyone is decked out in Techxet’s all-black combat ensemble. The lightweight pants and long-sleeved shirts are resistant to infrared laser and bulletproof, and we are all carrying a gun and several knives. We know from experience not to underestimate any elite, and to expect the unexpected.
Alessandra Mathers might be a giant cunt, but she’s smart, and she has huge lady balls. Although we’ve gone to great lengths to hide our presence from her, we can’t rule out she knows we are here and was anticipating an attack.
Racing past sleeping employees and guards, we follow Johnson directly to Denton’s office.
Johnson slams to a halt outside a large mahogany door, holding up one hand. He wiggles the door handle, but it doesn’t budge. With impressive speed, Johnson picks the lock, and we hold back as he and Travers clear the room. “We’ll stand guard out here and give you a five-minute warning before we have to leave.”
I nod at him as we dash past, heading straight toward the wall of books, finding Oliver Twist on the second shelf, where Johnson said it would be. The guys stand behind me as I remove the book and press the hidden switch. We aren’t bothering to search the exterior office; Mathers wouldn’t hide anything of value in such a visible manner, and we’ve already hacked into the computer sitting on that desk and found nothing of interest.
Whatever we seek will be in the hidden room.
We stand back as the shelving unit retracts into the wall, revealing a spacious office-slash-den. “Stay back,” I command, holding out my arm. “This will work best with no heat signatures in the way.” Extracting the device from my front pocket, I press it on and hold it out, letting it scan the room. A thin red line spreads out, expanding like a blanket, as it sweeps the room for bugs and other electronic devices. It picks up two signals: one behind the monstrous family portrait residing over the ornate fireplace and a second one in a panel on one of the bookshelves.
Anderson and Lauder head for the oil painting, pulling it away from the wall. “Bingo.” Anderson grins as they reveal the safe.
“Hidden camera.” Xavier plucks a book from the panel. “What did the man have against books?” he mumbles, examining the camera built into the center of the book in his hand.
“Disable it and put it in the bag. That might contain some useful footage.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” Xavier says as I head to the desk and Charlie and Drew start taking photos of the rest of the space before rifling through drawers and shelves.
“Photograph everything,” I say as I sink onto the chair and power up Denton’s secret computer.
“Let me do that,” Xavier says, appearing a few minutes later as I’ve logged on to the computer and I’m preparing to run the software to get me into his system.
“I know what I’m doing.” I shoot him a glare.
“I know you do, but I’m faster.” He waggles his brows, and I purse my lips. My stubborn streak demands I tell him to fuck off, but time is of the essence, and the truth is, Xavier is better than me.
“Fine.” I stand, slapping the USB key into his hand. “Prove it.”
“You have twenty minutes left,” Diesel says a while later. “All is clear. We still have eyes on the gala event, and the van is waiting for you outside.”
“We need some help.” Anderson pants, and I stop rifling through Mathers’s desk drawer, running to help my two friends. “Fuck, this thing weighs a ton.” Anderson and Lauder are struggling to hold the safe now they’ve extracted it from the wall. Removing it and taking it with us was the safest option with the limited time we have. I lend a hand until Johnson and Travers come into the room, helping Lauder and Anderson carry it outside to the van. I close the painting and return to the desk, grabbing the paperwork and shoving it in our bag.
“Get ready to wrap things up,” I tell the others as Xavier finishes the file download and secures the digital key in the zipped pocket of his pants.
“We’re done,” Charlie says, holding his cell out as he takes some final photos of the framed pictures on top of the grand piano at the far end of the room.
“Guys. You need to get out of there.” Diesel’s urgent tone filters into my ear. “We have incoming vehicles approaching from the front entrance. I have two men on the roof. They will cover you, but you need to get to the van and get the hell out of here!”
We don’t need to be told twice. The only sound in the eerily quiet hallway is the sound of our feet as we sprint through the house toward the door. “Shit,” I curse as we approach the doorway and the screeching of tires alerts us to enemy arrival. “Get ready,” I say, removing my gun. I turn to Xavier. “You remember everything I showed you at the gun range?”
“I know how to pop bullets in the baddies, Hunt. Don’t treat me like I’m an idiot.”
I drill him with a look. He is so fucking infuriating at times. I know he knows how to shoot. I was the one who fucking taught him. But he’s never killed anyone before. He’s never even fired a weapon at anyone, and shit is about to get real. I don’t want anything happening to him. “I know you’re not an idiot, but you’re not experienced like us three. Don’t do anything stupid. Stay back and keep your eyes peeled.”
He gives me a curt nod, but I don’t trust him. Gripping both sides of his face, I peer into his eyes. “If anything happens to you, because you are reckless, I’m holding you fully responsible and I will not go easy on your ass. Be careful.” I press a quick, hard kiss to his lips, without thinking about it, just as gunshots ring out from outside.
“Let’s go,” Drew says, barreling out the door with a gun in each hand.
“Showtime.” Charlie grins, looking way too gleeful, and it’s a timely reminder these guys have seen and done a lot of bad shit.
The pop of gunfire being traded signals it’s time to make a move. “Keep behind me,” I tell Xavier as we move slowly outside.
“Holy shit,” Xavier exclaims as we watch Drew and Charlie take guys down like bowling pins. Shots whizz over our heads as Diesel’s men take aim from the roof. Anderson and Lauder are behind the van, ducking and diving, as they take shots at a Land Rover. A familiar brunette pops her head up, returning fire as the men Alessandra brought with her drop like proverbial flies.