“Hello?”
“Bran, it’s K.”
“Hello, K.”
“Meet me at the east park entrance. The one across from the Starbucks. Now.”
The jittery tone got through to Brannigan, and he asked sharply, “What’s going on?”
“The O’Conners just put a hit out on you. Open contract, for a million dollars. Move, Bran!”
Something like the sound of a book snapping shut, and then the pounding of footsteps going at a dead run came through the speaker. Brannigan was running but didn’t sound out of breath. Then again, he was one of those disgusting people who routinely exercised. “Are you sure? Wait, are you coming to get me yourself?”
“Yes, I’m damned well sure, which is why I’m having a hernia right now. And yes, I’m coming to get you myself because this contract has been live for over thirty minutes and I’m the only one close to you right now.” Kyou spied an open spot near the park entrance. It was meant for fire and emergency, but he didn’t care as he swung into it. “I’m in a green Jeep, pulling up now. Get in.”
He hung up as he saw the man. Brannigan was definitely in ‘off’ mode, wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a white cardigan that made him look like a model. Then again, the man could just be wearing boxers and look like a model. It likely had nothing to do with the clothes. He had a book tucked up under his arm, phone clutched in his free hand. Spotting the Jeep, he went straight for it, yanking open the door.
Then stopped dead and stared, green eyes flaring wide. There was an astonished quality to Brannigan’s voice as he asked, “K?”
Kyou belatedly realized that he looked like he had just rolled out of bed. He looked disheveled and wild compared to this man. But he forced that flash of consternation aside. There wasn’t time for that feeling right now. “Yeah. Get in, Bran.”
Brannigan needed another second, seemingly lost for words, then mutely got in and shut the door. As he reached for a seatbelt, Kyou darted back into traffic, just driving for now. They were safe at the moment because no one could ID Kyou’s car, nor even suspect Brannigan was in it. But they couldn’t drive forever.
“My God,” Brannigan breathed, staring at Kyou intently. “You are not at all what I expected.”
Kyou fought down a flush. “Didn’t expect to see me in the flesh, I know.”
“No, I figured that would happen,” Brannigan refuted. “Your friends seemed quite invested in making sure we met. I gave that a matter of time. No, what surprises me is that you’re attractive. I would have pegged you for one of those skeletal geeks that forgets to eat all the time.”
“In this line of work, you have to run for it sometimes.” Kyou didn’t know why he was feeling defensive that he was, in fact, in fairly decent shape. Considering. “Like now. I expected more panic on your part.”
Brannigan snorted. “After seeing how your family deals with emergencies, I’m not at all worried. But that does beg the question, do you have a plan for what to do? I’ve never had a hitman after me before.”
Kyou shot him a bland look before randomly taking the next right.
“…I have had a contract on my life before?” Brannigan’s voice steadily rose. “When? And why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
“It would have just given you heart failure. I took care of it. It’s just, normally I have better preparations in place for this sort of thing. Right now, everyone’s out of position. Bad timing. I had to come get you myself.” It was up to Kyou to fix this, though, that was still true. Especially since it was his crazy friends partially responsible for this mess. Kyou shot Brannigan a look, but really, he couldn’t afford to just blindly drive like this. And he needed to keep Brannigan close until they figured everything out. It was inevitable that he’d find out about the rest of his crew. Swearing, Kyou punched in the phone button on his steering wheel. “Call Widow.”
Brannigan studied him with curiosity as the phone rang.
It picked up with a cheery, “Hi, Uncle Kyou!”
Brannigan choked.
Ignoring him, Kyou answered, “Hey, princess. I need some help, ASAP.”
She must have heard the tension in his voice and immediately became all business-like. “What’s wrong? Do I need to call everyone else?”
“Yeah, we’ll need the team on this one. But do something for me first. I need an eval on my system, make sure it’s clean. Get that running for me.”
“On it.”
Brannigan hissed at him, “You have a niece? No, that’s not my question. Why the hell are you calling your niece for help?”
“Because I’ve been training her for almost two years, and she’s one of the most brilliant hackers I’ve had the pleasure of knowing,” Kyou answered flatly. “And if you’re very, very lucky, she’ll decide that she likes you.”
Brannigan weighed that for a moment. “And if she doesn’t?”
“Hell.”
There was a giggle on the other end of the line. “Hi, Brannigan! I’m glad I get to meet you soon. Uncle K, what happened that you went IRL?”
“Bad shit, princess. Someone’s after him and I had to intervene. I know your dads are fixing that leak; are they at the house?”
“One is. Papa’s at the store getting stuff,” she answered. “Who do you need me to pull?”
“Everyone but Lollipop.” Although he would have to text him later, keep him abreast of things. Aiden hated to be left out of the loop.
“Roger that.” There was a furious clacking of keys, like a stampede of elephants. Then a gusty sigh. “Your system’s clean. Apartment’s being watched, though. Why?”
“No idea. Could be because it’s Genovese property.” Kyou swore some more. When did they start watching his apartment? Hopefully after he’d left.
Brannigan choked. Again. If his eyes got any wider, they might fall out of his head altogether.
Ignoring him, Kyou continued, “I’m heading to Safe House 4. Can you meet me there with my backup laptop?”
“Sure thing. I can take a Lyft, meet you there?”
“No, wait for your dads. I don’t trust you and Lyfts.”
“But I haven’t been able to beat anyone up in ages,” she complained with a whine.
“I blame Eidolon for teaching you that. We don’t have time, princess. We’re in hot shit right now.”
“Yeah, okay. See you there.”
Brannigan waited until the phone call disconnected before forcing out in a rasp, “Who does she beat up?”
“Stalkers, for the most part. Child abusers. Listen to me, Bran, that kid looks like a sweet, innocent angel on the surface. Do not be stupid enough to buy into her act. She’s being raised by an assassin, mercenary, hacker, and thief. I’m the sanest one of the group, aside from Lollipop, and he was crazy enough to marry the insane Russian thief, so I don’t know how much faith I have in his sanity. You understand me? Do not upset her. And don’t be condescending. Trust me, she can flatten you.”
Brannigan was watching him with those green, green eyes that seemed to see everything. “She’s it, isn’t she? She’s the reason why you weren’t sure it was a good reason for me to meet you. To be able to ID you.”