Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 125248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
He told him about the time Green had gone undercover at a biker bar but his cover was blown on day one because he didn’t know how to ride a motorcycle.
Green told how Ruxs had stolen a garbage truck to save Day, Ro, and Syn when they were pinned down and taking heavy fire from a gang. He’d hid in the back with two 19mm submachine guns and came out shooting like fucking Rambo. But he ended up smelling like a sewer for three days, no matter how much he showered.
Day told Cassidy that God had put a suspect through a motel room door without opening it.
They drank.
They ate again.
They talked about lots, contracts, training pipelines, threat assessment teams, hiring from former military and law enforcement, and building a security force that’d been known from coast to coast.
For five amazing hours, the future stopped looking grim and began to look so bright, he needed shades.
Then every earpiece and watch blared with the panic alarm.
It was Xander.
Cassidy came out of his chair so violently it slammed backward and hit the floor.
“What the fuck?” Ruxs was already up.
Cassidy had his phone out, fingers moving fast enough to blur. He called once. No answer. Called again. No answer. His face lost all color.
A few seconds later, Free’s and Tech’s panic signals ignited.
The triple blaring tone tore through God’s skull like a freight train.
Cassidy dialed again.
“Pick up,” he snapped into the phone.
Nothing.
God lifted a hand. “Morrison.”
Cassidy looked at him like a wild animal trapped behind glass.
“Stay with me,” he said.
Cassidy’s jaw clenched so hard God heard it click.
The comm crackled.
Tech’s voice came through, low and tight.
“Don’t be alarmed.”
“Too late,” Day snarled.
Tech exhaled once. “We’ve been kidnapped.”
God
They were back in God and Day’s suite in less than an hour.
Nobody remembered the drive, crossing the lobby of the hotel, or the elevator ride to their floor.
God remembered Cassidy’s energy beside him like heat off a blast furnace. His new business partner was one breath away from tearing through the city in search of Xander.
He also remembered Ruxs and Green pacing, both waiting for God to point them at a target.
He remembered Day calling Gen and telling him to get to the suite now, in a tone their family knew all too well.
Day went straight to Free’s setup but slammed his fist on the desk when he realized he didn’t have the access codes. Only one other man did as a fail-safe. “Steele, get me Fox on the line.”
“Calling,” Steele rumbled.
“Tell him we need him to get into Free’s system. Now.”
Steele put the phone to his ear. “He’s heading to his office.”
“Tech, do you copy?”
He answered after a few seconds.
“Yes. I copy.”
Tech’s voice was low. Too low. Controlled in a way God didn’t like. Calm was useful. Too much calm meant if he got out of line, he’d be killed.
God forced his own voice level. “First question. Are all of you together and is anyone hurt?”
A pause.
“We’re all here. We’re alive. No injuries.”
Cassidy braced both hands on the back of a chair.
God closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. “What happened?”
Tech’s answer came clipped, professional. “We were leaving a shop on West 3rd. It was a busy sidewalk. I moved in front of Xander, putting him between myself and Free. Curtis was on his right.”
God pictured it.
Too many civilians.
No clean shot or open lane.
Tech continued. “They were already in the crowd. They closed around us. One bumped Curtis and pushed him in. Another stepped up behind Free. Before I could move Xander out of the pocket, there was a gun at his back.”
Tech’s voice tightened until God strained to hear him. “The man spoke into his ear and told him to walk quietly. No sudden moves. No attention. If I reached for my sidearm, or if any of us shouted, he said Xander would be dead before he hit the ground.”
Cassidy started to pace.
Day stepped closer to him, not touching yet, just there.
“I couldn’t draw in that crowd. And I wasn’t gonna call the guy’s bluff.”
“You made the right call,” God said immediately.
Cassidy shook his head.
“He made the right call.” Steele glared.
Cassidy’s hands flexed, but he said nothing.
Tech paused a long moment and God waited, assuming he had to be quiet, or someone was watching.
“They moved us into a van staged like a delivery truck,” Tech murmured. “Two at our backs. One at the driver’s side. One passenger. Three more watching the crowd. They stripped our phones and Free’s messenger bag once we were inside. I assume Xander had already triggered his ring alarm. Free and I put the code in our watches when they closed the van doors.”
God went toward the table where Free’s system should have been waking up.
Nothing yet.
“Why didn’t you radio earlier?”
“They took every device they could see,” Tech said. “I couldn’t risk letting them know about the Hart Communicator. Couldn’t let them know my glasses transmit. I waited until they stopped searching us.”