14. Chapter 14

The entire block was dark. The SUVs headlights cut through the gloom, highlighting the crumbling exterior of the warehouse, stacks of old pallets, a dumpster on its side.

Perfect place for criminals to exchange money. Or an ambush.

“I don’t like this.” Behemoth scanned the empty lot as he cut the engine and the lights.

Ghost grinned. “Feels like fun.”

Behemoth punched his friend in the arm. “Lock it down.”

“Ow,” Ghost rubbed his bicep with a pout. “Damn, Bee. Message received.”

“Let’s sweep the perimeter before we go in.”

They stepped out of the vehicle and another pair of headlights swept over them. A rangy man stepped out with a grin, holding a big duffel. He reminded Behemoth of Bull—all coiled energy. Blond curls flopped into his face and he shoved them back with one hand. “Sorry I’m late, fellas. Got caught in traffic.”

Ghost looked at Behemoth and mouthed, what the fuck?

Had to say it was a new one for a criminal to apologize for being late.

The man approached with a rolling gait and dropped the duffel at their feet. “Go ahead and check. It’s all there.”

The wind shifted and Behemoth’s claws sprung from his fingers as the distinctive scent of a shifter hit his nose.

Ghost growled low next to him. “Who the fuck are you?”

The man raised his hands, “Uh… there might be a mistake here.”

“Big fucking mistake.”

Society didn’t go after Society, not for any amount of money, unless the council sanctioned it. There hadn’t been a sanctioned move in Behemoth’s lifetime.

The man slumped and pushed his hair back again. “So I’m guessing y’all aren’t the mercs?”

“Correct.”

“You’d better start talking.” Ghost crossed his arms over his chest.

“Okay, but let’s pretend everything is cool and we’re just going over details of the job. My boss is watching.” He subtly indicated his chest.

Behemoth assumed there was a camera hidden on him. He nodded. “Audio?”

The other man shook his head. “Video only.” He smirked. “Bastard gets sick even hearing about bloodshed.” He sighed. “I’d shake your hand but I doubt that’ll look good. Name’s Maze. I’m with Jackal Division.”

“Jesus, could this get any more complicated?” Ghost stared at the bag of money.

His head was probably spinning with the same questions Behemoth’s were. What the hell did Jackal Division have to do with this?

“I won’t be able to stay long. This is supposed to just be a drop. I’ll give you a brief rundown on our involvement and then answer a couple of questions if I can.

“I’ve been embedded with The Level since word got out they’re dealing in artifacts. Y’all have heard of Easy Street, I assume?” He waited for them to nod. “An artifact helped create the drug. I heard talk they were going after Supe Sec and finagled myself as the bagman. Wasn’t sure what I’d find, but we got each other’s backs.”

Behemoth grunted. The Society members that worked closely with the public, especially the current and former military, were tight. He may never have met Maze before, but he’d respect him like a fellow teammate.

From afar. Jackal Division recruits were bat shit crazy and broken in some way. Crazier than Ghost, even.

“Do you know who put them onto us?”

Maze nodded. “Military bigwig named Garrison. There’s someone in Damruck PD who supplies local info to the gang, but Garrison is a heavy hitter.”

Ghost asked, “Do you know who’s running the gang since Sean’s death?”

Maze huffed. “Same guy who’s always run it. Sean was a figurehead who fucked up one too many times. Brandon Fields.”

Behemoths’ jaw dropped. “Garrison’s nephew?”

“That’s the one. He’s less of a puppet than Sean, but he’s still got strings. His uncle is the one behind everything, but he’s meticulous about keeping his hands clean.”

Behemoth remembered Brandon from his military days. Garrison used to parade him around base, talking about how proud he was that his nephew had done something or another.

He always got a slimy feeling from the young man and kept his distance.

“Sorry guys, I’ve got to get back before I arouse suspicion.” He waved at the bag of money. “Keep it. Put it in the orphan’s fund or something. I can buy you a couple of days, max, before Brandon realizes his mercs didn’t kill you.”

“One more thing,” Behemoth stopped him as he turned. “Do you know how Matthew Sonjour is wrapped up in all this?”

“Brandon thought his cult would be the perfect cover for smuggling drugs in. Nobody’s going to check something marked religious too closely. So they worked out a deal a few years back.

“Brandon’s about done with him, though. That guy’s unhinged. Obsessed with some woman.” He stopped before sliding behind the wheel of his sedan. “Watch your back, fellas. Garrison’s going to be pissed when he figures out you aren’t dead.”

“Thanks, Maze.” Ghost zipped up the bag and tossed the money over his shoulder. “At least we have a name now.”

Behemoth grunted. A name was a good start. Since Matthew’s cult was wrapped up with The Level, and Garrison was The Level, there was a good chance the council would give the go ahead to take out the whole lousy lot of them.

They could clear out Damruck PD later. Bull would track down the leak and they would plug it.

His and Gaelynn’s happily ever after was getting closer by the minute.

He felt the bullet enter his chest like a punch. The burn on its heels. Ghost spun when he was hit in the shoulder. Behemoth managed to get both of them behind the SUV where Maze joined them seconds later, his hands clamped around his bloody thigh.

“Who the fuck is shooting at us?”

“It’s not anyone with The Level. This isn’t the best part of town. Probably some wanna be gangster who got a look at the cars and decided we didn’t need two.”

“Whoever it is, they’re a lousy shot.” Ghost assessed the hole in his shoulder and then noticed Behemoth struggling to stay upright. Any trace of amusement vanished from his tone. “Where were you hit?”

“Chest.” He struggled to get air into lungs suddenly the size of peas.

“Right. Maze, shove him into the back seat and get in. I’m driving.”

Behemoth muttered, “Fuck,” and then passed out.

She fell asleep on the couch. She didn’t want to be alone and she guessed neither did Zeus since he joined her in front of the TV. They didn’t speak, and neither of them seemed to register the show playing on the screen.

The shrill sound of his phone woke her. She bolted upright when Zeus’s voice turned hard. She strained to hear the other side of the conversation, but it was impossible.

Zeus looked up and caught her eyes. “Right. I’ll bring her.” He hung up and said, “Behemoth’s been shot.”

Her vision narrowed into a tunnel. She was aware of Zeus directing her to do certain things, go specific places. Get her phone and purse. Get into the waiting SUV. Buckle up.

The drive was a blur, the entire world muted, as if she was in a bubble. Every sound seemed far away. Every voice one of Charlie Brown’s teachers. Zeus’s commands registered in the back of her brain. She felt his hand at the small of her back, leading her through the endless maze of hospital hallways.

He ushered her into a room and the steady beep of a monitor brought everything back in stark relief. Behemoth lay still in the bed, tubes and wires disappearing under a gown and sheet so thin it was near translucent.

She gasped and her fingers flew to her mouth as she stared at her nightmare come to life.

Behemoth’s eyes popped open, the dark brown irises scanning the room until they fell on her. “Gaelynn.”

She hiccuped a sob and reached a tentative hand toward the bedrail. He reached out and twined his fingers with hers.

“I’m okay.”

She huffed and swiped at the tears flowing down her cheeks. “You look far from okay.”

He had the audacity to wink at her.

“Super healing, remember?”

“I remember. I also remember you saying it still hurt like a bitch to get shot.”

He winced. “True. But I’ll be right as rain by tomorrow.”

She shook her head and looked away. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Do what?” He tugged on her hand. “Hey, look at me.”

She forced herself to hold his gaze.

“Do what?”

She waved her hand between them, feeling anger replacing her initial panic at hearing he’d been shot. “This! You leaving at all hours of the night, running into danger, getting shot!”

He pulled her closer and nodded. “I know it’s tough. We’ll talk about it when we get home, okay?” He kissed her fingertips. “For now, can you just lie here with me? I need to feel you next to me.”

She shook her head and tried to back up. “I’ll hurt you.”

He yanked harder and sent her tumbling on top of him. “No, you won’t.”

She wiggled, trying to get up and he growled in her ear.

“Keep wiggling like that, and I’ll break doctor’s orders for no strenuous activity until tomorrow afternoon.”

She gasped. “You got shot and the doctor didn’t say you were in for a lengthy hospital stay?”

“No, there are Society doctors on staff.”

“Of course there are.” She rolled her eyes.

He tucked her closer and rubbed his chin back and forth over the top of her head. “All I could think about was getting back to you and making sure you were safe.”

She felt a feather soft kiss on her hair and she propped herself on an elbow to look down at him. “You were bleeding out and all you thought about was me?”

He grinned. “I know, I’m a romantic.”

“If you didn’t have a bullet wound in your chest I’d hit you right now.”

“Mmm. How about you kiss me instead?”

“No. River had me watching Seductflix and I’m afraid if I kiss you I won’t stop and you’ll get hurt.”

He groaned. “Fine. Then just settle in next to me for the night.”

She assessed the small bed. “This is not going to be comfortable.”

“As long as you’re in my arms, I don’t care.”

She thought she’d never be able to sleep and then quickly made a liar of herself. True to what he’d told her, the doctor discharged him the next day. Zeus dropped off one of his standard issue SUVs and Gaelynn slid behind the wheel. She started punching the safe house address into the navigation bar, but Behemoth stopped her.

“We’re going home. Now that we have names for the people running The Level, it won’t be hard for the team to take them out.”

She didn’t question him and turned for his cabin in the woods.

They’d repaired and even beefed up the security system to fix the vulnerabilities exposed in the attack. Gaelynn stepped inside, expecting to feel apprehensive about being back in the place where she was abducted, but all she felt was the sense of coming home.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Behemoth wrapped his arms around her and set his chin on her shoulder.

“You smell like honey.”

She turned in his arms and scowled at him. “You were shot less than twenty-four hours ago.”

He stalked her, pushing her until the back of her knees hit the couch. He shoved her chest, sending her falling back onto the cushions. He was on her then, caging her in. Both her wrists caught in one of his massive hands, his body pressed into hers.

She couldn’t stop herself from arching into him, seeking the friction she needed.

He kissed a trail down the side of her neck, across her chest, and back up to her opposite ear. “I’m fine.”

She shivered.

The doorbell rang and he dropped his forehead to hers. “I swear to gods we’re moving to Montana.”

“Montana?”

“Least populated state. Might have a chance of being uninterrupted for more than a day.”

She laughed as he rolled off her and answered the door. Seconds later, he came in holding a white box wrapped with navy ribbon. He handed it to her.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

She pulled the ribbon loose and unfolded the tissue paper inside to reveal lingerie. Not just any lingerie, complete sets from her favorite designer’s latest collection. An unreleased collection. Even the scoopiest fashion blogs hadn’t been able to get the slightest glimpse of these items.

A note tucked into the top panties read, Gaelynn, put these to good use. You’ve found a good one. — Aveline Heuer

Her favorite designer—an up-and-coming woman who exploded on the scene the season before and was now in such demand her next three shows sold out in minutes—knew her name.“How… how did you get these?”

He shrugged like she wasn’t holding rare pieces worth thousands of dollars. “I called in some favors. I seem to recall I owed you some underwear. Do you like them?”

“I love them.” She gave him a wicked look. “I’m going to change.”

He shoved her back down and took the box from her, tossing it across the room. “No. You put any of that on and I’ll just be ripping it off you. I don’t want to see the disappointed face you’d make if that happened.”

She laughed. “Fair enough.”

Behemoth tracked Brandon with the crosshairs of his scope. The council ruled two days ago that all three targets could be taken out—Brandon, Garrison, and Matthew.

It surprised him when they authorized Garrison so quickly. The general had a longstanding relationship with the council, but he supposed pulling the strings of Damruck’s largest crime syndicate was a step too far for them to stomach.

The relationship made them cautious about how they approached the problem of removing him.

Normal authorities wouldn’t blink when Brandon was killed. He was a thug who’d long been on their radar. They didn’t realize how high his influence went, but they would. Supe Sec would make sure all the evidence was laid out nice and neat for them.

Garrison was a different matter. He was seen as an upstanding military leader, and his death would cause raised eyebrows. They needed to firmly connect him to The Level before taking him out.

Matthew, too. Right now, his connection was tenuous and circumstantial. They needed more concrete evidence of his involvement.

Which is why Behemoth concealed himself on a rooftop a block away from Brandon’s’s base of operations, watching through his sniper scope. Ghost was sneaking through the dimly lit building, gathering documents and copying hard drives.

A thin trickle of blood ran from the corner of Rivers mouth as she slumped in a chair in the middle of Brandons office.

None of them liked the plan, but it was the best one they had.

Brandon paced in front of the bank of windows. He paused to look out over the street.

River’s head popped up and she winked at Behemoth before she slumped again.

“Status.”

Zeus’s sharp voice bit through Behemoth’s earpiece.

“She just winked at me, so I think she’s good.”

“She’s bleeding.”

Zeus and Bull were two floors below him, watching the feed from his and Wasp’s weapons. Wasp had his scope trained on the shadowy figure of Ghost, moving methodically from cube to cube, floor to floor.

They all heard River snort over the comms. She covered the sound with a low moan, like she was just regaining consciousness.

Brandon spun and lifted River’s head with a finger beneath her chin. “Glad you’re finally joining us, princess.”

Even from twenty yards Behemoth saw the fire flare in her eyes. She snuffed it before giving Brandon a glazed look. She tugged on her restraints, acted shocked that she was tied and did a wonderful impression of a panicked woman. If Behemoth didn’t know her, he’d say she was exactly what she presented herself as: the clueless receptionist for Supe Sec.

Brandon leaned into her face, and she reared back. They could see the restraint it took not to head butt him, but he seemed clueless. “Have you grasped the gravity of your situation?”

“Wha… what? What do you want?”

Damn, she was good. It maybe wasn’t an Oscar worthy performance, but it was close.

“Information, princess.”

He thought he heard her grinding her teeth. Behemoth didn’t know how many more times he could call her that before she took his head off.

“I want to know everything you know about your employers.”

Her voice wobbled as she answered, “Superhuman Security? It’s a security company. They guard celebrities and stuff.”

Brandon sighed. “They are more than that, and you know it.” He leaned into her again and Bee moved his finger from the guard to the trigger. “I want to know how much they’ve uncovered about our operation.”

“What operation? I don’t even know who you are!”

Brandon clucked his tongue at her. “Let’s not make this hard, shall we? Brick is itching to get his hands on you again.” He tilted his head toward the corner, where a lanky thug watched with interest.

Behemoth assumed he was the one who’d backhanded her before tying her to the chair. He didn’t know it yet, but that thug was a walking corpse. Zeus would never let him live. Even if River and some of the others were clueless how the boss felt about her, Behemoth read between the lines just fine.

Brandon was doing a fine impression of a villain soliloquy when Ghost’s whisper sounded in the comms.

“Yahtze mouse trap.”

Bull’s voice answered. “Confirmed. Yahtze mouse trap.”

Ghost signaled he’d found proof linking Brandon and The Level’s business to Garrison. Now all they needed was the connection to Matthew.

River pounced on an opening, her eyes wide and guileless. “You lead The Level? Aren’t they the biggest crime organization in Damruck?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” He was back in her face now, his fists clenching at his side.

She shook her head and leaned as far from him as possible. “It’s just, you’re so, so…”

“So what?”

Even with Brandon’s back to him, Behemoth felt the man’s anger.

“So innocent looking.”

The shadow in the corner jerked and they heard not-so-subtle laughing. River’s jibe had the intended effect. Brandon launched into a detailed list of all the crimes he’d committed, all the people he had under his control. She waited until he mentioned the Guiding Light and then made sure he stayed on topic.

“That’s the cult with the creepy leader, right? What do they have to do with any of this?”

He sneered at her, but she kept up the confused, na?ve underling act, throwing on what looked like genuine interest.

“That creepy cult leader facilitates shipments through a third party.” He caught himself, snapping his jaw shut. “That’s not why you’re here. I want to know about your boss. What does he know about The Level?”

She shrugged and looked annoyed. “How would I know? I’m just the receptionist. All I need to know is how to answer the phones.”

Brandon growled in frustration.

“Status, Ghost.” Zeus’s tone bit over the airwaves.

“Haven’t found anything on Bobble, entering the last office now.”

Behemoth felt the tension radiate through the entire team. It was clear Brandon wasn’t going to reveal any more secrets, and River’s innocent bystander act would only hold up for so long.

“Sorry boss, nothing here.”

Zeus sighed before giving the order. “Execute.”

“On Brandon.” Behemoth growled into the comm.

“On Brick,” came Wasp’s reply.

Two heartbeats later, two shots silently winged their way into the building, and two men fell to the ground.