Chapter Twenty-Seven

“You two think you can stop your shit for an hour or two to get the job done?” Solomon eyed Ice and Echo.

“I have no beef,” Echo said.

“Like hell,” Ice growled.

Echo swung around on Ice and the taller man took a step back. “You’re the one who can’t let things go, so why don’t you do your fucking job and leave me the hell alone.”

Ice’s mouth opened and then snapped closed.

“That’s not exactly getting along.” Solomon rubbed at the headache forming behind the bridge of his nose.

“Fine,” Ice said with a flat gaze.

“Whatever you do,” Solomon cut in before they could start up again, “make it clean.”

“Always,” Ice said and slanted a glance at Echo.

“I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Ice goaded.

“You can bet your ass I do,” Echo snapped, wanting to punch the fucker in his smiling mouth. He fingered the blade at his side and Ice’s eyes dropped to the wicked slice of steel before they snapped up to his.

“Echo, stay after this meeting,” Solomon said.

That brought both assassins attention from each other back to their leader.

“No.”

“We need to talk about your last job.” Solomon scowled.

“No.” Echo glare right back at their boss, his voice cold and flat.

“If this job isn’t done right, you’re both out of Erebus,” Solomon growled, fist clenching. “And I’ll be the one to do it.”

Ice gave a quick nod and after a second, Echo only shrugged.

They both handed over their cell phones and ID to Solomon and then walked away. He watched as Echo went one way and Ice went the other. His gaze bore into Echo, but the assassin didn’t look back.

Fuck.

Shaking his head, Solomon pulled out his phone and called Dave.

“I hope like hell you know what you’re doing by putting those two together. I can’t get a handle on Echo.”

“Has he stepped outside of the line?”

“No, but he’s going dark for long periods of time. So, I’ll ask again. Are you sure?” Solomon said.

“Separate, they are excellent. Together, I imagine they are unstoppable,” Dave said simply.

Solomon sighed and stifled his response. If Dave only knew.

“Meet me at my Santa Barbara residence,” the former SecDef said.

“I’m on my way.” Solomon hung up the phone.

The jail cell temperature had dropped by a good ten degrees during the night, but Creed didn’t mind it. It was better than being too warm in a room filled with bodies.

He glanced down at his wrapped fingers and gently curled them. His swollen eye was beginning to open a bit so he could see out of it. Stone stood, a human shield between him and the other prisoners. Fisher was laying on his back on the bench with his head on Creed’s thigh. Wrath was sitting on the bench next to Creed and turned his head slightly to give him a nod.

“What time is it?” Creed croaked and Stone looked toward the sun coming through the cell’s small window.

“I’d say between nine and ten a.m.” His cousin turned and crouched down next to his knee. The man reached up and pulled just below his eye, checking his pupils.

Wrath stood and walked to where Stone had been standing, taking up the position of a shield.

“I’m fine,” Creed said, trying to angle his head away, but Stone cupped the back of his head. Creed hissed when his cousin’s fingers found the two knots on his skull.

“I should have fucking checked,” Stone muttered. “I wouldn’t have let you sleep so long.”

“I’ll live.”

“You damn right you will, you SOB,” Stone huffed.

Fisher took that moment to roll from him and leap to his feet, looking like demons were after him. All wild hair and lithe body, lethal and ready to strike. Some of the smaller prisoners nearby fell over themselves to get away from them now that Fisher was awake.

“How long do you think this is going to take?” Creed asked.

“It’s shouldn’t be long,” Stone replied and took Wrath’s seat on the bench.

It turned out to be another hour and a half before the outer door to the room was opened and several guards came down the stairs.

They approached the cell door and the two in front stopped, which caused the guards behind them to stop. Wrath stared at one of the ones in front and Fisher stepped up beside Wrath. Stone stood and crossed his arms, putting his big body in front of Creed’s, who remained sitting.

The room dropped into an uncanny silence. To an onlooker, even the prisoners appeared to hold their breaths. The guards seemed stunned into silence at the unspoken challenge.

“You may want to think twice before you open that door. You won’t live to see it closed,” Wrath whispered, and every single person in the cell heard.

The lead guard pulled his gun and aimed it through the bars. Fisher went to step in front of Wrath, but the other assassin shook his head and Fisher slipped back.

It was better this way, Fisher thought, he could move faster than Wrath and get as many of them as possible. If Wrath got shot in the process, it came with the job. He didn’t want to see his friend injured, but he couldn’t be worried about that right now. He had a fucking job to do and he’d do it like they’d never seen before.

“You get back,” the guard said and put the key in the door while holding the gun on Wrath. “We’ve come to get him.” The guard turned the gun toward where Creed was sitting behind Stone.

The guard stepped inside and Wrath stepped forward.

“Back up! Back up!” the guy screamed and he was so focused on Wrath, he completely missed Fisher.

Fisher hit the man’s solar plexus and snatched the gun out of the guard’s hand before it could hit the ground. He placed the barrel of the gun at the next guard’s forehead. The first guard had dropped to the ground and was rolling around holding his throat and trying to get air.

“All right, god damn it!” someone bellowed from the doorway and Creed recognized the voice of Chief Harvey Dennison.

The guards recognized it too and scrambled out of the chief’s way.

“It’s Chief Dennison,” Creed said hoarsely to Stone.

“That’s the man we’ve been waiting for,” Stone told Wrath and Fisher.

Fisher tipped his head a bit and stared into the wide eyes of the man at the end of his gun.

“P…please.”

Fisher gave the begging guard a wicked smile and pressed the barrel harder. The smell of urine filled the air and Fisher sneered before he stepped away, avoiding the mess.

“Get your asses upstairs right the fuck now. Jones, Metzler, and Roberts, you three stay behind,” Harvey barked out the orders. When all but three of the guards left the room, the chief walked forward.

Stone stepped out of the way and helped Creed to his feet. Gazing at the chief, Creed tried to give the man a comforting smile.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Creed mumbled.

“If you could see your face, you wouldn’t say that.” Harvey looked furious. “Which of these prisoners are with you?” the chief asked him.

Creed slid his arm around Stone’s shoulder and then pointed to Fisher and Wrath with his free hand. Stone wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him move after Harvey gave a nod.

None of the other prisoners moved and the three guards Harvey had kept behind made sure the cell was locked.

They made it into the elevator and up to the third floor where Harvey took them into his office. Fisher balked at that and split out of the building after giving Creed a hug in the hallway.

“Keep in touch,” Creed said, hugging Fisher tight.

“Yeah,” Fisher smirked and pulled away. “Don’t run into anymore fists.”

“I’ll try not to.”

Creed gingerly sat in a chair and both Wrath and Stone stood inside the room in front of the closed door, barring the entrance with their bodies.

“What now?” Creed asked Harvey.

“All charges have been dropped and removed from your record without a trace.” Harvey ran a tired hand down his face and glanced at Stone.

“You,” Harvey pointed to Stone, “have someone very pissed off.”

“Me?” Stone frowned. “You don’t even know me.”

“Yeah well, he gave a very detailed description that sounded a lot like Creed. So, when I saw you in that cell, I knew you were the one he was talking about.” Harvey shook his head.

“He?” Stone’s gaze narrowed.

“Yes. And I need you to call the former SecDef and tell him you’re safe or I won’t live to breathe air another day,” Harvey said loudly.

Creed studied the chief and the very real fear in the man’s eyes.

Creed slid a glance to his cousin. “You should probably go call,” he whispered with a smirk and an up-nod.

Stone scowled and left the room, slamming the door.

“Can I get out of here?” Creed slowly pushed to his feet to find Wrath with a hand beneath his elbow, supporting him.

“Please do. And tell Ace that I really need a heads up before you guys do shit again.” Harvey grimaced. “It really does help.”

Creed chuckled and winced. It was funny, really, that Harvey thought Ace would take orders from him. But right then, Creed had other things on his mind. He wanted to gather Kellum and the boys into his arms.

And never let them go.