2. Nicholas

2

NICHOLAS

"Tate! Hey, Tate!" Fox shouted behind me. He'd been chasing me around the OPS building for the past two weeks, trying to get me to go on a double date with him.

I ignored him and kept walking. The last thing I wanted was to be set up with anyone. I rounded the corner and ran for the end of the hallway, hoping I could lose him in the tunnels. The underground building was filled with passages that would confuse the hell out even the people who built this silo.

I was just about to round another corner when he popped out in front of me with a grin on his face. "Gotcha! Man, it was like you were trying to lose me."

"Yeah, how about that," I muttered.

"But you can't. I know this place like the back of my hand."

"That's a shame."

"No, it's really not," he said, acting like he was confused.

He couldn't pull this shit with me. I worked with him long enough to know that he liked it when people thought he was stupid. It fed into his persona.

"I have someplace to be."

"Yeah, the garage. I heard you telling Cash, but you're going the wrong way."

"I was taking the long way."

He tossed his head back and laughed. "Man, you crack me up."

There was absolutely nothing funny about what I said, but this was typical Fox. I thought after I was discharged from the military that I could live a normal life. I had a good job and only talked to him when I absolutely had to. And then he changed my world with one phone call. The darkness he fed off had seeped into me on a daily basis since my return. I tried to ignore it, but he pulled it out of me no matter how hard I tried to resist.

I shoved past him and kept walking, hearing his footsteps slap the concrete behind me. "Fox, I can go to the garage on my own."

"Oh, I know. I'm just waiting for you to say yes to the blind date I have set up."

"No."

"Why not? She's great."

"You actually know her?"

"Yes."

"Fox, give me one good reason I would want to go out with this woman."

"Well, she's depressing as hell. She thinks the world is going to end at any moment. Although, I have to agree with some of the things she says."

I stopped and spun around. "Lee? The woman Brock was sleeping with?"

"How did you know?" he grinned.

"Not happening."

"Why not?"

"Because she likes to tie up her men. I'm not into that."

"Have you ever tried it?"

"No, and I'm not going to. I like to be in charge in the bedroom."

He scoffed at my dismissal as I continued to the elevator. Now that he was following me and I couldn't shake him, there was no point in taking the long way out of the building.

"I wish you would have an open mind about this. She's really hot."

"Don't let Anna hear you say that."

"No, hot for you. I'm married. I don't look at another woman twice."

The elevator dinged and I stepped off on the ground level, ignoring the smirk Cash shot me as I walked past his office. He probably sent Fox after me just to piss me off.

"So, I made reservations at the Italian place in town."

"You don't need reservations to get in there."

"No, but it's harder for you to back out if there's a reservation," he grinned.

"Well, you can cancel it. I won't be there."

I noticed he was paying close attention to my arms, and then he started swinging them in time with mine.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his eyes never leaving my arms.

"You're mimicking the swing of my arms."

"Uh-huh."

"Why are you doing it?"

"Because I want to walk like you."

"Why would you want to walk like me?"

"You have a strut about you. I like it."

I wasn't buying it. He was doing something else and I needed to find out what that was. I stopped and faced him. "What the fuck are you really doing?"

He rolled his eyes, heaving a big sigh. "If you must know, I'm learning your tells and the way you walk."

"Why?"

"Because I like you?"

"Why are you really doing it?"

"In case you ever disappear," he said immediately. "I need to be able to mimic you at a moment's notice."

"Why would I disappear?"

"It happens all the time. You know, even The Kamau isn't immune to the underdealings of our world."

"That's not a word."

"I just made it one."

"Fox, I need you to listen to me."

"Oh, gotcha," he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at me intently.

"I'm not going to disappear."

"Right, but if you did?—"

"I'm not."

"But if you did?—"

"I'm not," I snapped, getting more pissed off by the second. I watched as he struggled not to repeat himself again. It was eating him up inside to not say the words. His face turned red and his foot started tapping incessantly. "Just fucking say it!"

"But if you did…" He stopped and waited for me to interrupt him again, which I didn't. It was better just to let him get this out. "I might need to become you for a short period of time, you know, to fool whoever might still be after you."

"Why would someone still be after me?"

He shrugged. "It happened with Cash."

"Yes, but Cash has an evil twin. We look nothing alike."

"Which is why I'm studying you. I've already got a wig and a special mask made up with your face on it."

"You…You made a mask of my face?"

"Yeah, it was a little difficult. Did you know you turn a lot in your sleep? It was hard to get the biometrics just right, but I think I did a pretty damn good job," he beamed.

"Fox, you can't take biometrics of my face without me giving you permission."

"Why not? Cash does it."

"For work purposes only," I retorted.

"This is for work purposes too. Like I said, your enemies might come after you. Your life could hang in the balance with only me to save you."

"I'll take my chances," I said, turning on my heel to walk away.

"Don't you even want to see the mask?"

"Not in the least."

"But it's a great likeness. I've even started chewing like you do!"

I shouldn't be surprised. This wasn't nearly as weird as when he videotaped me sleeping in case he ever had to fill in for me. You know, in case I slipped off the base and needed him to pretend to be me. When I saw the video, I hadn't known him that long. It took me a good three months to finally let it go. I had been worn down by him constantly giving me scenarios in which I would need to sneak away. The least crazy being that I had murdered someone and needed time to get away.

"Hey, what's that?" Fox asked, snatching the chain from around my neck.

I grabbed it before he could pull it off me and glared at him. "Not that. You don't ever touch that."

His eyes widened and he slowly backed away. "Is it sacred?"

"About as sacred as you can get. My grandma gave it to me."

He didn't say a word, but his eyes stayed wide and he licked his lips in anticipation. "Can I…"

"Touch it? No."

"Why not?"

"Because it would condemn me to hell."

"I don't think that's a real thing."

"It is."

"I don't think so."

"It really is."

"Not really."

"Yes, it is," I snapped. "Let it go."

He was quiet for a moment. "Can I at least see it?"

"Why?"

He shifted from one foot to the other. "You know, in case you go missing. I can't afford to screw it up by missing out on this key piece of information that could be the one thing that distinguishes your body from an imposter's."

"Like you?"

"That hurts," he frowned. "I'm just trying to help."

Sighing, I pulled it out and let it dangle from my fingers as I showed him the one thing I'd managed to keep hidden all these years. I wasn't ashamed of it or afraid anyone would take it. I just didn't want to share every aspect of my life with Fox. Which clearly wasn't going to happen any longer.

"Wow, it's like…a medal."

"It's a St. Christopher medal," I clarified.

"Cool. Like…it's blessed by someone holy?"

"He's the patron saint of travelers. A protector."

"Righteous," Fox nodded.

"Not right—never mind," I grumbled, turning away from him.

I yanked the door open to the mechanic's shop and nodded to Duke. When he saw me, he waved and started to head over, but the second he saw Fox, he turned in the other direction.

"Hey, Nick. What can I do for you?" Bowie asked, stepping out of the back room.

"I have a motorcycle I need fixed up. I was hoping you could fit it into your schedule."

"Yeah, no problem?—"

"A real bike," Fox cut in. "Not one of those mopeds."

"Yeah, I figured," Bowie said.

"Right, but I just wanted you to be sure."

Bowie stared at him, then turned back to me. "Right, so where is it?"

"In my driveway. I need you to tow it."

"Yeah, sure. No problem."

"Hey, are you still seeing Carly?" Fox asked.

Bowie frowned. "No, I'm…" He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I'm currently in the process of getting a divorce."

"Oh, from…"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Edith. She kind of had me by the balls."

"She was much older," I pointed out.

"But she was great in the sack," he grinned. Then his smile fell. "And then she just left me one day. I don't understand it."

"Did you make her shawarma?" Fox asked.

"No. Why would I make her shawarma?"

Fox scoffed, rolling his eyes at Bowie. "Everyone knows if you want to keep your woman, you have to introduce them to shawarma. It's a thing."

"It's not a thing," I retorted.

"It's totally a thing. Have you made shawarma?"

"No."

He leaned in toward me. "And you're single."

"Huh. Maybe you're onto something," Bowie frowned. "Maybe I should make shawarma for her."

"It's too late," Fox sighed. "She's already moved on. You have to do it immediately. If not, you've lost your shot."

"Fox, that's not even remotely true."

"It could be. Shawarma is a very powerful thing."

"It's food. No one leaves someone else over food."

"I don't know how true that is. If Anna told me I could never have Funyuns again, I think it would tear me apart."

"But Anna wouldn't leave you. She's the other half of you," I pointed out.

"No, she wouldn't leave me. She's like…"

"Your soulmate."

"No, that's not it. She's like…"

"Your other half," I said.

"No, that's not either. She's like…"

"Your shoelace," Bowie jumped in. I glared at him and he shrugged. "I heard it somewhere."

"She's…the light to my dark. The Funyun to the lesser chip. The button on my jeans. The record to my record player. The?—"

"Fox!" I interrupted. "We get the point!"

He snapped his mouth shut, but just as I turned away, he added, "My heart's desire."

Sighing, I turned back to Bowie. "Sorry about the divorce."

"Yeah, it's hard." Fox clapped me on the shoulder. "This guy knows all about that."

I glared at Fox, wishing he'd keep his mouth shut.

"You know, after his wife left him, he stalked her for like…a year and a half. Then she found out and slapped a restraining order on him."

"Thanks, Fox. That's very helpful."

"Hey, pointers are pointers," he said. "And the pointer here is…don't get caught."

"I only got caught because you showed up," I said through gritted teeth. "And I wasn't stalking. I was spying on her."

"Which is so much better," Bowie interrupted. "At least, in my opinion."

"She was cheating on me and she tried to take everything from me. I was doing my research."

"I could have told you she was cheating. You only had to ask."

I slowly turned to him, my anger spiking. "And how would I know I needed to ask?"

"Well…I guess you have to have that sixth sense."

I wasn't about to ask how he knew my wife was cheating on me. I didn't care. I'd moved on from her a long time ago.

"Let me know when the bike will be ready." I tossed the keys on the counter and nodded to him as I walked out. I was hoping Fox would leave me alone, but I wasn't that lucky.

"So, do you want to mimic my walk?"

"Anyone have eyes on the target?" Chase asked from the car along the curb twenty-five stories below.

"Negative," I said through comms.

Our target was the one and only Hugo. That was the only name we knew him by. We were directed to this house by none other than Rafe—and this fucking job was the last place I wanted to be. I didn't have a choice in the matter. Everyone else was out of town, aside from FNG's team, and Cash didn't think Fox was the right person to send in.

I had to agree with him there.

Hugo was integral to the smooth running of The Syndicate. He was said to be George Adler's right-hand man early on in his career. But he dropped off the face of the earth, reappearing years later. Hugo was a fence, helping members of The Syndicate find buyers and secure a safe transaction.

"Someone tell me why we're doing this," I said again.

"Because this guy worked with Jade's father," Chase said over comms.

"And we all want the chance to take out this fucker," Patrick chimed in.

"But he wasn't involved in Jade's death."

"It's personal," Chase grumbled. "Ambrose Buchanan was one of the worst men I've ever met. What that man did to his daughter…"

I'd heard all about Jade's horrific death. I understood their need for revenge—not just for Jade, but for what Asher was going through, but I wasn't sure I wanted to be involved in anything to do with The Syndicate. They were too big. How the hell were we supposed to go up against them and win?

"Let's focus on the job at hand," Chase said, bringing us back around to the present. "This guy enters his house like clockwork at ten every night. We snatch him and get out of there."

"Right. We'll forget his bodyguards, the massive security system, and…what's that?" Patrick asked. "Oh, right. The gigantic bounty we'll have on our heads the moment we step foot inside his house."

"Yes, let's not forget that," I mumbled.

"It'll be fine. Rae's controlling the system," Chase snapped. "We've been over the plan. Just stick to it and we'll be fine."

I rolled my eyes, staying low on my belly as I watched the seconds tick by. We had just a little over a minute before he was supposed to walk through that door. With any luck, we'd get in and out without being seen. His guards were still a problem, but if we didn't make a sound, they wouldn't know we'd been there until we were long gone and Hugo was in our control.

"Alright, we move on my mark," Chase commanded.

"I'm gonna regret this," I muttered as I got to my knees.

I grabbed the crossbow and aimed at the wall just above the window, taking aim.

"Three, two, one…mark!"

I released the arrow. The metal smashed through the brick, the grippers latching onto the wall as I pulled it taut. I quickly secured the line, then attached my carabiner to the trolley and secured it to the harness.

"Tate, move!" Chase snapped.

"Do you want to do this?" I asked, stepping up onto the ledge. I didn't look down at the drop below. We were too high for anyone on the street to see us, but there were other issues I was worried about. Like falling to my death. I'd done dangerous stunts before during my time as a SEAL, but I wasn't in the military anymore. Death-defying stunts weren't supposed to be part of my everyday life.

I took a breath and grabbed the cable, resting back until my chest was parallel with the cable and I was teetering over the edge. Hand over hand, I pulled myself across the wide expanse, going as fast as I could. I was dragging my ass up one story so we'd have an easier trip on the way back. My muscles strained slightly, mostly because I hadn't done shit like this in a long time, and I was tense as hell.

"If you go any fucking slower, you'll get caught," Chase muttered.

"Yeah, this part of the plan must be hard for you, ya know, sitting in the car and watching me twenty-five stories below."

"Don't worry, Tate. I've got your back," Patrick piped in. "I've got a net that spring-loaded to shoot out if you fall."

"Did Fox give you that?" I grunted.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I think I'll take my chances with the fall."

"You'd definitely die."

I chuckled to myself. "Don't worry. You'll see my face again soon."

"I don't think I want to know what you're talking about," he muttered.

He definitely didn't. Knowing Fox, he purposely gave Patrick a faulty net just so he could try out his new face mask of me.

I reached the window and spun, pressing the tips of my toes on the window ledge. I pulled out my knife, ready to break in. "Are you sure Rae shut down the system?"

"I guess we'll find out."

"Fuck, I hate my job."

"Hugo's about to enter his apartment. You have to get the window open at the same time he walks in so it doesn't trip any alarms."

"Right, easy peasy since I can see him walk through the fucking door."

Even though Rae had control of the system, she could only get access to certain aspects of the security system without signaling someone that the security had been reset.

I got to work, jamming my knife under the frame. I only had five minutes to get in and out, and I wasn't sure this plan of Chase's was going to work.

"Get the window open," Chase demanded.

"I'm working on it. Would you give me a fucking minute?"

"My grandmother could do this faster."

"Your grandmother probably eats Wheaties for breakfast every morning," I grunted, finally getting the window to open a scant inch. I slipped the tool inside, working it up the inside of the window until I could flip the lock. Just as it clicked open, the door to the bedroom opened and a man walked through.

"Fuck. We've got a situation."

"What's that?"

"Hugo's here."

"He's early," Chase said.

"No shit." I retracted the tool and shoved it in my belt, then flung the window open and slid inside, releasing the carabiner and hooking it to the curtain hook inside.

Hugo spun around, grabbing a gun out of the nightstand. I pulled my own gun, firing off a single dart, lodging it in his neck. He started to collapse and I leapt over the bed, catching him before he could thud to the ground and alert his security team.

"That didn't exactly go as planned," I breathed heavily.

"You're lucky we have Tahlia on our side," Patrick chuckled.

I rolled over and pulled his body upright. "I'm not sure Johnny sees it the same way."

I pulled out the second harness and attached it to Hugo's large frame. Dragging him over to the window wasn't quite as easy as I imagined, but I got him there and attached the carabiner to his harness. "Patrick, unloading in three, two, one…" I hoisted his body up, but he got caught on the window and I couldn't get him through.

"Hurry up!" Patrick snapped. "Your time is almost up."

"He's stuck!"

"Push him out!"

I did my best, but he started to move away with only his shoe caught on the window ledge. I threw his foot over just as the alarm sounded, signaling the guards would be in at any moment. Hugo's body went sailing down one story to the rooftop across from us. I reached for the second carabiner, but it was missing from my belt.

"Shit!"

I spun around to look for it, but was out of time. I heard the footsteps on the stairs and made a final decision, kicking the curtain hook from the wall. Snatching it off the floor, I hooked it over the cable and said my final goodbyes.

"I hope I see you on the other side," I muttered just as I pushed off the ledge and was flung down into the night.

I screamed in my head as the hook slid down the cable, taking me to the other rooftop. My glove started to slip, but what worried me most was how slow Patrick was moving Hugo out of the way.

"Move your ass! I don't have a line!"

He looked up at me with wide eyes as I came crashing into Hugo. I jerked to a stop and that's when I lost my hold. My hands slipped and I teetered backward, my foot slipping from the ledge. Patrick reached out and grabbed the front of my vest, yanking me back toward him. I fell on top of him on the roof, breathing hard as terror washed over me. He rolled me off him, but I could barely move, still reliving my most recent encounter with death.

"Nick! Get off your ass and help me."

I struggled to my knees and grabbed Hugo just as he fell when Patrick released the carabiner.

"Yeah, it's me that's not pulling his weight."

"Complain about it later. We have work to do."

I hauled him over to the rolling luggage and stuffed him inside, hoping I wasn't squishing him too badly. Not that I cared all that much. He was a bad guy. I was just zipping it closed when I heard a thunk behind me and spun around.

A figure dressed in all black had taken out Patrick from behind. I pulled my gun, but it was kicked out of my hand. The figure spun in this wild maneuver before a foot connected with my chest. I stumbled back, tripping over the luggage and falling to the ground. I jumped to my feet, tackling the guy just as he was reaching into the luggage. I tackled him from behind, but was surprised when I felt breasts.

"You're a woman?"

She heaved, kicking me off her, using my surprise against me. I stumbled over Patrick just as he was getting to his feet. The woman pulled out a gun, firing at me just as I dove, taking Patrick with me. The bullet skimmed my arm, taking a small piece of skin with it. I hissed, rolling off Patrick as I jumped to my feet and ran hard at the woman, yanking the mask from her face.

Green eyes stared back at me, tempting me with intrigue and deception. I was so focused on those beautiful orbs that I forgot for just a second that I was supposed to be stopping her. She kneed me in the balls, making me gasp, bending over in shock.

"You didn't have to do that," I wheezed.

"You were stopping me."

"Ever heard of asking politely?" I cringed.

She bent over, placing her lips right next to my ear just as I heard the snap of metal around my wrist. "Please, stay here." Then she licked the shell of my ear and was gone. I stood but realized all too late that she'd locked me to a metal pipe attached to the wall. I jerked my hand as she opened the luggage and rifled through the man's suit.

After pulling out what looked like a business card, she straightened the man's shirt, then fixed his tie, spending an inordinate amount of time making sure it was perfectly straight. Then she pulled his suit jacket closed and buttoned it up.

With a grin, she looked back at me, winking as she turned and ran for the rooftop access. Her dark ponytail swung behind her as she disappeared through the door.

"What the hell is going on up there?" Chase shouted.

I glanced over at Patrick laying on his back. "Man down."