4. Nicholas

4

NICHOLAS

"What the hell happened?" Chase asked, rushing over to Patrick's side.

"A woman attacked us."

Chase looked up at me with a frown. "Like…a little old woman with an umbrella?"

"Jesus, there was no umbrella!" I snapped, finally picking the lock and getting my cuff off. "We need to move. The alarm triggered a few minutes ago. I'm surprised we're not surrounded right now."

"Rae answered the call."

"To the police?" I asked.

He nodded as he slapped Patrick across the face. He jolted upright and stared at me with wide eyes. "Ninja!"

"Not a ninja," I corrected, hoisting him up. "We need to move."

He stumbled, pressing his hand to the back of his head. "She fucking hit me with a pipe."

"I bet that hurt."

"Not as badly as my pride. I can't believe a woman took me down."

I shoved him onto the luggage cart next to the suitcase. I could move faster if I didn't have to drag his ass around. "It's been known to happen. Get the door," I said to Chase.

We were through the door and headed to the elevator in just seconds. The ride down to the basement was filled with irritation and resentment for being dragged into this mess. The bell chimed and we stepped into the parking garage, wheeling the luggage cart over to the minivan. Chase popped the trunk and I hauled the luggage inside while Patrick stumbled to his seat.

We were on the road in less than two minutes, driving away from the clusterfuck that had just occurred.

"Tell me what the fuck that was," Chase snapped.

"This woman attacked us," I explained. "She was…fucking gorgeous. Green eyes, dark hair?—"

"I don't need to know what she looked like," he cut in. "I want to know how the hell she kicked your ass when there were two of you."

"She took us by surprise," Patrick frowned.

"But she shouldn't have. You were on a roof!"

"Right, which is why she took us by surprise," he countered. "Do you know many hot women who hang out on a roof?"

"Okay, forget that she's hot. Why did she attack you?"

I remembered the click of the cuffs around my wrist and the way her wet tongue trailed over my ear. I cleared my throat, remembering that I was a professional and I would not be swayed by a beautiful woman. "She wanted something from inside his suit. It looked about the size of a card."

"Great, so she was stalking you as we were stalking him. That's fucking perfect. Did you get any evidence of who she was?"

"Oh, yeah. When she cuffed me to the pipe, I took the opportunity to steal her wallet."

"Really?" he said in surprise.

"No, not really," I snapped. "She was licking my ear. The last thing I was thinking about was finding out who she was."

"I would have done that," Patrick remarked. "You know, if I had been conscious."

"She got the drop on you," Chase said in amazement.

"Well, she also shot me. Just in case you were wondering."

"Are you dead?"

"Clearly, I'm not since I'm talking to you."

"Then stop whining. Geez, Brock was shot in the chest and he didn't whine this much."

"He also had a really hot woman looking after him," I grumbled. "Just saying, no one even asked to look at my wound."

Chase stared at me in the rearview mirror. "You know, you're starting to sound an awful lot like Fox."

"Hey, I didn't want to come out here. He basically made it so no place would hire me. Don't blame me."

"So, this woman—the one who shot you and?—"

"And kneed me in the balls," I added.

His eyebrows shot up. "And you still think she's hot?"

"She's dangerous," I responded. There was really nothing else to say. It was hot when a woman could take me out. Not that I wanted to make a habit of it, but the fact that she didn't cower in front of me was fucking sexy as hell.

"Anyway," he continued, "This woman now has a vital piece of information that we need."

"We don't know that for sure. She might have taken something that has nothing to do with why we need Hugo."

"Right," Chase snorted. "She took something from a fence and it won't have anything to do with why we snatched him."

He was most likely right, but that didn't mean I had to buy into it. "What's our ETA?"

"Five minutes. Fox is geared up and waiting for us."

"I'm sure he is," I sighed. "I sort of miss the mellow version of Fox."

"I don't," Patrick muttered. "If I had to go to one more meditation seminar naked?—"

"You did what?" I asked, trying not to laugh at him.

He flushed bright red and frowned. "What?"

"You went naked?"

"He told me I had too. He didn't do the same to you?"

"Yeah, he did. And I told him to fuck off."

"You really went naked?" Chase asked. "Where was I?"

"Getting your head fixed," Patrick grumbled. "It's all your fault. You left me alone and I had to deal with the outcasts."

"Hey, I'm not an outcast," I said, slightly offended by the way he shoved me in a box with FNG, Max, and Fox.

"You're not even on a team yet," he retorted.

"I'm on your team."

"Sure, but you're new to it. You're like…a puppy."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Excuse me?"

"You know, in the beginning, you really have to watch a puppy and decide if you can keep him around or if he's gonna piss all over the house."

"You think I'm gonna piss on the furniture?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, no. It was a metaphor. The piss is you screwing up a job. The furniture is the team. I didn't think I had to explain that."

"You didn't. I was using the same metaphor."

"Oh. Well…head injury."

"Whatever," I muttered, looking out the window.

As we pulled down the long driveway, I tried not to think about the woman with the green eyes, but something was keeping me from moving on from her. Maybe I knew her from somewhere.

"Or maybe you've met your match," I muttered to myself.

"Who's your match?" Patrick asked.

"Nobody," I shook my head, pulling open the door. "Not a single fucking person."

I couldn't allow Fox to find out about the woman. He would go crazy looking for her, and that was something I didn't need.

Chase popped the trunk and I headed around to the back, hauling the suitcase out. I struggled at first, getting it snagged on nearly every damn part of the van, until finally, it thunked to the ground. Patrick stood there, watching me with a grin on his face.

"Thanks for the help."

He pointed to his head. "Head injury."

"Yeah, I'm about to give you a real one," I grunted, dragging the suitcase behind me. Chase picked up the slack, grabbing another handle to help me drag it. The door swung open and Fox's beaming face stared at us.

"Hey, guys! Heard you brought me a present." He shoved a yellow bag in our faces. "Funyun?"

"Fox, can we come in?" I grumbled.

"Well, sure, but I offered a Funyun. It's really best if you take some. Well…one. They're still mine. You know how I get about the tasty treat."

"We don't want Funyuns. We want to get this guy inside."

"Oh, right. Say the password," he chuckled. When we just stood there, he tossed his head back in laughter. "I'm just teasing. You guys know you don't need a password! It's Funyuns, by the way. Here, let me help you." He practically shoved the yellow bag in my face, then grabbed the suitcase and hauled it inside by himself. "Heavy guy," he said over his shoulder.

I sighed heavily, shaking my head at Chase. "Who invited him?"

"Cash sent him. We need answers."

"Yeah, but we could have done that."

"Yes, but none of us has quite as much fun with torture as Fox does."

I followed him inside and took a seat at the kitchen table. I heard Fox's laughter carry through the house as he shoved the suitcase down the stairs into the basement. I actually felt bad for what that guy was about to go through. I took a Funyun and held it up to Chase.

"Let the torture begin."

The door swung open and Cash strolled through, eyeing me carefully. It was two days later and I was still sitting at the damn kitchen table, trying to drown out the sound of Fox singing show tunes as he tortured the poor bastard downstairs. After hearing Fox from behind the door, I was ready to kill myself. I could only imagine what that guy was feeling.

"Any news yet?" Cash asked, swiping a beer from the fridge.

I was surprised he was here, but even more than that, I was shocked that he was drinking. Cash never drank while we were working.

"Not that we know of, but Fox hasn't exactly come up for air."

Cash glanced at his watch. "How many hours are we going on?"

I looked to Chance, frowning slightly. "Since we last checked in."

He nodded, downing his beer. He didn't say anything else, which was suspicious. But when he grabbed the file on the table and started rifling through it, I was confused as hell. He knew that thing front and back. Hell, he didn't even open the file when he was telling us about this asshole. Now he needed assistance?

"Did Eva come with you?"

"Nah. She had shit to do."

"Like what?" Chase asked.

Cash slowly looked up and narrowed his eyes at Chase. "Did I miss the part where you question me?"

"No, but you forgot to mention that you'd be stopping by on this trip."

Cash shrugged. "I wasn't aware I needed to inform you when I decided to show up to a job that my company is running."

Fox's voice echoed up the stairs, making me wince at the scratchy sound. He'd been singing for way too long. Cash set the empty beer bottle down with a thud and stormed to the basement door. "Enough is enough. We need answers."

He flung the door open and marched down the stairs, immediately shouting at Fox.

I turned to Chase with a questioning look. "Is it just me or does Cash have a stick up his ass today?"

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number, grinning when he looked up at me. "Yeah, boss. Just checking in. Thought you might like to know your brother is here."

I laughed when Chase pulled the phone from his ear and Cash's voice carried through the room. Whatever that slimy fucker was up to, it was about to come to an end.

Chase hung up the phone and nodded.

"What? What did he say?"

"He's on his way."

"From Kansas?"

"He's here."

"He didn't trust us?" I said, baffled by the announcement.

"Not us. Fox. Apparently, he's still worried about…you know, a relapse."

"Then why did he let him come?"

Chase shrugged, getting up to swipe a beer from the fridge.

"Since when do you drink on the job?"

"Since Cash is coming and Rafe's in the basement. It seems appropriate."

I glanced at the door, then turned back to Chase. I wasn't one for gossip, but I had to know what I was getting into here. "I heard uh…that Rafe allowed Eva to…do something he shouldn't have."

"I heard the same."

"So, what's the plan?"

"For what?"

"To keep them from killing each other," I snapped.

"Oh," he nodded. "I figure we don't need to do anything. Fox is here. He'll just kill Rafe if he gets out of control."

I shot him a dirty look.

"What? There's already a vat of acid downstairs. Let the man have some fun. He went without for way too long."

The back door flew open, crashing against the wall. We knew he was here. It showed up on the monitor on the TV screen in the corner. But what were we going to do? Frankly, I was on Cash's side. If his brother bit the dust, he only had himself to blame.

"Where is he?"

I jerked my head toward the door. "In the basement."

He stormed over to it, but before he could open the door, Rafe did it for him. "What the fuck are you doing?" Cash spat. I shoved my chair back as I saw the hit coming. Cash's fist flew into Rafe's face, sending him crashing down the stairs.

"Uh—"

"Give him a minute," Chase said, completely unaffected by what was happening.

I moved to the doorway and watched as Cash stomped down the stairs, picking up Rafe by the shirt and tossing him against the wall.

"Haven't you done enough? Stop fucking with my business!"

"I would think you'd want me to stop fucking with your wife," Rafe grinned, earning him another shot to the jaw.

Rafe stumbled back against the wall, holding his jaw as Cash moved in, unleashing his anger on him.

"It's never enough for you! You just keep pushing! First, my family, and now my business! Just get the fuck out!"

"Two minutes," Rafe said. "That's all I need."

I winced as Cash hit him again. "Man, he must be really pissed."

Chase snorted. "If my brother pulled that shit, I'd probably just put a bullet in his head."

"Still…shouldn't we…"

"Watch?" Chase said from behind me, peering down the stairs. "Maybe we should film it."

"For what?"

He shrugged. "Money. You know everyone else will want to see this."

Fox came running around the corner, grinning as he ran up the stairs.

"Move!" I shouted. "I can't see!"

"I need my Funyuns!" Fox shouted.

I pressed myself against the wall as he rushed through. He was covered in blood, and most of it was dry. I wasn't sure how he managed to stay covered in that shit for so long without feeling disgusting.

"So, what did I miss?" he asked, coming up behind me as he shoved Funyuns in his mouth.

I grimaced as his blood-soaked hand reached into the bag. He caught the look on my face and frowned.

"Oh, sorry. Did you want some?"

"Your hand is coated in blood," I pointed out.

He pulled his hand out and looked at it, then wiped it on his shirt. "So, what did Rafe say?"

"Uh…that he needed to talk."

"Man!" Fox laughed. "That's a good one. What did Cash say?"

"He punched him in the face."

Fox tossed his head back and laughed. "That guy, I tell ya, he's a real character."

I looked at Chase in confusion, but he just shrugged. "You know him best. Should we stop him?"

"Has he taken Betty out of his pocket?"

"No."

"Then we're good."

I half-turned to face Fox, needing more to go on, but I still wanted to see the fight. "What does Betty coming out of his pocket mean?"

"That he's about to lose his shit," Fox grinned.

"But why? I don't get the significance."

"Well, if we were at home, he would put Betty on a box. She's his good luck charm, so if he takes her out, it means he doesn't want to worry about losing her."

"But…couldn't it be argued that if he takes her out of his pocket, he's destroying his chances for good luck?"

Fox stared at me blankly. "I don't follow."

"Well, let's say he goes out on a mission and removes Betty from his pocket because he's going crazy. Wouldn't he basically be taking all his good luck for the mission and throwing it out the window? Wouldn't it be better to have it on him in case something goes wrong?"

Fox stared at me, his lower lip trembling before he shoved the bag into my chest. "Boss! Don't take out Betty! Boss!"

"Great," Chase muttered. "You'll give him nightmares for a week."

"I was just pointing out the obvious."

"He's not worth it!" Fox shouted, almost sobbing. "Don't do it, boss!"

"Should we intervene now?" I asked Chase.

"I'd give it another minute. What's the worst that could happen?"

Cash sat on the other side of the table with a piece of gauze shoved up his nose. Rafe sat next to him with gauze stuffed up both nostrils, his mouth hanging open, and half his face covered in blooming bruises.

And then there were the matching wounds they were sporting on their left shoulders, thanks to Fox.

"What's the worst that could happen, huh?"

Chase glared at me. "How was I supposed to know he would take out his throwing knives?"

"It's Fox. When does he not use his throwing knives?"

Fox was pacing behind me, muttering to himself. He finally stopped and faced his boss. "Look, I know this looks bad, but boss, you gotta believe me. I thought you were Rafe."

"And when you found out you hit the wrong man, you decided to do it again," Rafe retorted. "Are you sure he should be back at work?" Rafe asked Cash.

"You look exactly alike! How was I supposed to know I was throwing a knife at the wrong twin?"

"We don't look alike," Cash muttered.

"You totally do. You're even missing the same chunk of ear. It's unbelievable!"

"Look on the bright side," I said, trying to help Fox out. "At least the wounds weren't life-threatening."

"No," Cash nodded. "You're right. I just have a hole in my body where there wasn't one five minutes ago."

"Fifteen minutes," Fox said, not so helpfully. Cash slowly turned and glared at Fox. "Well, you know, I threw the knife. Then I realized it was the wrong man. I pulled out the knife from your shoulder and turned to throw it at Rafe. Then you yelled at me. Then he yelled at me. Then we came up here and got you gauze for your nose. By the way, a tampon would have worked so much better. Then we sat here watching you watch us for at least ten minutes. Maybe seven. I would have to check the monitors to be sure. So…yeah. Fifteen minutes."

Silence descended in the room and I shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. The seconds ticked by as I waited for my boss to say something. Anything. It was killing me to stand in the room just waiting for the yelling to begin. It reminded me of being married to my first wife.

Then I heard a crunch.

We all slowly turned and watched as Fox dug into his bag and pulled out another Funyun, slowly munching on them as if not to make too much noise. The way this man functioned was beyond belief. I didn't know how he was still alive after all this time with Cash.

"Look, I don't have the time to sit around here while we wait for you to get in a better mood," Rafe finally spoke. "And we both know that's not going to happen. I need your help."

Cash scoffed beside him.

"I'm serious. I'm getting close and if I don't?—"

"Yeah, we've heard that before," Cash retorted. "It's always something with you. You used FNG. You nearly got him killed and didn't even have the courtesy to tell us what happened. What else are you hiding from us?"

Rafe rolled his eyes. "You always were a drama queen. It's one job."

"No," Cash snapped.

"You're not even listening?—"

"Because I don't have to listen. How many times are you going to come into my life and fuck it up?"

"Not much more. When this is over, I'll be gone."

I frowned at that. It had a cryptic feel to it, but Cash blew right past it.

"Thank God for that. Do me a favor and make it happen sooner rather than later."

"I've been disrupting the flow of the drugs coming into the country. So far, I've stolen five loads of drugs. Huge loads."

"Nobody cares," Cash snapped. "We're done helping you."

"I already have everything I need to get this next load. Zavala is getting pissed."

"Still don't care," Cash said.

"Who's Zavala?" I questioned, feeling very out of the loop.

"Drug cartel numero uno," Rafe answered. "He's part of The Syndicate, but he also supplies drugs to the traffickers to keep the merchandise under control."

That made my stomach roll. "What happens if you steal this shipment?"

"We're one step closer to tearing down the organization."

"He's always one step closer," Cash pointed out.

"He's getting angry because his shipments keep going missing," Rafe continued. "I need to make him so angry that he makes a mistake. I need him to come off his island."

"He lives on an island?"

"The very one FNG tried to get to."

"And he's still alive?" I grinned. "Pretty impressive."

"What's so special about this island?" Chase asked.

"Nothing," Rafe said, his eyes flicking to Chase. "It's not about the island. It's about getting to him. We need to cut the head off the snake."

"You do that, another one pops up," I said. "Look at Ambrose Buchanan. Jade's father. Asher killed him and someone is already stepping into his shoes."

"So, that's your plan, right? Bad shit happens and you turn your head and pretend it's not happening," Rafe sneered.

"What would you have me do? Devote my life to taking out these guys, only to watch as more men move in? That's why we need governments?—"

"To stand around and do nothing?" Rafe snapped. "I worked for them. I watched as they did nothing. Have you ever seen the women they steal and sell? How about the children? Or what happens to the people in the US who are unlucky enough to get their hands on the product these guys sell? The Syndicate functions so well because these men all know they have something to lose. They all help each other, and if that help runs out—if we can keep putting a chink in the chain, eventually, it crumbles. Yes, someone will rebuild, but there are thousands of people dying every day because of these people. Someone has to stop them."

That was a very impassioned speech. I never knew Rafe was so emphatic about ending this, and based on the look on Cash's face, he wasn't expecting that speech either.

"What do you need?" he finally asked.

"I need a team for tomorrow night. I can't go in. If I'm seen, they'll know I'm behind it."

"Won't they already suspect you?" Cash asked.

"They won't move just because they suspect me. They've already been digging into my movements. I'm trying to keep them from tracking me."

"Why?" Cash asked.

"I have another job I need to do when I get closer. It has to be me."

"What's the job?"

Rafe looked up at me and then Chase before settling on Fox. "I'll let you know when the time comes. Until then, I need to keep pushing forward. It's a simple in and out. The drugs are being held in Hugo's storage center." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a keycard. "This gets you through the gate."

"That's from Hugo's pocket," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "The woman…"

"She was working for me."

"Christ," Cash sighed. "Why can't you just come to me like a normal person and ask for help? That woman gave Patrick a concussion."

Rafe smirked at him. "Once you're through the gate, you find the shipping container and unlock it with this key," he said, sliding a key into the center of the table. "After that, it's as simple as taking apart the container and finding the drugs."

"As simple as that, huh?" Cash snorted.

"Hugo supplies shipping containers that have built-in walls. They beat the X-ray machines and pass inspection. Inside the containers are cheap knockoffs from China. Nothing of value and nothing customs will look at twice. He has this all worked out for his clients, but since I've figured it out, I can slip in and steal his product."

"Won't he know that you'll be there since you've stolen from him before?" I asked.

"This is the first time Zavala is using this method of transport."

"What about Hugo?" Cash asked. "What do we do with him?"

"Release him. He can't touch you. In the eyes of the cartel, he fucked up and lost the shipment. He'll run, but he'll be dead within six months."

"And another player is out," I surmised.

"Cash," Rafe said, turning to his brother. "We're getting closer. We've already taken out a few leaders. This is one more. The Syndicate is crumbling."

"If we do this, what do we do with the drugs afterward?"

"Turn it over to the Feds," he shrugged.

Cash sighed, standing and pacing the room. "This is illegal."

"So is what they're doing. We're just trying to stop them."

He picked up the keycard and stared at it. "How sure are you that we'll get in and out without anyone finding us?"

A slow smile spread across Rafe's face. "Hugo's downstairs. There's no one else who knows we have the keycard or that we know the shipment is coming in. You're safe."

Cash's eyes swiveled to meet ours. "Are you in?"

I looked to Chase, who nodded. "For Asher."

I sighed and nodded. "For Asher."