Chapter Eleven

Seven

Out in the parking lot, Seven made his way to the Jag and slipped behind the wheel.

He’d take care of this shit on his own. He didn’t need nor want Pegasus’ help. Or that tool, Jaxon West.

Out of habit, he flipped the lock on the car’s doors. It would be just like Link to try and slip inside. Just about that time, the man in question tapped on his window.

“Let me in, Seven.”

“No.” He held the man’s gaze through the slightly tinted windows.

“Open the door.”

Damn it. He clenched his jaw and studied Link for a long moment. Jaxon walked up and stood beside Link.

Well, fuck.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have at least a little help. Would it? It wasn’t like he could say he didn’t have the room.

Seven flipped the locks and both men slipped inside.

Seven snorted when Link, from the passenger seat, threw the locks once Jaxon was enclosed in the back.

“Just in case,” Link smirked.

“Of what?” Jaxon said.

“I’m being followed.”

Jaxon snorted. “By who?”

Seven grunted. “Link’s always being followed.”

Link frowned, glanced around, and then spotted Eagle standing at the back door of the bunker. The big man was leaning against the wall, his eyes locked on them.

“Yeah, I suppose I am,” Link said softly, and Seven thought he spotted a small smile on the man’s mouth before the phone rang.

Seven lifted a finger to his lips and then answered the call via the overhead speakers.

“What did you find out?”

His friend sighed. “Theodore Kada works for something called Erebus.”

He could have heard a pin drop when Ice’s words rang out in the vehicle.

Seven turned in his seat to hold Jaxon’s gaze. That was a tidbit of information that Jaxon hadn’t shared. Oh sure, he shared that Malcolm was after Theo, but not that Theo worked for Erebus.

“What else?”

“Something’s going on over there. I’m not sure what. I put in a call to the guy who runs it, but I’d stay clear if I were you,” Ice said.

Jaxon’s mouth opened, but Seven held up a finger for silence and Jaxon kept quiet.

“Do I even want to know how you know the guy who runs a group of assassins?”

The silence was abrupt and so quiet, Seven imagined he could hear his own heartbeat.

“How the fuck do you know what they do?” Ice’s voice changed, and Seven squinted at Jaxon before tossing Link a glance.

“Let’s just say…they aren’t as secret as they think they are.”

After a long moment, Ice finally spoke. “Look, you stay away from Erebus. They’re into some really dark shit.” Ice hesitated, and then his friend seemed to come to an entirely different conclusion. “On second thought…You might want to think about hiring them once you find out about Lisa.”

“Maybe.” Seven damned sure wasn’t going to let someone else have the pleasure of killing Lisa’s killer.

“I need to know what went down recently and how Theo Kada is caught up in all this.”

“I don’t know if I can give you all the answers,” Ice growled.

“Get me what you can,” Seven said.

“I’ll try, but it’s going to cost you.”

“Name it.”

“I’m in on whatever the fuck is going on.”

“Who says anything is going on?” he murmured.

“I know you. You always have some shit going on. Besides, if this Erebus is involved, it’s going to get ugly,” Ice said.

“How do you know that?”

“Let’s just say…I know a guy,” Ice said flatly and ended the call.

Seven clenched his teeth and flipped his gaze to Jaxon in the rearview mirror. “What exactly happened with Theo Kada?”

Jaxon sighed and looked out the window before turning back to them both. “That’s something I need to find out. Right now, my bigger concern is finding Malcolm and Solomon.”

“I think you’re not telling us everything,” Seven said at the mention of a new name. “What are you holding back?”

A muscle ticked in Jaxon’s jaw. “I’m going to tell you something that you’ll keep to yourselves.”

“The only other person I’d tell is at a safe house,” Seven pointed out. And it was true. Hunter was the only guy he’d share any type of secret with.

“Hey.” Link shrugged. “I’m a fence post.”

“A fence post?” Seven shot Link a frowning glance. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”

“Fence posts don’t talk.” Link smirked and Seven rolled his eyes at the smartass.

“Yeah, yeah, okay well…” Jaxon said. “After Malcolm is eliminated, Dave wants a clean sweep. He’ll be looking at replacing Theo and Solomon.”

“Who exactly is Solomon?” Seven asked.

“The head of Erebus.”

“So, what…” Link squinted at Jaxon like he’d grown a second head. “Dave wants to fire them?”

“He wants them retired.”

Seven put two and two together—there was retired in normal society terms and then there was retired in hitman terms.

“I assume Dave’s not going to offer them severance packages,” Seven said dryly.

Jaxon rubbed his mouth. “As far as Dave is concerned, Solomon has lost control of Erebus. That can’t be allowed.”

“And what is Theo then, collateral damage?” Link snapped.

“A loose end,” Jaxon murmured.

“For fuck’s sake…” Link’s voice trailed off like he wanted to say something more about all that but then wasn’t sure what to say.

Seven could fucking relate; he was kind of speechless himself.

“Is that what you do to all your ex-hitmen, kill them?” he managed.

Jaxon gave Seven an impatient look. “No, only the ones who can’t be trusted. Look…” Jaxon continued, “Erebus operates on the fringes of society. Their orders come down from the President. Anyone who can’t be trusted needs to be neutralized.”

“Is that why you were called?” Seven said.

Jaxon nodded.

Holy fuck. Was Jaxon a cleaner? Bodyguard by day, assassin’s assassin by night?

“So where is Solomon now?” Link asked.

Jaxon pulled a hand down the hair on his face, looking thoughtful for a moment before he spoke. “He seems to have disappeared.”

“So, he could be anywhere,” Seven suggested.

“Mmm,” Jaxon said, and Seven wasn’t sure if that was a yes or no.

A conversation Seven had had with Dave last year came to mind, and now it all made sense. Dave had asked him if he wanted to join Phoenix. The man’s exact words were: Come join Phoenix, Pegasus, or something else. That something else may very well have been the Erebus Society…or another type of unit. Seven imagined Dave had multiple covert teams.

Knuckles rapped sharply on the glass and Seven jumped.

Link made a sound in his throat and growled. “Son of a bitch!” Link rolled down the window for Eagle and the bigger man bent at the waist and folded his arms on the open window frame.

Kellum hovered behind Eagle.

“What?” Link snapped, glaring at Eagle.

Owen, Creed, and Fisher spilled out of the building geared up, carrying extra gear and weapons bags.

“We’re heading out,” Eagle said. “You coming?”

“You can follow us.” Link pushed the button and started rolling up the window, forcing Eagle to back up or get pinched by the glass.

Someone must have been watching because the security gate snapped open and Seven pulled through the opening, sending the SUV’s tires squealing on the asphalt.

He’d wasted enough time on this shit; all he wanted now was to get to Hunter. He punched the gas.

Link reached for the handle overhead and braced one leg to keep from slamming into the door when Seven took the corner.

“You don’t want to get pulled over,” Link pointed out.

“Who says I’d stop?” Seven growled just as he flew down the access road. He wasn’t going to risk the traffic on the freeway when he knew a back road that would take him to Hunter’s location.

His mind raced. They still needed to find out why Theo had sought out Hunter. And what was Hunter’s involvement in all this Erebus business?

The possible answer to the last question made Seven’s chest squeeze.