Chapter Fourteen

Cash

“A lright, let’s read over this file, and then we can call a meeting and get everyone caught up on the cliff notes,” Trick suggests.

“Sounds good to me,” I reply, “are we coming up with a plan of action as well?”

He nods, “Yeah, we’ll come up with some suggestions but as always we will get their input and see if they have got any better ideas or new angles that we haven’t looked at.”

“Okay, give me a second and I can get it sent over to you,” I say as I forward the file to him.

We spend the next twenty minutes reading over the file. Once we’re both done, I’m actually relieved that there isn’t any really surprising news in it, nothing that is a shock.

“Okay, we can work with this. We’ve now got an exact location for the port that he used to use; all of the shipments are things that we know that he dealt in so that’s not a shock. There are a few other locations mentioned that we can send some other teams to check out, but I think the first thing that we need to focus on is the port that Drake mentioned. It is a huge port, and if he is still using it, then his business is even bigger than we thought, and we didn’t think that it was small.” Trick starts, going over the main points that stood out in the file.

“Do you want to send a few of us out to stake it out, do some research, and see if we can see any of Hunt’s known associates there who would confirm that he is still using it?” I ask.

Trick nods, “Yeah, I think that is probably the best idea. We are less conspicuous if we just send a few of us out.”

“I agree. Who are you thinking of sending?” I ask.

“Ever is getting twitchy, so I think she will probably insist on going; Jensen is as well, so I can go, and then you and Luc. Does that sound good?”

I nod, “Yeah, we can get the job done. We’ve done quite a few surveillance jobs together by this point, we know how each other works and our strengths.”

“Good,” Trick replies and stands up, pulling his phone out of his pocket and sending out a text on the group chat. “I have just called a meeting. Rafe said food first.”

I smile, “Why am I not surprised? We can talk and eat.”

We both leave the office and head into the kitchen, everyone making their way there as well.

Once everyone is seated, they all look at us before they tuck into the subs that Rafe, Atlas, and Jensen have made.

“You guys eat, and we’ll talk,” I say, smiling as they immediately pick out different sandwiches from the platters in the middle of the table and then settle down, mouths full as they all look at us expectantly.

Trick and I quickly explain what was in the file and the plan that we have come up with.

“That sounds great to me,” Luc says.

“Are you completely over the poisoning?” Ever questions him.

It is something that I hadn’t even considered, and now I feel really guilty about it. I am glad that she remembered to ask him.

Luc grabs her hand and kisses the back of it, smiling as he looks in her eyes so that she knows that he is being entirely honest with her.

“I promise that I feel completely back to normal. There are no side effects, no weird feelings, everything is doing what it should, and nothing isn’t working. I am absolutely fine to go on this trip.”

Ever nods, “Okay, I was just checking.”

“Thank you,” he replies.

Now that is sorted, Trick continues, “Great, so we’ll get you guys up there as soon as possible.”

“Get who up where?” Dominic surprises me in asking as he and Jonah walk into the dining area, their eyes lighting up as they see all the food laid out.

“Please tell me you have spares?” Jonah asks hopefully.

Rafe chuckles, “Of course I do. Help yourselves.”

They sit down and help themselves to sandwiches.

“Are you guys okay?” Ever asks, and then adds with a slight tinge of panic, “Is Lyric okay? I only just got off the phone with her and she was fine.”

Jonah smiles, “Don’t worry, Lyric is absolutely fine, and if you’ve just got off the phone with her then you know that she is in full nesting mode right now.”

Ever chuckles, “Oh yeah, she’s sent me loads of pictures as well.”

Everyone smiles, we are all really looking forward to the newest member of our family arriving, although I am aware that it is bringing up some feelings for a few of us that we don’t quite know what to do with. None of us are ready to talk about it though so we are pretty much ignoring it and focusing on the guys and Lyric instead.

“We just thought we’d come and check in,” Jonah smiles. “We didn’t arrive at lunchtime by accident.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Rage chuckles, and then adds, “smart man.”

“So, where are you going?” Dominic asks, curiosity in his eyes.

We quickly explain the latest development in the case and then explain the plan that we have got so far, well, the newest stage of it anyway.

Jonah and Dominic don’t behave like I thought they would though and instead of replying, they share a meaningful look.

“Take Ezra and Quinn with you, please?” Jonah practically begs.

I try not to smile as I ask, “Why? I'm sure we could, but I thought you guys were taking some time off so you could be with Lyric?”

Dominic smirks, “We were, we are, but Ezra and Quinn seem to be having some issues with extra energy. Ezra’s got Quinn working at the station since he has got quite a lot of experience, and he didn't want to go back to the bar, but even that is not enough to keep either of them entertained. Especially since Ezra runs such a tight ship anyway so we rarely get anything that isn’t a domestic dispute or road traffic accident.”

“They are bored, and they are going to end up causing their own trouble if they don’t do something soon,” Jonah adds, looking equal parts amused and exasperated.

Jensen snorts, “Honestly, I am surprised Ezra lasted this long. He has been messaging Ace and me in our chat and asking for updates on what we are doing, if we have shot anyone and if we need any suggestions on good interrogation techniques.”

I burst out laughing along with everyone else as Jonah’s and Dominic’s faces look shocked.

Ever

“N o way!” Jonah replies before he bursts out laughing.

“I mean, I knew he was missing it but fuck,” Dominic adds, “and what? Has he lost all fucking sense? Since when would you need help with interrogation techniques?”

Jensen shrugs, his lips tilting up into a smile that I know means trouble, “I don’t know, but he had some pretty creative suggestions, and Quinn’s were pretty inventive, too; I’ve added a couple to my rotation.”

My interest is thoroughly piqued if Jensen thought that the suggestions were worth putting in his rotation, I raise my eyebrow, “Oh really?”

Jensen’s grin widens, “Oh yeah, I’ll fill you in later.”

“Quinn’s been getting in on it as well?” Jonah asks, surprise in his tone.

Jensen nods, and pulls out his phone, “Yep, that’s him now. Ezra added him to our chat with Ace. He said, and I quote, ‘ice burns are surprisingly effective at getting people to talk, especially when they can see their fingers and toes blackening. If you throw in some psychological shit as well, then you can really fuck them up.’ That is not a bad idea, actually.”

“See, I always preferred heat over extreme cold; fire is easy and readily available if you are in a pinch; ice and extreme cold get complicated, especially since if you’re supposed to be the average person, you can’t just nip to the local shop to pick up some dry ice. Which, by the way, is the easiest way to torture some with extreme cold, because ice melts and is fucking slippery.” I explain.

Everyone just stares at me; Jonah and Dominic look impressed, all of my men look turned on, and Peter looks slightly apprehensive.

“You know, sometimes I forget that you were or rather are Shadow and that you are well-versed in torture techniques,” Peter says, shaking his head, “it’s a little scary.”

I grin, my smile too broad to really be called a smile, “It’s so much fun though.”

Pete shudders, “And then you do something like that, and I can’t believe that I ever forgot.”

His statement has everyone laughing.

“We got off track,” Cash reminds everyone as their laughter settles.

Jonah nods, “We did,” he turns to look at Trick, “will it work to include Ezra and Quinn?”

Trick nods, “Yeah, I don’t see why not. I mean, it might actually be really helpful to have Quinn there; he can identify anyone he recognizes as being part of Hunt’s people.”

“Yeah, that’s an excellent point,” Jonah agrees, “we should have started with that.”

“It will make the group quite big though, and since we’re there purely for surviallence and need to be as stealthy as possible so that we don’t bring any attention to ourselves, I think we may need to cut down the group.” Cash suggests and then adds, “I don’t mind staying behind.”

“You go, man,” Luc says, “I’m good waiting at home.”

“Are you sure?” Trick asks him, and Luc nods, so Trick turns to look at Cash, “Are you okay with going?”

Cash grins, “Yeah, I’m up for some stealth undercover spying.”

“You make it sound so much more glamorous than it actually is,” I tell him, “in reality it’s just a lot of waiting around and hoping that something happens.”

Luc smirks, “And that’s why I am more than happy to be left at home.”

“I knew you had an alternative reason,” Jensen exclaims, like it has been something he has been pondering for a while and not just the last few minutes.

Trick sighs, “Okay, so we’re all agreed; Cash, Jensen, Ever, Ezra, and Quinn are the ones that are going to stake out the shipping yard and see if there are any signs that Hunt is still using it?”

Everyone around the table voices their agreement.

I frown as a thought occurs to me and ask, “Is Quinn going to be up to this? I’m not trying to be a dick, quite the opposite, but he has just got back from being forced to work with Hunt and all of his people, and we know that he, understandably, has trauma from his years away.”

Fortunately, Jonah and Dominic don’t take offence at my comment and instead, Jonah answers me honestly, “He can handle it, we wouldn’t suggest he comes if we thought for even a second that it would negatively affect him or that he’d have a reaction that he couldn’t control when he saw Hunt and kill him on sight.”

To be honest that had occurred to me, if it were me and I was in a similar situation, I'm not sure that I would be able to keep my cool if I were faced with someone who had kept me against my will, I would want revenge.

“He wants to see Hunt dealt with, but it is not just him that he wants to see brought to justice. He was in the thick of it; he had gained Hunt’s trust, and he knows exactly what kind of a person he really is and what sorts of things he is dealing with.” Dominic starts to explain, “It’s because of all the shit he’s seen that he wants to make sure that it’s not only Hunt that’s brought down but his associates too and, in some cases, destroy the warehouses and storage areas that he’s got.”

Atlas nods, “I get that, he wants to make sure that there is no chance that he can hurt anyone else again, and that means that he needs to make sure that everything is disbanded so no one can come along and try and take it over. Like I did.”

Jonah and Dominic both nod, “Exactly. So, if anything, he is the best person that we could send on this.”

Trick nods, “Understood.”

“Is Lyric okay with this?” Peter asks, since she was struggling with the guys being away, in danger, and her not being able to go with them.

Dominic and Jonah laugh, although none of us are pretty sure why, when we all look at them questioningly, Jonah explains.

“She is the one that suggested it. They are driving her just as crazy as they are driving the rest of us. She said if Ezra tried to custom build one more thing, she would lose it,” Dominic laughs.

“Don’t get us wrong; she appreciates the effort, but half the time, he doesn’t even know what the hell he’s built,” Jonah adds.

This has all of us laughing, especially since I can picture him proudly presenting his latest project to Lyric and when she tactifully asks him what it is, he is just like I dunno. I am going to have to text her and get her to send me some pictures of his creations, I’m actually a bit offended that she hasn’t sent any yet.

I pull out my phone to do just that while the guys all start asking Jonah and Dominic what he is building and offering suggestions.

“I’ve already messaged in the group chat with her and Jynx, asking her to send us some pictures,” Pete says from beside me.

“You read my mind,” I chuckle as I put my phone on the table so I can see if she sends anything. I check the time quickly and add to Pete, “She’s been exhausted lately and napping, so there’s a good chance that she’s not going to reply straight away.”

“That’s okay, I’m happy to wait. I have a feeling that it is going to be worth the wait. I am extremely curious to see what he has made,” Pete adds with a smile.

“Me too,” I reply. “Shit, that reminds me, I need to call Jynx, she sent me a message earlier asking me to call, and I completely forgot because I was up at the stables. I am assuming it is to tell me that they were needed and had to leave since she is not here, and she usually would be if we went on a job while she was in town.”

“Say hi from me,” Pete says as I start to get up.

“You’re welcome to come and talk to her too,” I offer, I sort of assumed that he would come with me like he usually does.

He follows me with his own plate, and we leave the guys talking. We take our plates out to the kitchen to put in the dishwasher before we both head toward the stairs.

He smiles, “You know I usually would, but Elijah’s just messaged and they are back at the hotel so I can call him.”

I grin, “Fair enough, tell him I said hi.”

“Will do,”he replies with an excited smile as we part ways, him going to his temporary room and me heading up the stairs to mine.

I could have called Jynx downstairs with everyone else, but I could be wrong about why she wants to call me and if it is girly talk then it’s better in my room than surrounded by a group of nosey and gossipy men. They are worse than women are supposed to be, I swear.

I settle down on my bed and put the TV on in the background just so it’s not silent, I’m not sure why I like having background noise on when I do other things, but now that I’m thinking it about it may be because if I didn’t have music on in my room I heard all sorts of things that I didn’t want to hear, and I guess It’s a habit that’s just stuck around. I don’t mind it.

“Hey!” Jynx greets me happily.

“Hey, sorry it took me so long to call you back. I was with the horses,” I apologize.

Jynx sounds amused as she replies, “Since when have I ever needed an explanation about why you didn’t call me? I know you will call when you can.”

“Good point,” I reply, “is everything okay?”

“No, not really, but we’ve got it handled,” Jynx replies and then before I can ask she continues, “we’ve had to go back, Sawyer’s in trouble.”

“Shit! Is there anything we can do?” I ask. I have spoken to Sawyer on the phone. We have never met in person. I know how much he means to Jynx and the guys, and I know that he helps keep her safe, which means he is automatically good and one of ours as far as I'm concerned.

“Not right now, but can I put you and the guys on standby? There is a chance that shit is going to get serious, and I am going to need all the help I can get.” She replies.

Her response surprises me. Over the years, several things have cropped up that we have offered our help with or said that we are there if she needs us, and she has always been grateful for the offer but never taken us up on it. This is as close as she has gotten to telling me, yes, come and fucking help me.

I think it’s because it would be two worlds colliding for her, especially now that we are technically the law; I don’t think she wants to put us in a position where we have to do shit that could get us in a lot of trouble if we were caught.

The thing is, we don’t care. If she needs us then we are there, it is as simple as that, and we are there as people with a vast amount of deadly and useful skills not in a lawful matter. Although we could help with that side if she wanted us to.