30. Jordan

30

JORDAN

One night, when I was lying in bed with Hartley and Vail, I told them the story about my son and how we had a code word. I’d never told another soul about it. With Hartley and Vail, I could open myself up. I could tell them without fear they’d repeat it or use it against me. They were two of the kindest men I’d ever met.

They thanked me for trusting them with something so personal. A way I kept and would continue to keep my son safe. A way I’d use with Vail.

As I was combing the interior of the house Gil bought for Vail, as bullets flew past me and my men took care of those inside and out, I had one mission. Find Vail. What I didn’t expect was to locate him in a room that was clearly meant to torture him.

Vail entered the home to save his sister and her children. He put his life on the line for them. Even as blood raced through my veins and my heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest, I had to trust him. This was how he wanted to handle the situation. I didn’t have to like it. In fact, I fucking hated it. But I did as he wished.

What I loved, what had a smile trying to form on my lips, was that I could kill Gil. Not only that, but he was right in front of me. The slimy piece of shit, no-good asshole who thought he could hurt one of the people I loved.

The issue was his gun and where it was pointed. On Vail. On the person who selflessly entered the home and was now in the line of fire. I trusted my men to get Cat and the kids out. Vail’s safety was in my hands.

Words sat on the tip of my tongue to tell Gil exactly who Vail was and that he wasn’t his. Vail was mine and Hartley’s, no one else’s but that would only incite Gil further. Instead, I fell back on the word I taught Jordan and shared with the men I loved. The word that saved my son and would hopefully save Vail too.

I met Vail’s eyes, saw the stark fear in them, and said, “Goose.”

Vail’s eyes widened and he immediately dropped to the floor. Gil turned at the sound but before he could adjust his aim, I fired. Like the other times I had to kill someone, my bullet hit its mark, right in Gil’s head.

Vail scrambled out of the way as Gil’s body fell to the floor. Fortunately, his gun didn’t go off. When Gil was down, I stepped forward until I was over his body and fired twice more. If Vail hadn’t been here, I probably would have unloaded every bullet in my gun.

When I faced Vail, he was curled into a ball, his hands over his ears and his eyes squeezed closed. There was blood on me from the men I had to go through to get here. That was why I had more than one weapon on me before entering the home. Vail had blood on him as well.

I crouched beside him and put my hand gently on his arm, while saying his name softly. He startled, scrambled back even farther to try to get away. I worried the violence I carried out in front of him was too much. As I was about to stand, Vail lunged for me, wrapping his arms around me. I couldn’t stay upright and fell back to the floor at the force of his body hitting mine.

His tears hit my skin, slid down my neck. I held him as he cried. My arms were steel bands around him, grounding him, assuring him I was here and nothing more would happen to him. Gil wouldn’t touch him ever again.

Nothing but silence greeted me as our surroundings came into focus. My men must have taken out the remainder of Gil’s.

Heavy boots on the stairs had me lifting my gun and pointing it toward the door, just in case his men got the upper hand on mine. It was doubtful, but I wasn’t taking chances.

Raiden rounded the corner, his gun in front of him. We both lowered our weapons at the same time.

“All clear,” he said. “I’ve called for staging. There’s no way to clean this up.”

“Thank you.” He was right. I couldn’t get this many bodies out of here, nor scrub the blood from the floors and walls. As it was, I didn’t know what to do to make this look like I didn’t tear through here.

“Jesus Christ!” a man yelled from the bottom floor. “What the fuck, Jordan?”

“Bear, I will put you to the ground if you fucking start!” Reghan shouted.

I dropped my head to the floor, still holding Vail. Great, now I had Barrett to deal with.

He was the next one into the room, Reghan hot on his heels, a mask of fury on his face.

“I knew when I saw your SUVs leave while I was driving through the city something was about to go down. I didn’t know what though. Then I got a call out on this middle of fucking nowhere road and had to pull over so I could focus on it. Now here I am amidst a pile of bodies and blood and who the hell knows what else. How the fuck am I supposed to explain this?” Barrett asked. “I can’t. Neither can you. And I can’t fucking arrest you or your men. You did us all a favor, rescuing Vail’s sister and the kids. Getting rid of this scumbag. It’s a blood bath in here though.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I told him.

Vail calmed in my arms enough to lift his head. He stood and rushed toward Raiden and Reghan to hug them both. “How are Cat and the kids?”

“They’re fine and outside. Completely unharmed,” Raiden said.

I stood as well, making sure to bring my gun with me which I holstered.

“Okay, this is how it’s going to go,” Barrett began. “Gil reached out and said he was holding Vail’s family hostage. You jumped into your SUV with Vail, Sheldon, Reghan, and Raiden to try to get here, and you also called me, because you had my card from when I gave it to Hartley the other day, even though I didn’t, and knew you needed assistance. I was already out this way, for some fucking reason I haven’t made up yet, and got here fast. Call me now from a burner.”

Raiden pulled a phone out and did so. One of us always had a burner phone on us.

“Good. I called for backup and said shots had already been fired.” He held a finger and dialed, giving a speech about a hostage situation and how he needed backup. He hung up. “Whose guns are legal?”

“Mine and Reghan’s,” Raiden said.

“Jordan, give me your gun.” He quickly wiped it down and put Gil’s fingerprints on it then his own. He took his gun out and put it in Gil’s hand. “Take Gil’s and get rid of it. I’ll say we fought, my gun was wrestled from me, and this was the one I found to use. You haven’t killed anyone else with this, have you?”

“Not that one,” I told him.

“Give me the other one.” He wiped it down then left for a minute before returning. “I need the rest of your men out of here ASAP. Go, tell them to split. We can’t have more of us here. Being out this far, it will take a few for the local police to get here.”

Would this work? Would the story Barrett crafted on the fly hold? Fuck if I knew but I didn’t have a better suggestion.

“Did you see any cameras or security here?” Barrett asked.

“None,” Reghan replied.

“I reached out to our man and he didn’t find anything he could tap into,” Raiden added.

Barrett shook his head. “I don’t want to fucking know all the bullshit you have on the side the police aren’t aware of. Keep that shit to yourselves. Now go walk around and try to cover other bloody prints from your men with your own. Jesus, what a fucking mess. And catch Vail’s sister up to speed. We’re going to say Reghan and Raiden came in with me, Jordan behind us with Sheldon. You two were protecting who you work for as well as helping me.”

I turned to Vail, who kept his eyes off the floor where Gil was. “It’s over.”

“Almost. We still have to talk to the police.”

I nodded. If I could shield him from this, I would. I wasn’t sure how to cover this up without Barrett’s help. There were too many bodies. Too much going on. We got lucky that the house was on a large parcel of land. I didn’t see any others close when we arrived. Someone had to have heard the shots though. The cops would conduct interviews and if anything cropped up, I’d find a way out of it like I always did.

Lana was called as well. She should know what to expect. “I’m walking to my car,” she told me before I hung up. She charged a fortune and was well worth it.

The details didn’t matter. Well, they did, but not as much as Gil being dead. Everything else I could handle. With the threat to Vail now gone, I could relax.

It wasn’t until much later when we were home that I heard about two of my men being shot. None were killed, but Alton had his hands full for a bit. There was a room in my building much like the safe house. This one was concealed, so the cops never found it when they searched the property. Both of my men would be fine. Alton stressed they needed to rest and heal.

Every person who aided in the recovery of Vail and his family would be given a hefty bonus. I had never been more grateful for the people I had with me. They came through, ending the lives of those against us and doing it with precision. Every person was trained and more than capable. This was why I had the best working for me. Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to use them ever again to rescue the men I loved.

Vail sat in bed, warm pajamas covering him, and the blankets pulled up. He still reeled from the events of the day. If I had been arrested or Raiden and Reghan, it would have been worse. As it was, I could tell the cops were leery of Barrett’s account of what happened. We were able to rehearse it once more before the local cops showed up so when we were questioned separately, it lined up. My reputation as a master of lies held true.

The cops would no doubt have more questions for me, Vail, and the others. They’d find new excuses to arrest me or issue a search warrant. There would always be someone on my ass, waiting for me to slip up so they could haul me in. With Vail and Hartley in my home, I had to be more careful. The chief was pissed he couldn’t nail me for a crime, or so Barrett said. The fact I told them I didn’t have a gun on me made them more suspicious. It also kept me on the right side of the prison bars. Barrett was in a shit ton of trouble for not following protocol and not calling it in sooner. But he was already neck deep in it so he kept up the lie he'd crafted.

Hartley and I crawled into bed with Vail and kept him close. He shook against us but eventually calmed enough to sleep.

I wasn’t sure how long I lay awake before my phone vibrated, Sylvan’s name on the screen.

Sylvan: I’m so happy you’re all okay. Please don’t stay away for so long again. I enjoyed having you here. Maybe not all of you but a small group is fine.

Me: Vail and Hartley liked meeting you. We’ll be by again.

Sylvan: I’m looking forward to it.

I didn’t need him to craft a story for me today; however, his importance in my organization was as strong as ever.

At least I had my men safe in bed with me. There was no more Gil taunting Vail, trying to get him back, torturing him from afar or in person. We’d take the house in Vail’s name and tear it down, donate the land like we did with the other one. Someone could use it, though it wouldn’t be us. Even if there wasn’t death and destruction inside, a home Gil bought would never be lived in by us.

In the morning, I’d drag Vail to a chiropractor. I’d caught him repeatedly rubbing his neck.

It was hard to believe the day started with Vail and Forest visiting his sister. After all the events that came after, it felt like a year had passed, not a single day.

At least my men were safe and well. Vail would probably want to start therapy again. I’d find him the best therapist in the whole fucking city if he wanted me to. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him and Hartley. No amount too high, no road too far. I would go to the fucking ends of the earth if it meant they were safe and healthy.

They mattered.

They were loved.

And I was the lucky fucker who was on the receiving end of their affection.