Page 151
Story: Five Fingers of Death
Rae flipped through the images on the large screen, and what we saw was disturbing as hell. Images of Eva from all angles—with her kids, in her house, walking around the property, in the grocery store…
“What the fuck?” I snarled. “How the hell did anyone get that close to her?”
“They hacked into our own cameras for the images in her house. As for the outside images, it’s a long-range lens,” Rae informed us. “The minute these started coming in, we grabbed Eva and the kids and stashed them in the silo.”
“We can’t stop this without Cash,” Lock continued. “They’re targeting his wife and kids.”
“Good luck with that,” Asher retorted. “He wasn’t a whole lot of fucking help when I saw him.”
“Something’s changed, though,” Jack said. “To send us these pictures, that has to mean it’s escalating. But why?”
“Because of whatever the fuck Cash is doing.” I jerked my chin at Rae. “Are there any other images or only of Eva?”
Rae hesitated, then flipped to the final image. It was of Eva shopping for a car with Izzy. The image was focused on Izzy as she was smiling behind the wheel of her car. My blood boiled as I studied it. She was so fucking happy that day, and now it was all fucking tainted.
“They don’t ever get close, but the fact that they hacked into our system means we have to reset the whole fucking thing and upgrade our protocols,” Lock said. “Our guys in the field aren’t safe right now, not with someone accessing our equipment. Thumper phoned in a half hour ago. They were attacked on their job. We’ve alerted everyone else, but for the moment, we need to stem the bleeding.”
I didn’t like the look in his eyes as he stared at Jack. “You want us to go out.”
He slid three folders across the table, each of them containing the pertinent information of the job. “Last known location for Cash. Get in, do whatever you have to do to fix the fucking problem. Knight’s with him. If you need to, use Kate to get him to pull his head out of his ass. We need this finished if anyone’s going to be safe.”
“On it,” Jack said, pushing back from his chair.
There was no other choice. If I wanted Izzy safe, I had to leave her to figure out how the fuck to end this thing.
“I’m going with,” Asher said, staring at Jack. “I know you guys work alone, but these assholes destroyed my fucking life. I need to end this as much as you.”
“You know who would be perfect for this,” Rae grinned.
“No. We’re not taking Fox,” I snapped. “The idea is to end this shit, not start World War III.”
“It was just a suggestion. I’ll be here for anything you need.” Rae pushed back from the table, her face turning serious. “If you see Cash, tell him to stop fucking around and come home.”
“Because he listens to all of you?” I shook my head. “He didn’t seem to care too much the last time we saw him.”
“Show him the pictures,” Lock argued. “Maybe seeing his family as a target will put things in perspective.”
I doubted that, but it was worth a shot. My gaze slid to Johnny’s. “Ask Tahlia if she can watch Carli.”
“You don’t want to leave her with Izzy?”
“I’m not sure she’s up for that yet.”
“Not sure that’s the best idea,” Jack muttered. “I’m not sure I would trust my kid with her at the moment.”
Rage burned in my gut, and before I knew it, I was across the room, tossing Jack up against the wall. My whole body shook as I pressed my arm to his throat, ready to burn the fucking ground he walked on for speaking about Izzy that way.
I barely heard Johnny yelling at me, felt him jerking at my arm to let Jack go before I fucking killed him. But I couldn’t do it. I was consumed with the desire to put anyone in the ground who dared to talk about her that way.
“Jason, let him go!” Johnny shouted, wrapping his arm around my own neck and jerking hard. The pressure shocked me back to reality and I stepped away, breathing through the anger. “Fuck, you have got to get that shit under control!”
I jabbed my finger at Jack, “Don’t you ever fucking talk about her that way.”
“In what way?” he snapped. “The one where your girlfriend was held captive for thirteen fucking years and then tried to hurt herself? She’s not okay, Jason. You want to believe that, but she’s not, and until she has more time to heal, you can’t trust her to be able to take care of herself and your daughter.” He let out a harsh breath, shaking his head. “I’m not saying that to be a dick. I’m reminding you that as much as she appears fine, she’s not going to be okay overnight. Just fucking remember that.”
He stomped past me out of the room, and I shoved my hands on my hips, breathing hard and pushing down the rage so I didn’t go after him.
“He’s right,” Johnny said quietly. “You know none of us have it out for Izzy, but you have to keep your daughter safe. Jack is looking out for you, and if you’d stop flipping out at the drop of a hat, you’d see that you’re not okay either. You haven’t been since Leah died.”
“What the fuck?” I snarled. “How the hell did anyone get that close to her?”
“They hacked into our own cameras for the images in her house. As for the outside images, it’s a long-range lens,” Rae informed us. “The minute these started coming in, we grabbed Eva and the kids and stashed them in the silo.”
“We can’t stop this without Cash,” Lock continued. “They’re targeting his wife and kids.”
“Good luck with that,” Asher retorted. “He wasn’t a whole lot of fucking help when I saw him.”
“Something’s changed, though,” Jack said. “To send us these pictures, that has to mean it’s escalating. But why?”
“Because of whatever the fuck Cash is doing.” I jerked my chin at Rae. “Are there any other images or only of Eva?”
Rae hesitated, then flipped to the final image. It was of Eva shopping for a car with Izzy. The image was focused on Izzy as she was smiling behind the wheel of her car. My blood boiled as I studied it. She was so fucking happy that day, and now it was all fucking tainted.
“They don’t ever get close, but the fact that they hacked into our system means we have to reset the whole fucking thing and upgrade our protocols,” Lock said. “Our guys in the field aren’t safe right now, not with someone accessing our equipment. Thumper phoned in a half hour ago. They were attacked on their job. We’ve alerted everyone else, but for the moment, we need to stem the bleeding.”
I didn’t like the look in his eyes as he stared at Jack. “You want us to go out.”
He slid three folders across the table, each of them containing the pertinent information of the job. “Last known location for Cash. Get in, do whatever you have to do to fix the fucking problem. Knight’s with him. If you need to, use Kate to get him to pull his head out of his ass. We need this finished if anyone’s going to be safe.”
“On it,” Jack said, pushing back from his chair.
There was no other choice. If I wanted Izzy safe, I had to leave her to figure out how the fuck to end this thing.
“I’m going with,” Asher said, staring at Jack. “I know you guys work alone, but these assholes destroyed my fucking life. I need to end this as much as you.”
“You know who would be perfect for this,” Rae grinned.
“No. We’re not taking Fox,” I snapped. “The idea is to end this shit, not start World War III.”
“It was just a suggestion. I’ll be here for anything you need.” Rae pushed back from the table, her face turning serious. “If you see Cash, tell him to stop fucking around and come home.”
“Because he listens to all of you?” I shook my head. “He didn’t seem to care too much the last time we saw him.”
“Show him the pictures,” Lock argued. “Maybe seeing his family as a target will put things in perspective.”
I doubted that, but it was worth a shot. My gaze slid to Johnny’s. “Ask Tahlia if she can watch Carli.”
“You don’t want to leave her with Izzy?”
“I’m not sure she’s up for that yet.”
“Not sure that’s the best idea,” Jack muttered. “I’m not sure I would trust my kid with her at the moment.”
Rage burned in my gut, and before I knew it, I was across the room, tossing Jack up against the wall. My whole body shook as I pressed my arm to his throat, ready to burn the fucking ground he walked on for speaking about Izzy that way.
I barely heard Johnny yelling at me, felt him jerking at my arm to let Jack go before I fucking killed him. But I couldn’t do it. I was consumed with the desire to put anyone in the ground who dared to talk about her that way.
“Jason, let him go!” Johnny shouted, wrapping his arm around my own neck and jerking hard. The pressure shocked me back to reality and I stepped away, breathing through the anger. “Fuck, you have got to get that shit under control!”
I jabbed my finger at Jack, “Don’t you ever fucking talk about her that way.”
“In what way?” he snapped. “The one where your girlfriend was held captive for thirteen fucking years and then tried to hurt herself? She’s not okay, Jason. You want to believe that, but she’s not, and until she has more time to heal, you can’t trust her to be able to take care of herself and your daughter.” He let out a harsh breath, shaking his head. “I’m not saying that to be a dick. I’m reminding you that as much as she appears fine, she’s not going to be okay overnight. Just fucking remember that.”
He stomped past me out of the room, and I shoved my hands on my hips, breathing hard and pushing down the rage so I didn’t go after him.
“He’s right,” Johnny said quietly. “You know none of us have it out for Izzy, but you have to keep your daughter safe. Jack is looking out for you, and if you’d stop flipping out at the drop of a hat, you’d see that you’re not okay either. You haven’t been since Leah died.”
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