Page 23 of The Team

But then Yin sighed, more than likely to alert Rhett of his being awake. He stood up, coming over to the window to stand beside him. “Anything?”

Rhett shook his head. “This is bullshit,” he hissed. “Sitting up here like this when every second counts.”

“You want to go and look,” Yin said.

“Minimum. The very least.”

“Then let’s go.”

Rhett’s gaze cut to Yin’s. “Now?”

Yin gave a hard nod. “Why not?”

“Never pegged you as a rule breaker.”

“And I never thought you’d be one to sit here and do nothing.” Then he smirked. “And technically, I wouldn’t be disobeying orders. You would be. You’re the boss.”

Rhett stared at him—the audacity of being called out like that—and eventually, he smiled. “Then let’s go.”

Rhett and Yin took one pistol each—concealed, of course—and put on their gloves and coats. Rhett went to Sid and gently shook him. “Sid, you’re up.”

Sid shot up, blinking, taking half a second to focus. “Where are we going?”

“You’re not. We’re going across the street, and you’re on watch. I’ll have my earpiece.”

Sid stood up and went to the window, scrubbing his face. “What do we know?”

“Nothing. That’s why we’re going.”

Sid only then seemed to notice Yin standing, ready. He looked back at Rhett and gave a nod. “Okay.” He fitted his earpiece and checked his watch. “If I lose comms with you, I’m sending Azrael over.”

Rhett was sure that was purely for Yin’s benefit. A warning, of sorts, that Rhett was protected and Yin wasn’t exactly trusted yet.

Either way, Rhett didn’t mind.

Because Sid wasn’t wrong.

Rhett gave Yin a clap on the arm. “Let’s go.”

They left the quiet of their loft, made their way down the hall, the stairs, and out onto the street. Rhett was surprised by how quiet Yin was on his feet—stealth, indeed—and tried to make his own footfalls quieter.

And failed, but his competitive streak and his ingrained need to be the best made him try at least.

They went around the back of the block to the alleyway. The walls were stone blocks, three stories up, cobblestones under their feet. There were utility pipes, drains, and trash cans, darkened windows, and no sign of life. It was three in the morning, after all.

A cat scampered from a doorway and Rhett startled, his heart rate kicked up a notch. Yin chuckled quietly.

Rhett shot him a glare. “This way,” he said, entering the doorway the cat had come from. It was an entryway for the apartments in this building. Rhett wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but something had to be better than nothing.

They’d been sent an old blueprint of the floor plan, sothey knew the general layout but didn’t know which level. Rhett stopped at the letterboxes in the entryway. There were six apartments in this complex, two on each floor. Each mailbox had a metal number tag, each looked perfectly normal, emptied and used, except one. Flyers and catalogues stuck out from the mail slot.

Rhett pointed at the number. 1B.

Yin gave a nod and they headed down the hall to the end apartment door.

The old brass 1B on the door was crooked and it smelled as if that cat in the alley had pissed in the hall. Rhett put his hand on the door handle. Yin went to point position. He turned the handle, expecting it to be locked, but it turned.

His gaze went to Yin. Yin took out his pistol, gave a hard nod, and Rhett pushed the door open. Yin went in first, quiet as the wind, and Rhett followed.