Page 51 of Benedict’s Rejuvenation (Dark Patriots #5)

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t apprehensive to a degree about what we were walking into tonight and how it would unfold.

With any mission, and that was what this was, you had issues.

It didn’t matter how well or long you planned for it.

They cropped up. You tried to contingency plan for as many possibilities as you could.

But there was still a chance something would come out of nowhere.

It’s something no one thought would happen, yet bam , it did.

Then you’re left scrambling to modify on the fly.

If you were lucky, it took a small weak point, and you’re good.

In my experience, when those things happened, they were rarely small tweaks or minor problems. That was often when it went from a small inconvenience or bump to being FUBAR—fucked up beyond all reason, slash repair, slash recognition. You take your pick.

What that meant was I was planning like crazy while praying that it didn’t go FUBAR.

I was going in with a great team. I trusted them with my life numerous times.

Heath I’d had covering my ass countless times, and he delivered.

However, this time, I was taking my woman with me.

The one I was so in love with, I couldn’t imagine not having her beside me for the rest of my life.

I wanted to grow old and have kids, then grandkids with her.

Wynne, his cronies, and fate better not fuck this up for me or Beau.

If they did, God help them all, especially the ones I’d be able to lay hands on. They wouldn’t know what hit them.

It was go time. The drive to Wynne’s estate was tense. No one said much of anything. We were all in our heads and prepping for what was coming. The car contained Beau, Kensy, Keeley, and me.

Heath, Justin, and Jai were in the other vehicle.

They’d left ahead of us, along with our surprise backup.

I’d wondered who the bosses would send us.

I should’ve known. When we opened the door early this morning, there stood the five-person team, ready to go at it.

I zeroed in on a smiling Sloan and a scary, scowly Undertaker.

Introductions were made officially for those who didn’t know each other.

Sloan had told Undertaker to stop looking like an axe murderer, which had Kensy chuckling.

She’d been in awe and maybe terror when she faced Undertaker.

I had tattoos. Most of us did, but on him and the whole biker vibe he exuded, even if he wasn’t dressed like one, which he typically was, screamed danger. Those who ignored the warning not to fuck with him rarely lived to regret it.

The outside team, code name Watchmen. They would be in place when we arrived to start the takedown of the gate guards, and then work their way toward the house.

They’d slip through with us as we kept the focus on us at the gate.

Our team, named Liberators, would then go inside the house and keep things running for as long as we needed, until we received the all-clear.

Then, we’d start taking them down inside, joined by the Watchmen, unless we had to start before the rest of our people got inside.

We had no way of knowing when Wynne and his people would reveal their true intentions.

We knew that all day, the private helipad at Wynne’s home, yes, he had one, had been busy.

Three helicopters landed, dropped off their occupants, and then left.

In addition, three luxury cars had shown up and hadn’t left.

We thought all bidders had to be there. There hadn’t been any more arrivals for the past two hours.

Based on our trusty drone, which maintained ongoing surveillance, each helicopter and car had one passenger they expelled.

The cars had no chauffeurs. If needed, we had connections that allowed us to have satellite coverage, but we wouldn’t use it for such a small operation.

In anticipation of possible fighting, Beau and I dressed in dress slacks and shirts, but forewent a full suit setup.

The ladies were dressed in dress slacks and these pretty tops, they told us they were called peplums. It had a wavelike strip of fabric at the bottom.

So while the rest of their tops clung to their bodies, the bottom didn’t.

In a waistband carrying belt, they had their handguns stashed.

The clothing was paired with sensible, low-heeled, yet dressy boots, rather than high heels.

Their blouses were able to conceal their guns without the outline showing, yet they assured us they could easily access them.

Kensy and Keeley had demonstrated for us.

In addition, each of them wore a small backup handgun in a holster around their ankles.

I was stunned to see how they walked normally with one on.

Often, that was what gave away that a person was carrying there.

Kensy showed me that she had two punch knives also on the belt, slid into loops on it.

They’d spent time making their hair and makeup look like they were there to meet potential clients or whatever Wynne called them.

When we arrived, it was a repeat at the gate.

Two guys stood there eyeing us and checking our names and faces against whatever was on the tablet in front of them.

If they’d been smart, they’d have split up, with one standing on the left side of the car and the other on the right.

Instead, they both stood on the driver’s side.

That told me they hadn’t been guards or police in the military. It worked to our advantage.

As we waited, the four of us asked them several questions.

How long had they worked here? Where were they from?

Did they like this kind of work? We rattled, but it kept both men focused on us, and the Watchmen’s team slithered in using our car as a shield.

Once they got on the inner side of the wall, they melted into the darkness.

Two would stay to take out the gate guards after we got past, and the other three would spread out to remove the others.

The two disposing of the guards at the gate would then join up to help the other three.

It was Undertaker and Sloan who would do that job.

Our count, thanks again to the drone, was a dozen guards outside tonight.

We’d have to neutralize just shy of three dozen total. It was doable.

The clients might not be inclined to fight or even be armed, although we assumed they would be. You never knew for sure until you were in it, who would surrender, fight, or go apeshit crazy.

“Remember, we keep together. Don’t let them separate us. We keep the conversation rolling until we get the signal. Everyone has their weapons and earpieces, correct?” I asked.

My three companions sounded off with affirmatives. With that out of the way, there was no reason to linger. “Let’s do this,” I said before opening the driver’s door.

I drove tonight. Beau and I went to the opposite side of the car, opened the doors, and assisted the ladies out. The walk to the double doors felt twice as far as the last time we were here. The faintest tremor ran through Kensy’s arm on mine. I squeezed her hand resting on my forearm.

“You’ve got this,” I whispered.

“I know I do,” she whispered back as she winked.

It wasn’t a long wait for the door to be answered. I was surprised when it was. Instead of Crocker greeting us, it was Wynne himself who admitted us.

“Good evening, please come in. I’m so glad you could make it. I have several friends in the industry who’re dying to meet you. Tonight is going to be an incredible evening.”

“That sounds wonderful. Where’s Crocker? I wanted to see his smiling face. He seemed so sweet last time,” Keeley remarked softly, then she threw a nervous look at Beau, as if she was afraid she’d broken a rule. He gave her a chin lift but said nothing.

As he gestured for us to enter, Wynne answered her. “I wanted us to have no outside distractions. Crocker is wonderful at his job, but he likes to hover. And Mrs. Beatty is away visiting her grandchildren. No worries, we’ll be able to focus fully. Right this way.”

I closed the door while Wynne took the lead.

We were led to the salon again. I had this feeling of being led to our doom.

Entering it, I was prepared to find the six guys we’d been told had dropped by and never left today.

I was right. They were gathered there, acting relaxed.

All four of us feigned pleasure at the sight of them.

“Gentlemen, these are the two young ladies I told you about. And these are their fiancés. This is Keeley Morgan and her fiancé, Beau Pierce. And her sister, Kensy, and her fiancé, Ben Montgomery. Beau and Keeley came here to explore Maui as a potential honeymoon destination. His best friend and her sister came to help and ended up getting engaged a couple of days ago. They’ve been nice enough to indulge us tonight.

They’re heading back to the mainland soon, aren’t you? ” he asked Beau.

“We plan to go back on Sunday. Real life and work are calling us. We hate to go,” Beau replied.

“I hate when I go to the mainland sometimes, too. Well, let me introduce these guys, and then we can have a drink and get to know each other. I find that learning about each other before discussing business is the best approach,” Wynne responded.

The six men rose to their feet. Three were older, probably in their fifties or sixties. The others were closer to our age, in their thirties and forties. He introduced the older ones first.

“This is Abram Krakow, Bjorn Jansson, and Luan Silva. And these are Hendrix de Boer, Roman Gallus, and Xandros Balogh.”