Page 9 of Deranged (Killers Inc. #3)

Hunkered down in the grass with his eye against a scope, Field tried to keep his mind clear and his breathing even.

This was his comfort zone—on his stomach, waiting to kill someone.

He hadn’t been given his cue yet, but he never lost sight of his target.

Tonight was one of those weird hits they got occasionally.

Drop just one of the group, sending a message to the rest. They weren’t untouchable.

It was jobs like this that kept his stomach churning every moment of every day.

Because of what he did, and how easily he did it, Field knew how quickly it could happen to one of his crew.

His family. Field never truly rested. His gaze was always scanning the horizon, looking for that telltale glimmer.

He didn’t know how to relax, except the past few months had been different.

Since the night Henry burst into his life and tied him to the bed, things had been quiet inside his head.

His dreams had been blissfully empty, letting him wake up refreshed.

He felt healthier than he had ever been.

It was strange. He never would have guessed someone as intense as Henry could bring him so much peace.

Not tonight. These jobs were on rotation, and it was on Field to put this guy down.

He didn’t know what the man had done, but he knew he was a bad person.

His team would never accept a job to take down an innocent.

Their clients were always the worst handling the worst. This job was for Beau.

Since Beau had been slowly pulling back from his business dealings, people had gotten bold.

Likely, there would never come a day when Beau could totally relax.

He would always need these little reminders of who really held the power.

Since this kept Field’s family safe too, he couldn’t balk.

Not that he would. This was who he was. A killer was all he would ever be.

Tracker's voice cut through his earpiece, sending Field on alert. “Holy shit, guys. Someone just darted into camera view. He’s on you, Field.”

At the warning, Field dropped his mask to hide his identity and rolled in one motion.

As he swung his rifle upward, the weapon was kicked from his hands every bit as quickly.

He rolled again as that foot moved to kick him.

In a flash, he was on his feet and ready to defend himself.

He knew he couldn’t pull a different weapon and risk alerting every person inside.

They would be outnumbered. Not that it mattered.

Still, killing dozens of people wasn’t the job.

Rapid-fire words flew through his earpiece, but Field couldn’t hear a thing over the thump of his pulse.

His adrenaline was through the roof. The guy was quick.

In all black with zero skin showing to give away his identity, and by the way he had gotten the drop on him, he was a pro.

It had been a while since Field had been in hand-to-hand combat.

The guy landed a blow. It didn’t hurt his mask.

It was meant to take a beating. Unfortunately, the force had the device hitting his mouth and busting his lip.

He knew to most people, the device might seem like a hindrance.

In truth, he could see way more than his attacker.

It looked like daytime to him. He easily broke the guy’s defenses to sneak in a solid blow to the face and then another to his ribs.

Field also knew something the man didn’t know.

He was nowhere near alone, and Shadow moved like lightning in the guy’s direction.

In a flash, the guy was down. Shadow took out two major tendons in the back of his knees, easily cutting him to the ground. This was definitely one of those cases where they wanted him alive.

Before Field saw it coming, Henry appeared from nowhere. His boot landed solidly in the center of the guy's face. Field still couldn’t hear anything. He had been programmed to kill. His vision was red. He had to focus way too hard on not flying into a frenzy.

Field knew people were shouting, but he was in his head. Shadow was in his face, holding Field’s head between his hands. His voice finally penetrated the ringing in his ears.

“Come back to me. Take a breath. Put your weapons away. It’s okay. Everything is under control. Just breathe.”

Field blinked. He followed Shadow’s voice back to reality.

The stinging in his hands made him realize how tightly he gripped the two knives he always kept hidden.

He didn’t even recall drawing them. That was always how it was, though, right before he did the worst things.

He heard the wheezed, ragged breathing that filled the air.

It took him a second to realize it was him.

“I’m okay.”

Shadow didn’t look appeased. He didn’t release Field.

“I’m okay.” He had to repeat the words not only for Shadow but also for himself.

The rest of the group slowly came into focus.

“Henry? What the fuck? What’s going on?”

It took Field a second to understand it was his attacker questioning Henry’s presence. But Field wanted to know the same thing. He also wanted to know how Henry kept slipping past their security.

Henry looked enraged. Deadly. Field wondered if Shadow shouldn’t be focused on calming him. “You fucking attacked my man. You don’t get to have questions.”

His words finally pulled Field fully from his activation. Henry was enraged for him. He was ready to kill for Field.

With his mask yanked off, Field got his first look at the guy. He was probably the same age as Field. The guy panted for breath in obvious pain. Field hated when he saw the human side of people he knew he would have to kill.

“Did Beau order us taken out? Are you fucking kidding me?”

Henry paced, fists clenched, and looking thunderous. “You don’t need to worry about Beau right now. You put your hands on mine.”

Henry and Field’s attacker were the only two people whose identities had been revealed.

There was no good ending for this guy. They couldn’t let him live now.

A sea of LED masks surrounded their intruder.

His expression proved the masks did their job.

He knew he was a witness to his demise. Silence filled the air besides the sound of Henry pacing and breathing heavily with open rage.

It was as if everyone held their breath.

Then Henry’s phone rang. Henry put the device to his ear. His pacing never stopped.

“Understood.”

He put the phone back in his pocket and pulled out his gun.

“Finish your assignment.” Henry stood over their captive with his gun to his side.

His stance said the guy was dead. Everyone ran for their posts.

Field found his weapon and dropped to his stomach.

He was steady. Field was good. He told himself all the lies as he found his target through the scope again.

Field breathed. He was fine. He was here. In the U.S. With his brothers. He was here. In the—

“Now.”

Field pulled the trigger. Just like rehearsed, he didn’t wait past seeing the guy drop.

He broke down his weapon and stashed it inside his bag.

They had to vanish before the other men inside the building poured out.

It would take a second. Everyone reacted the same to seeing a person next to them drop.

They would hit the floor, wait for more gunfire, and then go on the hunt when they were sure the coast was clear.

That gave them just enough time to get away.

When Field had his gear, Henry didn’t look his way. He held his gun to the center of Field’s attacker's forehead. “Go. I still have business.”

Field hadn’t lived this long by breaking protocol and hesitating could get his brothers killed. He ran for the van without looking back. Field assumed Henry would get out the same way he came. He knew Henry could take care of himself.

Edge brought up the rear, the way he always did. He made sure every team member was in the van before joining them. As he slammed the door closed, Tracker was off, and silence consumed them.

Field held his breath, wondering who would break first. It turned out to be Ridge.

“I think it’s time we discuss if Beau is keeping us safe or if he’s going to get us killed.”

Since Ridge hadn’t wanted to move in with Beau in the first place, Field wasn’t surprised he was the one to bring up the issue. This was the second job they had done for Beau that had gone sideways.

Shadow rubbed his arm, bringing Field’s attention his way. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

The fact that he could see so clearly reminded him he still wore his mask. He pulled it off. “Yeah. I’m good. Thank you for being there.”

He held on to Field’s arm like he expected him to disappear. “Of course. I’ll always come for you.”

Field kissed his forehead. He wanted to joke and turn Shadow’s claim sexual just to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop thinking about Henry. Had he gotten out okay? Why had he been there in the first place? He hated the tension surrounding him.

“I’m sorry, guys.”

Every face turned his way.

Ridge looked enraged. “This isn’t your fault.

You were doing your job, exactly as practiced.

It’s this goddamn Bosi crew. His life isn’t ours.

We do our jobs and then go home to normal lives.

They don’t. Their whole lives revolve around crime.

They obviously don’t believe in peace. Things didn’t used to be this way for us.

We had everything down to perfection and then we went home to relax until our next job. I want our peace back.”

For a moment, they rode in complete silence. For once, Field couldn’t joke around. He couldn’t be the fun one who made everyone else comfortable. Field was tired. His experience wasn’t theirs. Moving to Beau’s was the first happiness he’d had. Ever.

“You want your peace back. I had none.”

Ridge’s shoulders fell. “Look, man. I know you’re—”