Page 6

Chapter

Six

VOODOO

I pulled the covers over her bare arm. The exhaustion she’d been fighting since we hooked up with her and Alphabet knocked her out. The paleness under her tan seemed to stand out even more than after the accident that sent us tumbling down the hill.

Alphabet had been sketchy on the details—well, we all had been—and she hadn’t volunteered any. We needed a debriefing and we needed it yesterday. I’d still wanted to do a full assessment of her injuries. The bruises on her throat had been darkening all day as we traveled.

You could almost make out the shape of the hand that had been there. Alphabet had already eliminated the target, but he shouldn’t have been allowed to get that close to her in the first place. Her lashes fluttered up once. Thankfully, there was no surprise in her eyes when she focused on me.

“Shh,” I murmured. “Just keeping watch.”

A yawn had her stretching her jaw. The faint pop just told me how tired she was. “You have to go talk about stuff…” The mumbled words made me smile.

Lifting a length of dark hair away from her face, I tucked it behind her ear. “Go to sleep, Firecracker. No one is going to hurt you again.”

“Can’t promise that,” she told me even as she turned away. “No one can.”

The empty acceptance in her voice pissed me off. Clamping down on the temper, I blew out a long breath.

“Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” I hadn’t intended to stay here, she deserved her privacy if she wanted it. But nightmares were often a byproduct of trauma. I’d rather be on hand if something went sideways and not try to clean up after it.

“Fine,” she huffed before another yawn cracked her jaw. “Tired…”

I didn’t answer because I didn’t want to give her a reason to keep fighting the sleep I’d thought had already swept her under. Only when her breathing deepened, then evened out did I make myself walk away.

Despite the fact I’d done it earlier, I did another check of the exits—particularly the windows. They were secured and we’d already added another set of alarms at the top. Just because we couldn’t fit through them didn’t mean someone else couldn’t.

She highlighted a weak spot for us. Never let it be said we didn’t learn when opportunity presented itself. I pulled the blackout drapes closed over the blinds. There was a soft light on in the back of the bathroom. Enough to let her see the room, not so much it would bother her.

It had to be enough for now.

I needed to add some listening equipment in here. I’d talk to Alphabet. If we set it to a certain decibel level, it could activate if she was in trouble. That would still respect her privacy.

Until then, I’d just crash in here. The bed was big enough for both of us, but there was also a chair and I could sleep on the carpet. The floors in here offered palatial comfort compared to some of the places I’d had to sleep.

Lunchbox straightened from where he leaned against the wall as I closed the door behind me. Concern reflected in his eyes. “How…?”

“She’s sleeping, hopefully she stays that way. Let’s get the debrief done. I want to be back up here before she wakes up or a bad dream does.”

Mouth flattening, he glanced past me to the door. Sorry, brother. I already called dibs for the night. You could try to get it tomorrow. Not that I was remotely apologetic for my choices. Nor voicing it aloud for him.

“Did she tell you…”

I shook my head once as he followed me to the stairs. The absolute lack of sound below was almost as telling as the worry carved into Lunchbox’s expression. Lunchbox and Bones could easily have briefed Alphabet without me. The only thing they would have waited on was his debrief for us.

That said, Lunchbox waited and the quiet? Yeah, no one was talking. The cold glare Bones and Alphabet favored each other with had made the air crackle with all the tension popping. As long as Grace was awake and with us, they shut that shit down.

Now that she was in bed?

The gloves were going to come off. No one was in the kitchen or living area. That made sense. Debriefs when we have a guest should be in a more secure location. Alphabet’s office was the next obvious location.

“I’m grabbing coffee,” Lunchbox told me before he diverted to the kitchen. Since he didn’t correct my course, I assumed I was on the right track.

The door to Alphabet’s office was open and Goblin was parked right at Alphabet’s side, his body a literal barrier between Alphabet and Bones. The snap of wordless insults had been replaced by a stonier silence.

Alphabet’s attention was on his computer screen and his fingers flew. There was a picture of a man up and some details. Bones, on the other hand, sat there like a judge waiting to pass a sentence. His relaxed pose was a facade, because none of that emotion translated to his expression.

They both cut looks to me when I walked in. Right. “You two ready to kiss and make up or should I go get you gloves and let you settle it in the ring?”

It wasn’t often we had differences we could only solve by actually fighting it out. Didn’t mean we couldn’t or wouldn’t if necessary. We definitely had in the past. Bones gave me an impatient look. He didn’t scrap with Alphabet. Ever.

His mistake.

Lunchbox and I had both sparred with him. I’d also used his prosthetic against him because it only strengthened his defenses and proved how normal he was. For Bones, he rarely scrapped with Lunchbox either. To be fair, Lunchbox tended to be the most even-tempered of us.

Me? Not so much, and if Bones needed to work some of that aggression off, I would cheerfully take him on. I cracked my knuckles. Frankly, I would enjoy it, particularly after his bullshit tone with Grace.

That girl did not deserve his ire. I didn’t give a fuck what she’d said or why she’d said it. The mission had been a cluster fuck from the beginning and that was on us , not her .

“Coffee,” Lunchbox announced as he returned. The man carried a full damn tray with coffee, an extra carafe probably full and piping hot, along with sandwiches. “And food. Alphabet, you need to eat.”

“I’m fine,” Alphabet said without glancing up from the screen. “Let’s just get on with this, I have work to do.”

“We,” I said, when Lunchbox and Bones didn’t respond to him but glared at each other. Putting a hand on Alphabet’s shoulder, I glanced down at him when he shifted his annoyed gaze to me. “We will get the work done. We will deal with whoever this asshole is…”

Not that it seemed a leap to think this was the asshole who found the safe house. So many questions. I memorized the man’s face for future reference. I could feel the harsh sigh that Alphabet released before he hit two keys and the screen went dark.

Letting him go, I gave him the space to rise and join us. The office might not be the best room for this discussion, but there were whiteboards and a video wall available if we needed it.

To be honest, I’d always thought it was a little sci-fi and overkill, but when he detailed all the things he needed to make this the perfect base of operations? These were some of his top items…

Making it happen was a no brainer. It was just a matter of sourcing the right items. Fortunately, I was good at my job. “Let’s keep the debrief short and to the point. We all ,” I stressed that last word with a look at each of them before continuing, “have concerns. We all have issues with the mission. We all have issues with how it played out. For now, let’s keep our focus on what happened, when it happened, and what we did to resolve it in the moment. We can save the rest for the planning for the next stage.”

“ If there’s a next stage,” Alphabet said as he rose. His movements were definitely stiff and he favored his right leg. I didn’t think he’d rested enough to be back at work already, but he was an adult.

“Are you suggesting there won’t be?” Bones asked, giving me a narrow-eyed look before transferring his attention to Alphabet.

“Not suggesting shit,” he muttered before easing down into one of the chairs. We had four of them in here and it was set up like a mini round table of sorts. Despite the size of the office, it did make it feel crowded in here. “We need to revisit protocols and anything on our docket for as long as Gracie is with us.”

“I second that,” I said before picking up one of the coffee cups and taking a long drink, dark and strong enough to clean the pipes in the drain. Fuck, that was good. I took the seat closer to Bones. Running interference with the captain was something I did well.

“I don’t think we’re relying on Robert’s Rules of Order,” Bones said, his tone dryer than the desert.

“Maybe we should,” Lunchbox piled on. “As someone keeps reminding us, we’re not on active duty and don’t have to follow military command parameters.” He moved a cup of coffee closer to Alphabet and a sandwich. Then he took a second sandwich off the side and put it—plate and all—on the ground for Goblin.

The dog checked with Alphabet first who eyed the food, then Lunchbox, then the dog. “Release,” he murmured. “Take it easy buddy, we’re safe.”

That should not feel like such a damn concession, but the Staffy went from on guard to relaxed, tail wagging, in seconds. Then he immediately started on his own meal. No one said anything as Lunchbox took a seat. Then I wasn’t the only one staring at Alphabet until he picked up the food.

We tried to bully Grace into eating something, but she’d steadfastly refused before she consented to a protein shake and water. Not ideal, but better than nothing. Honestly, as tired as she was, probably a good idea she hadn’t tried to force herself.

After Alphabet took a bite, Bones claimed his own coffee cup. “We can revisit how we take jobs,” he said. “Vet the criteria and the checklists. That’s an acceptable use of resources and man hours. As for protocols? Make a list of which ones you find problematic, we’ll take those on later this week. For once, I agree with Voodoo, we need to sharpen our focus tonight and then let everyone get some rest.”

By everyone, I seriously doubted he meant himself. A problem I would deal with later.

“Fine, let’s debrief then.” Alphabet was positively spoiling for a fight. “How was our location compromised?”

“Unknown,” I answered before Bones could. “Our first sign of an issue was the arrival of the crew at the factory location. According to the calendars you’d mapped, and backed by our observation, that target should have been empty and easily demolished.”

Sending all of their people in, no matter how abrupt, created a logistical nightmare. It didn’t help that they had sweeper teams on the move.

“Second issue occurred when a sweeper team uncovered Lunchbox’s position. It didn’t leave us with a lot of options.” Particularly because the men weren’t welcoming in the slightest.

“It was fast elimination,” Lunchbox said with a shrug after he finished his bite. “While they might have been former military, they weren’t that trained or in for that long.”

I didn’t laugh but the level of insult in Lunchbox’s voice was amusing.

“Once they were down, we were on a clock.” I motioned to him to keep eating and then glanced at Bones. Because this was when we’d had to make calls.

“If they tracked us—they had to have picked us up near one of the locations.” Bones kept it clinical and detached. “We never took the same route to the safe house twice. We’re always careful. Lunchbox handled the majority of the driving.”

“I avoided tails,” he said like it was a fact carved into stone. I didn’t argue with him. We’d all been looking… “I don’t know how they found the house.” That was a source of serious irritation.

Not only had our security been compromised, but Grace had been hurt. Neither were acceptable outcomes.

“It could have nothing to do with any of us or the job,” Alphabet said. “I’m far from done with my investigation, but the man who attacked her in the barn doesn’t appear to be linked to this particular cartel or any of the other gangs in the area.”

The silence that struck after that hit like a sledgehammer.

Bones frowned. “It was bad luck that the man picked that house and that barn?”

“Bad luck, shitty security—whatever you want to call it.” Alphabet stared at Bones steadily. “She got hurt, on my watch. If I hadn’t gone out there when I did…”

“We don’t need to fight over speculation. There’s no point in the what-if game,” Bones said, waving off all the words Alphabet hadn’t said. She could have died and he’d have been in the house and utterly unaware until the mission ended or Goblin alerted.

Goblin hadn’t alerted. So maybe the guy had been hiding in the barn? Too many questions, not enough answers.

“Well, if she’d been in the house instead of walking off some prick’s comments, she wouldn’t have been in that situation,” Alphabet said, ice slicing over the words. “So let’s fight over that.”

“No,” Bones said as he rose and Lunchbox hit his feet not even a split-second later. While he didn’t crowd the captain, he put himself firmly between Bones and the door. “We’re not doing this,” Bones continued, ignoring Lunchbox’s choice apparently. “All three of you are compromised where she is concerned. The last place she needed to be was on a call where we were freely discussing the possible elimination of several noncombatants.”

“We can’t just pretend she isn’t present.” A logical argument on Lunchbox’s part. Calm and cool even. “If we take her on missions, she’s involved.”

“I can assure you, we won’t be taking her on any future assignments.”

I didn’t roll my eyes, but that dismissive tone he’d adopted wasn’t doing him any favors. “Guys,” I said before Lunchbox swung with the fist he currently clenched. “Table this part for tomorrow. I only have one question, then Bones and I need to talk.”

That snared all of their attention. Fine. I could take the heat. Their silence was as good as agreement so I went with it.

“Why was Grace on that hill with you and why was she a part of the targeting?” We’d heard all of it. I thought Lunchbox was going to explode at her soft voice reciting the numbers. All expression erased from Bones’ already chilly demeanor as he switched his attention from me to Alphabet.

“I made a call,” Alphabet said, an element of remorse in his tone. “Maybe not the best one, but the only one I could in that moment.”

“Why?” I repeated the question, because he had clearly made a call. What I wanted to know was what prompted it.

“Because when I tried to leave her in the van, she said it wasn’t safe in the car…”

Something she’d learned with me and Bones.

“She was afraid,” Alphabet continued. “She was also tired of being afraid. If she needed some control and I could give it to her? Then fuck it. I was giving it to her. Especially after everything that went down.”

He practically dared us to disagree with him. Frankly, I couldn’t tell if he really wanted us to point out the flaws or offer him some absolution for doing it in the first place.

Maybe both.

I nodded once, then rose. “Get some sleep. Both of you and yes, it is an order. We’ll revisit the chain of command after some serious rack time. I will keep watch over Grace tonight so take something if you need it.”

I took my coffee and motioned for Bones to lead the way. The rest of this conversation could be handled by us—for now. Despite me expecting an argument from them, Lunchbox and Alphabet surprised me by saying nothing and not preventing our exit.

“Where do you want to do this?” I asked Bones. “Downstairs or our barn?”

Our barn was also empty, but it would put us away from the house.

“Downstairs,” Bones said. “I don’t want to compromise security.”

Fine by me. Once we were down there, I stripped off my shirt and set the coffee aside before I began to wrap my hands. The gym down here had everything we could need for rehabbing or staying in shape.

“I’m not fighting you,” Bones said with a sigh.

“Okay,” I told him as I pivoted to face him. “Stand there while I beat the shit out of you. That works for me too.”