Page 33

Brice

R ock drove out of HCS’s parking deck heading toward Costa’s estate.

While he did, Lioness ensured that the Altima was erased from all the cameras we would pass.

According to the intel Rock gathered, it was located on the outskirts of Cypress.

As we drove closer, the area became reminiscent of the one Lynx’s mother lived in back in Cali.

The long road was primarily wooded and dark, with streetlights spaced every half mile.

The darkness would give us the perfect cover.

The ride had been quiet until Rock pulled the car into the woods; even Lioness hadn’t said a word. We were all focused on the mission. We exited the car and stretched. It would be a half-mile trek through the woods to get to the estate.

“Can you hear me?” I asked as I spoke into the communication earpieces .

“Yeah, we’re good,” Rock answered. Lynx and Lioness nodded as well. I pulled my gun from my back and loaded the chamber. As I had told Lynx before we left, it was on sight for whoever.

“Now look, before we run up here, I need you two to get it together. Don’t be all on the comms laughing, giggling, and making jokes. This shit isn't a game,” I said trying to coach them on how we expected tonight to go.

“But it is, though,” Lioness said. I looked at the serious expression on her face and knew she wasn’t joking.

“Rock, get your wife, man.” I was more than likely wasting my damn breath because these two together were just as unpredictable and the situation we were in.

“Lioness,” he turned to her and gave her a stern look. Like every time before, she folded under his command. I didn’t know how in the hell he’d managed to tame the wildest beast in our kingdom. Our father had a damn time trying.

“Tsk,” she audibly let out, rolling her eyes.

“I’m for real don’t y’all be in here fucking around,” I added.

“We family, we ride together, we die together….” I started before Rock cut me off.

“The fuck, nah Bruh we not saying that shit. Die together? No ….Nooooooo,” he said and laughed. I laughed right along with him.

“See! With his no fun having ass. It was a damn joke, because I’m sure as hell not dying with your ass. You might take all the fun out of it. Come on, Lynx,” Lioness said as she dropped her mask and quickly headed deeper into the woods towards the estate .

“Let’s go; their hardheaded asses are probably halfway there just to prove a damn point,” I said, also dropping my mask and following swiftly behind them.

Rock and I made double time until we caught up.

Just as Rock said, the house sat far from the road, surrounded by a dense forest of trees.

The gate had a small booth that held one armed guard.

He was preoccupied with his phone when Lynx pulled out her small twenty-two caliber and screwed on one of her silencers and attached a sight.

“You really think you about to hit him with that small ass gun and at this range?” I asked.

“A small caliber bullet can travel up to a mile and a half. From an eyeball calculation, we are about two hundred feet out,” she said as she laid down on the ground and positioned her arms flat in front of her along with the butt of the gun.

“From prone position? With a handgun? I gotta see this shit,” I said. One of two things was about to happen. She would hit her target perfectly, or she was about to reveal our position, but I didn’t care. I would handle business regardless of the outcome.

“The prone position is actually the best position to shoot long distances, even with a handgun. The bullet will travel up, and because the ground I’m lying on is level with the booth, it will be a perfect shot,” she said confidently.

She wasn’t comfortable in the position that she was in so she rolled over slightly and cocked her leg up slightly it caused her plump ass to toot into the air and my dick to jump.

I stood above her about to lose my shit as my eyes traveled from the gun she pointed, down over the curve of her ass and finally down to her pointed toes .

Fucking sexy ass Lynx. Get it together, Ice!

She took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The bullet whizzed out of the chamber, and seconds later, the man in the booth slumped over. It was a perfect headshot.

“Woooo you see that shit?” I whispered loudly as I snatched her from the ground.

“I want to fuck you so bad right now,” I spoke into her ear.

“Unh unh, keep your dick in your pants Ice. There’s more fun to be had. Come on,” Lioness said as she and Lynx tactically moved through the woods closer to the house.

“After I pulled my stomach out of my ass in fear, I felt the same way the first time I saw your sister in action. Try to keep the shit together,” Rock said and laughed patting me on the shoulder as he followed the women.

I shook off my lust and focused. We came to the rear of the property and paused again.

We would have to split up to hit the four guards securing the perimeter corners.

Rock and I would head back through the woods until we reached the other side.

He and Lioness would take the front, and Lynx and I the back.

Then we would work our way back towards each other, entering the front and back doors.

We split up and jogged as quickly as possible to our designated positions.

I stood hidden in the darkness, surveying the scene.

To my left was a small shed. I made sure there was no movement before my eyes continued to scope.

The side of the estate was clear once the guards walked back towards the center.

Movement inside the window caught my attention.

Through a small slit in the sheer curtains on a set of French doors, I got a glimpse of Nina and Costa, they were in the primary bedroom that Rock had shown us on the floor plans.

As Sin had told us, they seemed cozier than two people who had only a business relationship.

“We’re in position, and I’ve got eyes on them. If everything is a go, say ready.” I said as I waited to hear back.

“Ready! I just cut the cameras,” Lioness said.

“Ready!” Rock followed.

“I’m fucking Ready,” Lynx said back.

That’s my baby!

“Move,” I said as I waited for the perfect opportunity to attack the first man.

He walked back and forth from the rear of the house, meeting his partner in the middle before they turned and walked back.

They were in sync with the men in the front.

When his back faced me, I ran over, taking out my tactical knife and delivering three quick, deadly strikes, holding his body as it fell to the ground to minimize the noise.

I glanced up to see that Lynx had done the same.

“Moving in,” I said into the comms.

“We're moving in,” Rock repeated. Lynx and I took out our guns and slowly moved through the house. All the lights were on, and as far as we could tell, no one had been alerted to our raid.

“The first level is clear. Rock and I are headed to the upper level. Go ahead and handle Costa and Nina,” Lioness spoke into the earpiece.

“Copy,” I responded, then tilted my head to the side, telling Lynx to flank me.

As we headed down the long corridor, stepping over body after body that Rock and Lioness had left in their wake, a door opened.

Out stepped two men. I quickly chopped the first in the throat, stopping him from yelling out, before I wrapped my arms around his throat and cracked his neck.

I turned to find Lynx finishing off the man behind the one I’d taken down.

She administered two stabs on each side of his stomach and the last in his jugular.

Damn!

Finally, we arrived at the primary bedroom door. As I held my hand over the knob, preparing to turn it, her hand was placed over mine, stopping me. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“You good?” I mouthed studying her face. If I needed to, I would go in guns blazing and do the shit alone. I would do anything to keep her protected and happy.

“I’m ready,” she finally mouthed. Lynx entered in front of me with her gun lifted and immediately aimed at Nina.

I stepped in behind her, aiming my weapon directly at Costa.

I was so close to her that you would have thought we were attached.

From where we stood, a bed lay between me and Costa as he stood on the other side, his hands in the air.

Nina stood on the side closest to Lynx. She finally separated herself from me and stood directly before her mother.

“I see you’ve finally caught up with me again,” Nina said.

“Did you think I wouldn’t? I promise you that this time will end nothing like the last,” Lynx said.

“Nina, Cara, who have you brought into my home?” Costa said. I took it as an opportunity to fuck with his head .

“She told me that you’ve been moving guns into my ports and stealing my product.”

“No, this is my daughter that…,” Nina rushed out, before Costa’s interjection cut her off.

“Cara, you told me that your daughter was dead,” he said with his voice laced with anger. Confusion filled his face as he tried to determine what to do with the information we’d fed him.

“You set me up!”

“What? No. Kill them. Kill them now!” Nina yelled.

As she did, time slowed when he pulled a gun from his back, aiming it directly towards Lynx.

All the memories of her lying on that operating table came flooding into my mind.

I jumped into action, pushing her out of its path and to the floor as the bullet pierced Nina’s head.

He was aiming at Nina, Ice. Why didn’t you fucking shoot him?

My rapid heartbeat filled my ears as I scolded myself before Lynx’s scream filtered through.

“Noooooooo,” she cried out, pain laced in her voice.

I quickly checked her body to be sure that the bullet hadn’t gone through and through and hit her.

After I was sure that she was fine, I aimed my gun toward Costa, letting off several shots.

From my position, the bed blocked my vantage point.

Rock and Lioness burst through the door entrance while Costa fled through the French doors.

Lioness ran after him as Rock squatted beside us to ensure we were good .

“He’s gone. He’d made it to the tree line before I could get a good shot off, but I'm pretty sure I hit him. I don’t know where, but I got his ass,” Lioness said.

“What happened? Oh, good, we got her ass at least,” she continued as she looked down at the scene before her.

“Costa shot Nina, I thought… I thought he was ready to shoot Lynx, and I froze. I fucking froze! Fuck!” I yelled.

The thought to lift my gun and shoot hadn’t even crossed my mind.

I was in protective mode. If anyone was going to take a bullet out of the two of us, it was going to be me.

To make matters even worse, Lynx was in a state of shock.

My heart broke at the current disarray on her face as she tried to hold it together.

“Let’s go. We need to get her out of here,” I said, lifting her bridal style and carrying her through and out of the estate.

“Get Costa’s ass in the Bio Scan ASAP.” This was why I didn’t like making moves on a whim.

Shit never worked out how you wanted it to.

The only positive aspect of the outcome was that Costa was aware we were aware of the ports.

If we knew, so would The Cartel. At least I hoped his ass was smart enough to know.

He would try to hide, but it didn’t matter because there was nowhere to go.

Besides, when they were scared, it made them easier to find.

As a bonus, I knew where to find his daughter.