Page 62 of Painkiller (Sin Records #3)

“Maddox’s brother. Always his brother. You can’t tell Maddox anything.

If I had, he’d be here too. His savior complex is a damn pain in the ass,” Henry shrugs, and I realize Christian must be mafia as well.

“I was trying to get Christian’s number.

I knew he’s been here working for a while, and we need the backup.

This isn’t exactly something I can ask my guys to do.

” He looks at Will. “No offense, but your brother is as willing to help as a politician.” Will grunts but doesn’t disagree.

“Let’s head out,” Christian orders.

When Graham moves forward, I slap my hand onto his chest. “Not you.”

“Excuse me?” he chuckles, looking at my hand and back at me. “You think I’m letting you go without me? You’re my little brother, Jagger. There’s no damn way I’m letting you do this alone.”

“I won’t be alone, but even if I were, you need to stay here.

” I grip his shoulder tight, hoping the gesture relays how important this is to me.

“If something happens to me, you have to take care of Noah. If something happened to both of us, that would leave him wide open for Dad again. He would bulldoze the shit out of Casey, and you know it.”

A storm swirls in his dark depths. He doesn’t like it. Not my reasoning. Not that I’m right. But he can’t deny it either. “Fine. But you better fucking come back.”

Henry’s heavy hand slaps the roof of the vehicle, and he jerks his head. “Will, you’re coming with us since Graham is staying here,” he orders, since Will is technically his employee. My brother’s mafia best friend and bodyguard will always be an anomaly to me.

Will clamps Graham’s other shoulder as he approaches the truck. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he comes back mostly unscathed.”

We all climb in, two Mafia men, one retired tactical specialist, and me—a wannabe musician and sometime cage fighter—silence descending as we exit the garage and head toward the coordinates.

Thanks to the traffic, we don’t reach our destination for over an hour. Throughout the entire ride, Christian feeds us information about Brett . Thanks to Phoebe knowing his last name and giving a near-perfect description, it didn’t take him very long.

It turns out Brett works for a New Jersey Mafia family. The same people who were partially responsible for Casey’s abduction a few months ago, and a rival of the Lucchese family.

The neighborhood is sketchy at best, with almost no working streetlights, windows boarded up, and dealers and hookers standing on every corner.

Across the street, a dim, flickering streetlight illuminates a few junk cars and an old metal building being used as an auto repair shop.

It’s surrounded by a tall chain-link fence that has razor wire at the top.

Fun times.

“This is the chop shop he runs,” Christian tells us, turning in his seat to pass out binoculars.

“I thought Benito ran their auto business,” Will says.

“He did until junior took over a few months ago.” He looks at Will, raising a brow. “I’m willing to bet my C-Type that’s who’s cutting into your business.”

“Not my business,” Will grumbles.

“You know, it doesn’t become more true the more you say it, right?”

“Can we get to the plan?” I ask, trying not to sound like I’m losing it, but I am. My patience ran out hours ago, and allowing them to dictate our next move isn’t sitting well. I’m aware they’re the experts, but it doesn’t help calm my mind at all.

“I hacked into the city’s street cams and the few security feeds available.

” He nods toward the building. “Got into their security system, too. They only have eyes on the outside and the front of the building. I have no idea how many are in there or where he is keeping her. The building isn’t that big, though.

City blueprints showed a front office, the garage, and a small apartment area over all of it.

The people around here are very much the don’t ask, don’t tell variety.

They won’t be an issue. But we have no idea who might be lingering around, so Henry is going to that building over there, and he’s going to watch that side.

I’m going over there.” He points to another building on the opposite side.

“You and Will are going through the roof to the apartment, and you’ll work your way down. ”

He’s barely finished explaining when I sling the door open, ready to go. Henry jumps from the driver’s seat, catching me by the arm before I’ve made it too many steps. “Slow down, Jagger. Security system, remember? It has to be disabled before you just rush the place.”

Will is out next, standing next to me with heat in his eyes. “You haven’t even heard how we are getting to the roof. You need to get yourself in check before you get yourself and Poppy killed.”

I scrub my hands over my face, counting slowly in my head. “Fine,” I grind out.

Henry pushes me to the back of the SUV. He waves his foot, and the gate lifts. Will stands there, waiting for us while Henry grabs a long case, flipping the lid open. He checks that everything he wants is there, then closes it and lifts the strap over his head.

“What’s with the long range?” I ask.

“With any luck, there might be a window or something I can see through. It’s only around twelve hundred meters, so if there’s trouble, I’ll be able to intervene.” After grabbing a few more things, he turns to me, handing me a Sig Sauer P220. “Do you know how to use it?”

I pull the slide back, locking it in place, then check the magazine and chamber.

Seeing it fully loaded, I press the cartridge back into the grip, then pull the slide back quickly to load a round.

Our eyes meet when I’m done. His cheek twitches.

“A yes would’ve worked, ya know?” He slaps something into my chest. “Do you know how to use these too, asshole?”

“Not rocket science,” I grunt, taking the small earpiece and inserting it. Henry tosses Will a pair, and he does the same.

“Get to the roof,” Will tells him. “I would imagine that Christian is almost done.”

Henry nods and slinks off, sticking to the shadows as he goes toward the fire escape of the old building, while Will grabs a bag, shoving a few items inside.

Christian finally exits the car, jerking his head toward the garage. “I’ve disarmed the system.” He tucks an earpiece in. “Once you get to the fence, wait for the all clear.”

We follow Christian, keeping to the shadows like Henry did, not that it matters. No one is paying attention to us. The few that do see us slinking through the darkness turn the other direction as if they don’t.

“There’s no one on this side,” Henry’s voice comes through. Seconds later, Christian follows.

Bolt cutters appear from Will’s bag when we get to the fence.

The snap of metal is sharp, but not noticeable thanks to the sound of traffic and sirens.

Once enough has been cut, he gestures me forward.

Inside the fence, there are more cars than we could see from the outside, giving us plenty of cover should someone appear.

We reach the back of the building where a dumpster sits against the metal. Will waves a hand, imitating we should climb on top. There’s still more than six feet to the roof’s edge. “I’ll boost you,” he whispers. “Then you hoist me up.”

I plant my foot into his laced fingers. Using the added momentum, I quickly grab the edge and lift myself over. Metal creaks beneath as I spin to offer him my hand, and I pray no one heard. Once he’s lifted, we attempt to be as light-footed as possible as we approach the skylight.

“I’ve got eyes inside the building,” Henry tells us. “They’re in the mechanic shop. Two in the far right corner, sitting at a table. I can’t see Poppy, though.”

“I can,” Christian says as we lift the skylight and slowly lower ourselves down. The room we enter is empty, giving us a second to stop and listen. “I can only see her back, but it looks like…” he trails off, and panic bubbles in my stomach.

“Looks like?” I hiss.

“A body.”

“Dammit.”

“That’s why Phoebe didn’t understand why they asked for something else,” Will suggests.

“They’re not trying to pay a debt. They are either following different orders or…” Christian trails off.

“Or they’re running.” Will finishes.

My mind is chaos, and like earlier, I snap. “Can we stop discussing that shit and focus on why we’re here?”

“Yeah, Jagger,” Will tells me, his tone sympathetic.

We open the door of the room we’re in, finding a vacant hallway. The old, dingy carpet muffles our footsteps, but we don’t make it far before a door opens. A tall man with short, dark hair walks out backward, laughing. Another voice comes from inside the room.

Before the man can turn around, I wrap my arms around his neck, cutting off his airway.

Lightning fast, Will steps around me into the doorway.

He lifts his arms and fires his gun. The silenced round slides through the air as the man in my grip is claimed by unconsciousness.

I lower him to the ground gently to prevent any suspicious noises, then snap his neck.

Will’s brows go up, a million questions in his eyes, but he says nothing.

We check the two other rooms as we make our way through the apartment, finding no one else up here.

With cautiousness, we open a door off the living area to a set of stairs that lead to the garage.

A loud, obnoxious riff of some death metal song I’ve never heard rattles the walls, and I realize the apartment must be soundproofed.

At the bottom of the stairs, we use a large SUV for cover. Will goes left toward the guys Henry said were at a table.

I move toward Poppy.

My heart thumps with the beat of the music with each step.

“Will cleared the two guys,” Henry says through my earpiece.

He said there were two. That should be all of them. All I have to do is grab her.

We can go. This will be done.

Easy.

I maneuver around the only other car in the place, separating us.

My stomach twists.

Bile rises into my throat.

Reality sets in.

It was too fucking easy .