Page 41 of Play Dirty

“It won’t work anyway. They know I’m involved, too. We might’ve been able to make this work when we had the advantage of surprise and anonymity, but now that that’s gone we’re screwed.”

“We’re marked.”

“Absolutely,” Madigan agreed.

“High-dollar targets.”

“I’d be insulted if we weren’t.” Madigan scrubbed a hand across his forehead and groaned. “I have no intention of living like a fucking shut-in for the next decade, though. We’re going to need more help and a better plan.”

“We can pool our resources. Come up with something,” Azrael suggested, one hand drifting lightly up and down Madigan’s sweaty torso. Madigan wanted to be uncomfortable, except he wasn’t. He was the opposite, and his best intentions to pull away, to get up and shower again, melted when Azrael brushed a kiss over his temple, then the shell of his ear as he spoke. “I want your forgiveness,motek. I won’t give up.”

Madigan clenched his teeth, then forced his jaw to relax. “I can’t promise you that.” He slipped free of Azrael’s hold and stood, walking to the kitchen. “We need to eat. Then plan. Fortunately, I know some people who owe me some favors.”

17

Azrael

“Isuppose you’re all wondering why I’ve called you here today.”

Madigan rolled his eyes at the raven-haired boy in the square box on the computer screen, but Az smirked at the joke. He was pretty, with large blue eyes and brightly colored ink decorating his bare torso. Jonah sat beside the boy, looking irritated but clearly besotted. Az had always wondered if Madi and Jonah had once been a thing, were maybe even still a thing, but the way Jonah looked at the boy told Az everything he needed to know.

“Caspian.” Jonah said the boy’s name like a warning.

Caspian gave Jonah a smug smile. “Are you supposed to be calling me that in front of Madi’s boyfriend? Is he family now?”

“Jesus, Cas,” Jonah groaned. “Can you please behave?”

Caspian… Caspian. The name was so familiar to Az. The boy who died. The hacker. Jonah’s boy. Who clearly had not died. Az let the information roll over him and then away. It had no bearing on the situation at hand, but it was intriguing nonetheless.

Caspian raised narrow shoulders in a shrug. “What? I’m just saying. I thought I was supposed to just be Red to the outside world. Totally anonymous, yet here I am on a Zoom call with Madi’s new man. I mean, he’s hot—really hot—but can we trust him?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, can we save this rom-com bullshit for when these two aren’t about to be merc’d for a fuckton of money, please? I have other shit to do. Unlike you two, I don’t care about dismantling cartels and freeing the innocent. I just want to kill people and get paid,” Sadie said, exasperated, voice distant as she reclined in her chair, playing on her phone, booted feet planted on the table beside her computer.

Az liked Sadie. They’d crossed paths numerous times over the years, and she was as cut-throat as they came, but she was a good ally, and they’d helped each other out of enough sticky situations for Az to trust her. Well, as much as anybody trusted anybody in their line of work.

“Don’t be cranky,” Cas chastised. “If it were you in this situation, we’d do the same thing.”

Sadie snorted. “It will never be me in this situation because I don’t let my feelings get in the way of my jobs, like you fucking idiots, and I’m cranky because you’ve got me on a goddamn Skype call like I’m a pharmaceutical sales rep when I should be packing my bags so I can get in the car to go rescue you guys…again.”

“It’s Zoom,” Cas corrected. The look Sadie threw the boy had him clearing his throat. “Alright, alright. Let’s get into it. Long story short, you guys royally fucked up. Whatever your master plan was to get to Bennington backfired big time.”

Az could feel his face burning a bit, but it was Jonah who spoke up. “I’m pretty sure they got that, given the price tag on their heads. I think we can move past it.”

Cas gave a knowing smirk, and Madi’s jaw muscle pulsed with obvious irritation. Az slid a hand along his thigh, squeezing in what he hoped was a reassuring motion. Madi shifted his leg, opening to Az’s touch, and the simple gesture made Az’s heart gallop. Maybe there was a way to get past the mess he’d made with Madi.

Cas rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. Bennington has closed ranks at his estate in New Hampshire. He’s got armed guards patrolling the perimeter twenty-four seven, and he hasn’t left his house since before Azrael’s friend took a bullet to the head instead of Madi.”

“We can take out his security team,” Sadie said, using a small paring knife to skin an apple. “How many are patrolling per shift?”

“Twelve that I’ve counted from the satellite images. Eight constantly patrolling the grounds and four inside, but I have no way of knowing their interior location.”

“You can’t hack their system?” Madi asked. “I thought you could hack anything?”

Cas looked affronted. “I can hack anything, asshole. But not in the time we have to handle this situation. The longer you guys are wanted, the worse it’s going to get. He’s smart. He’s got a top-of-the-line security system. I’ve been trying to hack it for hours. We need somebody on the inside, somebody who can plant a device in the house that would give me access to his security system.”

Az looked at Madi, eyes pleading. “Like I said, use me,motek. I can get myself taken and plant the device, and you can come save me.”

“Aw,” Cas whispered, elbowing Jonah.