Page 50 of Renegade (The Santini Assassins #2)

REVENGE

GREYSTONE

A t the Black Site, Greystone returned to the conference room with two chicken sandwiches. He set one in front of Teddy, started eating the other.

“Thanks,” Teddy said before turning his laptop toward Greystone. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

Greystone smiled. “You used to ask that as a kid.”

“Well?”

“Tell me everything,” Greystone bit into the sandwich.

“The computer program finished running. I got fourteen total matches from JL’s company. Thirteen of the terrorists have bogus addresses, but one might have fucked up.”

He swallowed down the food. “How?”

“It’s the first legit address, but it doesn’t mean he lives there.” Teddy pulled it up on a map, then opened a different browser and typed in the name of the community. “It’s a nice area, but not over the top. My gut tells me they’re all there.”

“Nice work.”

“Here’s the bad news. There’re three buildings, and each has an external security cam on the entrance, but they’ve all been deactivated. I tried hacking in to activate them, but I couldn’t get past the firewall.” Teddy made a call. “I got a work-around.”

“Hey, brother,” Hawk answered.

“I got Greystone with me.”

“Yo,” Hawk said.

“We need exterior security cams set up at Riverdale Apartments,” Teddy said. “Three buildings, four stories. They’ve got cameras, but they’re off, and I can’t hack in to turn them on.”

“Riverdale sounds familiar,” Hawk said. “Lemme see if they’re mine.” After a moment, he said, “They’re mine, but I don’t know how they got turned off.”

“Might be ground zero,” Greystone said.

“Gotcha,” Hawk replied. “My system isn’t showing a breach. Give me a minute.”

While they waited, Teddy bit into the sandwich. “I gotta tell you something.”

Greystone eyed his brother while finishing the sandwich.

“We’ve got a prob at the restaurant, and I need your help.”

“I got you,” Greystone said.

“Sorry for the wait,” Hawk said. “Someone hacked in and overrode the alerts. These guys are good. I did a quick fix, the cameras are back on, but we’ve got forty-eight hours before they’ll find out. I’ve never had this problem before, so I gotta bring in my engineering team.”

“All I need is confirmation that one of ‘em is there, and we’re raiding the place,” Greystone said.

“I’ll give you access,” Hawk said. “Either live stream or you can watch the recordings.” Seconds later, he said, “You have viewing permission. Check your texts.”

Teddy thanked him, hung up.

Greystone jumped into ALPHA’s site, emailed the BLACK OPS team, then said to Teddy, “What’s goin’ on with you? ”

“It’s Willie Boy.”

After Teddy told him, anger slithered through him. “How are we playin’ this?”

Teddy looped Luciano into the convo and, five minutes later, the brothers had a plan. As they were ending the call, Caroline walked into the conference room, set down three bars of dark chocolate.

Teddy grinned. “Mygod, woman, I love you.”

Caroline’s smile sent a zing of energy soaring through him. Her gaze found his, her eyes softened.

I love this woman.

While Teddy tore open one of the bars, Caroline sat beside Greystone. “Tell me good news.”

After they updated her on the surveillance situation at Riverdale Apartments, she high-fived them. “I needed to hear that so badly.”

“How’d things go with JL?” Greystone asked.

“I don’t think she had a clue she’d hired a terror cell.” Caroline pulled her laptop from her computer bag. “She agreed to give Addison—Special Agent Anne English—a copy of her employee files, but she was a total witch to me.”

“How so?” Teddy asked, his mouth filled with candy.

“Doesn’t matter,” Caroline replied before breaking off a square of chocolate and biting into it. “Did we miss anything in the FBI restroom?”

“Nothing,” he replied.

“Red herring?” she asked.

Greystone shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“I’m keeping a screen open on Riverdale Apartments,” she said. “And I’m gonna watch them twenty-four seven for the next forty-eight.”

“She’s a beast,” Teddy said.

She pulled her hair into a ponytail. “I thought taking Sajid Haqazzii would stir them up, but there’s been no chatter about him. No comments, no threats.” She growled. “So frustrating.”

At five that afternoon, Teddy packed up. “I’m heading to the restaurant.”

“Willie Boy’s workin’ tonight,” Greystone said. “You’ll freak him out.”

“I’m gonna be all smiles and nothin’ but love for the cuz.” Teddy shouldered his computer bag. “Meet me at midnight. Use the back door.”

After he left, Caroline asked, “What’s that all about?”

“My cousin and uncle are fuckin’ with the wrong family.” He collected her chin in his hand, dipped down and kissed her. “Hey, baby.”

She smiled. “Hello, Rambo.” She dropped a light kiss on his mouth, held his gaze for an extra beat, then turned back to her laptop. “I’m trying not to lose it over this.”

“We got this,” he said.

“No, actually, we don’t.” She furrowed her brows, and the divot between her eyes deepened.

“If nothing changes, we’ve got plan B. I hate those, but we got one.”

She grew silent as she jumped between the extremist chat groups and the video cameras outside Riverdale Apartments.

At seven, Greystone said, “We gotta call it.” He eyed her screens. “Anything?”

“Nothing on the chat sites, but I’ve seen activity at two of the apartment buildings. Nothing at the third.”

“They’re gonna have disguises.”

She nodded as she started packing up.

As they were heading toward the hangar, he said, “Let me cook you dinner.”

“I’d love that, but I need to work out first.”

At her SUV, he pulled her close. “Is nine-thirty too late? ”

“That’s perfect.” She wrapped her arms around him. “I feel like we’re drowning in quicksand. Small steps, then nothing.”

He kissed her, then kissed her again. “They won’t win.”

“You don’t know that.”

He peered into her eyes. “Yes, I do.”

“I appreciate your confidence.”

“I found my targets when I was a SEAL, and I found them when I was with the Agency. I will find these guys too.”

She broke away, stowed her bags in the vehicle. “I’m gonna take a raincheck on tonight.”

He studied her face. Something was wrong. “Talk to me.”

“It’s stupid.”

“No, it’s not.”

After several seconds, she said, “JL was a total bitch to me. I’m done.”

“Are you bummed?”

Up went her eyebrows. “No, I’m pissed.”

“At her?”

“Yes, but at me for letting it go on for so long.”

“It went on long enough for you to meet Sajid Haqazzii.”

Awareness lit up her eyes. “I didn’t think of that.”

He leaned close. “Use that anger, Bella.” He opened the driver’s door to her SUV, and she climbed in.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

He wanted to be there for her. He also wanted to give her space. Rather than push, he followed her out, but veered off to his gym. She needed time to process what had happened, then refocus her attention on the case.

He knew, firsthand, that even the most important relationships can be fleeting.

AT MIDNIGHT, Greystone cut the lights on his SUV and drove into Santini Ristorante’s empty parking lot, then around back.

After eyeing the six cars parked nearby, he killed the engine, got out, and tucked his Glock into the waist of his tattered jeans.

His secondary weapon waited in its ankle holster, body armor protected his chest.

Over the years, he’d imagined confronting his uncle. Afraid no longer, he was ready to do battle with the devil and his assistant.

Rather than go inside, he waited by the back door. A few moments passed before a sedan drove around back, it’s headlights also off. Seconds later, the front doors opened. Luciano and Teddy exited.

“I checked surveillance,” Teddy murmured. “Willie Boy, Enzo, and four men who worked for Dad and Enzo.”

“Body armor?” Greystone asked.

After both brothers confirmed, Teddy keyed open the back door. In silence, the men headed inside. Greystone’s pulse stayed steady. He was about to right a wrong, Santini style. This was how his father and his grandfather had done business. It was illegal, it was violent, but it was their way.

And it got results.

Leading the way, Greystone entered the hallway in the rear of the building, pausing as Teddy quietly closed the fire door. In silence, they made their way to the private dining room. Rather than kill the lights, they wanted these men to see their accusers.

Moving swiftly, they entered the salon, and stood in the rear of the low-lit room. The stench of whiskey and beer filled his nostrils. All six men were seated at a table in the corner.

“That’s how we take back the restaurant—” Enzo said.

“And ice those motherfucking brothers,” Willie Boy added. “I can’t wait to spit on their graves.”

Fury that Greystone had bottled up for sixteen years burst out of him as he pulled his Glock .

“Good evening,” Luciano said.

All six men whipped their heads toward them.

“Fuck me,” said one of the flunkies.

“What the hell are you doing here?” blurted another.

Enzo’s eerie smile split his face. “Boys, what a surprise.” Despite his uncle’s laid-back words, Greystone couldn’t miss the fear in his eyes.

Willie Boy pushed out of the chair. “You need to leave.”

“Relax, Willie Boy,” Luciano said. “We’re here to talk.”

“How’d you know we was here?” Enzo asked.

“I know every goddamn thing that goes on in my restaurant,” Teddy growled.

“Your restaurant?” Enzo bellowed. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re a punk. You don’t know a thing about the history of this place. The name Santini used to be synonymous with power.”

“And now?” Willie Boy asked. “You’re a bunch of nobodies running some irrelevant restaurant. It’s embarrassing.”

“Easy, WB,” Enzo said. “Boys, whatcha doin’ here?”

“Willie Boy, you put a hit out on me and that idiot Dante fucked up and killed my family,” Luciano said, his voice void of emotion.

“Whaaa?” Willie Boy protested. “Dante was insane , and you believed him?”

“Enzo, tell Willie Boy what you told me,” Luciano bit out. “The truth , Enzo.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Enzo protested.