Page 112 of The Loves We Lost

“Let ’em do whatever they have to do,” he says quietly. “Stepping inside means you’re on your knees with the rest of them if they find anything.”

“Do we know anything about who did this?”

Niro and Catalina arrive, and I do to Niro what Halo did to me. I stop him as he lifts the tape to walk beneath it. “Steady. Let’s let them do what they’ve got to do. Is the lawyer on the way?”

Halo glances over at King. “I’d think that would be King’s first call as soon as they realized we were being raided.”

“Spread out,” I say. “Niro. Cat. Test the tape line here. See who you can get close to. Halo, you and I should check our boundaries out back. Let’s fucking listen. We might find out what’s going on. Where’s Saint?”

“Think he took Briar away for a few days,” Halo says.

“I’ll call him. He still has a few people in various departments who’ll talk to him. See if he can find out what the fuck is going on.”

As Halo and I head around the block to the rear of the property, I call Saint and fill him in. He agrees to make some calls.

The back of the lot is a mess. We like it that way. Brambles and nettles and a steel fence with spikes at the top. It stops people from creeping up behind the property to cut their way in. But it does little to stop any noise.

“There are two in the shed,” Halo says quietly, pointing to our kill space dressed up like a disused building.

“They’re not going to find shit.” After it’s used, the prospects get the lovely job of bleaching every surface. It’s a fucking nasty job. We even have a light that reveals hidden blood splatter.

We watch through tiny gaps as the agents come in and out of the property.

We’re still waiting forty minutes later when two agents walk out of the clubhouse and head to the back of the lot.

“We need to get rid of Dunwoodie,” one of them says to the other. “He’s a liability and can’t follow rules.”

“You know the process: write him up.”

The original speaker rolls his eyes. “The last fucking thing I need is more paperwork.”

“Better than an internal investigation, because he did shit he shouldn’t have on a raid and blew an entire investigation.”

“Fuck. You’re right. Although this isn’t exactly an investigation per se. That tip seemed pretty specific.”

The taller of the two nods. “All this seems like overkill for old Kalashnikovs.”

They’re looking for the weapons we boosted at the docks.

I remember the call with Collins. The dock guy told the Brotherhood what we did, and they must have called in a tip to fuck with us since we didn’t hand over the money or weapons within their timeframe.

We never heard from Brad Collins once his forty-eight-hour threat passed. It’s been five days, and we just figured they didn’t know how to go up against us.

We’ve got to stop underestimating what they’re capable of.

I grab my phone to call King but then realize he’s still on his knees at the front of the building.

The shorter of the two guys shakes his head. “Nah. Just an opportunity to come check the place out, get a handle on new faces and prospects, see if we can’t shake them a bit.”

Halo moves and a twig cracks beneath his feet.

“What was that?” I don’t know which guy said it. Both Halo and I stop still as statues.

There’s silence for a moment. Neither of us so much as breathing.

“Probably a rat or something. This place is disgusting.”

Finally, the two of them start the walk back up to the rear of the clubhouse, and I let out a breath on a whoosh.