Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
“Appropriate,” I muttered dryly. Fucking New Guy. Bartman’s second in command would no doubt step up to take over the crew and production. Ideally, we would wipe out the whole operation, but that would take months of planning and preparation. So this FNG was lucky as hell because he would be offered the chance to walk away rather than eat a bullet.
I had one more question. “Paul is supposed to show up alone?”
Stirling nodded. “This won’t work unless he goes in by himself to meet the scout.”
“And if Bartman decides to rid himself of the trouble rather than show up?”
“He chose a spot out in the open,” Huntley responded. “He thinks the sniper will give him cover, but all he did is open himself up to me.”
I nodded. “Let’s get this damn show on the road.”
We filed inside the clinic, and Huntley went to find Paul.
The kid looked like death warmed over when they trudged into the waiting room. As Huntley firmly led Paul over to us, his eyes were clear, confirming he was sober, but as he looked over the five of us, he practically trembled with fear.
“Do as you're told, and you have nothing to worry about,” I told him in a low voice before turning on my heel and marching outside, going straight to the SUV.
11
ARROW
Everyone followed me, and we all piled into the vehicle. As Huntley pulled out, I glanced back at Paul and demanded, “What do you know about Bartman’s number two?”
Paul shrugged. “Gorev. I don’t know if that’s his first or last name. He never said much. Rumor is he’s former SVR.”
“Russian Intelligence?” I scoffed. “Complete bullshit.”
Unless he was undercover for some reason, no way even a washed-up SVR agent would be the second in command for a small-time dealer like Bartman. He ruled the roost in his territory but had to answer to much bigger fish.
Kade turned into a relatively empty warehouse district. That wasn’t surprising, considering it was barely eight in the morning. But from the looks of the area, the place didn't have much activity anymore. Many of the buildings had broken windows and doors, graffiti, and other vandalism.
When he pulled into a parking garage, he drove around a bit until he found a spot in the shadows and out of camera range. Huntley jumped out of the car first, walked to the back, and opened the rear door to grab a long, black case.
“Hooyah,” he murmured before taking off.
“We have an hour before the scout is supposed to be at building nine,” Stirling said as he exited the vehicle and dragged Paul out with him. “Let’s go over everything again.”
“I go out there alone and—” His face blanked, and he looked like he might be sick, causing us all to take a step back. “I can’t do it,” he heaved as he leaned over and planted his hands on his knees.
I stomped to his side and grabbed the collar of his filthy T-shirt before yanking him upward. Then I moved around to stand toe-to-toe with him. “Listen up, you bent shitcan. If you don’t pull your head out of your ass and get it together, you’re gonna end up in the same dark hole as Bartman. Your sister’s fucking life is on the line! Not to mention the woman I love. So man the fuck up before I feed your balls to the fishes. Lima Charlie?”
Paul looked confused and ready to piss his pants.
“Just say ‘yes, sir,’ kid,” Merrick drawled.
“Y-Y-Yes, s-s-s-ir,” Paul stammered.
“Lima Charlie is loud and clear,” Kade told him with a pitying glance.
“After you get to the muster spot, what then?” I quizzed.
“Stay in the shadows if possible, don’t look anywhere but at the ground or straight in front of me.”
The last thing we needed was for the turd to look around for us and give away that he wasn’t alone.
“And when the scout leaves?”
“Don’t do anything different.”
“Good. It’s almost time. But let me just be perfectly clear about one more thing,” I intoned. I waited until he lifted his eyes to my face before continuing. “No matter how scary Bartman seems, what he threatens, or how afraid you are. Remember, I’m scarier, more deadly, and someone you should be fucking terrified of. So don’t blow this.”
Paul jerked his head up and down.
“Get to the meeting spot. When Huntley gives us the word that the scout is gone, we’ll move into our positions.”
He moved toward the stairs that would take him down to the first level, stumbling on his feet a couple of times.
I gritted my teeth and shot Kade a brooding frown. “You said he could handle this.”
“That was my honest assessment,” he acknowledged.
“If he screws the pooch, there will be no way to un-fuck this situation without more blood on our hands.”
“Paul is Oscar Mike,” Huntley’s voice filtered through the Bluetooth devices we were wearing. “Conveniently for us, Bartman’s hired gun is on the roof of the garage. If you stick to the walls, he won’t see you moving into position.”