Red Handed by Jessa Wilder
“Wait here,” Nico hissed under his breath, throwing one look back at me.
I took a steadying breath, shoving down the nausea that roiled in my stomach as my gaze followed the two guards stationed at the front entrance.
Nico grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. His dark eyes bore into mine, his fingers cutting into my skin just hard enough to sting. “Raegan, are you listening to me?”
His tone raised every bit of defiant energy in me, and I shook off his grip. “How many times do I have to tell you, Nicolai? I don’t take orders well.”
“It’s not an order, it’s a request. Stay here.” He looked lost for a second. “Please.”
My eyes widened, but I nodded, stepping back. Nico gave me one last warning look before taking off around the corner of the building.
He kept to the shadows, crouched low. He’d left his fancy sniper rifle at home and was carrying a sawed-off shotgun I was pretty sure he’d borrowed from Brian. He looked a little less GQ and a little more like the townies I’d grown up with. If the result of our families working together was that the Gentlemen started carrying harder weapons it could’a been worse. A lot worse.
I watched the shadows, listening for the telltale sound of the shotgun going off that would let me know Nico had taken out the guard. Nervous energy coursed through me, rising goosebumps on my skin.
Then… Fuck… fuck… fuck!
Two more men strode out of the front entrance and turned in the direction Nico had gone. They were going to see him and sound the alarm.
I danced on my feet, nervous energy coursing through my veins. I agreed to stay here, but fuck it, there was no way I could watch Nico get jumped. I pulled my six-inch blade out of its sheath and raced after the guards, sticking close to the shadowed wall. Without stopping to think about the fact that he was double my size, I pounced on the man closest to me.
He struggled against my weight, around his neck, and I grunted out my air when he slammed my back against the wall, drawing the attention of the last guard. I lifted my blade and shoved it through his neck, millimeters above where my arm held onto him. It wasn’t a clean cut, but he dropped to his knees swiftly.
The other guard was on me in seconds, slamming his foot into my shoulder. I flew back, landing hard on my ass. His grin showed his white teeth in a wicked smile as he raised a gun to my face. Well, fuck, this was how it was going to end. Funny, I always thought if I was going to get shot it would be by an Esposito. My eyes widened as a shotgun blast rang through the quiet of the ally between the warehouses. A split second later, blood sprayed across my face and torso as the guard’s head exploded before my eyes.
I spluttered, shocked, as the now mutilated body fell to the ground, revealing a furious Nico. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Rabbit?”
I smiled up at him and climbed to my feet, trying not to think about the bits of brain matter dripping down my face. “Saving your ass. I think the words you’re looking for are ‘thank you.’”
He stepped toward me and looked like he wanted to kill me. “What is it going to take for you to follow directions?”
I dipped past him smirking, “We don’t have time for this, Grumpy.”
He grumbled something unintelligible under his breath but didn’t reply as he followed me toward the now unguarded warehouse door.
The warehouse was brightly lit by giant fluorescent lights, and I had to blink several times before my eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. I paused in the doorway, and Nico practically slammed into me. Growling in frustration, he looped one arm around my waist and picked me up, dragging me unceremoniously out of the way. “Stick to the damn plan.”
I rolled my eyes and huffed in exasperation. He needed to calm down. Beck was right, Nico was going to give himself an ulcer.
I hadn’t gotten a good look at the warehouse the last time we were here. I pushed down the memories of the fear I felt that day and scanned the place, taking in every detail. It was a large, open floor plan filled with huge crates and aisles of shipping pallets. The upper level had railed in walkways on three sides that overlooked the main floor. I could just make out the hall with the office we’d broken into on the left side. There were two large bay doors that stood open so Anthony could back our truck inside. The whole place reminded me of a Costco, or a very dirty IKEA.
Anthony parked the van halfway through the huge loading doors, and five Mount Summer men immediately started lifting crates of guns into the back.
“Can you let go of me?” I pushed at Nico’s arm, trying to free myself from his tight grip around my waist so I could go help.
He ignored me, instead screaming directions to various Gentlemen to spread out around the warehouse so loudly his voice rang in my ears. The Gentlemen searched for any hidden guards. It wasn’t until we heard the all clear that Nico dropped me so I could join the men.
“Asshole,” I muttered, straightening my shirt.
“Brat.”
“You’re making me look weak in front of the crew.”
“Good.” He smiled that rare genuine smile, and I blinked a few times, momentarily stunned. Jesus Christ, that really wasn’t fair.
I rolled my eyes and joined the men in the middle of the room, not bothering to even pretend I could lift one of the heavy crates. I crossed my arms and watched the men as they hauled ass to get them loaded into the truck. None of us wanted to stay any longer than we had to. It felt too easy, too quiet.
A Gentlemen with bright blue eyes looked up to me, a glint of excitement in his eyes. He looked younger than me. It was possibly his first job, and it was a big one. I smiled encouragingly and then wondered why the hell I’d done that. He wasn’t one of my guys.
I turned away, watching the Mount Summer crew in the truck again. Something seemed off.
I counted. One, two… five… twelve...
“Nico,” I called. “Do you have everyone?”
Nico looked up at me from across the room. “What?”
I started doing the math and counted our men. Then I did it again. We were short at least ten men. Everyone who had gone to the roof, they were missing.
I opened my mouth to call out in warning, but never got the chance. A loud crack sounded through the warehouse. Then another, and another.
The young Gentlemen directly in front of me slammed to the ground, bright blue eyes lifeless. Fuck.
I looked up quickly to see where the bullets had come from, and a scream died in my throat. Countless Trilogy members, clad in full army gear, repelled from the ceiling. Bullets exploded through every corner of the building.
Fear drenched over me, my lungs paralyzed, unable to take my next breath as chaos erupted everywhere. Men screamed as bullets ripped through them, while others ducked for cover. The corner of the wood crate beside me splintered, sending shards into my arm. The pain jolted me from my trance. I didn’t have time to be scared. I had to get cover. I ducked behind the crate, taking on heavy fire, and took three heaping breaths to calm my heart. Okay, I needed to think.
They ambushed us from all directions, prepared for this attack. They clearly knew we were coming, which meant there was still a mole in our ranks. Possibly several. I had to signal my men to get out of here, but the heavy gunfire pinned everyone down. Many of our crew were already dead. Some of us were wearing ballistic vests, but even those wouldn’t withstand everything.
A shadow moved to my right, and I lifted my gun to it, finger on the trigger.
“Careful with that, Little Thief. I just found something worth living for.” Beck’s back slammed into the crate next to me, breaths coming out in rapid pants. He pulled out his guns and checked his bullets. He looked at me, eyes serious. “We’ve got to get you out. We’re sitting ducks here.” He growled in frustration, pulling at the ends of his hair, and pointed at the far side exit. We’d have to run through the open floor to get there.
I shook my head no. “That’s suicide. We’ve got to go around back.” I was wearing a level three ballistic vest. I could withstand several hits. Presuming the Trilogy wasn’t shooting with anything above a 7.2ml round, and they didn’t get a headshot. If we ran out into open fire, the chances of a direct hit went up astronomically.
Beck’s hand came up to cup my chin, and he placed a feather-light kiss over my mouth. “I’m going to cover you. You’ll make it. The guys already made it out, find them and get the fuck out of here.” His eyes searched over my face, taking in every detail. “I’ll be right behind you.”
My heart hammered in my chest, darting from his eyes to his very thin t-shirt. Idiot wasn’t wearing a vest. He wouldn’t make it. He wouldn’t get out of this warehouse.
“Fuck that,” I hissed, anger heating through my veins. “You boys better learn to stop treating me like some damsel in distress.” I repositioned myself to see the warehouse while taking on the least risk of being shot in the head. Random gunshots rang out instead of the constant barrage of noise. My mind cleared as I took in the scene.
Trilogy members darted between the crates, picking off our men one by one. Three men walked down our row, inching their way closer to Beck and I. At some point it wouldn’t matter what we did. We’d be dead.
I squeezed Beck’s hand. “Give me five minutes.”
He held me firmly in place. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“To save our asses,” I bit out.
His grip tightened. “Like fucking hell you are. Get your ass to that door, and I’ll cover you. That’s how you’re getting out.”
“No. That’s how you get yourself killed.”
He groaned in frustration as I yanked on my arm. “Let me go, Beck.”
“Rae, I need you to get out of here.” He clenched his jaw as his eyes bored into mine.
I pointed my gun at his chest and watched his eyes go round. “I said, let me fucking go.”
He laughed in this entirely too fucked up situation. “I’m not afraid you’re going to shoot me. You couldn’t do it on day one, you’re not going to do it now.”
He was right. I didn’t shoot him. I brought the butt of the gun down on his hand, hard, and cringed when he groaned. His fingers loosened, and I pulled hard from his grip. I leapt up, dashing down the tight passage behind the furthest row of crates and the wall. The closer I got to the front of the building, the tighter the space became, until Beck couldn’t follow. My heart thudded in my ears as I squeezed between the two crates closest to the still half-loaded truck.
I took a deep breath and darted out in the direction of the truck, dropping to my side to slide underneath in one smooth motion. I would’ve been proud of that move if I wasn’t still doing my best not to die. I lay flat on my belly and inched my way up to the front of the truck. Each second felt like an hour. Beck didn’t have minutes. Any second, the Trilogy guys would find where he was hiding and shoot him.
I scanned the area, ignoring the freezing ground against my stomach. Outside, Nico and Rush stood by one of the trucks, surrounded by half a dozen dead bodies. Jesus Christ, the way they’d mowed down those Trilogy members looked like a damn video game.
I sighed in relief. At least they’d made it.
I continued moving toward the front of the truck when movement caught my attention in the corner of my eye. Three Trilogy men crept around the corner of a row of crates. My heart thundered in my chest, fear dropping to my stomach. From that angel, Nico and Rush wouldn’t see them in time.
Without thinking, I rolled from under the truck, simultaneously pulling out my gun. I paused an infinitesimal second to breathe and line up the shot, then fired off three rounds in quick succession.
The men dropped to the ground like broken dolls, their skulls splattering across the crates behind them. I let out the breath I’d been holding.
Rush and Nico turned to gape at me, both their expressions traveling through what I would call the five stages of what-the-fuckery: Confusion, Denial, Anger, Rage, Lust.
“What the hell are you doing? Don’t just stand there, get in the truck,” I snapped and used the large bar attached to the side of the driver’s door to haul myself up into the driver's seat.
Please, please, please.My hand touched the keys, still in the ignition, and I let out my breath in a whoosh.
I could see most of the Trilogy men in the open pointing their guns where I had left Beck. Ice filled my veins and raised pin pricks on my skin. Please let him be alive.
In the rearview window, I saw Rush and Nico get in the back of the van. I gripped the steering wheel with one hand. It was now or never. I shifted into reverse, grateful for the year my dad made me do runs for him, and gunned the gas.
The weight of the truck flattened the Trilogy men like bowling pins, and Beck and Nico sent a barrage of bullets into the ones left standing.
I heard a loud whistle, and Rush’s voice filled the warehouse. “Get in the fucking truck.”
The truck shook as men climbed into the back and three hard raps on the back of the cab told me to take off. I heard the door roll down moments before I gunned it out of the building and rounded the next corner.
We drove out of the warehouse area, safely away from any attack, and my breath returned to normal. Rush banged on the window separating the back from the driver's seat and I slid it open with one hand, keeping a tight grip on the wheel. His enormous frame barely fit through it as he crashed beside me in the passenger seat.
“Where the hell did you come from, Firecracker?” He had a wide smile across his mouth as he watched me.
“You’re wildest dreams,” I said, echoing Beck’s words from what felt like years ago, but had really only been a few weeks.
“We’ve got a surprise for you,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Not really. Well, kind of. Not a fun surprise though.”
I raised my eyebrows at him in the rearview mirror. “Well spit it out, I don’t know how many more ‘surprises’ I can handle tonight.”
“Take the truck and the men back to Mount Summer, then we have another mission. We’ve got an extra passenger on board back there.”
“What?” I squawked, turning my whole body to look at him, which wasn’t altogether that safe while driving an enormous truck.
“Eyes on the road, Firecracker.” He reached over and squeezed my leg. “Beck found a friend in the warehouse. We’re going to have to take a brief detour to the crematory.”
“Where?”
His mouth became a grim line. “You’ll see soon.”
My heart beat against my chest. Nothing good ever came from an intro like that.