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“I’ll be on standby for cleanup,” Miles said.
Carter glanced at him and nodded. “Fine. Let’s get going.” He stood, but X called his name.
“What now?”
“You know you do your best work when you think things through. This is the most personal mission you’ve ever been on. Sensibly, we should send someone else.”
“I’m sending myself. I’m the one in charge of this mission.”
X held up a hand. “I know you are, but you’ve got to be careful.”
“I’m going to make damn sure he is,” I said.
Carter shook his head. “I can go alone.”
I grabbed his arm and yanked him back around to face me. “No, you can’t.”
“For once,” Miles said, “Matteo and I are one hundred percent in agreement.”
26
CARTER
After going back to my place to change so I was properly attired in a fucking power suit to go meet my brother, we headed to his Upper West Side townhouse. My men had hacked into surveillance cameras near there to keep an eye on his place, and there was no sign that he’d left home yet. He rarely got out of bed before ten, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have plenty of employees—both legal and illegal—to help take care of business for him.
I tugged on my tie, trying to make myself comfortable. I hated how the fucking thing choked me. I glared at Matteo in his much more comfortable clothes. “I still think you should have to wear one of these too.”
He chuckled. “No way. I’m playing the role of bodyguard. This outfit is perfectly appropriate. And your suits won’t fit me.”
The asshole was right, but I still resented his black T-shirt and cargo pants.
“Besides,” he said, “one of us needs to be able to move freely.”
That was the truth. My suit was way too restrictive.
“Plus, if I had to wear a damn suit, the coat would cover my ass. What would you stare at then?”
I flipped him off. “I fucking hate you.”
“Sure you do. Let’s get this done, and I’ll take you home and get you right out of that suit.”
I had to circle the block near Landon’s townhouse to find a place to park. Once I’d maneuvered myself into a spot a block away, Matteo and I walked down the street together. I noticed several people staring, and I smiled as I imagined how fucking good we looked together. If only this was what it seemed, me and my hot bodyguard out for a walk, maybe headed to breakfast. Sadly, I was headed to torture information out of my worthless half brother, then kill him.
I took a deep breath as we started up the stairs to the main entrance. I rang the bell, and we waited several seconds. I glanced at Matteo. “Do you hear anything?”
He shook his head. Neither did I. I hadn’t expected Landon to answer the door himself, but I had expected one of his domestic staff to let us in quickly. “Check the lower door,” I said, gesturing to the entrance at street level.
Matteo looked in the windows, then knocked. There was no response. “I don’t see anything in here.”
I frowned. “What do you mean anything?”
“The place looks empty.”
Before he finished the sentence, I was going for my lock pick. Landon’s security system started blaring as soon as I got through the door, but we wouldn’t be there by the time the police came.
The townhouse had been cleaned out. “The fucking son of a bitch is on the run. Somebody must have tipped him off. One of his people probably realized they were under surveillance or learned that X’s men were researching the family, and they fucking told him and got him out.”
Matteo gripped my shoulder. “I swear to you, no matter how long it takes, we will find him.”
