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“Cosmo’s pulling the car around now.”
Trinity slid his arm away, opening the door for Armand and me. Armand put his hand in the small of my back. I’d seen him do it with Nola during brunch when he escorted her to her seat. It reminds me of my dad. Dad was always opening doors. He used to buckle me into the car before closing my door. And he opened my door when we arrived at our destination. Car doors, mall doors, house doors. He opened them all for me with a flourish. I was his Princess.
Gambit
WE WAITED AN HOUR AFTERsunset to land the boats. Long poles were used to guide us the last few feet to shore. We’d been silently drifting for the last forty minutes. As planned. I thought we were going to have to gag Claude a few times. He was three sheets to the fucking wind.
Fucker wasn’t that drunk when we left the doc. Next time we’d search him and the boat before he drove. Fuck. Better yet. I’ll ask Outlaw to teach a few more brothers to drive. Pretty fucking pathetic when your sixteen-year-old son is the professional one.
I motioned my brother forward before getting Bastien’s attention. When we were alone, I leaned down, keeping my voice low. “If that stupid fuck falls in, don’t save him. I’ll figure out a way to take care of you and your siblings.”
Bastien didn’t say a word. He gave a nod and then turned away blinking. I walked away, letting him have time. All hell was about to break loose. If the kid needed a minute, now was a damn good time to take it. Bastien and his father were staying put. They’d watch the boats while we took care of business.
Smoke took point. Not only was he our enforcer, but he spent more years in the military than any of us. He led a SEAL team for more than a decade before an injury put him behind a desk. We followed his direction, spreading out. The house was entirely surrounded.
James' shadow was easy to see. He sat in the shack's small living room in a ratty-looking recliner. Eyes glued to the TV. I walked silently to the front door. After a signal to my brothers, I kicked the front door in a drawn weapon.
James was reaching for something, but I had the draw on him.
“Hands up right the fuck now. You blink and I’ll shoot you.”
The weasel looked like he was thinking of reaching for a gun, anyway. I pulled the trigger grazing his right leg.
“Your only warning, fuckwad.”
My brothers began filing in behind me. One by one training their weapons on James.
Wrath put his gun against James’ head. “How many times can you shoot a guy and he's still breathing?”
“Several if you hit the right spot,” Doc replied.
“Good thing you have medical training, Doc. You can make sure we keep this piece of shit alive,” I snarled before turning my attention to a brother.
My voice was calm. “Dakota, hogtie and gag this motherfucker. Take a couple brothers and head back to the Woodshed. The rest of you spread out and see what you can find.”
Papa and I headed toward the larger cabin. The cabin’s owner was listed as Terrence Shaw. Wizard was still working on his info. When we got there, I went one direction while Papa headed in the other. The cabin appeared empty.
With practiced ease I popped open the back door lock and entered the kitchen. The place was dusty, the cabinets and refrigerator empty. Looks like Terrence Shaw wasn’t here and hadn’t been for quite some time. I met up with Papa in the living room. It, like the kitchen, is bare.
“Bathroom and bedroom are empty.”
“Same with the kitchen.”
“Ready?”
“Yeah, let’s see if the others found anything.”
We headed back to the boats. Dakota, Smoke and Wrath had already taken James back using Claude’s boat. Smoke was currently the only other brother with airboat skills. A few minutes later we were all loaded and headed to the dock.
Ito and Half Pint were parked by the dock earlier in a cargo van.
