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“We’ll be there in thirty minutes,” I told him.
“And Carlo better be ready to answer to his man,” Fox added.
“I have my ways to soothe him,” Carlo said.
Blade snorted, and Carlo ended the call.
Rhys huffed. “Promise me you’ll keep that bullshit contained to your hotel room.”
“Like you and TJ keep your personal business private?”
“If you had to live in the same house as the two most annoying brothers in the world, you might have to improvise. Of course, not all of us need that excuse.” I turned to see him looking pointedly at me.
“I didn’t want everyone to hear us.”
Fox burst out laughing. “We just let some of you see instead.”
“When this is over, I might need a break from this madness,” Rhys said.
Fox rolled his eyes. “You know you won’t leave your precious horses.”
“Rogue can manage without me for a few days. I trust him with horses, just not much else.”
All this talk made me glad I hadn’t had to deal with brothers, but it also made me wonder what it would have been like to have a bond like Rhys had with his brothers or like all the former marines among them had with each other. I protected my sister, and we got along fine, but even after what my father put her through, we’d never developed a close bond. After growing up the way we had, I didn’t even know if we were capable of it.
You’ve got a rather strong bond with Fox.
But could it last past this mission?
27
FOX
When we arrived in Houston, we met the others at a luxury hotel. I should have expected opulence since the rooms had all been reserved under Lucien’s name. I had no doubt the assholes coming for me would find us sooner or later, but at least this gave them an extra layer to sort through. If they had any knowledge of the American crime world—which they should since X discovered they were now part of an international mercenary group—they would know Lucien was not a man they wanted to cross. They might believe their chances against Darren and me were good, but against a large mafia infrastructure, there was no way in hell they were going to take us easily. So based on how much they knew, they would either be overconfident or nervous. Either way, we had the advantage.
We gathered in the larger of the suites Lucien had reserved for us and used my laptop to bring X into our planning meeting via video call.
He’d been cagey when he talked to Grant earlier, insisting we get to Houston and meet up with Devil and Carlo before he went over the details of the plan. I’d worked with him long enough to guess that meant all the details weren’t in place, but he was confident he’d work his magic, so he was sending us in anyway.
“You told Grant Ahmed and his men were in town. How did you lure them here?” I asked.
“Hello to you too,” X said.
“I don’t have time for fucking greetings.” I knew I was out of line, but with every moment that passed, I was growing more and more tense.
“Fox, I’ll forgive you for that because I know how much this is getting to you, but I expect you to listen and follow orders today.”
Before I could respond, Darren laid a hand on my shoulder. “Fox can handle this. Tell us the plan.”
X raised his brows as he looked at Darren.
“Yes, whatever you’re thinking, the answer is yes.”
X smiled then. “Excellent.”
“Wait. Did you—”
“I had one of my connections send a message to Ahmed letting him know some gunrunners in the area had heard he was nearby and were hoping to have a conversation. They’d like to get into business with him. These particular men are ones he finds beneath him. He wants them destroyed, so it’s the perfect opportunity for him to kill two birds with one stone.”
I huffed. “I’m no bird.”
“It’s okay, Fox,” Blade said, patting my hand. “You’re still a man to us.” I was too glad to see him able to joke around like that to be annoyed.
X continued without acknowledging us. “The meeting will take place at an abandoned building in a part of town where no one will question any gunfire they hear, and—”
“I thought that was anywhere in Texas,” Devil said.
Carlo snickered, and X glared at them. “Don’t make me regret sending you in.”
“Never,” Devil said. “You know you love me.”
We were finally quiet long enough for X to explain that we’d split up to watch the front and back of the building and take Ahmed and his men in a surprise attack once they were inside.
Darren frowned. “There are too many variables.”
“That’s the kind of mission I like best,” Devil said.
Darren gave him his patented icy stare, but Devil just grinned wider.
