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His body began to feel heavy. He’d never kept anything from his team before and the burden of it was now pressing down on him. They had sworn to never lie to each other or keep the other in the dark. And so far they hadn’t. Now, God had gone back on his word. But he was convinced he was doing the right thing.
“What is it you need from us?” Ford asked.
His dark and silent brother beside him had yet to speak, and God began to wonder if the rumors were true that Brian was no longer mute. He didn’t want to assume and insult the man, but he hadn’t seen him use sign language yet, either.
“You want us to catch these guys for you or something? Do you have any photos of their faces? The video only shows their feet,” Judge said.
“Yeah. Free was able to get some from God and Day’s cameras inside their house.” Steele nodded for Free to put the enlarged images of Ex and Meridian standing in God’s living room up on the dry erase board.
“Hey. Hey! Brian are you okay?” Judge asked, standing and going to Brian’s side, but the man quickly snapped out of whatever had him captive and waved him away. Judge sat back down in his seat, not taking his eyes off the big hunter. “Do you recognize them, B?”
Brian nodded and God noticed the man’s body had gone rigid and he seemed to vibrate with an anxious energy that he hadn’t had a second ago. God wasn’t the only one in the room who picked up on it.
“My uncle is in DC running for Senate, but he used to have other positions in Washington. In the Pentagon,” Steele said vaguely. “I went to talk to him about these guys and he mentioned a term I was hoping you guys might know something about, since you were both special ops intelligence officers.”
Brian’s dark eyes were riveted to Steele’s mouth when he muttered the words. “Black Ravens. Does that term mean anything to you two?”
Ford removed his flattened palms from the table and God was beyond confused when he saw the damp handprints he’d left behind. What the hell? God looked to his husband, who was also watching with concern.
“You know them?” Day asked.
The room was silent for a long time as Ford and Brian began to speak to each other in sign language. Ford shook his head multiple times as Brian’s signs became more aggressive. Eventually, Ford put his hand on Brian’s forearm and yielded to whatever his brother was telling him.
“I’ll give you the basics, lieutenants, because I still owe you both for helping my brother when he was arrested. And because what I’m about tell you won’t help you get any closer to a Raven than you are right now,” Ford said.
“Whose side are you on?” Steele asked.
“My country,” Ford said without hesitation. “The Black Ravens prevent wars. So, if you do anything at all to Ex or Meridian... you’ll be doing us all a huge disservice.”
Meridian stood in a corner of the municipal center employee garage waiting for the DDA to get into his chauffeured company town car. He and Ex hadn’t wasted time coming downtown to pay the man a visit after they’d learned he’d put in a request for emergency personal leave. They had a hunch that God was already putting the heat on the attorney and he was considering skipping town. That option did not work for them. This man and his father were responsible for allowing Evan’s killer to go free, and Ex wanted him behind bars.
The young DDA hurried out of the side door, shuffling his half-open briefcase in one hand and his phone and coat in the other. It was forty-four degrees outside, and the man hadn’t bothered to throw on his jacket. Meridian smoothed his black leather gloves over his hands and stayed tucked in the shadows away from the cameras until it was time for him to move.
The DDA stood fidgeting at the curb while he sent a text message. He paused and stared at his phone for long moment then suddenly looked around him as if the silence had spooked him. Meridian watched him put his phone to his ear, as he glanced up and down the empty garage. The attorney turned around, went to the parking attendant booth and banged on the window.
“Hey!” the man yelled, then banged on the glass again. “Where’s my damn driver? I’m ready to go.”
No one was coming. Meridian had already seen to that. No one would hear his screams.
The DDA flinched when his car came to a screeching halt at the curb. “About damn time.”
He stood at the back and waited a second before he eventually flung the door open and yelled inside. “Don’t bother getting out and opening my door like a professional. Dammit. Just go.” The DDA climbed inside and slammed the door, the bang echoing loudly off the concrete walls.
