Retaliation Read online

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  “Yes.”

  Peter turned to his second-in-command. “Rob, your task will be forming a team of experienced, careful fighters and scouting the streets without drawing any attention, only from the air. As many people as possible. Report when you have the list, and we’ll discuss the rest in detail.”

  The tall African-American gave a silent nod, and Peter went on with the instructions. “Skull will go over the intel we’ve gathered so far and work closely with Rob and Phoenix, making sure that…”

  Pain’s attention wandered. Eventually, Rooney’s laptop caught her eye. She leaned close to him and whispered, “Any news from our source in the police?”

  His new, short dreadlocks jiggled when he shook his head.

  “And if I give you a candy?” she offered, holding out the gummy bears.

  He gave a crooked smile and took a few. “Still no, but thank you.”

  “Dammit.”

  “Pain? Did you hear me?” Peter’s voice reached her, making her head snap up, her expression treacherously blank.

  “Yes, of course,” she lied.

  “So you agree with what I said?”

  She fidgeted for a few seconds, trying to glimpse anything suspicious in the others’ expressions.

  “Absolutely, yes.”

  “Great. Then only the five best workers will get a bonus this month, and the rest will contribute to our fund for this Commando problem. You will announce it today in the canteen.”

  She gulped. Peter’s face betrayed no emotion, but she could have sworn he had set her up on purpose.

  “Nix, you’re free to do your thing. Go ahead and hunt but only from the air. If you notice anything strange, call Rob for backup.”

  Phoenix nodded without looking up.

  Peter looked over the gathering. “Any questions?”

  “Why’s this one here?” Pain asked bluntly, chin pointed at the Mute—as she called him—who’d been sitting motionless for the whole time, only his eyes darting curiously from one to another.

  Everyone looked as if seeing him there for the first time.

  Peter let out a quiet sigh. “Could you at least pretend to be polite?”

  “Nah… Doesn’t sound like me.”

  “He’s here to know what we’re up to. That’s all you need to know. Which reminds me: Luke, I want…”

  Pain turned to Rooney again. “Doesn’t it bother you that someone’s managed to keep to themselves here for so long?” she whispered.

  “Totally.” Rooney didn’t take his eyes off the laptop. “Especially, with you sticking your nose everywhere.”

  She pursed her lips and focused on Peter again.

  “I want every man and woman in this building to know that we’re open to ideas that will help us track down those bastards or find out what they’re up to.”

  “And what do you think they’re up to?” Luke interrupted him.

  “If I had an idea, I’d have shared it already. I’m not even sure it’s them who attacked the Devil’s Whores, ’cause it’s all totally bizarre. If it was them, why did they pick the most dangerous gang in the country? Why us?”

  “They’re remote,” Rooney mumbled, making everyone’s heads turn to him. “If these Commandos are trying to keep out of sight, and they’ve figured that our patrols keep to certain areas, they will only target gangs outside it.”

  “Good point,” Peter said with a nod.

  “They’re strong, healthy, and trained,” Skull suggested. “But really, it’s kind of an obvious target. Civilians would need tracking down, but us and other gangs? If they’re hunting skyfolk, going for the hornets’ nest is the right thing to do.”

  Everyone nodded at that.

  Skull added, “There could be another explanation why they’ve taken the Devil’s Whores.”

  Peter lifted a brow.

  “The Commandos don’t know who they are,” Skull said.

  “What?” Pain blurted.

  “Think about it. Who in their right mind would attack those freaks? It’s too dangerous. They could just be new to the game.”

  “You mean drifters?” Peter said, making Skull shake his head.

  “No.” He looked at the others, then turned his gaze back to Peter. “What if it’s humans?”

  Chapter 2

  “Look alive, Forrester!”

  Dave flinched at Pain’s volume, snapping out of his unintended nap.

  He shot her a sleepy glare as she dragged a chair away from the dining table with an earsplitting screech and took a seat, a wry smile on her face. Her thumb pointed over her shoulder at Elena, still choosing between the fish and the chicken.

  “Mark my words, that woman’s gonna ride you to your grave.”

  Dave realized he had actually fallen asleep with food in his mouth and chewed absently for a minute before he grasped her meaning. Pain looked at him with self-assured mischief, daring him to respond.

  He ignored her and returned to his meal with his mind far away. He and Elena had managed to keep their relationship a secret for a whole week, until Pain and Chad walked in on them at the pool one night, and Pain ran out yelling, “My eyes! My eyes!” loud enough to wake up the whole building and half of Brooklyn.

  Next thing he knew, Peter showed up at his door at eight in the morning, going on and on about a great private school in Queens where a half-breed child wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Dave thanked the man, closed the door in his face, and escaped at the first opportunity to his penthouse in Manhattan. Too bad that after a few days Elena got bored of the city and had to get back to training.

  With Jane. Her new trainer. Despite Pain’s opinion that it was a total, bullshit waste of time.

  To Dave’s surprise, no one ever brought up the fact that, technically, their relationship shouldn’t be allowed. He suspected that with everything Elena had been through since childhood, no one dared to deny her a little bit of happiness.

  “Chad not back yet?” Marco’s quiet voice pulled Dave back into the present. He turned his head to find Marco sitting at his left.

  Pain shook her head, stuffing her mouth with bacon, then tried to reply without choking, “Still at his father’s or on the road.”

  Marco watched her for a minute. “You’re a barbarian, you know that?”

  “No, I’m a hungry barbarian.”

  His eyes darted to the door. “Jane’s here.”

  Pain swallowed, her head swiveling like an owl’s as she searched for Jane’s small figure in the crowd.

  “How was Washington?” Pain asked by way of greeting as Jane finally took a seat across from Marco.

  “Don’t ask.” Jane waved her away with a grimace, snatching a pancake from her sister’s tray.

  Pain’s eyebrows arched as her keen eyes ran over Jane’s leather jacket and jeans. It didn’t look like Jane was going to stay for supper, since she hadn’t even changed yet. She fidgeted in her chair, an absentminded frown on her face.

  “That bad, huh?” Pain prodded. “Ryan?”

  “In the infirmary.” Jane waved her off again, as if it would help her avoid the questions. “It was a total ambush. They knew we would be there, and they came prepared for all our tricks. Had to kill a man with my shoe and then carry the client twenty miles in a little black dress—and it’s November, mind you. Ryan got shot in the arm covering me, then nearly bled out while drawing them away.”

  “Good,” Pain said, nodding in approval.

  Everyone stared at her, baffled. She swallowed hard. “I mean, good that he covered you. A bullet to the arm is okay; a collapsed lung—not so much.”

  Marco gave her a sly look. “Yeah, right. That’s what we all thought.”

  She threw up a hand and turned back to Jane.

  Dave knew she had been against the mission from the start. She and Peter had had a disturbingly long argument about it in his office, while Dave was going through some papers in Peter’s living room. But there had been no way around it. The client needed two bodyguards who would pass for a couple. Pain’s idea of a lesbian couple hadn’t impressed Peter, to her surprise, so Jane had had to go with Ryan.

  “Guess what,” Pain changed the subject. “You won’t believe what I found yesterday while you were partying with…” She trailed off when Jane’s hand reached for another pancake. “Get your own damn pancakes, will you?”

  Marco’s quiet chuckle drew Pain’s gaze to him, and by the time she turned back, Jane was already gone with the last pancake. “Hey!”

  Jane quickly disappeared in the crowd.

  “Someone just got a taste of her own medicine,” Marco mused out loud, grinning at Pain’s flustered look.

  She flicked a piece of bread at him, giving the door another glance, as if Jane were still there.

  Dave realized that Elena still hadn’t joined them and looked up to find her making her way to the table. She took a seat without a word, seemingly lost in thought. For a minute, Dave just watched her in quiet adoration. Her dark hair was tousled, and her elfin face always seemed to glow, the peachy tone nothing like Dave’s own olive complexion.

  She poked at her chicken and looked up, eyebrows rising as she saw him watching. “What?” she mouthed, still not quite confident around Pain and Marco.

  “Nothing.” Dave held back a smile. She’d told him his staring was disconcerting, but he just couldn’t help it.

  He could watch her for hours, whether she was awake or sleeping, aware or oblivious, all dolled up or, even better, naked—or maybe wearing his old sweatshirt while eating supper, as it was. She was just that perfect.

  Elena gave him a funny look but didn’t say anything.

  “Has Peter given you any special task after today’s meeting?” Pain asked him.

  Dave’s mouth opened as he processed the information. “Meeting? Peter’s back?”

  “Wake up, already. He got back this morning. We had a meeting—”

  “Where someone barged in,” Marco cut in with an accusing look.

  “Whatever.” She waved her hand. “He ordered Rooney to form a team to keep track of all the cameras in the area. I can’t believe he didn’t invite you, the geek of headquarters.”

  Dave’s face turned sour.

  “The geek of headquarters might still receive his invitation, thank you very much,” he drawled. “That’s a good idea though? Using the cameras, I mean. I’m sure those men will show up on tape sooner or later.”

  Pain shook her head. “I doubt that. They’re copying our tactics, keeping to the shadows and avoiding busy streets. We need more cameras around where they’ve been seen, but we can’t cover every yard, so it’s pretty much pointless.”

  Dave’s face fell. “Oh. Did you come up with anything else at the meeting?” he asked, instantly seeing Pain lose interest in the conversation, as usual when she’d found out everything she wanted to know.

  “Ask Peter. I gotta go find Jane before she feels too much of that sweet freedom.”

  She got up, and Marco followed her. “Thanks for reminding me. Same with Ryan.” He ruffled Elena’s hair before Dave could smack his hand away. “See ya, kids.”

  “Kids.” Dave scoffed. “I’m older than you!”

  “By two months,” Marco parried with a snort and disappeared in the crowd.

  Dave returned to watching Elena stab her already dead chicken without actually eating it.

  “You’re quiet today,” he noted, picking at the cold fish with little appetite himself.

  She shrugged. “Just tired. It’s the season, I guess. I should get some vitamins or something.”

  “Right. Vitamin Bora Bora.” He wiggled his eyebrows, making her shake her head.

  They had been at it for a while, he trying to talk her into going on vacation together, and she not willing to skip training when she was finally making progress. Dave, however, suspected that it was more about the difference in their social status, which she’d never admit and he, personally, didn’t give two shits about. Unlike all the girls he’d met before her, Elena always seemed to draw a line between what he was and wasn’t allowed to do for her.

  Giving her a pretty necklace? Fine, thank you. Buying a tropical island? No way in hell.

  Dave said, “One day, you’re gonna wake up and find yourself in some bungalow in the middle of the ocean, and I won’t even feel bad about kidnapping you. I bet Peter will back me up on that.”

  She laughed, her entire face lighting up, making Dave’s heart feel too big for his chest.

  He grinned and leaned closer, pressing on while he had the chance. “Listen, I know you’ve spent years in this building since…” He bit off the rest of the sentence, Since your grandma died. “Since you were a kid. I know this is your home and Peter’s the only person you trust. But you have me now, too. And you’re allowed to take a break every—”

  “Okay,” she interrupted him.

  “Okay? As in, okay I hear you, or okay I agree with everything you said?”

  Her smile turned into a grin. “As in, okay, I’ll think about it.”

  He smiled and took her hand, planting a kiss on it.

  “But I want to spend Christmas here,” she said. “So if you want to go somewhere, let’s do it soon. And nothing too crazy.” She wiggled her finger with a smile.

  “Really?” Dave perked up.

  “Really. God, you’re like a stray dog with a bone with this idea. Do you really want to get out of here so badly?”

  “No, I want you to get out of here just once.”

  She made big eyes as he leaned in for a kiss, but for once he ignored her dislike of public display of affection. Some vague thought got snagged in the back of his head then, making him break the kiss.

  “Stray dog, huh?” he said, earning a surprised look.

  Dave jumped to his feet, the final piece of the puzzle clicking into place in his mind.

  “You’re a genius, babe. Be right back,” he said, and hurried to Peter’s office followed by Elena’s incredulous gaze.

  * * *

  “So?” Marco didn’t bother to hide his agitation as he watched Ryan unpack. His friend struggled to get his clothes out of the bag with one good arm, the other bandaged from shoulder to elbow. “Hey, Major Tom, I asked you a question.”

  “That’s not a question,” Ryan muttered, finally picking up the big stack of clothes and pinning his bag down with his foot to pull it out.

  “Whatever, you heard me. Have you talked to her?”

  Ryan took a breath, as if to sigh, before his chest deflated in resignation. “No.”

  He carried the clothes to the bathroom, looking grim with his deep frown and bloodied t-shirt. Seeing that it wouldn’t be easy, Marco drew a deep breath and prepared for a debate.

  “Okay… Different question: Did you speak to her at all during the mission?”

  “Of course I spoke to her!” Ryan’s arms flew up, and he winced at the pain, turning away. Marco hadn’t seen him this irritated even once in the five years they’d known each other.

  “And? Just tell me about everything that happened there.”

  “Shh!” Ryan hissed, pointing at the wall. “Nothing happened, okay? Will you stop talking about it?”

  His hand closed on his ruined shirt, trying to pull it off, while his foot sent the bag into a corner. “I don’t want this in my head when I’m working. If it wasn’t for this, I bet I wouldn’t have gotten shot, Jane would’ve been out of there safely, the whole mission wouldn’t have been endangered. I feel like such an idiot, thanks to you!” he hissed in a furious whisper, his head sticking out of the shirt he’d gotten completely tangled in. His hands wiggled helplessly. “Some help here?”

  A quiet sigh escaped Marco’s lips as he came up and pulled Ryan’s bandaged arm free, not too carefully.

  “Ouch!” Ryan growled, glaring at him.

  “You’re like a tall-ass, helpless baby,” Marco grumbled. “You’ve been driving me nuts with your jealousy, so I told you what to do, and now you’re blaming me for everything?”

  He held the shirt tight as Ryan untangled the rest of himself from the stretchy fabric and stalked off to the bathroom.

  “I’m talking to you.” Marco threw the bloodied shirt at him. Ryan ducked, and the shirt hit the wall instead. “First, you think she’s into Dave—”

  “No, you thought she was into Dave.” Ryan was suddenly in his face, his long finger pointing at Marco. “You told me you saw them flirting, you started all this!”

  His sudden hostility made Marco take a step back. He quickly regained his composure and retorted, “And? Did you do anything about it? Coward.”

  Ryan rolled his eyes, turning back to the bathroom.

  Since his brain wouldn’t shut up at this point, Marco continued to gloat. “You waited for months. You’ve anticipated this trip like the Second Coming, and chickened out again. And now she’ll find someone else, with all these new boys here, and you’ll be brooding again all day long, until I go crazy and jump out the window. Just do it, Ryan!”

  Ryan turned to look at him, his lips twitching at Marco’s sudden outburst. “You done with your lecture? I have an awkward shower to take.”

  “There will never be a perfect moment!” Marco pointed his finger at him, and Ryan shoved him out so he could close the bathroom door.

  “God!” Marco paced in circles before the door, muttering to himself, “I swear, another week like this, and I’ll tell her myself. I—”

  “Tell her what?” Pain’s voice froze him in place.

  He turned to find her leaning in the doorway, arms crossed. Just how long had she been standing there?

  “And who is she?”

  He breathed out in relief. She didn’t know what they’d been talking about.

  “Nobody. What do you want?”

  “Peter’s waiting for us. The others are already there, come on.”

  Marco grunted, snatching his sweatshirt off a chair as he followed her out of the room.

  “What does Peter want from us?” he asked.