“Says you,” Rick countered, with a negligent shrug. But inside, he felt the panic rising at the thought of Brody being helpless somewhere and these assholes finding him.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” The broker shook his head. “I know you guys are all big and tough, but you’re still humans.”

  “You’ve already said you can’t stop the contract.”

  “No, but, if you know ahead of time, you could get this guy somewhere safe.”

  “Sure,” Rick muttered, “but that would mean we’d have to trust you, and all you’re doing right now is setting us up for a trap. How about giving us some names instead?”

  At that, the broker smiled. “You know what? That’s a very good idea. Let’s see how this would work. I would give you a name. You would tell me that it’s no good. You would come back and say you want more. I would tell you another name. You would tell me the same thing.” He sneered. “Pretty soon, you would think you’ve got everything there is to know from me, and then you would shoot me.”

  “Does it look like we’re in the business of shooting people?” Wade asked.

  “You and I both know you’re in the business of shooting people,” he stated, his tone hard. “You’ve left a pretty good string of bodies around the city lately.”

  “Nope.” Rick looked over at Wade, seeing the look of disgust on his friend’s face. Rick knew that Wade was of the same mind as he was. “No deals, but I’m sure MI6 will be interested in hearing what you have to say.”

  At that, the other man stopped. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. No need to bring them into this. I’m sure I can provide you with everything you need.”

  “I’m sure you could try,” Rick noted, “but that doesn’t mean we can trust anything that comes out of your mouth.”

  At that, the broker somehow managed to look like they’d injured his pride in some way. “Hey now, no need to insult me.”

  “We just watched you shoot your partner,” Wade stated calmly. “That tells us everything we need to know.”

  “No, no, no, wait, guys. You just didn’t understand what you were seeing. Obviously he was off his rocker and would be a major headache. That can’t happen here. You know that. We have more than enough headaches going on right now already.”

  “Yep, no lie there,” Rick agreed. “All the local hires are dead, as you mentioned earlier. But here’s a news flash. We didn’t kill ’em. They were killed on authority of whoever did the hiring. Probably through you, the broker. So how many are actually on these contracts?”

  The broker’s eyes widened at that scoop. “Well, the problem is, the original contract is still open. We were given a deposit, but, so far, job satisfaction wasn’t completed. So, I know that they’re looking for the rest of your team to make sure they are really dead. And, of course, the fact that you are standing in front of me is a problem.” He shrugged. “You should be dead already.”

  “Give us everything you can, about whomever it is who posted this job.”

  His lips twitched. “Wow, I would have thought you guys already knew it.”

  At that, they looked at each other, then at him with a hard gaze. “What does that mean?”

  “It’s just, I had assumed that you guys had all these answers and that you already know who has your back and who doesn’t,” he said.

  “Are you saying it’s our own government?” Rick asked.

  “You guys really don’t trust anybody either, do you?” A look of feigned innocence filled the broker’s gaze.

  That sent Rick’s back up. And was likely a response to Wade’s comment about the broker shooting his own partner. Maybe they deserved the comment coming back to bite them; Rick didn’t know, but they wouldn’t get caught up in any games with this one.

  “We’ll let Terk decide,” Wade murmured. “Come on. Let’s get him out of here before somebody else shows up.”

  “You take him back. I’ll stay here and make sure I catch this asshole who’s after Cara,” Rick said.

  “Cara, yes, that was her name,” the broker confirmed, with a knowing nod. “I figured you guys would probably know who they were talking about.”

  “Yeah, we know who they’re talking about,” Rick admitted, “but so do you.”

  “Hey, I just pay the bills.” He gave a wave of his hands. “And I’m glad not to have to pay this one.” He shot a look down at the dead man on the floor.

  “Maybe, but there’ll be payment due of some kind,” Rick noted calmly. “There always is.”

  He winced. “Isn’t that the truth? You know that, even when you think you’re in the clear, you’re not. Keep that in mind, gentlemen.”

  Just then Wade’s phone buzzed. Wade pulled it out and took a look. “Terk is on his way.”

  “Good,” Rick murmured. “We can get this settled fast.”

  “It won’t be fast enough.” The broker stepped forward ever-so-slightly.

  “Hold your ground.” Rick held the gun against the broker’s head.

  “Or what?” he asked.

  “Or I’ll shoot,” Rick told him. “I’ve just come back from the dead. I really don’t give a shit.”

  “What do you mean, back from the dead?” he asked in fascination. Then his face lit up. “Oh. You’re one of the team members they didn’t expect to make it.”

  Rick just ignored him, interested in what he might reveal.

  “Wait. How the hell did you make it?”

  Rick shook his head. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

  “Unless, of course, it was that woman, in which case she is way more valuable alive than dead.” He looked down at his buddy on the floor. “What kind of an idiot are you?” he asked. “Something like that? Wow. She would be worth an incredible amount of money.”

  Rick felt his stomach churning at the thought of this asshole taking out somebody so pure and beautiful as Cara, just because they were scared of what she could do and didn’t want her helping the people they were trying to kill. He wasn’t sure which was worse, that scenario or selling her to the highest bidder. “Too bad it won’t happen then, huh?” Rick asked.

  “You mean, you hope it won’t.” The broker smirked. “I told you the orders already went out.”

  “And you can’t shut them down. So what good are you?” Rick asked.

  “Right. I can’t shut them down.” He shrugged. “And you know that already, so we can keep going around and around this circle, or you can help me get out of here and let me help you, as I told you that I would.”

  “Yeah, you say that, but you haven’t given us anything of value yet,” Rick replied. “So, I want to know exactly who your good dead buddy here called and who we’re looking for that’s coming after Cara?”

  “Cara,” he repeated in that soft voice. “Such a nice name.”

  Rick stepped forward, even as he heard Wade behind him, warning him to stay calm.

  “Just take it easy, Rick.”

  “Hell no. Why should I?” Rick asked. “This guy is nothing. A bullet is all he deserves.”

  “Yeah, but, just because that’s what he deserves, it doesn’t mean that’s what he gets.”

  Unfortunately that was just too damn true, and Rick was pretty damn tired of these scumbags walking away with absolutely no repercussions. He looked down at the body on the ground, then up at their prisoner and smiled at Wade. “I’m thinking MI6 will want this guy.”

  “Well, maybe they do,” the broker agreed, “but you won’t let them have me.”

  “I don’t know,” Wade countered. “That probably would be the best answer. Let them deal with him. Either they can protect him or they can pull information from him. I don’t care what they do with him.”

  Rick nodded. “Yeah, that’ll be Terk’s call.”

  “Fine, but he sure as hell needs to get here fast because I don’t like anything about this wait,” Wade noted.

  “Smart,” the broker said, with a smile, “because you know what they’re like.”

  Rick added, “I know that they kill off everybody who’s been involved, so, if you’re still alive, they’ll be looking for you.”

  “I pay the bills.” The broker smirked. “Nobody’s taking me out.”

  “You mean, you hope not,” Rick stated calmly. “Like I said, everybody has been taken out so far.”

  “Yeah, but not the one who signs the paychecks,” he murmured.

  There was some potential truth to that. “In that case,” Rick noted, “sifting through your life should be fun. We might find all kinds of stuff.”

  “You won’t find a thing,” he murmured. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

  “Well, if you’re asking, then yes,” he replied calmly. “I do. The fact of the matter is, you shouldn’t even be here. And the fact that you are, that says a lot.”

  “It does,” the broker agreed. “It says I’m the last man standing.”

  “Are you though?” Rick asked, with a smile. “Because, if you are, then we definitely want to keep you for some questions.”

  He smiled. “I told you that I’m useful.”

  The trouble is, Rick didn’t trust him, not at all. He also knew that, if he didn’t trust him, chances are nobody else did either. Including his own team. “Another reason for the higher-ups to kill you, don’t you think?”

  The broker seemed to be holding his breath.

  “Was it your order that had the second group taking care of the contract?” Wade asked.

  “Well, I was overruled. Again I pay the bills. I don’t make the final decisions,” he said apologetically.

  At that, Rick nodded. “I’ve seen that before too,” he muttered. “They put idiots in charge of this stuff and expect them to know what they’re doing.”

  “Right,” the broker said in disgust. “I’ve never seen the kind of muck ups this group had.”

  “I’m surprised they were still using them.”

  “Somebody else is pulling the strings,” he noted.

  “What are you supposed to do then?”

  “I don’t know,” he admitted, “but it sounds like somebody messed up big time—but it goes back to this software that they thought would handle your team. Now they’re cleaning up their mess.”

  “You could tell us where they’re from at least.”

  “Iran,” he shared, “but that won’t help you much.”

  But it was a good tip. It was the confirmation that they needed. Rick nodded. “Actually it’s a big help. Thanks for that.”

  “You’re welcome. I told you that I can cooperate,” he said agreeably. “You just have to keep me alive.”

  “That is a bit of a problem in your world,” Rick stated, “because the big boss men keep killing off you guys.”

  “I think there’s somebody else with a secondary contract. A fail-safe cleanup contract.”

  “And were you part of that, acting as broker?” Rick asked.

  “No,” the broker replied. “That’s the problem, and I’m a little worried about that.” He tapped his head. “I mean, I knew it was a possibility, which is why I was trying to get out, to get my plans in order, and to disappear. I wouldn’t even be here today normally. Sounds like I should have listened to my gut on that.”

  Rick looked around and swore. “Isn’t it awfully quiet out there?”

  “It is,” Wade agreed. “Too damn quiet.”

  “Shouldn’t you be checking it out?” the prisoner asked hopefully.

  Rick looked over at the pencil pusher, who had absolutely no compunction about pulling the trigger on his partner when it was time, and smiled. “I don’t know. Might as well wait until they come in here.”

  They could see the broker getting noticeably nervous. “You don’t understand what these guys are like,” he whined.

  “Maybe you should tell me more then, before they blow out your brains,” Rick suggested.

  The broker glared at him.

  “Give me something, as a good-faith bargaining chip.”

  “Like what?” the broker asked, clearly tempted.

  “Where in Iran?”

  He named the same location where Terk’s team had supposedly killed all of an Iranian team—the ones trying to duplicate Terk’s team, but for use on the side of evil.

  “Group name?”

  He hesitated, then shrugged. “You already know the leader’s name. That group took the job at a cheap price because they wanted to test this great new weapon they had, and they were looking at going after you guys anyway. So it was supposed to be a two-for-one deal. But unfortunately neither worked.”

  “Ah,” Wade murmured, “in that case, maybe you do have something to offer.”

  “I don’t know much about them,” the broker added. “We were waiting for the final proof that the job was done before I paid them,” he murmured, “but there could be this other contract that didn’t use a broker.”

  “Wow. You could be gunned down for not completing the job, even if you subbed it out. And, if you didn’t pay the other guys, the ones you subbed the job to,” Rick noted, “you know they’re coming after you.”

  “Well, they were doing it cheap anyway,” he noted. “It was a test run. We were hoping it would work and thought it did for quite a while. Then the rumblings and rumors began about some of you being alive. Once we knew it definitely hadn’t worked, well, what can we say? We have to finish the damn job,” he stated. “Yet I won’t pay the subcontractors for a partial job.”

  “No, and you’re not getting the down-payment money back either,” Rick agreed, “and you’ll—”

  A pop sounded, and the back of the broker’s head exploded. Swearing, Wade and Rick ducked for cover, but it was too late for the broker. He toppled over slowly, complete shock on his face. The broker hadn’t seen it coming.

  Wade was still swearing up a blue streak. “Goddammit, they’re always just that step ahead.”

  “We should have seen them coming,” Rick murmured.

  Wade nodded. “We understood we had a couple bad guys coming our way, wanting to get paid.”

  “Maybe that’s what triggered this now.”

  And, sure enough, a birdcall came from outside. Terk and his brother both raced inside, heading for cover.

  “Jesus,” Merk said, when he saw two more dead bodies on the floor. “I gather they saw us coming.”

  “Yeah, I would take that as a yes,” Wade noted quietly, “and, once again, they’re cleaning up.”

  “This guy, he’s the accountant, aka the broker,” Rick explained, “and we were just getting to some interesting answers.”

  “And they took him out, right?” Terk asked.

  “Right,” Wade confirmed, now checking out each guy’s pockets, getting what IDs he could find and snapping pictures of them. “MI6 will want them, and we’ll need to tear apart their lives.”

  Rick nodded in agreement. “Send the information to Tasha and see if they can get a start on it. Have Lorelei look through what she can access too. We need to get what we can,” Rick snapped, “and we need to get back. They are after Cara.”

  Wade looked over at Merk, who said, “Get going. Go, go, go. I’ll cover you.”

  And, with that, Rick and Wade met up with Cal, and they raced out under the cover of Merk’s fire, then bolted into their vehicle and headed for home. Almost immediately, as they neared the warehouse, Rick felt his instincts kicking in. He looked over at Wade and Cal, asking them, “Are you guys getting a bad feeling about this?”

  Wade looked at him in surprise, then frowned. “Now that you mention it.”

  “Yep, me too,” Cal confirmed.

  And Rick slammed the gas pedal to the floor.

  Chapter 13

  Cara had already done as much as she could and was bored, struggling to keep her mind occupied, even as she monitored Rick and tried to keep a watch out on Brody, whose energy was quiet. Rick’s energy flashed with stress, but he was holding. Until suddenly he wasn’t. She sensed … something but didn’t know what.

  Mariana finally said, “Maybe you should help me cook.”

  “Maybe. It’s just such a strange thing to be waiting and feeling like something is wrong.”

  At that, she looked at her. “Is that how you feel?”

  “Yes,” Cara said.

  Mariana looked at her and asked, “Are you getting an ugly feeling?”

  At that, Lorelei stepped in. “I am,” she announced.

  The women looked at each other.

  “And Cal is with Rick?” Mariana asked.

  Lorelei nodded. “And Wade. And it just feels wrong.” Immediately she pulled out her phone and started to text him. “I don’t know where they are, but I’d feel better if they were here.”

  “Maybe,” Cara murmured, as she stared out in the distance. “There’s definitely …” She shrugged, as she looked at the others. “Energy moving around, and please, don’t ask for any more details than that.”

  “In a negative way?”

  “Yes, absolutely.” She nodded. “Something is wrong.” As she frowned, she turned and surveyed the space around them. “How safe are we here?”

  “Since they set up the perimeter guards, very safe,” Lorelei stated.

  Cara looked over at Mariana. “Where is Little Calum?”

  Immediately she disappeared, only to return moments later with relief on her face.

  “He’s still napping on the couch,” she stated.

  Cara added, “Keep him with you. I don’t like anything about this.” And, with that, Mariana left to be with her son. Meanwhile Cara headed to Tasha and Sophia, who were back at the computers. As Cara neared them, she asked, “Has there been any change on the outside security system?”

  Both women frowned at her, then checked the monitors. Tasha replied, “No. Why?”

  “There will be,” Cara said, and, almost instantly, a cacophony of alarms went off.

  “Jesus,” Sophia replied, looking over at her. “You’re good.”

  “Well, if I was good,” she noted, “we wouldn’t be in this position.” She looked around. “Weapons?”

  “Yes.” And, with that, Tasha hopped up and raced off to the nearby closet. “What can you handle?”

  “Anything you give me,” she stated calmly.