Page 21 of Betting Blind

“They need to die,” he snaps back and turns to face me. His eyes are wild. He runs his fingers through his hair twice before shaking out his hands and returning to his forward-facing stance. “They can’t leave this city.”

“I know, but we need to follow orders. They will literally blacklist all of us for this.” I pull the communication piece out of my ear and tuck it into the inside pocket of my bulletproof vest. “We have to do this by the book.”

“I’m so fucking tired of working within the rules. This isn’t how I wanted to play this game!” Hayden runs his hands through his hair again. He’s losing his grip. I can see it. This is too personal for him.“I feel like a collared dog! I can’t…” His entire body stills. “I can’t do this anymore,” he whispers.

“I know,” I say again and grip his shoulder tightly. “I know. Just give me some time.”

Hayden turns to face me again and that’s when I see it. He’s gone. His mind. His patience. His dark eyes are narrowed at me, and his gun is raised directly in front of me. “They. Have. To. Die.”

I raise my hands, palms out. “Let me call Silas. We cannot just go in there guns blazing.” Hayden twitches his shoulder but doesn’t lower the gun. “Let me make a call,” I say again, my voice low and even.

“Fine.” He drops his arm and re-holsters his guns.

I pull out my cell and call Silas. The line clicks on but Silas doesn’t speak. He knows the drill. “We’ve found them, but the stay call has been made. No one is to move on them. We’ve tracked them to a warehouse near the docks.”

“Hayden?” His voice is soft.

“Too much. It’s too much. We have to pull the other job instead.” I watch as Hayden crouches and drops his head into his hands. “It’s going to be ugly.”

“I’ll get it set up,” Silas responds after a moment of silence. “Meet me back at the hotel in an hour.”

“Copy,” I mutter and hang up the phone. “Come on.” I grip Hayden’s bicep and pull him to his feet. “Time to disappear.” The earpieces fall to the ground and crunch under the heels of our boots.

*****

Silas folds his arms across his chest as Hayden and I take in the supplies spread out across the bed in the hotel room. “Don’t give me that look. It was short notice!”

Hayden scoffs and picks up the black tie and suit jacket. “What are we supposed to do in monkey suits?”

“The same thing you do in tactical gear,” I snap and start changing. “Did you get anything to cover our identities?” Silas nods to a box sitting in the chair in the corner of the room. “You have got to be kidding me?” I pick up the white masks one at a time and throw him a glare.

“Again. Last minute,” he snaps quietly and finishes tying his tie. He looks over at Hayden and sighs loudly. “This is going to need to be fast and precise.”

“That’s my specialty,” Hayden retorts with a sly grin. I watch the blush creep up my brother’s neck and hide a smile behind my fist. Hayden doesn’t seem to notice as he laces up his shoes. “Are you coming then?” he asks Silas as he finally looks at him, taking in his attire.

“Can’t very well let you get killed, now can I?”

I snort out a laugh. “You literally vomit at the sight of blood.”

“I have to be inside to disable the systems,” he snaps and shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “I’m just as much a part of this team as you two. I just don’t punch my way through life.”

“No,” Hayden says with a chuckle and drapes an arm across his shoulders. “You just punch through firewalls and spyware.”

I take in both men with a serious expression. Black suits, black dress shirts, black ties. Sharp attire for such a brutal job. “Let’s get this over with. I want to go home.” I grab the mask with the Diamond over the right eye and toss the other two over to the boys.

“Okay. So… the security is top-notch, obviously. There are three ways inside above ground and two below ground. The three topsides are heavily guarded. We’ll be able to get in here.” Silas spreads a blueprint out on top of the mattress and points at the entrances. “But you’re not going to like it.”

“Why not?” Hayden asks and picks at his thumbnail with the tip of a blade. Where the fuck did that come from?

Silas presses his lips together and traces his finger across the map again. “Drainage tunnel. It will bring us into the inner courtyard. From there we should be able to get inside the actual building easier.”

“The fucking sewer. You’re taking us through the sewers,” I snap and fight the urge to slap the back of his head.

He nods once without looking up. “It’s the only area not stationed with guards. They also can’t put an alarm down there because the signal won’t reach through the concrete.”

“Fine. Whatever. Let’s go. We’re wasting time.” Hayden is already out the door before he finishes the sentence.

Silas grabs my arm to stop me. “Is he okay?” I level him with a look that he used to shrink away from, but not anymore. He straightens his spine and glares back at me. “Declan?”

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