Page 98 of Five Fingers of Death

I stiffened at that. “You want to let him onto the property?”

“I’m not sure what the best course of action is. I haven’t discussed this with Kavanaugh yet. I feel he may be too close to the situation to think clearly. But we all know the last word his father spoke.”

Shadow.

It could be a coincidence or it could be the most fucked up thing ever to happen to Cash. “If we let him on the property, we have no idea what he might do while he’s here.”

Lock nodded. “You’re right. We would need Rae and Dash to put their skills to work to catch any devices he may have on him. Then again, if we don’t let him on the property, we would be showing our hand. Right now, he thinks we’re still on his side. If he is behind this and we prove we’re no longer loyal to his family, he might become even more dangerous. And that’s a battle we’re not prepared for at this time. We don’t have enough information yet about who we’re fighting. Michael cannot be the only person behind The Syndicate. There have to be more of them.”

“How do we know Claire’s not in on it?” Jack asked.

“Fuck, that’s some twisted shit,” Johnny muttered. “Do you really think both of them could be behind all of it?”

“Why else would a woman like Claire stay loyal to a man like Michael for so many years?” I asked.

“Then again,” Lock sighed, “what if we have this all wrong? What if Shadow didn’t mean Michael?” He looked at all of us for confirmation.

“Has Rae come up with anything else?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing as of yet. We’ve been digging deep, but nothing else pops under Shadow.”

“Or maybe Shadow wasn’t the actual message,” Jack sighed. “We could be chasing our tails here. And if that’s the case?—”

“If that’s the case,” Lock interrupted, “then at least we know we’ve been thorough. But it would help if we could meet Cash and actually talk to him about what’s going on. He won’t meet with any of us, and definitely not on OPS land.”

I tapped my finger on the table as I thought that over. “He won’t meet with any of you.”

“What?”

“He won’t meet with any of you because he doesn’t want to put you in the middle of this shit.”

“If he’s even still on our side,” Lock spat. “We have no fucking clue what he’s thinking. He’s lost his goddamn mind.”

“Or he’s thinking clearer than he ever has in his life,” I surmised. “What’s the one thing you do when you know the people around you are in danger?”

“Close ranks,” Lock said. “Make sure no one gets past your defenses.”

“Except, these assholes are stronger and more powerful than The Syndicate. Cash would know that closing ranks wouldn’t be enough to protect anyone.”

“We’ve already looked into the possibility that he’s out there to protect his family,” Jack pointed out. “But we’ve also got two sniper shots that only a handful of men could make, and Cash is one of them.”

“I think I know how we can make contact.”

Lock stiffened. “Am I going to like this?”

“Not at all. You can’t be involved.”

“I figured you’d say something like that.”

I glanced at Johnny and Jack, then back to Lock. “You’ll need to keep Izzy safe for a few days, just until we can get back.”

“Where are you going?”

“Can’t tell you that,” I said, shoving to my feet. “I’ll need Tahlia to watch Carli.”

“Done,” Johnny said.

“You know, I’m still the boss,” Lock argued.

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