Page 70 of Lane

“How?” I asked.

“You’ve met Greer. He’s a tech genius. Normally, he wouldn’t hack into anything, but having the two men he loved most, as well as his brother and his partners, shot at ignited a fire in him. Greer wants to take this asshole down as much as the rest of us do.”

“Please thank him for us,” Raiden said. “This will definitely help.”

“No thanks needed. I cared for your father. He was more than an employee. He was a friend.”

Raiden nodded but said nothing else.

I had to spend time reading through the pages with Jordan, Raiden, and Reghan, then we’d fill Alton in. He wasn’t directly involved, but he still deserved to be aware of what was going on, especially due to my and Raiden’s involvement.

29

RAIDEN

We sat a block away from Jack’s home. After showing Jordan what we’d gotten from Dexen, he contacted Lawson, who reached out to Greer. The two of them worked together so Lawson could find the channels Greer used. It wasn’t that Lawson didn’t know his shit. The man was brilliant, but Greer had this other side where he came into it differently and looked at it with a fresh pair of eyes. Wasn’t there a saying about after seeing something so many times, stuff was bound to get missed? I thought that was what happened with Lawson.

Jordan calmed down and wasn’t as pissed that Lawson missed it once he was able to talk to him longer. Lawson noticed a connection between Ulrich and Jack. It was old though, from at least five years ago. They’d exchanged money. That was all Lawson could find, but it was a breadcrumb that Jordan wanted investigated.

Enter Lane. Given how Jack reacted to him, Jordan hoped Lane could gather information from him. If Jack decided to threaten us; we could kill him. It wasn’t a shock Jordan went there. Lane had other plans though. Before we left the building, he said he wanted to keep Jack alive. While his death would be warranted if he was involved, we could use him to bring Ulrichout into the open. Not in a bribery way, but following Jack to see what shit he pulled.

“Are we sitting in here all day or what?” Barrett asked from the back seat.

“I don’t know what you’re bitching about,” Oleander stated. “I’m the one wedged in the way back. This third-row seat is bullshit.”

There were five of us for this mission. Vincent was with Jordan and his family. He made sure to keep them home today, which was easier given it was a Sunday. No school for Ava and while Hartley protested he had a lot of work to do, Jordan was able to convince him to do it from home.

Lane sighed. “Let’s go. I’m procrastinating. I really don’t want to have to kill anyone today or have you guys do it. Let me lead. Don’t go into cop mode, Barrett.”

“I wish everyone would stop using that against me,” he grumbled.

“You were a cop for a long time, Bear,” Reghan said. “It’s natural that you fall back on how you’ve been trained. We just need you to not right now.”

“God, I hate all of you.”

Lane peered at him over his shoulder. “No, you don’t.” He opened his door and got out, the rest of us following suit.

We decided to park down the street to seem less obvious. We also could make a quick getaway if need be. If Jack was smart, he’d know we were here. The jury was still out on if he was or not.

I stayed by Lane’s side as we walked up the sidewalk and approached the front door, where Lane knocked. A camera was pointed down at us. I was tempted to give them the finger but refrained, not wanting to get this off on the wrong foot.

The door opened, and the man from the other times we’d been here stood before us. “You’re not on the schedule today.Unfortunately, you can’t be seen.” He attempted to close the door, but Lane was fast and pushed himself inside.

“It’s nice of you to invite us in,” he said with a smile. “Thank you so much for your hospitality.”

The rest of us filed in behind him. I’d rip the door off its hinges before I’d allow Lane inside by himself.

Lane began walking to the room we met in before as the butler ran after us, saying we couldn’t be in here. Jack showed up as soon as we were in the room.

“Lane.” He nodded in greeting. “While I appreciate seeing you again, we need to schedule a time. You can’t barge into my home.”

“Can’t I though? We have unfinished business.”

“We have no deal in place, so there’s nothing for us to discuss.”

“Isn’t there?”

Lane took a seat on the couch and turned so he could face the door. I took up the spot to his right, standing by his side, the wall at my back. The others fanned out, Barrett inspecting every inch of the room like he was about to dust it for fingerprints.

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