Page 11 of Lucky Boys
“Please tell me you’re home and not on a job.”
Immediately, I was on high alert. “I’m home.”
“Thank fuck. I’m sending you an address. I’ll fill you in on the details later, but there’s trouble and we won’t make it there in time.”
I was on my feet and heading to my weapons locker in an instant. “Where’s Luca? Is he safe?”
“Yeah, he’s right here. He’s trying to keep Diego calm. That’s who you’re meeting. He and his brother ran into some trouble and the house is currently being invaded.”
I barely noticed that Beckett had followed me into the room, his jaw tight as he watched me arm up.
My phone vibrated. “That’s the address,” Maverick told me. In the background, I could hear raised voices and commotion.”
I quickly put it in my GPS. “I can be there in 10.”
Maverick grunted. “Make it five, and we’ll be there with reinforcements as soon as possible. You’ll be sent more details on your way.”
“Copy.”
“Wes?” That was Luca, who must’ve grabbed the phone.
“Yeah?”
“Stay gold, brother.” Even with my brain already in work mode, I had to laugh. Luca and I had started saying that to each other before missions, fuck, probably twenty or so years ago now. We had been stuck in some middle of nowhere base that had no real forms of entertainment except a library of old books. One of them wasThe Outsiders. We’d read that so many fucking times while we’d been deployed there that we’d started saying it to each other. At first, it had been a joke, but it had started to become tradition, and because SEALS were a superstitiousbunch, the whole team had begun saying it to each other every fucking time.
“You too, Luca.” I hung up before I got emotional and turned to Beckett.
“I gotta go.”
Beckett’s looked worried as fuck. “Will you be okay?” It was hard for me to answer that honestly when I had literally zero information, but I squeezed his shoulder and smiled anyway, touched by his concern.
“I’ll be fine. Do me a favor and stay here, and when Riley wakes up, tell him the same thing.”
“Uh, okay. Wes, are you sure you’ll be good?”
Not sure what else to say, I just gave him a tight nod and left my apartment.
By the time I arrived at the address Maverick had given me, I only had slightly more information than I had when I’d left. The house belonged to Diego and Brooks Foster. Diego was home alone and locked in some kind of panic room. I was given the security codes to the house as well as a safe code to tell Diego so I didn’t get my ass shot. I knew there were at least three men trying to break in and they were likely armed and well trained. I also knew Diego had extreme anxiety over strangers and leaving his house.
What I didn’t know was who was trying to get in, or why, or what Diego’s connection was to Luca. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why. None of that mattered though. I trusted Luca, and if he said this guy needed help, I was there.
Immediately, I could tell something was wrong. The Fosters lived on a very small street and their driveway was almost half a mile long so it kept them hidden from the neighbors, but I barely got halfway down it before I heard noises that sounded like they could be gunshots. Fuck.
I kicked the gun away from the still body blocking the entranceway and stepped over him into the house. The front room, which I guessed was supposed to be a living room but instead had an unmade bed in the middle of it, was empty. On alert, I kept checking the house while heading toward where I was told Diego would be. I passed a small kitchen and dining area and then came to three doors. The bathroom was partially open, making that one obvious. I quickly cleared it, but no one was there. The one to the left was closed, but I would find Diego in the one on the right. Still, I went to the left first. I didn’t want any surprises just because I didn’t do my due diligence.
The room was a pretty nice home gym. In other circumstances, I’d probably be drooling over the equipment, but I kept my focus on the task and quickly cleared the room. The third door was closed with a security lock on it. There was a fingerprint pad, but I had been given the bypass code so I could get in. I quickly entered it and found myself in a smallish space. Two walls were completely covered with a corner desk and three separate monitors, plus a bunch of stuff I couldn’t even begin to describe. There was a small mini fridge under the desk, and the most comfortable looking chair I’d ever seen.
On the other side was a much smaller desk with nothing but a bunch of papers, a stack of rainbow-colored rubber bands, and a tablet. There wasn’t even a chair. Once I did a quick scan to clear it, I headed to the closet where I knew the entry to the safe room would be.
The closet seemed like it was all spare electronics: keyboards, mice, still boxed tablets, earpieces, and mics lined very well organized shelves. I briefly wondered where the brothers keptthings like clothes, but that didn’t really matter now. I pressed against the empty wall where there was a hollowed-out panel.
“Diego? It’s Wes.”
“P-passcode?” a muffled voice called.
“Detroit, Austin, Queens, Atlanta.”
There was a long enough pause that I was concerned I’d need to get Diego’s brother on the phone to talk to him. But before I could make any decisions, there was some ruffling and the door opened.
