Page 106 of Hard Wired

“We need to get out of here,” he said.

“You two go ahead of me,” Sylvie shouted over the noise. “I don’t know where the exit is.” She jumped up and squeezed the trigger, laying down cover.

Dominic took a split second to admire her. Damn, this woman was incredible.

Raymond went first, crouching low as he headed for the side of the house. The lower part of his pant leg was drenched with blood, which made Dominic’s gut wrench. That wasn’t some scratch. But the kid had shaken it off.

Dominic saw a body a couple of feet away. Alexi. The man lay on the ground in a puddle of red. Dominic crawled forward to pluck a handgun the guy had dropped. He pushed Sylvie ahead of him, then took over the job of firing behind them to provide cover.

They reached a side yard, where ferns and palm trees hemmed them in. Here, it was relatively quiet. Over by the pool at the back of the house, the gun battle continued. The lots in this neighborhood were huge, but the neighbors had to be hearing all this noise.

“Think someone’s going to call the police?” Dominic hadn’t enjoyed his recent experiences with the SWAT team, but it was the lesser of evils at the moment.

Raymond took out his phone. “How about the FBI?”

“The what?”

His brother smiled. “Sylvie knows. She can explain if she wants. I’m just trying not to piss myself at this point.”

“I doubt that.” Dominic eyed the blood on his brother’s pants, worrying over how bad the wound might be. Did he need to stop and bandage it? But Raymond had kept going, edging along the side of the house.

Sylvie went next, with Dominic bringing up the rear. There was another gate up ahead. It appeared to lead into the front yard, which covered at least an acre on its own. But he’d seen dense trees when they were driving in, so there would be plenty of places for them to hide.

Raymond swung open the gate and hobbled forward. Then he skidded to a stop. Sylvie bumped into him. Dominic stopped several paces short.

Aaron Sandford stood in front of them, aiming a machine gun.

“Drop the gun, Sylvie. Slowly.”

She lowered her weapon to the ground. While Sandford’s eyes were on her, Dominic tucked the gun he’d taken from Alexi into the back waistband of his jeans.

“The Crane brothers. First it was Warren, then I had to deal with Dominic. And then it’s Raymond who shows up. Every time I think I’m done with you, one of you pops back up again. Do you know how annoying that is? Having to clean up your messes?”

As he spoke, Sandford moved the gun around like it was some toy. Aiming at Sylvie. Then Raymond.

“And the whole time, I knew you’d run your father’s business into the ground. But did anyone want to hear what I had to say? No. Nobody listens to the lawyer.”

“What are you going to do, Sandford?” Dominic asked. “Without us, you’re out of a job.”

“You think I want this job? I fucking hate you, Dominic. God, it feels good to say that. I hated Warren, too. I danced the day he went to prison. None of you ever respected me. I warned Charles not to trust Raymond—never trust a Crane brother—and now look what’s happened? I told him. I knew.”

Dominic took a step forward, keeping his hands raised, palms out. “You’re right. Charles should’ve listened to you.”

“So now, what do I do with you? If anybody from the Syndicate is still alive, they might like to watch you get roasted on a spit.”

In the back yard, guns continued to pop like fireworks.

Dominic edged forward another step. “Or you could turn us over to Victor and his friends. They might give you something for us.”

Dominic kept slowly advancing, arms out. Sandford was backing up, the gun muzzle still pointed at them.

“Why the hell would they do that? They’d shoot you just to be rid of you. I’m sure they’re regretting their partnership with Charles and just want to wash it all away.”

Dominic was even with Sylvie now. Just one more step. That was all he needed.

Raymond had moved to the side, looking from Dominic to the lawyer. As if he could sense what was about to happen.

“What I really want,” Sandford said, “is to watch you bleed out on the ground. I think that would be sufficient payment for all the years of suffering you boys have put me through.”

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