Page 55 of Twisted Empire

I couldn’t say for sure that we’d come out of this final battle unscathed, but with Beckett at the helm, our chances couldn’t have been better.

CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE

Logan

The modest two-story brick building stood stark against the sinking evening sun. I stared up at it through the window of our car from where we were parked down the street. A heavy mix of trepidation and apprehension churned in my stomach.

This was it, our final gambit. If we couldn’t find something that would destroy Doom’s Seed in his base of operations, then he’d essentially won.

In the driver’s seat, Beckett tapped at his phone’s screen. “All right,” he told the rest of us. “My people dealt with the guards who stayed back after most of the people stationed here took off to tackle the Claws and the Nobles. They haven’t seen anyone else in or around the place, although they have a limited view of the interior. We still have to be very careful.”

I nodded, touching the pistol tucked into the waistband of my jeans. “I’m ready. We go in now?”

“The faster we get in there, the more time we have before the men my friends diverted return.”

Beckett shoved his phone into his pocket and pushed open his door, and the rest of us spilled out after him. Maddie’s pale hair swished over her shoulders as she raised her chin defiantly.

A pang of love shot through my chest. She was here standing with us right until the end. She really was an incredible woman.

I had to make sure this asshole could never hurt her or anyone she cared about again.

Dexter strode ahead of us, checking the front door and then hustling around to the back. As we came down the lane beside the building to join him, he returned, frowning.

“He’s got some high-tech locks on the doors. I can’t open them with my typical tools.”

“Let’s see.” Slade marched down the lane and spun to take in the rear of the building. He let out a chuckle. “They were so focused on the doors, they didn’t think about the windows.”

He pointed to a large window on the second floor which was standing open to let in the warm spring air. The windows on the first floor were barred, but not those above. And a dumpster stood against the back of the building just close enough that we could use it to get us most of the way there.

I eyeballed it. “I’ll boost you all up and then I should be able to reach it on my own. Or you can give me a hand from above.”

The others nodded without a word. We all knew there wasn’t time for arguing if one of us came up with a solid enough plan. We just needed to get inside.

We scrambled onto the dumpster, me helping Dexter when he wobbled. Not wanting to send Maddie through first, I gave Beckett a leg up. He pushed on the screen, and it popped out with a faint clatter on the floor in the room above. He scrambled inside.

I hefted up Slade and Dexter and finally Maddie, giving her a quick kiss first. She touched my cheek. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going to make sure of that,” I told her, and boosted her to where she could grip the window ledge.

Standing with my arms stretched as high as they could go, I couldn’t quite touch the ledge by myself. But after bending my knees, I managed to spring high enough to hook my hands over it. Slade and Beckett leaned out to grab my arms, supporting my weight as I clambered farther inside and then backing up to give me room to ease in.

We’d come into a bedroom where a few of Doom’s Seed’s men must have slept, cots lining the walls with a mess of clothing draped across their frames.

“No sign of anyone so far,” Beckett said under his breath. “We all know the drill.”

“I’ll start downstairs,” I said, since it looked like the upstairs might be more living space than work area.

My job was to find a computer, any computer, and gain access so we could steal all the files these people were keeping on it. The others were searching out physical evidence—paper records or anything else that could contribute to a case or give us leverage.

Whether we got the cops involved after all or we forced Doom’s Seed to back off on our own, I didn’t care. I just wanted this mess over with.

Maddie and Slade followed me down the stairs while Beckett and Dexter split off to check the upstairs rooms. Knowing Slade would have Maddie’s back, I let myself hurry ahead of them since I could scan the rooms more quickly for my target. My pistol stayed in my hand, ready in case we encountered anyone.

There was a living room of sorts with a mix of clashing armchairs, a dining room with a big scratched up table, and a room that appeared to be used for storage with loads of cardboard boxes and crates. Slade and Maddie started digging through the containers there, but I hadn’t seen a single computer yet.

At least we also hadn’t run into any adversaries either.

I pushed into another room and found a couple of desks, a filing cabinet, a bookcase stacked with odds and ends… and a laptop sitting smack in the middle of one of the desks.

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