you anymore. The company needed to bring in a new face, and someone who'd use the ban hammer. They're the ones who fired you. Evidently, you weren't that good at your job." Leaning back, she lifted her chin. "You ruined your life, Larry, not me. Thing is, you also ruined mine, and I know where I recognize your voice from. It's been a while, Black Snake. Didn't even have the balls to rape me like the rest. You got scared and ran."
"No," he assured her. "I gave you to them. I told them to have fun. It was my little present to celebrate the start of our war, just like I'm going to let these guys tear you apart for their own amusement. One way or another, we will make sure that two-faced bitches will not control our lives. You should've stayed in the kitchen, Destiny. I warned you not to touch games again, and you ignored me. Now, you're going to entertain the masses as you die."
Bradley found a hotel on the north side. The staff didn't hesitate to give them access to the roof once they showed their badges. Granted, Jason's dog got a funny look, but he didn't really care. Never mind that his service animal was what surprised them, and not the case that held his gun. No, that was simply assumed to be some ordinary piece of equipment or something.
The elevator ride was tense, with the young woman jingling her keys the whole way up. She tried to strike up a conversation, but Jason wasn't in the mood. Thankfully, Bradley still had his manners. He reassured her that it was unlikely anyone dangerous would enter the building, but warned that the police and SWAT should be showing up any minute. There was a good chance they'd want to set up in the lobby, so she might want to notify the clients not to use the front entrance.
Then they reached the top floor. Across the hall was another stairwell. It only went up one floor, and then let them out onto the roof. The woman stood there for a second, looking a little confused.
"Can you leave it unlocked?" Bradley asked. "If so, then you can go back down. I promise that we'll handle everything up here ourselves."
"Oh... ok." She backed herself into the stairwell again. "Um, let us know if you need anything."
Jason wanted to laugh at that, but didn't. That was her nerves, and it was probably what she'd been trained to say. He waited long enough for her to be gone, and then moved to the edge, looking down at the casino where his wife had to be. Somewhere in there, a man was terrorizing her, but where? Cracking open his case, he pulled out a pair of binoculars and began scanning. Movement of shadows, a hint of something, it didn't matter. There had to be some sign of her!
That was when the SWAT team finally arrived. Their truck pulled up, and another was right behind it. The pair rolled just over the curb, right behind the white SUV, and men began pouring out. Seconds later, the sound of sirens began to fill the air. Jason kept scanning the windows. That should bring a little attention, right? He just had to know what room they were in - and he fucking hoped he'd picked the right side.
"There!" Bradley said. "Fifth floor, three over from the right. Er, third from the right."
Yeah, Jason knew what he'd meant. He quickly counted from the ground up, then from the right over, and he saw it. Plastic floated in the room, but a group of dark shapes were definitely people. He passed the binoculars to Bradley and turned for his gun.
"They're in there," he told his partner.
"You can only see half the room from here," Bradley warned.
"Trust me, I fucking know," Jason growled. "Tell Alex."
So Bradley pulled out his phone, but he paused before making the call. On impulse, he dug into his pocket again. When his hand came out, he had a pair of Bluetooth earbuds. Those, he offered to Jason.
"Call your friends while you do that. They deserve to know."
It took seconds to pair the earbuds to his phone, and a couple more to select Knock's contact and dial. He could feel the time slipping away, but they were in there. He'd seen them move. Someone was still alive, and he needed to put his gun together.
Then someone answered the other line. "Knock's phone, this is