hologram. “I want open comms so we can hear what’s going on. No one takes unnecessary risks.”
“Fast and quiet,” Nina added. “No guns if you can avoid them. And if you get in trouble, remember—”
“Help is on the way,” everyone but Knox finished in unison.
Nina’s cheeks heated, a flush that deepened when Knox stepped closer to help her secure her tactical harness. “I think I may have said that last thing one too many times,” she murmured.
His lips curved. The backs of his fingers brushed her collarbone as he untwisted a strap. “Repetition is how they remember it with bullets flying at their heads.”
“Or they get so annoyed they stop listening entirely.”
“No. I see the way they watch you.” He smoothed the strap down over her back and tugged it to test it. “They trust you. They’ll always listen.”
The words washed over her, warm and soothing, every syllable wreathed with sincerity. “Knox—”
Gray’s voice cut through hers. “Target acquired.”
The words elicited a burst of adrenaline that had her rocking up on the balls of her feet. “You all know what to do.”
Rafe and Dani melted around the side of the warehouse, an offensive line ready to clear the path to the diner’s back entrance. A heartbeat later, Conall followed them.
Nina went in the opposite direction, rounding the back of the building, with Maya and Knox at her heels. This time of year, the sun tended to set late, and the timing of their attack was crucial. This was perfect. There were shadows deep enough to hide in, but enough light left to see.
They made their way single file through the narrow alley that ran behind the row of shops lining the main street. Halfway down, a door opened, and a man stepped out with a two-way radio in one hand and an unlit cigarette in the other. Quickly, Nina waved the others back, and together they ducked into an alcove between two buildings.
The man lit his cigarette, took a deep drag, and raised the radio handset. “I don’t like it,” he grumbled. “That was the second group we’ve had to run out of town in the last few days, and this one could have caused us problems.”
The speaker crackled, and whoever was on the other end snorted. “Since when are you scared of a couple of assholes?”
“They were armed, man.”
“Barely. And they were more focused on their lady friends than anything. Besides, Henry had them on lock the whole time from his nest up in the tower.”
Dani’s voice whispered through Nina’s earpiece. “Conall’s in. Rafe and I are moving on to phase two.”
The man at the back door took another long drag from his cigarette. “It’s not worth it anymore. We should clean this place out, get rid of the witnesses, and split.”
Maya grabbed Nina’s arm, her face tense. Knox touched Maya’s shoulder and held up a finger, then tapped his ear. The message was clear—when it was time to move, they’d hear it.
Maya’s mouth flattened into a hard line, but she nodded, clutching her stun-stick in one hand.
In the alleyway, the smoking man was still griping. “The big man needs to take his head out of his ass, or maybe we’ll have to get rid of him, too.”
“You want a bullet in the head? Fuck off with that kind of talk. I’m gonna hit the bar before you get us both tossed in with the hostages.”
A crackle of static ended the conversation. Over the comms, the faint clink of glass was followed by Conall’s soft murmur. “The liquor’s hot.”
Knox met Nina’s gaze, one eyebrow arched in silent query. She tilted her head in answer, and he slipped into the alley as the man holstered the walkie-talkie.
He was fifteen feet away. Knox covered it silently, in the space between heartbeats. The man turned after dropping his cigarette, and his eyes widened as Knox bore down on him. His mouth opened—
It was over before a sound emerged. Knox snapped his neck with one swift jerk and caught the body before it could slump noisily to the ground. He lowered the man, stripped away his gun and walkie, and melted back to Nina’s side.
Nina steadied Maya. “How long did Dani say the poison would take?”
“Five minutes,” she answered, matching Dani’s inflection perfectly. “Ten if they’re stubborn.”
Then they only had a few minutes before the slower drinkers started watching their buddies drop—and raised one hell of an alarm. “When we get in there, head straight for the vault. Knox and I will handle the