Raiden (The Kent Brothers #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,32
he didn’t take the bait either, which was unlike him.
“It may not appear so, but we’re doing our best. I know how frustrated you are, and this is the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. But Raiden, I’m asking for your patience right now.”
I massaged my throbbing temples. “Why Scottie? This is twice now. What are they after?”
Drex shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. The only thing I know is she’s working with us and they know it. They might consider her a weak spot.”
“Maybe a leave of absence is in order with that target hanging over her.”
Cruze spoke out this time. “Hey, bro, don’t you think that’s her decision to make? A woman as strong as Scottie won’t appreciate you suggesting those things.”
“You mean protecting her or saving her life?”
“I’m telling you, she won’t look at it that way.”
Drex said, “I agree. Women like Scottie are strong and don’t fear things most women do. Not only that, deciding for her will only make her believe you don’t think she’s capable of making them on her own. That’s not a good thing. Trust me on that. Gemini gets pissed off if I try to order food for her.”
This was excellent information for when times were normal, but we were anything but normal. “Did you question any of those men?”
“Not yet. One’s in surgery and the others died.”
A huff of frustration wheezed out of me. “I figured she got one of them. She’s damn accurate with a weapon, from what I could tell.”
“Yes, she is. The one she killed took a bullet between the eyes. She probably figured he was wearing Kevlar, which he was.”
I honestly couldn’t say I was sorry. It had been them or us and I’d much rather be standing here, taking in air, than eating dirt.
Cruze threw an arm around me. “You want anything to eat or drink?”
“Some coffee. I couldn’t swallow anything solid if you paid me.”
Cruze wandered off to find coffee for the three of us while Drex and I took seats in the waiting area. Bodyguards flanked us and he brought me up to speed on them. He’d spoken to Cruze, and they’d upped the ante on the numbers present.
“We can’t afford to take any chances. I didn’t have any stationed outside the apartment or at the private elevator because I was foolish enough to believe the building was secure. Nothing is secure when an invasion occurs the way it did tonight. I lost eight men tonight and you can’t put a price on that. I’ve pulled out all the stops. No travel anywhere unless it’s in an armor-plated vehicle.”
“I don’t have one of those.”
“We’re renting a fleet of them for everyone. If we’re out and about and take on rounds like you two did tonight as sitting ducks, there won’t be any hope for survival.”
Moving sounded better and better. I mentioned it again, all I got was a resounding no.
“Raiden, like I told you before, O’Brien is relentless and out for revenge. He’ll find you. It’s much safer here.”
It didn’t seem that way to me, but I had to put my trust somewhere. Drex had lived up to his reputation, so I would continue to follow his recommendations. “The only thing I’ll say is, I hope this plan of yours works. If it doesn’t, we’ll all need to move.”
Cruze returned, carrying large cups of coffee. Not much later, the doctor appeared.
“Mr. Kent, she’s out of surgery. It went fine, although the bullet did a bit of damage. It entered at a trajectory from top to bottom, if that makes sense.” He pointed his index finger in a downward direction. “It went through the bottom portion of her liver and then perforated her large intestine. The surgical team was happy it didn’t hit her kidney. We removed the bullet and patched her up. She’ll be as good as new. She’ll stay for a few days, because of the drainage tubes and IVs, but once we get rid of those, she can go home.”
Every muscle in my body released the tension at once, and I sagged until my knees gave out. Drex grabbed me under the arm and forced me to sit. Relief washed over me in waves as I soaked in the doctor’s news. Scottie would be okay. The band that had compressed my ribs loosened, and I could finally breathe comfortably again. Inhaling seemed to be a newly discovered pleasure as I took in several long, badly needed breaths.