with Wolf.”
“There better be coffee nearby.” I copied Kayden’s action and clicked on the
earpiece. A soft click indicated an active line, and it was followed by Kayden’s
“check”. Mine followed, then Bishop’s.
“Wolf, status check.” While Kayden checked in, I motioned to Bishop to
hand me the camera bag. I pulled out my Nikon D3, attached one of my shorter
lenses, and then dropped the strap over my neck.
“All quiet, no movement.” A rough, smoker’s voice filled my ear. “Heard
you had some excitement on your end, Ghost.”
Kayden flicked a look to Bishop, who just grinned. “I’m fine.”
Unable to help myself, I snorted and continued my equipment check,
propping my leg on the console to retighten my Sig’s ankle holster. Kayden’s color might be better, but the angry looking knot on his head wasn’t. Knowing
how pig-headed Kayden could be, I had no doubt he was ignoring a hell of a headache.
“Sounds as if someone doesn’t agree,” Wolf said. “That you, Bishop?”
The big man in my backseat gave a small smile. “Not me. That would be
Ghost’s sidekick.”
I folded my arms, and then joined the conversation. “He dodged a bullet and ran face first into a floor. It left a mark.”
A hoarse bark sounded in my ear. “Yeah, floors tend to do that.”
“I’m fine.” Kayden untucked his T-shirt to hide his gun. “Enough chitchat, time to gear up. Wolf, Bishop’s heading your way. Arden and I will keep eyes on
Hobbes and watch for shadows. We’ll regroup in a couple of hours. Until then,
stay on your toes.”
“Roger, that.” Wolf’s response floated over the line. “Watch your six.”
“Roger.” Kayden turned to Bishop and me. “Let’s go.”
This wasn’t a crime-riddled neighborhood, but the idea of leaving my Jeep in
an open, partially deserted parking lot did not leave me with the warm fuzzies.
“Hang on, there are a couple of things I need Bishop to keep, just in case.”
I got out and circled around to the lift gate. Ramirez’s notebooks were in my
duffle bag in the cargo area. I dug through my duffle, then gathered up my rifle
case. Turning around, I handed Bishop the most precious thing first. “Do not let
anything happen to her.”
He took the rifle case from me with care and let out a low whistle of appreciation. “Nice piece.”
“Yes, she is, and I don’t need her tempting possible car jackers.” I held out
the three notebooks. “Best keep these as well.”
He tucked them under his arm. “What are they?”
This time it was Kayden’s turn to answer. “Found them in Ramirez’s locker.
If you and Wolf get bored and find yourselves in need of reading material, there
might be something useful in there, we haven’t had a chance to find out.”
Bishop’s brows rose. “Interesting. I’ll see what we can do.”
Now that my Jeep was temptation free, I locked it up. Behind me the men exchanged a quick good-bye. I turned and found myself enveloped in a quick, rib-bending hug. “Be careful you two.” With that last warning, Bishop headed out, leaving Kayden and I alone.
Kayden dropped his sunglasses in place. “Ready?”
“Let’s rock ‘n’ roll.” No sunglasses for me, not with my camera in hand. It
was time to go people watch.
IT WAS CLOSING in on eight at night and the sun was sinking below the horizon.
Streetlights joined the illumination spilling from storefronts to hold back the coming summer evening. Crouched by a planter on the opposite side of the street
where the restaurant sat, I adjusted the aperture on my lens. I raised the camera
and framed the small knot of people milling outside The Dragon. Laughter and
conversation were interspersed with the faint bass lines bleeding from the club a
few doors down. Colors and lights swirled together in a frenetic palette of energy, painting the busy street.
“They’re starting to get a line outside,” I murmured as my Nikon quietly clicked its little heart out.
