Chapter Twenty

After checking on Kenzie to make sure she was okay, Declan knocked on doors and rounded up his coworkers to show them the pictures. While Noah forwarded them to the tech crew back at the COBRA Securities offices, Alex called it in to the Chicago PD. They were currently trying to verify the pictures were legitimate and if so, trace where they’d been taken.

“Hey, look at this.” Ethan enlarged a portion of the photo to reveal the view from one of the windows.

Declan pointed at the screen. “It’s the apartment complex where Jamal lived.”

“I recognize the graffiti,” Noah agreed. “The room’s a large open space. It must be a clubhouse or meeting room of some sort.”

Declan scribbled down the address and handed it to Alex. He read the note, nodded and relayed the information to the person on the other line before disconnecting and joining them around the table. “The police are heading there now. And before you ask, no I didn’t mention the storage facility we’re visiting in the morning.”

Good. They didn’t know what they’d find inside or if it was even the right place. No sense in possibly tipping off one of the gangs in case they had a mole planted inside the department. Maybe the building had nothing to do with whatever the gangs were after. It was best for them to check it out first and then involve the authorities if necessary. Jamarcus could’ve stashed anything from drugs to dead bodies inside.

“How many Daggers are we dealing with?” Dorian asked.

“Their ranks were decimated by a clash with the Eighty-Sixers a few weeks ago. They lost another one yesterday,” Kayla said, referencing their shootout at Jamal’s old apartment.

“Two,” Noah corrected, meaning the other man didn’t make it.

“That puts their numbers at a whopping fourteen,” Ethan concluded. “Give or take.”

With a disbelieving frown, Gage indicated the screen. “How did fourteen men get the jump on eighteen on their own turf?”

“Maybe they added to their ranks overnight,” Ethan drawled.

“They could’ve joined with another crew, like how the Eighty-Sixers hooked up with the Dogs in Detroit,” Declan pointed out.

Alex shook his head. “The Chicago gangs are territorial. I can’t see them doing that, especially since they’re after something of significance. If it’s drugs, or money, or human trafficking, they won’t want to share.” His phone buzzed and he stepped away to answer.

Declan hadn’t considered the possibility of human trafficking. He wouldn’t be surprised to discover one or both gangs were involved in the illegal trade of individuals for sexual slavery or forced labor. The practice was amoral and from what he’d learned of the Eighty-Sixers and the Daggers, both were notoriously unscrupulous.

“I hate to point this out, but one of us needs to stay here tomorrow morning to guard Kenzie and Jamal,” Noah warned. “Usually it would be the rookie, but we’ve got two of them.”

Declan opened his mouth to argue. He wanted to be the one to find out what Jamarcus stole from the Daggers. Before he could speak, Noah continued. “Since this is Declan’s op, he needs to be there. That leaves you, Gage.”

Declan glanced at his friend to gauge his reaction. He knew he’d be upset about being left out of the action on his first assignment as an agent, but Gage surprised him.

“No problem.”

When Gage met his gaze, Declan gave a nod and Gage mirrored it.

Alex returned. “The police found the room and confirmed the inside looks exactly like the photo. It was apparently the Eighty-Sixer’s clubhouse.”

Noah shook his head. “The Daggers wiped out the entire Eighty-Sixers crew in their own territory. That’s brave.”

“Whatever they’re looking for must be super-important,” Kayla reiterated.

And one small boy stood in their way.

#

Early the next morning, Declan secured a bulletproof vest across his chest and then covered it with his shirt. He and Noah were about the same size, so Noah lent him a COBRA Securities polo and a pair of tactical pants to wear. It felt good to strap a gun to his hip. Another went into an ankle holster, along with a knife in a special pocket on the side of his leg. After he secured the comm unit in his ear, they did a mic check. They were good to go.

He’d barely slept last night. He didn’t expect anything to go wrong with the trip to the storage facility. It might turn out to be a dead end. That’s what had his gut churning. They were running out of time to find whatever Jamarcus stole from the gang and it felt like a noose was tightening around his neck. Though the Daggers’ numbers were depleted, they made up for it in deadly force. He wanted Jamal and Kenzie safe. Then he’d be able to relax.

“Dorian and I will leave now to scope the place out and then give you the all clear,” Alex said. “Then we’ll stay out of sight to provide backup, just in case.”

As Alex and Dorian drove away, Declan climbed into the passenger seat to help navigate while Noah drove. Ethan and Kayla settled into the back. Something made him look at the house as they started down the driveway. Kenzie watched from the doorway, her hand lifted in a wave. Even knowing she wouldn’t be able to see through the darkened windows, he waved back.

Typical Chicago traffic made the twenty-mile drive last fifty-five minutes, despite speeding along on the Interstate for most of the trip.

“We’re here,” Dorian announced through the comm. “Not much security to speak of. A couple of cameras that might or might not work. No guards or locked gates. We’re driving by the unit now. Lock’s in place. Alex and I will park at the closed car wash next door and circle back to provide backup.”

“Copy that.” Declan consulted the GPS. “We’re about ten minutes out.”

Noah checked the mirrors. “No sign of a tail.”

They crossed into Indiana and took the exit that would lead them to the location. Declan spotted the line of buildings with blue doors and directed Noah to the entry. Jamarcus must’ve picked this facility for its resemblance to his apartment: most of the units were tagged with colorful graffiti. They drove slowly down the aisles until they spotted unit one twenty-three.

“We’re in place,” Alex informed them.

Declan glanced around but didn’t see anyone. The area looked deserted. Several of the doors were either open or unsecured. The lock on Jamarcus’ unit looked new. Declan crouched down and inserted the key they found inside Yogi, his heart kicking when it clicked open. “Bingo.” This was what they’d been searching for all along.

Grabbing the handle, he lifted the door as he stood. The stench hit him first and nausea rolled in his belly.

“Ugh, flashbacks to the apartment,” Kayla groaned.

“These are getting a workout,” Noah mused as he handed everyone a mask.

Ethan found a string attached to an overhead light and tugged it on. Dozens of boxes were stacked haphazardly inside. They found the source of the smell slumped in the corner.

“That’s Razor Ivanov,” Noah stated. “Leader of the Eighty-Sixers.”

He’d been shot, but that wasn’t what killed him. It was the unnatural angle of his neck that most likely ended his life. Someone had twisted so hard, his head was practically backwards.

Noah snapped a picture and then they focused on the boxes. Declan removed his knife and slit the tape on one, while Noah did the same and let out a long whistle. He held up a plastic-wrapped brick with a gloved hand. Stamped on top was a bloody Dagger. “I’m guessing cocaine.”

Kayla waved a hand. “In all these boxes?”

Declan peeled the flaps back from his box. “No.”

“What’s in yours?” Ethan questioned.

He held up a brick of a different kind. Cold, hard cash. Stacks of one hundred-dollar bills. The box was packed to the brim.

Ethan and Kayla helped and by the time they checked all the boxes, the amount of money and drugs were mind boggling. Without a hard count, they estimated the cash to be around twenty million dollars give or take. The boxes filled with blow contained one hundred bricks apiece and there were two dozen. Declan wasn’t up on the street value of coke, but it had to be significant.

He’d been correct when he surmised Jamarcus could’ve kept drugs or dead bodies inside. He’d hidden both.

Kayla stood with her hands on her hips. “I see why they were so anxious to find this.”

“This is interesting.” Ethan tipped over a box filled with clothes, shoes and personal items. “It looks like Jamarcus was planning on rabbiting with the booty.”

“We’ll never know, but Razor must’ve known what Jamarcus stole or maybe he ordered him to,” Noah guessed.

“He decided he wanted it all for himself, so he eliminated the threat,” Kayla finished.

“Heads up. Vehicles approaching,” Alex relayed through the comms. “Three travelling at a high rate of speed, heading for your location.”

“They’re splitting up to surround you,” Dorian warned.

“Lock up and head to the SUV,” Noah ordered.

“No time,” Dorian insisted. “Weapons at the ready and hold your positions.”

They ripped off their masks as the sound of tires squealing at each end of the building echoed down the corridor.

Alex let out a harsh curse. “One man jumped out with a rocket launcher. Take cover.”

The whizzing sound grew closer as the missile zipped through the air and slammed into Noah’s SUV, blowing it sky high before it landed on the units across the alley and crashed back to the ground. Good thing they didn’t hunker down in there. They barely had time to recover from the blast before all hell broke loose. Alex and Dorian started picking off unsuspecting gang members from their rooftop perches while the four of them fired from inside the building. An engine roared and then a car sped down the road towards them. A gun barrel poked out the back window. If Declan couldn’t stop them, they’d spray the storage unit with automatic gunfire. He and his coworkers would be sitting ducks with no solid cover to absorb the impact of the bullets. Leaning out, he aimed for the driver, pumping the windshield full of lead. Meanwhile, Kayla aimed for the front tire, blowing it out. The car jerked and swerved, but not before the man operating the AK-47 squeezed the trigger. The car slammed into back of the unit across from them, the front-end crumpling, sending smoke pouring from the hood. The driver hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt. He was currently lodged in the broken windshield.

“All active shooters neutralized,” Dorian reported. “Two down on either side. We’ll check on them.”

“Driver’s out of commission.” Declan kept an eye out for any movement from the back seat. The gun had dropped out the window, but the man might have a backup. Creeping closer with his weapon ready, he heard a moan as he neared. The man was slumped across the seat bleeding profusely. Declan opened the door and dragged him out by his feet. He thudded to the ground with a muted gurgle of pain.

Judging by the amount of blood, the man wouldn’t last long enough for a doctor to save him. He needed answers. Crouching down, he slapped the man’s face to make sure he was conscious. “How did you find us?”

The man’s pain-filled gaze landed on Kayla. “The chick…led us…to you.”

Kayla jerked back. “What? Impossible,” she scoffed.

“S-true,” he slurred. “Remember…man you bumped into at…hospital? That…me.” He let out a shuddering sigh. “I tagged…shoes…device tracked you.” His eyes rolled back, and his head lolled to the side. Noah and Ethan dropped down to tend to his wounds, but there was nothing they could do for him.

Dorian hurried over, skirting around the burning SUV. “Both deceased on my end.”

Alex approached from the other direction. “Mine, too. I called Terrance Owens to give him the information about what we found in the unit, so he’d get credit for the bust.”

Declan nodded in approval, the movement making his head spin. What was that about? “Good.” Terrance watched over his brother, so he owed him. A major drug and cash bust would boost his stock in the department, maybe even earn him a promotion.

Kayla grabbed onto his arm for support as she lifted a foot to peer at the bottom of her shoe. He bit back a cry of pain as his vision swam.

She jerked her hand away and gaped at it. “Declan, you’re bleeding.”

Now that she mentioned it, his arm was throbbing. He glanced down to see his sleeve covered in blood. It’d flowed down his arm and slipped beneath his glove, leaving his hand moist. He couldn’t feel it because his arm was currently numb. Oh, no, no, no. He’d spent too much time in the hospital recently. He’d just slap a Band-Aid on it and call it good.

He hissed in a breath when she tugged at his sleeve, rolling it up until she could assess the damage. “Bad news is you were shot. Good news is it went all the way through, so no need to dig out the slug.”

“It’s nothing,” he insisted.

“You’re going to the hospital whether you like it or not,” Noah informed him.

“Not,” he muttered.

“Too bad.”

“We don’t all need to be here when the cops arrive,” Dorian noted. “You guys get him checked out. Alex and I will stay here and deal with the authorities.”

Ethan glanced at the still-burning shell that had once been Noah’s SUV. “Yeah, about that. We don’t have wheels.”

“Take mine.” Alex handed him his keys. “We’ll get a ride back.”

Before they bullied him into a trip to the ER, Declan dug in his feet. “Two men down at either end plus the two in the vehicle. That’s only six.”

Noah finished his thought. “That means there are eight more out there. Now that there’s no possibility of recovering the drugs and cash they were after, they might want payback.”

Would they try to exact revenge against one innocent seven-year-old boy? Declan’s vision started to blur. Noah helped him into the SUV and Ethan climbed in beside him to tend to the wound. He hated this so much. Though it hurt like hades when Ethan pressed on the wound to staunch the bleeding, he bit his tongue, refusing to cry out. Conversation went on around him, but his focus was on not passing out.

“Look at this.” Kayla held up a small black dot. “It was embedded in a groove in the bottom of my shoe.”

Noah braked at a red light and glanced over. “You think that’s the tracking device?”

“It’s not just a sticker. I can feel something inside.” She punched an app on her phone and held it to the dot. “It doesn’t register as a tracker.”

“We’ll send it to Tyler to dissect.”

#

Kenzie couldn’t stop pacing. Anxiety twisted her stomach in knots. Even though Declan promised it was an easy trip to the storage unit and back, she couldn’t get rid of the nagging feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Picking up on her mood, Jamal had been subdued. He and Yogi were lying on the couch watching a Disney movie. Gage was sitting at the bar with his computer. He’d offered to prepare an omelet for her, but her tummy protested at the thought of food. Not even the smell of the bacon he fried up for Jamal could tempt her. Maybe after Declan returned safely, her appetite would return, too.

Needing a distraction, she gazed at the attractive agent. His jet-black hair was the same color as hers, though his was cut short, emphasizing his chiseled features. Whereas her blue eyes tended more towards gray, his were a cobalt that stood out against his tan skin. He was about the same height as Declan and just as muscular and fit. Even through his clothes, he looked like he didn’t carry an ounce of body fat. She knew for a fact Declan didn’t.

Huh, it was true that if you studied someone long enough, they’d feel your stare. He glanced up with a questioning look. “What?”

“How long have you been with COBRA Securities?”

“A week.”

Her brows shot up. “Really? I thought you and Declan acted as if you knew each other.”

“We do. We went through training at the same time and roomed together. I stayed while he returned home to pack.”

“Is this your first assignment?”

“Yes.”

She winced. “Sorry you were stuck with the short end of the stick babysitting us.”

“All part of the job,” he assured her before returning his attention to his computer. She wasn’t letting him off so easily.

“Where are you from originally?”

“Oklahoma.”

“An Okie from Muskogee?” she teased, referencing the old Merle Haggard song.

“Stillwater, actually.” His cell rang. “It’s Kayla.” He listened, his face hardening. “Repeat that?” He glanced at Kenzie as he disconnected. “Declan’s been shot.”