Shift (19 page)

“I always appreciated how Kathy could laugh at me, stitch me up and tell me where I went wrong without sounding like a bitch. It wasn't mom-like, but I appreciated it. She was always looking out for me.

“She dropped off food for me and would leave these notes.
Don't forget to mask the cell signals
or
watch for that next shipment of coke
. I'd never forget to do those things, but . . .”

But Kathy wasn't the kind of woman who told you she loved you. It was in what she did for their crew without being asked, how she gave them everything she had—even her life.

Tori wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest. A few tears leaked out the corner of her eyes. Emery slung his arm around her and stroked his other hand over her hair. She felt his lips on the top of her head and squeezed him.

“She lived the kind of life she wanted to live, doing what she loved to do.” Emery's voice was quiet, soothing, but it would be a long time before the place where Kathy lived in Tori's heart healed.

“I'm going to miss her.”

“Me too. We had her for far too short a time.”

“I like it when you actually talk to me.”

“Complete sentences?”

“You're a fast learner.”

She felt more than heard his chuckle.

What if she lost Emery tomorrow? They'd only had a few days of really knowing each other. She was just now beginning to peel back the layers of what made him tick and learning to love the real Emery. What if she lost him tomorrow? Tonight?

Her heart clenched at the thought.

“Emery?”

“Hm?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but what did she say? I love you, don't die?

“We're going to get through this, aren't we?” she asked instead.

“We are.” His answer was quick, certain and assured. The arm around her pulled her in closer.

“How do you think this is going to end?”

“I thought it would wrap up when Evers was arrested, but now I'm not so sure.”

Would it ever end? The last three months proved that when Evers was down, someone else just took his place. Tori didn't care who they eliminated so long as the bad guys were put in prison. She wasn't like Julian or Aiden, who had personal beefs with the bastard. For her, it was the job. The knowledge that she was doing something good with her life. Racing fast cars was a serious perk. Emery though? He was the icing on top.

“What are . . . what are
we
going to do?” she asked.

For a moment he didn't reply or even move. Did he get what she was asking him? What she couldn't outright tell him?

“We're going to stand watch. The others will get here. We'll make a plan and some bad guys will go to jail. After that, I don't know, but I'm looking forward to it.”

“I don't want to lose you.” There. She said it. Or as close as she could come to saying what she felt.

“You won't.”

Could she hold him to it? How long did a promise like that last?

Chapter Eighteen

The hours wore thin through the night. The clear sky grew overcast and thunder rumbled in the distance. Emery kept one eye on the streets while the other strayed back to Tori while they made their rounds. With the hit team out there, they couldn't be too careful. Now more than ever he wanted to lock her up somewhere safe, but she'd likely shoot him for trying. She was amazing.

Her secret didn't bother him like it should. Then again, so long as Alexander Iradokovia remained a shadow, he didn't care what the man did.

Emery strolled another lap around the building, but in the early morning hours the streets were quiet. Tori was waiting for him back at the air duct where they'd stashed their water and extra ammunition.

“There's nothing going on.” She frowned, gaze on the buildings. Thanks to all the streetlights, there was plenty of illumination to see by, but once it started raining it could leave them blind. Of course, it could make their attackers blind. “Do you ever worry that someone might find this place?”

“Sure. That's why I'm always working on security here. For all we know, they might already know about it.” He was fairly confident their location was still safe, but it was always smart to behave as though the enemy was out there. Which was why the entire building was reinforced. From cinder blocks stacked up inside the walls to the cameras and bulletproof windows, the Shop was as safe as he could make it.

“Do you think they'll come after us?”

“Maybe.”

Matvei had been the brains of the operation. The other three might need to call home for instructions. Their team was a valuable resource to the Russian mob network, and expending them on Tori and Roni, might be a poor expense of manpower. Hell, the girls weren't even a threat to the organized crime unit, but the Russians didn't know that. And the mob had just lost one of their best assets.

Tori edged closer. He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her in until their bodies pressed together. Her hands splayed over his chest and she stared up at him. He couldn't make out her features in the dim light, but he knew them from countless hours spent watching her. Poor thing had no idea he wasn't going to let her go.

He lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers, savoring the way she sucked in a breath at the first touch. Her hands curled into fists, bunching his shirt in her grasp. He swept his tongue along the seam of her lips, still cool from the bottled water.

A hundred thoughts, urges, and desires ran through his brain. He wanted to plug into her, show them all to her, but that wasn't how she worked. She needed his words. Complete sentences.

“I can't stop thinking about you.” She was his every other thought. His obsession. Worse now that Kathy was gone. Their lives were too short to spend waiting.

“What part of me?” She leaned into him and he loved the smile that tugged at her lips.

“All of you.” It was completely unnatural to speak his thoughts, but for her, he'd learn.

An engine revved, breaking the stillness of the night. Tori stepped away from him and grabbed the rifle on the air duct. He drew the Glock he'd tucked in his waistband and together they crept toward the edge of the building.

“See anything?” he asked Tori.

“Nothing yet.” She peered through the sights on the rifle, sweeping the streets for a sign of the car. The first light drops of rain began to fall.

With all the concrete and brick, it was hard to pinpoint the location of the car.

“There.” Tori pivoted. Headlights slashed across a building and the car turned down the road that ran parallel to the Shop. She dropped the rifle into the cradle of her arms. “It's Julian.”

Emery exhaled, but it wasn't in relief.

This was going to be a bitch.

“Come on, we need to update him.” He gathered up the trash from their protein bars and followed Tori to the ladder.

By the time they reached the warehouse floor, Gabriel was rolling the door up for Julian. Emery glanced at the office where CJ was ensconced, but the lights were off. He could only hope CJ had passed out. He might have an easygoing, disarming appearance, but the man underneath was a skilled agent who'd outlasted and outshot his enemies to survive this long.

“Gabriel, you look like shit.” Julian got out of the sleek, black car and stretched.

Gabriel grunted and lowered the gate.

“Emery.” Julian's brows rose, no doubt surprised to see Emery at the Shop without an obvious reason. “Going to kill someone? What did I miss?”

“A lot.” Emery nodded toward the security office. They needed to be inside where they could keep their eyes on the cameras.

“Shit. At least let me grab something to wake me up.” Julian strode to the bunk room and within moments the scent of coffee wafted toward them.

“Where do you think he's been?” Tori asked as they entered the security office.

“No clue.” Usually Emery tried to keep tabs on Julian's assignments though it wasn't his job, but he'd been distracted.

“How much are we telling him?” She kept her voice low and she settled into one of the chairs lining the wall.

Emery resisted glaring at Gabriel, who settled into the seat next to Tori. The swift kick of jealousy was something he'd need to deal with. Tori worked alongside Gabriel every day. If there was anything between them, Emery would have known by now. That knowledge didn't appease his desire to shove Gabriel aside.

“I don't know.” Emery sat in the rolling chair and glanced at the monitors.

Julian was on a hair trigger these days. If they'd thought it was bad before Evers was arrested, he was nearly unbearable since the arrest. They had to tell Julian that Evers was being released tomorrow, yet another thing going wrong for them. Then what? The news of Kathy's death needed to be broken carefully, and they should be prepared for an outburst. Everything else was small fry compared to those two details.

He scrubbed his face. The couple hours of sleep last night and the post-sex nap that afternoon weren't enough to keep him going. They needed a better plan, that was for sure.

“Okay, so what shit storm have you stirred up while I was gone?” Julian leaned against the door frame, stirring his coffee.

“Where's mine?” Tori asked.

“Where I left it.” One side of Julian's mouth hiked up. A good sign. Wherever he'd been, the job must have gone well.

“Jackass.” Tori grinned and set the rifle on the desk.

“Why are you packing a sniper rifle?” Julian's good humor faded.

For a moment none of them spoke.

“A lot has happened.” Emery sat back in the chair. Where to start?

“Okay.” Julian sipped the coffee and stared at Emery. There was an edge there, one Emery wasn't sure wouldn't cut him.

“Short version?” Tori twisted to face Julian. “The Eleventh is working for Evers. They have a compound facility north of here. The Russian mob sent a hit team here to kill Roni and me. They shot Kathy instead.”

“Is she okay?” Julian asked before Tori could continue.

Tori cringed.

“No, she's not.” Emery put his elbows on the desk and stared up at Julian. “She died earlier.”

Julian's tanned skin went pale and the coffee cup crinkled, spilling a little of the liquid on his hand and the floor.

“She's dead?” he asked.

“Yes. She died at the hospital. There was nothing they could do,” Tori replied softly.

Julian sank into a chair and Tori moved into the one next to him. She took the coffee from his grip before he crushed it, and put her other hand on his shoulder.

“What about the others? Do they know?” Julian lifted his head and glanced around to take them all in. His gaze landed on Gabriel. “What happened to you?”

“Fender bender.” Gabriel leaned against the wall behind his chair.

Emery answered Julian's first question. “CJ was the last person to reach out to Aiden's group. They're on their way here, but they don't know everything that's happened in the last twelve hours.” Emery glanced at the clock. “I would have expected them here already.”

“How's CJ?” Julian asked.

“He's been locked in the office since we got here.” Tori rubbed her hands on her jeans. There were a few bloodstains on her jeans and tank top, but he hadn't pointed them out.

“I'm calling Aiden.” Julian grabbed his phone out of his pocket and cursed. “Got a charger?”

Emery held out his hand and grabbed a charging cable with the other. Julian hesitated before handing it over. What didn't Julian want him to see? Emery made a note to check Julian's phone later. He stole a quick glance at it as he plugged it in. Three missed calls from Lily?
Lily
, as in Madison's best friend? The same friend Julian had rescued? That was interesting.

“Here.” Gabriel handed over one of the extra phones he must have picked up earlier.

Julian grabbed it and stepped out into the warehouse to make the call.

“That went better than I'd have thought.” Tori sank down in her chair and closed her eyes.

“It hasn't really hit me, ya know, that she's gone?” Gabriel stared at the floor.

Gabriel was right. It would sink in over time. Kathy wouldn't answer the phones at Classic Rides anymore. There would be no more notes. A hundred little things she'd done for them would be missed and the ache would persist until they'd all learned to move on.

All at once the rain let loose, pelting the warehouse and drowning out Julian's voice.

“Where have you two been?” Gabriel asked, lifting his gaze to Emery.

“I heard about the hit team, then I made the call to go to ground. Hoped it would protect the rest of the crew,” Emery replied.

Gabriel glanced at Tori, then back to Emery. Gabriel was observant, but what was between Tori and Emery was none of his fucking business.

Julian stepped back into view and leaned on the door frame. “They should be here in two hours, maybe less. A couple Eleventh guys ran John off the road, so they had to stop to make a few repairs, farted around. I gave them the highlights.”

“Emery and Tori need some downtime,” Gabriel said.

“Why don't you and I take watch? You guys can get some rest. When the others get here we can make a plan.” Julian was incredibly calm considering the mess their operation was in. He was almost like the old Julian. The one who had passion, determination, and a streak of goodness in him.

“Don't have to tell me twice.” Tori stood and stretched. Emery didn't look at her, but he was aware of her every movement. “I'm going to go find a spot to nap.” She left the office without a backward glance.

“Emery. Stay a moment.” Gabriel leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

Julian propped himself on the door frame once more, blocking the exit and any chance Emery had to see where she'd gone.

“What's up?” Julian asked.

Emery glanced at Julian, then Gabriel.

“You and Tori?” Gabriel tilted his head to the side.

Julian's eyes widened, but he said nothing.

“Yeah?” Emery curled his hands into fists.

“The suits won't like it.”

“And?”

“Be careful. If not for you, for her.”

“Shit.” Julian sat down in the seat he'd vacated and stared at Emery. “How long?”

Emery forced his hands to relax and folded his arms over his chest. He'd followed the rules, done everything they'd asked of him, but this might be too much.

“Not long,” he replied.

“Is it fuck buddies or—”

“Julian.” Emery's vision hazed red.

“I had to ask.” Julian held up his hands. “Gabriel's right. Be careful. Tell him.”

Gabriel blew out a breath and glanced at the door.

“She's gone to her car, man.” Julian leaned back, peering out of the door.

“You know I used to be FBI.” Gabriel stared at Emery.

It wasn't a question.

Emery knew every member of their crew's history, but with Julian and Gabriel, there were huge chunks missing. He'd filled in most of it by looking up other reports and connecting the dots, but they'd never outright talked about it. Gabriel, like most of their crew, was a contracted employee for the FBI. He might work for them, but he wasn't an agent. Which was how their superiors liked it. If shit went to hell, they could cut ties and pretend to be blameless.

“I was . . . in a relationship with my handler. I'd been deep cover since joining the agency and she was the only constant in my life. The last operation, it was messy. Bad stuff. When shit hit the fan and everything came out, I couldn't stomach the bullshit anymore. I had words with our superiors. They cut me, kept her, and I've been floating since then.”

“That was fucked up.” Julian shook his head, but didn't say anything else.

“I like Tori. I don't want to see her or her sister burned. Especially not now.” Gabriel's stare was honest, a real been-there-done-that vibe.

Anger boiled in Emery's veins, but even he recognized that it was misplaced. It wasn't Gabriel he should be angry with, and just because that was what happened to Gabriel didn't mean it would happen to Tori. But when the chips fell, and Kathy's death factored into the FBI's plans, would they determine Tori was too much of a liability to keep?

If it came to that, he'd leave. Pack up and go with her. Roni could stay, and he'd watch Tori's back.

“When did this happen?” Julian asked.