“Well, we know some are involved. They would have needed enough for three teams to hit Chris, Paul, and us within a couple of days of each other.”
“More likely four,” Rowe corrected. He looked over at JB, who paled a little. “I think you got out just in time. The team sent to kill you missed seeing you in Texas.”
“You think my family is safe? I talked to my dad and my sister earlier today. They haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary.”
Rowe nodded. “They might be asshole killers, but they are being precise. Sticking to their targets. They took out both Paul and Chris when they were alone.”
“Erik has got to know you’re here,” Noah added. “He’s going to keep coming after you.”
“Strangely, that makes me feel better,” JB said, giving them both a crooked smile.
“Between the hotel and Cates’s house, we took down six. Seven if you count Jeff leaving town.” Noah stared at the bottle, shrugged, and poured them all another shot. “One more can’t hurt. We should have the triplets cross-reference the employees with prison records, dishonorable discharges, things like that.”
“That’s a good idea,” Rowe said. “You think Dave is still alive?”
JB set his glass down, frowning. “Surely the guy wouldn’t take out his own brother.”
“That’s the thing.” Rowe picked up his second shot. “He ambushed his own people in Afghanistan and is now taking out anyone who can tie him to that ambush. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the type to sit down with you for a beer before putting one in your chest right across the table. That’s what it looked like at Cates’s house. Taking out his own brother would still surprise me, but not much. Not at this point.”
“I don’t know,” JB said slowly. “Hard to imagine someone being that evil.”
“We’re all too familiar with that brand of evil.” Rowe set his glass down without drinking the bourbon. “The thing that keeps nagging me in the back of my brain is how the fuck he’s doing this without the feds or the NSA or at least the cops chomping down on his ass. I mean, he’s in DC, where everything is supposed to be under higher security. Either he’s got balls, or he has help.”
Rowe frowned when his phone suddenly vibrated from an incoming text message. He wasn’t sure if he should expect an annoying message from Lucas or from the office. He was only partially relieved to see that it was from Quinn. The guy must be working late because his private eye boyfriend was working a stakeout. It was kind of cute that Quinn worked late when Shane wasn’t going to be home.
Quinn: Police report: Travis Long was found murdered in his home in an apparent burglary attempt. Was this you?!?!?!??!
“Shit,” Rowe swore and quickly started typing out a response.
Rowe: No! We were across town at Joseph Cates’s house.
Quinn: Get anything?
Rowe: Dead when we got there. Noah got his wallet. Will send images later.
Quinn: Everyone safe?
Rowe: Everyone is safe.
Quinn sent back an emoji of a little guy breathing a sigh of relief.
“What’s up?” Noah asked. “That the office?”
“Yeah,” Rowe said, putting his phone down on the counter. “Quinn found a police report that Dave Johnson, aka Travis Long, was found dead in his home from an apparent burglary attempt gone wrong.”
Contemplating the depth of Erik’s evil was one thing, but seeing it right there on his phone was another. He looked at Noah, heart frozen in his throat, and thought about how badly this Erik wanted to take out his man. Fury drove a spike through him. It was time they stepped up their game.
“This shit just got real,” JB muttered. “His own fucking brother. I can’t believe it.”
“How is he getting away with this?” Noah asked. “Is there someone high up in the government shielding him? This makes no sense unless he has bigger hands in this mess.”
“He’s responsible for four deaths that we know of now and a massive hit on our hotel. I think you’re right.” Rowe frowned. “Someone is watching out for him. Covering for him. It’s time I called in a favor. I know just the person, and he lives here. He’s still got his fingers in things, so he’ll be in the know.”
“Cal?” Noah asked, following his train of thought.
Rowe nodded. Cal Hamilton was a retired general who’d worked with Noah and Rowe when they’d been in the service, and he’d been one of those who hired Rowe on occasion for a few outside missions. “He’s a good guy who has his nose in everything going on. He’ll give us the scoop. I’ll give him a call in the morning and see if he’ll meet with me.”
“You mean meet with us,” Noah said.
“No, I meant me. We don’t want to draw attention to the man. You and JB go check on Sally, make sure she’s okay.” Though it didn’t sit right with him letting Noah out of his sight right then, he knew the man was more than capable of taking care of himself, and JB seemed to be pretty skilled as well. He would have had to have been as a ranger.