He paused, and the side of his mouth twitched before he finished strapping me into a vest. “Kash.” He picked up one of the other two vests and turned, tossing it in the air.
Kash was coming over, his phone pressed to his ear. He caught the vest, putting his phone on speaker and placing it on the table. He put his vest on as he spoke. “ETA for the authorities?”
Chase froze, midreach for his own vest. “No.”
Kash didn’t spare him a look, putting on his vest.
“There’s a patrol three blocks away.”
“No. We don’t know how many are here. Any cops could get killed,” Chase hissed.
I spotted a laptop on the kitchen counter and went over to it.
Kash ignored his brother again, speaking over him, “We’ll do what we can, but warn the police about who they’re going against. Let them know we’re inside and we’ll be defending ourselves.”
“Got it, boss.”
Kash finished his vest, picking up one of the guns to check the barrel, and he reached for his phone. “What do you mean, ‘No’?”
“I mean no. I want him.”
I was typing fast, hurrying to break into the security feeds.
“Bailey, what are you doing?”
“Hacking.” My fingers were flying over the keyboard. This was my own system, too, but someone had changed some of the firewalls. The coding was different. Someone had hackedme? “Carry on with your fight.”
Kash sighed, but turned to his brother. “If you want him, you get him before they get here.”
“Iwant him.”
“Then you get him.”
Chase growled. “You’re not hearing me.”
“I am hearing you, loud and fucking clear.You’renot getting it. These are Calhoun’s men, coming in to get you, but I’d beshocked if he was actually here. He’s not here. He’s tucked away somewhere safe where no one can put a bullet in him. Also, Calhoun alive is what the feds want. It was our bargaining chip so both of us don’t get arrested. Remember that time I broke you out of their custody? I got into a ton of trouble for you.”
Another growl erupted from his brother. Something pounded the table.
I was still working to undo some of this new coding, so I didn’t look. I was guessing it was his fist and not something else, like Kash, if they were going to start duking it out.
“He deserves to die.”
I heard more clicking sounds. Glancing up, I saw both were prepping their guns. A box of ammunition was open on the table between them.
“Bailey,” Kash called.
“Yeah?”
“Are you in?”
“Not yet. Someone changed my entire system. I have to figure it out.” I bit down on my lip.
Now. This is the time when I should’ve been freaking out. I should’ve been, but I wasn’t. An eerie and unnerving calm had settled over me. As I continued going through the system, section by section, I couldn’t help but marvel at the oddness of my situation.
I was in an apartment, one that I used to love living in, and now I was here with a secret twin who was fighting with the man that I love over the chance to kill his grandfather.
I wasn’t freaking, and the only reason I could think why was that this was no longer new to me. I’d been through too much. If they were going to be successful and get me, I’d freak out then.