“Oh, Hunter, we’re the good guys. You could’ve put Kyle in serious danger. Come on. Seven will look for him, and you and I are going to the ALIAS’ office,” the woman said.
“I’m not going anywhere with you two, so you might as well go on.”
“Bloody biscuits! I’m going to kill Byte for this.”
“Or she’s going to kill you for losing the boy,” Aria countered.
Hunter wasn’t sure if they were serious or just making a point. He remembered Byte telling them she worked with a group of assassins. No way could he trust his brother’s life with these people.
When he felt the gun at his side, he knew his decision to send Kyle away was for the best.
“Move it. We don’t have time for this mess.”
“Seven!” the woman angrily called.
“We don’t have time,” he told the woman. Then, pushing the muzzle of the gun deeper, he instructed Hunter to move.
“Ivy is not going to be happy.”
Hunter didn’t know who this Ivy was, but he wasn’t happy about being taken by gunpoint.
* * *
Kyle watchedas the man put a gun to his brother’s side. Each minute, their situation worsened, and he knew it was all his fault. He needed to get help for his brother, but first he needed to know where to send the police.
A kid didn’t appear to be a threat, so most people ignored him as he tailed the three. When they reached the parking lot, Kyle positioned himself behind a car adjacent to the pay station. He needed a license plate number to give to the police; otherwise, he’d have no way of directing them to his brother.
A minute later, he saw the BMW pull up, stop and insert a parking stub. Kyle began repeating the number over and over again.
KLT287, KLT287, Kyle loves tacos to eat, seven days a week. He remembered his speech teacher telling them to make a sentence with things he needed to recall later.Kyle loves tacos to eat, seven days a week.
That was the way he recited the number to the officers. That was the way he prayed he could help his brother.
Kyle loves tacos to eat, seven days a week.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
“Have you lost your ever-loving mind?” Ivy asked Seven after Hunter had demanded answers. “You held him at gunpoint… in a public place… with cameras everywhere to see?”
“I had no choice. He wouldn’t follow us,” Seven said in self-defense.
“Of course he didn’t. You threatened him and his brother. Good grief, Seven. And you,” Ivy said, looking at Aria. “You couldn’t get your man under control. Seriously, guys. What would you do if someone you didn’t know wanted you and Tori to blindly follow them, promising that he had your best interests at heart?” Ivy threw up her hands. She hated working with people. That was Ghost’s specialty. Ivy wanted to throat punch Seven. How could he be so stupid? Instead of berating him any more than she already had, she extended her hand out to Hunter and apologized for how they’d come to meet.
“Hunter, we do only have your best interests in mind. The men who captured you and Kyle have resources, long-reaching ones that involve even some law enforcement agencies. We don’t know how deep this goes, and we wanted to offer our protection to you and your brother. This, however, wasn’t what should’ve happened,” Ivy said, still angry and letting Seven and Aria know so with her stare.
“Who are you guys? Byte said you were assassins.”
“Just great!” Seven said. “What good are assassins, if we’re outed all the time?”
“So it’s true,” Hunter stated.
“Yes, but not the way you think. Our company is called ALIAS. We hunt and eliminate threats against the innocent, primarily those sold into sex trafficking. We are not guns for hire. If, however, we can’t guarantee a conviction, we opt for other means of removing the threat to others.”
“By killing them,” Hunter said, this time not as an accusation.
Instead of confirming Hunter’s words, Ivy offered him a seat in her office, which he took.
“Do you know where your brother is?”