Deathtrap (Crossbreed #3)(72)
Shepherd folded his arms. “He lost his virginity to ‘Oh! Susanna.’”
Everyone snickered.
Wyatt stared daggers at him. “Whatever, Dirty Harry. And I wasn’t that old when I lost it.”
“Why is he here?” I whispered to Christian. “I thought Viktor didn’t want him coming on dangerous missions.”
“We’ll need someone in the driver’s seat in case we need to make a quick escape. Wyatt’s also the liaison who’ll contact the Regulators, and that’ll depend on what we find.”
Shepherd relaxed his posture on the opposite bench, just as cool as a cucumber. Niko possessed a look I’d seen many times in the training room when he was getting into his zone, and Gem was sandwiched between them. I glanced at Blue on my left, who was sending a text message to Claude. He replied back telling her to make sure we females were careful, and that made me chuckle.
Niko drew his hood over his head. “We have a good chance of succeeding. Cristo paid men on the street to take you down. I suspect he operates alone.”
“He also likes bombs,” I mentioned.
Shepherd crushed his cigarette beneath his boot. “She’s right. If he doesn’t have anyone there protecting him, he might have laid out some traps. Keep your eyes open. And Gem, stay inside the van. Not on top of it.”
She launched to her feet. “Stay in the van. Stay in the van. You didn’t witness my epic fireworks show earlier. And you shouldn’t put your cigarettes out on the carpet!”
“We’re going to have to replace the whole damn thing anyhow,” he retorted.
“Well, it’s a filthy habit and—”
The van shuddered when we hit a bump. Gem fell forward, and Niko swiftly caught her with one arm.
“Careful, braveheart. We need you in one piece.” He turned and sat her down in his place before moving up front to speak with Viktor.
“Why am I even here?” she asked herself. “To babysit Wyatt?”
Gem didn’t seem to like going on jobs that involved crime scenes and dead bodies, but I found it interesting that she was eager to partake in a raid.
“You are here as protection,” Viktor answered from the front. “If he escapes to the street, we need you to track him. You are our eyes and ears.”
Gem crossed her legs, satisfied with that responsibility, but I could see she was still on a high after helping us with her energy balls. I surmised that Gem didn’t get to practice her wielding ability too often, so I understood the danger if one of us was standing in the line of fire. That made me nervous, especially after seeing how charred those men had been. But having her topside wasn’t a bad idea in case Cristo tried to escape. Given his track record, I wouldn’t put it past him.
The van finally stopped, and the engine turned off, but the music kept playing—probably to block out some of the conversation still going on up front. Blue scooted all the way down to the rear doors.
When Viktor got out, Wyatt hopped over to the driver’s seat.
“Let’s roll,” Shepherd said, opening the back door and jumping out.
Niko and Blue followed behind him.
As I stood up, Christian caught my wrist. “Are you armed?”
I showed him my new bracelet. “That’s some armoire Shepherd has in his bedroom. At what point does a hobby become a fetish?”
“If he starts wearing a leather thong with a concealed dagger, you’ll have your answer.”
The team was more jittery than usual, and maybe part of that had to do with the fact that we hadn’t yet rescued the baby. What would a desperate man be willing to do to escape? My thoughts drifted back to when Darius had thrown that little boy over the ledge so he could flee, and I imagined Cristo was brazen enough to pull a stunt like that.
My boots hit freshly fallen snow as I stepped onto the curb and looked around. The buildings in the immediate area appeared uninhabited and partially demolished, in much worse condition than the other parts of the Bricks I’d seen.
I stepped closer to Viktor. “Are we near his building? I don’t think walking out in the open is such a good idea.”
“Nyet.” He brought us into a huddle. “The address Shepherd provided belongs to a residence underground. Tunnels run below the city, constructed many years ago by Breed who were not given permission to live topside. It is an elaborate maze, and the tunnels lead to underground dwellings. I’ve been here once before. Do not speak to anyone, and do not let yourselves become distracted.”
Shepherd unzipped his jacket and stared at the pothole in the center of our circle. “Are there rats down there? I don’t like rats.”
Viktor raised the collar of his long grey coat. “Let’s not be dramatic. Blend in.”
We all exchanged glances. Blend in with rats?
One at a time, we descended the iron rungs. Christian was the last one in and moved the cover back in place. I was surprised there were working lights affixed to the walls. This wasn’t at all like crawling around in the sewers. The tunnels were tall so that you didn’t have to hunch over. There was even a sign on the wall in front of us with arrows pointing both ways, a series of numbers below them.
“This way,” Viktor said, leading us to the right. “Spread apart so we don’t look suspicious.”
I fell back with Christian. “Okay, now this is getting weird.”