Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(44)

“Well, so far they haven’t done anything,” Gray commented.

“The hell they haven’t. You didn’t see Harlow today before I could get to her. That asshole was all up in her face, and he was threatening her,” Black growled.

“But he didn’t touch her,” Rex said from the phone.

“It doesn’t fucking matter!” Black exploded. “Do we have to wait for him to beat the shit out of someone before we do anything? That’s not how we operate, and you know it, Rex. What the fuck are we waiting for?”

The room was silent after Black’s outburst. He knew he was treading on thin ice, barking at Rex like he had, but he was pissed at their handler for not doing more. They were sitting around watching cameras like a bunch of pussies. He wanted to get Bear—sorry, Brian fucking Pierce—in a room and make him give them the answers they were seeking. It would take one night, that’s it, and all of the shelter’s worries would be done. But for some reason, Rex wouldn’t allow it.

“Are you done?” Rex asked calmly.

Was he done? No. But Black bit out, “Yes.”

“Good. Look, three out of four of these punks have felonies already on their records. They’re being extremely careful to not cross any lines of doing anything illegal. They all have airtight alibis from the night the gas station was torched. Those assholes aren’t the ones we want here. We’re searching for a ghost, and the only way to find him is through those punks. The second we snatch one and work him over, the puppet master will disappear in a puff of smoke.”

“So . . . what? In the meantime, they get to scare the shit out of vulnerable women and kids?” Gray asked, taking up the protest on Black’s behalf.

“That’s why you’re all taking turns being there,” Rex said calmly. “You’re putting pressure on the guy pulling the strings. They’re fraying, if today was any indication. We just need to keep the pressure on him, and he’ll break.”

“And who will be caught in the cross fire?” Meat asked rhetorically.

“I’ve got this,” Rex said, his voice showing his impatience for the first time. “We’ll find out who’s behind it.”

Black stared at his hands on the table. He didn’t like the feeling coursing through him.

Doubt.

Since the day Rex had hired him and the others, they’d done everything the mysterious man had asked without question. They trusted him wholeheartedly, and Rex had never let them down. Yet he couldn’t help but think that Rex was wrong about this situation.

Yes, this case was personal for him, but Rex’s attitude about the case—and lack of action in general—was rubbing him the wrong way.

“Work out a schedule to keep the shelter covered,” Rex ordered. “We can’t watch over all the women every hour of the day, so they also need to work together to keep an eye out for each other. Travel in pairs. Keep their phones handy so they can call 911 if they have to.”

Again, the feeling of wrongness almost suffocated Black. There were ten women living in the shelter. Almost all of them had jobs. Then there were Loretta, Zoe, and Harlow. Not to mention the five children. There was no way the six Mountain Mercenaries could keep them safe, with all the women coming and going, when they didn’t even know where the threat was coming from. It was maddening and frustrating.

“I’ll be in touch. Keep me up to date if anything else important happens.” And with that, Rex disconnected the call.

The six men were silent for a beat before Ro said, “I bloody well don’t like this.”

No one else said anything, but Black knew they were all in agreement.

Something was up with their handler. It wasn’t like him to ignore threats against women and kids. There was no way they could protect everyone. Someone was going to get hurt. And Black was afraid that someone was Harlow.

She was scared, but she’d never been in the situations most of the residents had been in. Hadn’t learned when to back down or how to protect herself. Yes, he’d taken the time to teach Harlow and the residents some simple self-defense moves, but that wasn’t going to protect them if someone really decided to ramp up the harassment.

“I think it’s a mistake to concentrate on just the residents,” Meat said after a moment. “I’ve looked into all the names I’ve got, and nothing is making my ass pucker. I’m either missing someone, or we’re on the wrong track.”

“Edward?” Gray asked.

“What about the douchebags Harlow has dated?” Black asked.

“Zoe? She’s divorced, right?” Arrow threw out.

“Widowed,” Meat corrected.

“Then there’s Loretta,” Ball said. “What about her exes?”

“What about that other thing Bear said?” Black asked after a moment.

“Which part, specifically?” Meat asked.

“That asshole said something about apartments being built.”

“Yeah . . .” Meat began clicking on his tablet. “Shit. I’ve been so busy looking up everything I could find about the exes, and doing other shit that Rex hasn’t had time to do for whatever reason, I didn’t even think about looking at the developers in the area.”

“Right. If it turns out someone has bought the other buildings, why wouldn’t they want the shelter too?” Ball asked.