Her Name Is Knight(Nena Knight #1)(90)

I press the button on it, priming it. I roll my window down as I do. When Goon wheels past Max’s body, I toss the charge at it. The charge smacks the body, exploding on impact. The explosion amounts to a small firework you can buy for New Year’s, but it does its job, eradicating any trace of our dispatch team and the Tribe.

The mission has gone awry. Max is dead, and Cleaners will take care of his remains somehow. However, the objective has been met and the mark killed, even though I was only supposed to tag along, not work this job. I have graduated my training early and completed my first dispatch, while Goon is forced into retirement.





67


AFTER


With no more intel than what they’d received from the call, Nena and Elin raced to the Baxters’. The neighborhood was quiet, but not for long. The moment a neighbor came out to walk their dog or a car drove by, they’d see the dead body lying on the lawn that Nena observed with growing dread as she cut her bike’s engine. Parked in the driveway were Cortland’s Chevelle and an F-150 that she remembered from the cookout was Mack’s.

The house was dark, and the front door was cracked open. It was too quiet. Nena pulled her gun, sweeping the perimeter for anyone hanging around. She first checked the body. Mack. She felt his neck, hoping for a pulse. Nothing.

There was no more she could do for him, so she left him there and continued. Gun ready, she entered through the open front door.

She spotted Cort immediately. He was lying in the living room, unmoving, a puddle of blood beneath him. She ignored the sinking of her heart and contemplated not checking him at all. If she didn’t check, then she could avoid the possibility that he was as dead as Mack a moment longer. She backed away from his still body, deciding to clear the house first.

Muzzle pointed to the floor, she swept the gun side to side. Moving carefully down the hall, she cleared the three bedrooms, the bathrooms, the kitchen, the dining room, and the garage. There was nothing else out of place in the home. Elin entered the house as Nena reemerged from the bedrooms. Elin was already dropping next to Cort’s body, uttering an alarmed curse.

“The guy out there’s dead,” Elin huffed, as Nena knelt on Cort’s other side. “Is he?”

Nena touched an artery. “He’s alive.”

“Georgia?”

“Not here,” Nena said grimly.

Elin pulled her cell to call Network to get a team out. Nena balled a hand into a fist, pushing the knuckle of her pointer finger out. She pressed her fist into Cort’s chest, grinding the knuckle into his flesh, until he gasped awake with Georgia’s name on his lips. He looked around wildly, tried to sit up, grimaced when the pain hit him, and was back down. His hands went to the darkened area on his shirt. Nena lifted the shirt, making an initial assessment.

“Be still,” she said gently. Her fingers tenderly traced his eyebrows. She ignored Elin staring at her.

“What happened?” Nena asked.

Cortland’s response came in huffs. “Not sure? Some guy ambushed us when we came home.”

Nena asked, “Who was he?”

“Never saw him before. We were at a movie, the three of us. I opened the door and came inside first. Mack was last. I heard shots. Oh God. Mack.” His body jerked up. “Is he—?”

Elin dropped her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Where is Georgia? What is your sister doing here?” Cort asked, still struggling beneath their hands.

“What happened next, Cort?” Nena pressed on in case he passed out again.

Cort took in a ragged breath. “When I heard the shot, I came around the corner and saw Mack outside. Peach was in the foyer, and the guy was pointing the gun at her and made her come in. I struggled with him, and he hit me with his gun. I pushed Peach out of the way, and he shot me. That’s all I remember.” He looked around, confused and terrified. “Peach? Where is she?”

“She’s not here,”

“What do you mean, she’s not here? Where is she?”

“I don’t know. Yet,” Nena assured him. “Can you describe him? Did he say anything?”

He concentrated. “No. He got me before I had a good look at him. And he had on a hat, black, like his clothes. Maybe he’s about my height, fit, strong. I just didn’t get a good enough look. Nena . . .”

“I know, Cort. We’ll find her.”

Elin had opened her mouth to speak when her phone rang in her hand, and Oliver’s name appeared on the screen.

“Oliver, not the best time. I’m dealing with a situation,” Elin rushed to say, watching with trepidation as Nena applied pressure to Cort’s wound. “Can I get back to you?”

She paused as she listened to Oliver’s response, her expression turning from worry to surprise, then confusion. She pulled the phone from her ear and pressed the speaker button.

“She can hear,” Elin said. “But as I said, we’re dealing with a situation here.”

“Yes, and I believe I am that situation,” Oliver said.

Nena and Elin froze. Oliver’s tone was all wrong, not like how he’d sounded when Nena had met him the night of the dinner party. He sounded like his father.

Elin said, “What?”

“Shut up, Elin,” he snapped, enunciating as if she were an imbecile. “I need to speak with Nena.”