Hard to Get (Killer of Kings Book 4)(40)

Chapter Eleven


Shadow sped down the highway in his Mustang Shelby. In all the years he’d worked for Killer of Kings, Boss had always answered his cell phone, day or night. He didn’t like this at all. A light drizzle rained down on the darkened streets, distorting his view through the windshield.

He’d had a lot of scrapes in his early years as a hitman, and Boss was always ready to bail him out or send backup. He never left his men to fend for themselves, and this was Shadow’s chance to show the same loyalty.

His phone rang as he drove. He was so focused, it took a couple rings before he turned on the hands-free. “Yeah.”

“Maurice get a hold of you?” It was Bain. He’d only met him on a few brief occasions, and they’d never worked together. He was one of the newest to sign on with Killer of Kings.

“I’m on my way to Boss’s now,” Shadow said. “What the fuck’s going on?”

“They lured Killian away. He got a call just before everything went black. No one’s heard from Boss.”

“These fuckers think they’re smart. They’re going to beg me to kill them when I’m through.”

“I’ll be there with Viper in ten.”

He hung up and called Chains. Now he had to worry about Killian, too. He’d always been good at keeping his distance from everyone, never getting too close. Unfortunately, he’d formed a friendship with the Irish assassin, and his resolve to take down these assholes was even stronger.

“You hear about Boss?”

“No, what happened?” asked Chains.

“Maurice said there’s a code black. It’s not good. What are we dealing with, Chains? You were on the inside when I was doing intel.”

“The mark was a puppet master, a big player in the underground. Now that he’s gone, there’s a void to fill, and more than one ready to kill to fill it.”

“And Boss?”

“He’s a huge threat. Killer of Kings has an iron-clad reputation,” said Chains. “I just can’t believe anyone had the balls to take him on.”

“Where’s that piece of shit you were chauffeuring around?”

There was a brief silence. “El Diablo disappeared a couple days ago. I thought we could trust him, but in this game, money’s everything.”

Money wasn’t everything to Shadow. He’d trade it all for a normal life, a childhood he could look back on fondly. As an adult, he valued loyalty above the almighty dollar.

“I’ll be at Boss’s in a few minutes. Bain and Viper are on their way.”

He turned off his headlights as he approached the mansion, tall decorative iron gates surrounding the entire property. Accent lighting cut the blackness at regular intervals around the perimeter, but it was still a mix of shadows. All week he’d been losing sleep protecting Riley. Meanwhile, the threat planned to attack the head of the organization, ignoring the limbs. With Killian, Boss’s personal bodyguard, MIA, Boss would be alone against any number of trained killers.

He hoped they weren’t too late. The leader of Killer of Kings could be dead, already at another location, or currently being interrogated. Shadow wanted to rush in with guns blazing like Killian would, but he needed to come out of this alive. Needed to return to Riley.

He got out of his car and walked down the street with his gun at his side. The light rain annoyed him, moistening his hair and getting in his eyes.

When he neared the entrance, two dark shadows waited for him.

“You hear anything?” he asked.

Viper had a black hood on, concealing his face, and Bain was openly strapped with so much fucking firepower he could take out a small army. Both men looked ready for business. For them, for Shadow, their lives revolved around death and destruction. Boss had trained most of them one on one. Whoever infiltrated Killer of Kings was in for a world of hurt.

“Nothing. It’s too damn quiet if you ask me,” said Viper. “I’ve been here before with Pepper, so I have an idea of the general main floor layout.”

“So we get our asses inside, no?” Bain was a huge fucker, his ink climbing up his neck. He’d been friends with Viper since they were kids.

“There’s a massive foyer beyond the doors,” said Shadow. “I have the codes for the security system.”

“I’m going in,” said Viper. “Cover me.”

Shadow entered the code into the control panel, unlocking the double front doors. Viper kicked them open, two handguns outstretched in front of him. An alarm whined every few seconds, a few emergency lights flashing red. Shadow moved to the right, Bain to the left. They swept the foyer, then spread out through the main floor.

A while later they all met up in the lobby again. A figure stood in the doorway, they all pointed their weapons.

“Hey, it’s just me!” said Chains.

Shadow dropped his gun to his side and exhaled. There was no sign of Boss, no sign of a struggle. They still had to check the basement and second floor. Now there were four of them, so they had better odds.

“I’ll check downstairs,” said Bain after peering over the wooden banister. He pulled up an AR15, holding it chose to his chest as he descended into the basement. Shadow looked up to the second level, nodding to Viper and Chains to follow him. Within ten minutes, they’d cleared the entire house, and it was no small task. Boss obviously liked the finer things in life, and for a man living alone, he had a lot of damn rooms.