“Who is it?”
A slow grin spread across Ryder’s face. “Someone I’m damn sure you want to talk to. She got my number from Jackie.”
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, James took the phone and dashed up the stairs to his room. Slamming the door behind him, he pressed Ryder’s cell to his ear.
“Babe…”
“James.” Her relief was almost palpable. “I was so worried. I couldn’t leave until I knew you were safe. But I didn’t know who to call.” Her voice came out in a rush and before James could take a breath, she was talking again.
“I tried the DEU, but they said you didn’t exist. So I called Tony because you said he knew you were undercover. He told me he had some information that made him wary of calling the DEU or the police, but he had a friend in the Coast Guard. So we called them instead. I wanted to go to Kirkland but he wouldn’t let me. He said it was too dangerous.” A raw, guttural sob escaped her lips. “I thought they were going to kill you and I thought…”
He knew what she’d thought. Hell, he’d thought about it too. “It wasn’t a good day to die,” he said softly. “I’d decided to go after you. There was something I’d forgotten to say.”
She drew in a ragged breath. “What?”
His gut clenched as he imagined telling her what he should have said, instead of walking away two years ago. But he couldn’t do it over the phone. He needed to see her, hold her. Show her his feelings went beyond words. “I’ll tell you when I get there. Where are you?”
“I’m at my office.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“I shouldn’t be here much longer. Rex is trying to find out who sent the Coast Guard, but if Tony was involved he’ll hit a dead end pretty fast. Can you wait for me?”
“I’ll wait.”
James sagged against the door as the tension he’d been carrying with him since she’d run from Carpe Noctem eased. She was safe and she was waiting for him. Emotion overwhelmed him and for a moment he couldn’t speak.
“James?”
“Yeah, babe. I’m still here.”
“I need to tell you something.”
Overwhelmed by the sudden urgent need to see her, he grabbed his pack and threw open the door. He was done with the DEU. Done with the assignment. And Rex could fucking go to hell. He was leaving now and no one was going to stop him.
“Tell me when I get there,” he rasped. “I’m on my way.”
“Well, look who’s running away.”
James spun around, only three feet from the front door, to see Bones and Diesel standing behind him, guns leveled at his chest.
“Rex wants to see you.” Diesel jerked a thumb behind him.
Bones smirked. “He wants to see you pretty bad.”
They flanked him through the clubhouse as he made the march down to Rex’s office. The inner circle was seated in a semicircle around the room, faces grim. Bones slammed the door behind him and took up a guard position.
“We’ve got some unfinished business from the beach.” Rex leaned over his desk. “Usually I don’t like to bring shit into the clubhouse, but since we had to break the rule to bring back the drop…” he pointed to the cocaine-filled backpacks lined up against the wall, “…I don’t see why we shouldn’t break the rule about getting rid of rats.”
James’s pulse pounded in his temples, and he pulled up a mental picture of Rex’s office. Thirty-five square feet. Small bathroom at the back. One door now guarded by Bones. Three windows along the side, now guarded by Punch, Dawg and Diesel.
Five against one. Six, depending on which way Ryder would swing. All armed.
Bad odds at the best of times.
His heart stuttered in his chest. He should have told Lana over the phone what he wanted to say. He should have told her he loved her. He should have said goodbye.
“I just called you a rat,” Rex growled. “You got nothing to say? No denial? No defense? No explanation?”
Adrenaline pumped through James’s veins, forcing his body into hyperawareness. He felt his every rasping breath, heard the scrape of every chair and the slide of every weapon leaving a belt or holster. He tasted the bitterness of betrayal on his tongue. He saw Rex’s anger and Ryder’s calm confidence. He smelled the acrid odor of death.
“Jesus Christ, Rex. You don’t crap in your own nest. We can’t off him here.” Ryder leaned against the wall, arms folded, weapon hanging loose between his fingers. “You need to take him off Hades’s property. If the police ever raid, they’ll bring dogs. No matter how much you clean, the dogs will smell the blood. Then they’ll be all over this place with a fine-tooth comb. They’ll find things you didn’t even know were hidden. We’ll all go down, and for what? For a fucking rat?”