Absolution (The Protectors 1)

It took just minutes to lock up the studio with the key Jonas had given me the day before – a sure sign that I’d managed to earn his trust – and load up the van I’d bought for cheap and loaded with ladders and other supplies to help me sell my persona as a construction worker. I drove the van around the block and parked it in an underground garage where I knew Jonas would never see it, and then hurried back to the apartment building across the street from Jonas’s studio. My computer was still sitting in the bathroom so I only had to grab the rifle from the closet. As I waited for the laptop to wake up, I lifted the gun and looked through the scope. My gut sank at the empty apartment and I realized that at some point as I’d been parking the van, Jonas had left the apartment.

“Fuck,” I muttered. But a second later, my computer lit up and I saw that I’d left the program open that linked to the listening device I’d left in Jonas’s apartment on the day we’d first met. The sound on the computer was muted since I’d been on the phone the last time I had it running but I could see the audio wave line moving up and down which meant the device was picking up some kind of sound. I hit the unmute button and froze as I heard the wracking sobs filter through the small bathroom. My stomach clenched at the strangled, agonized cries and I actually leaned back against the wall for support. I waited for the cries to end but they only let up long enough for Jonas to draw in a ragged breath and then they started all over. How many times had I heard wails like that? How many times had they come from my own lips?

I watched the waves on the program jerk up and down as my hands automatically began the process of removing the scope from my rifle. Once it was free, I stood up and began scanning Jonas’s apartment again. Using the scope without the gun gave me a little bit more freedom in finding an angle that worked without risking someone seeing the rifle and I finally spied Jonas’s mop of brown hair near the window in the far corner of his apartment. I couldn’t see more than that but I didn’t need to because I saw Jonas’s arms come up to cover his head as he let out another few wails before finally quieting to an uneven combination of hiccupping sobs. Then his arms and head disappeared completely but he didn’t get up so I figured he’d lowered himself to the ground because his crying sounded more muffled. It took another twenty minutes before the sounds stopped all together but he still didn’t get up. I kept the scope in place as I searched out my phone and dialed.

“Yeah?” Mav said.

“Did you find any connection between the mark and the Prescotts?” I asked, pleased that I’d managed to not use Jonas’s name this time around but not liking the sour taste that filled my mouth as I said it.

“No, I’ve got Benny working on it.”

Fuck.

Benny was our tech guy who could dig up even the best kept secrets of any mark. And while that part was great, he also had our team leader’s ear so anything Benny found would be filtered through Ronan first. Which wouldn’t have been an issue if I was still in the early stages of studying my target, but since I’d been hedging on pulling the trigger for almost a month now, there was no doubt that Ronan Grisham would be watching my every move at this point. It was the main reason I’d been relying so heavily on Mav to handle the operational side of things when it came to this particular case.

As much as I wanted to light into Mav, it wouldn’t change anything. “I need you to run a name for me,” I told him. “Cole Bridgerton.”

“Got it,” he said.

“And Mav…”

“Yeah?”

“You run it, not Benny,” I said firmly.

Mav was silent for a moment before he finally said, “Yeah, okay.”

I hung up and checked the scope again. Although I couldn’t see Jonas or hear him on the bug anymore, I was certain he hadn’t moved. There was no reason for me to keep standing there watching for any sign of movement because I doubted Jonas would be leaving the apartment tonight. But I didn’t lower the scope and I didn’t move from where I was.

And I had no idea why.

* * *

“Jonas, can you open the door? I’ve had a bit of an accident.”

There wasn’t even an ounce of guilt as I heard the lock disengaging less than a minute later. But even though I knew Jonas had had a rough night, I was still shocked at his condition when he opened the door.