Brazen (B-Squad 1)

“But this time counts,” he said, hating how his throat got tighter when each passing second.

Tamara paused in the process of messing up her hair with her free hand and focused all of her attention on him. “I know. Believe it or not, I really do. I won’t fuck this up, Taz. I promise.”

She gave his arm a quick squeeze and then took off, weaving her way toward Yasmin’s door. Her voice carried on the still night air as she sang a dirty version of “Jingle Bells.”

“Darling,” she cooed, knocking on the door. “It’s me. My key doesn’t work. Let me in. I’m so wet for you, baby.”

Nothing. There wasn’t even a flicker of movement at the window.

Tamara slapped her palm hard against the door. “Get your ass out of bed and open the door, dammit!”

The door opened and Walsh stuck his head out. Whatever he was about to say to shoo Tamara off took a backseat when she barreled past him into the bungalow. Caught off guard, Walsh left the door partially open when he followed her inside.

“That’s it,” he said into the comm. “We’re a go.”

Adrenaline coursing through his veins as his feet pounded against the stone path when he ran to the open door and then shouldered his way inside. The rest of the team, minus Lash in his scouted sniper perch, rushed to positions around the bungalow. Lexie, Vivi, Duke, Keir and Elisa maintained positions around the bungalow to stymie escape. Marko stalked in behind Taz.

Gidget and Bianca sat on the couch, their eyes vacant. Neither turned their attention away from the bathroom door or even flinched when Taz burst in.

Walsh shoved Tamara into a wall and dove for a nine millimeter on the coffee table. Taz launched himself at the other man. He folded like origami under him. They rolled, trading vicious punches and dirty jabs as they went. Hooking a leg around Walsh’s, he halted their momentum and forced his way on top. Fury exploded in him. He landed blow after blow to the man’s face.

“Taz,” Marko shouted in the distance. “Enough.”

The sound of his brother’s voice pulled him back from the edge and he pushed off of the other man. Walsh didn’t move. His lungs pumped up and down but his face was a mess of blood and broken bone.

“Where’s Yasmin?” he asked, breathing hard.

“I cleared the bedroom. She wasn’t there.”

Taz faced the women on the couch who still hadn’t moved. The sight made bile rise in his throat. Yasmin had given each of them enough Genie’s Wish to turn them into zombies. The bitch better hope it was only temporary. Both women stared at the bathroom door as expectant as a pair of dogs awaiting their master.

He withdrew his Beretta from the shoulder holster and took aim at the door. “We know you’re in there, Yasmin. You might as well come on out on your own power.”

The doorknob turned.

He clicked his gun’s safety off.

The line of light outlining the door grew wider as it opened.

“I’m not armed,” Yasmin called out.

“That’s a damn shame,” he responded.

She stood in the middle of the open door, her hands raised high above her head.

He relaxed his stance a fraction. Then he noticed it. The dog training clicker—exactly what she’d used to set off the thugs earlier.

He rushed forward just as she pushed it twice.

Bianca

A small, strangled voice in Bianca’s head cried out for her to stop, but there was nothing she could do. It was like she was possessed by an evil spirt—or worse, Yasmin’s wishes. She hurled herself toward Taz, her limbs responding to cognitive cues her conscious mind wasn’t giving out.

She had still been groggy from the Taser shock when Walsh had plunged a needle into the vein on the inside of her elbow. Fire shot through her veins and then, a heartbeat later, it was like she was wrapped in cotton and floating on air. Yasmin had appeared in front of her and softly stroked her cheeks before telling her to wait. So she did.

Nothing mattered as she drifted in the cool in-between place. Not the fact that Gidget sat next to her in the same condition. Not the muffled conversation between Walsh and Yasmin. Not the whispered voice inside her telling her to run. The discomfort came later, when Yasmin walked into the bathroom and shut the door between them. It was like being cut off from the sun.

But the moment the door open and Yasmin snapped the clicker, that perfect sense of being settled over her.