Dana rode in the passenger seat while Ford drove. Brian was in the back, and every so often Dana would catch his somber face in the side mirror. His thick lips in a persistent downward slope. Brian’s look wasn’t only from weariness, but something entirely different. He and Ford had talked about it on multiple occasions, but Ford insisted his brother was good. Dana considered Brian a very close friend. He didn’t like the way he’d been acting lately. Depressed, almost. Was Brian upset about him and Ford being together? It didn’t really make sense, especially since Brian gave Dana helpful tips. Maybe he missed time alone with Ford. Which, again, wasn’t logical, because Ford was always asking Brian to hang out and he kept declining.
Dana turned in the seat and looked at Brian. He was just as fierce-looking as his brother and every bit as handsome. Protected in black leather from head to toe, his dark eyes hidden behind black shades. Dana signed to him.
“I’ll need therapy after this.”
Brian scoffed. The noise just loud enough to be heard over the engine. He shook his head unbelievably and answered Dana. “You can join me.”
Dana grinned and turned back around in his seat. He was getting better at signing. He and Brian hadn’t hung out in a while, but he still kept watching and learning from the ASL videos Sway gave him. When he didn’t understand something, Sway was able to clarify it. If he was going to be in Ford’s life for the long haul, that included Brian. He’d gained a lover and another brother. He needed to be able to communicate with him. Ford wasn’t ready to accept it, but the fact of the matter was, Brian might never speak again.
The portable radio in Ford’s truck crackled to life. Quick’s gravelly voice was the next sound they heard. “Stay on Donald Lee Parkway, Ford. Our contact works at a club off there, just past Peyton Ave. We’re parked in the back lot.”
Dana heard Brian cock his 9mm in the back seat, readying his own fire power. Dana kept his eyes forward, using his wide peripheral as Ford navigated them through the neighborhood. It didn’t look like one of the city’s highest crime areas, but it certainly was. And Dana wasn’t taking any chances. The club looked abandoned from the outside, not a single car in the front. Ford slowly drove around the back of the building to an area that wasn’t designated for parking, hopped the curb and drove over the desolate field and pulled up beside Duke’s truck, which faced the opposite direction.
Damn, looking at his bosses, it was clear they’d gotten even less rest than they had.
“Alright, fellas. Let’s do this.”
“Do you have a solid visual this time?” Ford asked irritably.
Duke frowned, but he answered Ford’s question. “I do.”
“Where’s your contact?” Dana asked.
“He’s inside. He’s the manager here. This is also his neighborhood. He’s had his ear to the ground for me. He said his guy last saw the SUV at a BP just past the overpass. He confirmed that big Grossman was inside,” Quick answered.
“How you want to do this, Duke?” Ford grumbled.
“Leave your truck here, Ford. Dana, you find a perch and stay there. Try to make it a good location. Quick and I will be a mile and a half up, just before the BP. I’m sure they’re no longer there, but someone saw which way they went. Brand new tricked-out Infinity trucks are hard to ignore. You see anything Dana, you know the drill. Use the comms.” Duke angled his head at Ford. “You and Brian split the parkway on this end and work your way back towards us. You on one side, Brian on the other. Scour the stores, shops, everything. Ask questions to whoever you run past but keep it moving. We only got one shot. When he hears we’re here, he’s gonna run.”
“No, he’s not,” Ford said drily. “It’s why he’s here. For us.”
Duke and Ford shared a look that Dana easily interpreted. This was a set up?
“How well do you know this contact, Quick?” Brian signed. Dana surprised himself by translating it for him instead of Ford.
“I admit. I was surprised he called,” Quick answered honestly.
That was all any of them needed to hear. It wasn’t far-fetched that big Grossman could’ve flipped this guy. This could all be a double-cross. John Grossman’s final departure in a blaze of glory. Right here where the cops knew gunfire was as common as fireworks on the Fourth. No one would come running. Their team was on their own.
“Then let’s be unpredictable.” Duke nodded and drove away.
Ford
He was ready to go but he couldn’t seem to make his right knee stop bouncing. Something was about to go wrong. He could feel it so deep. Unlike anything he’d felt during all his years enlisted. He watched painfully as Dana took off around the backs of buildings, staying hidden from the main street, looking for the right rooftop to watch from.