Down Fall (Fallen Duet 2)

The silence rang out around me like a bomb exploding, loud and destructive. I felt what they did. We lived to take drugs off the street, to bring the people down who were at the top of the food chain.

“So, what happens now?” Jord asked, a muscle in his jaw ticking.

“We concentrate on Hut. We tighten our reins, follow every instinct, and be ready to take him down at a moment’s notice.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “This is what we do best, and we’re gonna finally take this motherfucker down.”

“Agreed,” they all answered in unison.

“Now”—I pulled a chair out and sat down, my breath leaving my body with a whoosh—“where are we with Ford?”

Ryan sat straighter and stared right at me. “He’s giving us all the intel he can. Basically whatever you’re doing, and whatever Hut is doing. He doesn’t trust you, though.”

“Smart,” I commented.

“He thinks you’re onto him.” Ryan shrugged. “He wants us to investigate you.”

I snorted. “And what did you tell him?”

“That we’d look into it.” Ryan smirked and placed his hands on the table, drumming the pads of his fingers on the wooden surface. “I’m currently putting together a file on you and your arrest records.”

“I wanna see it,” I said, rapping my knuckles on the table.

“Thought you might.” Ryan stood and moved over to the station we’d created all those months ago when we first rented this place. “Ford also hid a couple devices in Hut’s house.”

I raised a brow. “That’s new.”

Jord pulled a tablet out. “We haven’t got much yet, and right now, it’s quiet as a mouse. But it could come in handy.”

“It could, apart from the fact that Hut gets us to sweep the house once a day for bugs.”

“He said he’s gonna move them around every day.” Jord shrugged. “I think he wants out almost as bad as we want to bring Hut down.”

Ryan passed me a folder as he sat down, and I stared at Jord. He wasn’t wrong. Ford had been antsy since I’d come back. He was getting impatient, and that was never a good thing. It would only take one slipup for the whole operation to blow up in our faces, and that would mean casualties. Casualties I refused to have, especially when Lola would most likely end up in the firing line.

“We need to reassure him.” I flipped open the folder on the table but didn’t look down at it. “He’s getting antsy.”

“Yep.” Jord nodded.

I flicked my gaze down at the file, grinning at all the shit Ryan had managed to make look legit. According to this, I was a former drug dealer who’d been in lockup and come out only twelve months ago. It would cover for the fact I hadn’t been around before I joined Hut’s team, and tied in with what I’d told them all. Lying was my profession, and I excelled at it. Too bad it was also my biggest downfall.

“What’s the plan then?” I asked as I closed the file. They’d obviously already talked about it and seen the signs. There was a reason I had chosen them to be on my team.

Kyle cleared his throat. “I say we move the schedule up with his cousin.” He looked over at me and then Jord and Ryan. “If he knows she’s safe, then he’ll stop trying to rush it.”

“He could also double-cross us if we do that,” Ryan pointed out. “What about if we get the ball rolling on his extraction? Maybe make him some new documents and show him the proof?”

“That could work.” I bounced my foot a couple of times, thinking about it. “No, that really would work. Get him and his cousin’s papers ready and take a picture as proof. He feels like he’s in limbo right now, so with that security, he’ll most likely calm down.”

“I’ll get on it,” Jord announced as he stood up. He moved over to the station and typed away at the computer.

“Good.” I heaved out a breath. “I better get back to Hut. Did you have any luck with finding Jace?”

Kyle shook his head. “Nope. He’s disappeared off the face of the earth. Last sighting of him was at a gas station over on eleventh.”

“Did you go and talk to the staff there?”

“We’re heading that way after this,” Ryan said, checking his gun and clicking the safety on. “If he’s dead, that’s another thing we can use against Hut.”

I winced at the thought of Jace lying in a ditch somewhere. But Ryan was right. If he was dead, we could use it to our advantage.