The Sunset Job (The Rainbow's Seven 1)

“Nice shot, Bang Bang,” Roman said, stepping out from behind the column and aiming his gun directly at the only man left standing.

“Eh, I was aiming for the left leg.”

Bruno “Bang Bang” Vázquez was the ordinance expert of the group with a sharpshooter’s eye and an almost religious reverence for firearms. He was using his “Sunsplitter” today, a brightly painted yellow SIG M17, with sparkling rays of burnt orange shooting down the barrel. He loved customizing his guns and had even been known to cover some of his bullets in glitter, too. The mountain of a man was an extra-fabulous kind of killing machine, with an affinity for drag queens and football and a heart the size of the sun.

Roman always felt at ease having him by his side.

Especially today.

“Leonidas Thorn, drop your gun.” Roman spoke directly to the man left standing, a cocky smile splitting his face like the scar that ran down the side of his head, the white of his scalp slashing through the dark black hair. A golden necklace holding a lion’s tooth hung down toward the center of his chest. A perfect bullseye for Roman to target.

“Nice job, Roman.” Leonidas slowly crouched, midnight-black eyes pinned on Roman’s gun. He set his pistol down by his feet, hands raised above his head. “Thought I got rid of you in Brazil.”

“And I thought we were better friends than that.”

“This how you treat all your friends?”

Roman shrugged, walking over and kicking the pistol away from Leonidas. “Just the ones I really like.” Bang Bang came up behind Leonidas and pressed the barrel of his golden gun into the back of the man’s neck. “Looks like Bang Bang really likes you, too.”

The other two guys continued to squirm on the floor, one of them quietly whining as blood pooled around his leg. Roman gave the one on the left a kick, silencing the whimpering for a moment. He knew there wasn’t much time left before this place was surrounded by SWAT. He had to get what—and who—he’d come for before that happened.

“You’ll never find it, Roman. Not before I do. You know that, so why are you even trying?”

Roman smiled, licking his lips and leaning in. He could count each individual pore on Leonidas’ face, could see the tiny wrinkles and folds around his eyes and forehead, could see the flecks of light blue inside the sea of navy that surrounded his pupils. Reflected back was the bottomless pit full of crime and sins committed by the scarred man.

Leonidas Thorn, head of a ruthless criminal organization called the Pride, made up of bloodthirsty predators looking for an easy ride to the top. Roman had crossed paths with them before

“Because I’ve already found it, friend. And I’ll be able to open it with the key I’m about to walk out of here with.”

Leonidas couldn’t control the twist of shock that briefly contorted his expression. “Bullshit. No one knows where the money is.”

“No one knew where the money was. Past tense, buddy. Maybe crack a book instead of a skull next time.” Roman glanced out the sliding glass doors that led to a sun-soaked atrium. A security guard was running toward them, gun drawn. This entire job was blown the second Mimic couldn’t get into the back.

Artemis ‘Mimic’ Flores, one of Roman’s closest friends and most trusted allies. She was a human chameleon, able to blend into any situation or scenario that landed in their laps. She wasn’t only good about disguises for herself, either. She had a knack for dressing up and making others look unrecognizable.

Roman saw when she had to back out, understanding that shit was about to hit the fan. She had left just as the Pride made their entrance.

He looked over his shoulder at the column hiding Wyatt. There could still be a way to salvage this.

“End it,” Roman said, speaking around Leonidas and directly to Bang Bang.

“You got it, boss.”

Leonidas chuckled, eyes narrowing to slits. “You aren’t the only one with friends.”

Before either Roman or Bang Bang could react, a high-pitched hissing sound filled the space. A smoke grenade rolled against Roman’s feet, instantly covering the area in a dense gray cloud of smoke.

“Shit, Roman, I can’t see.”

Bang Bang lost his shot. The one chance they had at wiping out the leader of the Pride and making their lives a hell of a lot easier. He should have taken the shot himself, but he had no time to regret it. He only had enough time to get him and his crew the fuck out of there. When the smoke cleared, Roman saw that Leonidas was gone, and the two men at their feet had their throats slit, their whines replaced by a few dying gargles.

“Fuck,” Roman said. “Go to the car.”

“You sure?”

“Go,” he said to Bang Bang, turning back to the column and running around it. Sirens announced the arrival of law enforcement. He had about two minutes or less before the place was surrounded.