The Hit (Team Zulu 1)

She rubbed her forehead. “Shit! What about his cell?”

“There’s no way he has it on him. Franky would’ve used it to pinpoint him already. Those things are a goddamn tracking beacon.”

Cam’s eyes darted between the screen and me. “How far are we from Illinois?”

I didn’t like her train of thought.

“Nope, not gonna happen.” I shook my head and gave her a stern look. “Someone recognizes you and it’s over. And the area will be swarming with bounty hunters and hired killers.”

“We have an advantage. They don’t know exactly where he’s hiding, and we do.” She gripped my forearm hard and held my stare. “If we go now, we can help him.”

“No. And get that idea out of your head.”

Cam tore her hand from my arm. “Would you stop being so pig-headed and listen to reason?”

“Not changing my mind. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you leave and that’s final.” We’d already discussed this. Why couldn’t she see I was trying to keep her safe?

“I can’t believe this bullshit.” She snapped, unable to contain her simmering fury. “So, I’m back to being your prisoner? Will you chain me up again?”

“If I have to.” I raised my tone to match hers. “Are you gonna try to leave?”

“That contract has sealed my brother’s fate, and you expect me to accept that?” Her voice cracked as emotion overcame her.

Fuck. Cam hurting like this tore me up. I hated fighting with her. My two least favorite people in the world were Franky Russo and Justin McKenzie. I wanted to kill them both.

What a goddamn mess. I took a few deep breaths and considered my options. They weren’t great.

“There might be one way to help him, but it involves bringing in a third party. I don’t like that because it increases the risk for us.”

“Go on.”

I angled my body toward her, my elbows resting on my knees. “There’s this guy I served with. I think he’d be able to get Justin faster than the others.”

Ben Landers was ex-Delta and had been an Operator in Team Zulu. As our intelligence tech guru—which is a sophisticated way of saying he’s a damn good hacker—tracking down those who don’t want to be found was what he did best.

“How?” Cam asked.

“Last I heard, he was living in rural Missouri, close to the Illinois border. I could ask him to do a catch and hold on your brother. We expedite your documents as much as possible. Once the wheels of your plane are off the ground and you’re safe, I’ll go get Justin and work on an extraction plan for him, too.”

After getting Cam tangled up in his bullshit, I couldn’t believe I was offering to save her brother’s ass. But he meant a lot to her, and if this would ease her burden, then I’d do it.

“Do you trust this… what’s his name?” she asked, sounding a little calmer.

Maintaining secrecy regarding the guys from my team was paramount, but I figured a first name wouldn’t hurt. Besides, he used an alias since leaving Team Zulu.

“Ben. And I do. We’ve had each other’s back plenty of times before.”

“Won’t it be dangerous for him? What if Franky finds out he’s helping us?”

“Franky will be pissed if he catches wind of this. But trust me, Ben can take care of himself.”

If he did his job right, Franky would never suspect his involvement. And Ben was good.Reallyfucking good. The bigger issue was whether he could get to Justin in time. I didn’t mention that to Cam because I needed her on board. I didn’t want her plotting to run off on her own.

She paced the room. “What if Ben says no? What if he’s on holiday overseas? There’s too much uncertainty, Shep. The one thing I am certain of is a bunch of hired killers are on their way to murder my brother. If anything goes wrong with this plan, Justin’s either dead, or hand delivered to Franky, which might be worse.” She paused her pacing and faced me with glistening eyes. “Isn’t there something else we can do for him?”

The urge to go to her was strong. I stood, but didn’t approach since she was angry with me. “I’m sorry, Cam.”

Showing her strength of character yet again, Cam blinked away unshed tears and pulled her shoulders back. “All right. Contact your guy.” She sighed and took a step toward me. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I’m not, I promise. I’m scared because every move we make puts lives at risk.”