They’d found the nest and no one could get away, not unless they wanted them to. Once Code had narrowed down the possibilities to two places, they had run simulations for each building. They were good at what they were doing—they’d been hunting since they were children.
Transporter and Alena, after identifying the truck that was backing up Jarvis and Kent, would leave the driver to Mechanic and return to guard the back door. Two other escape doors were built into the parlor as well. One led directly to the shop next door and was usually kept locked, according to the employee Absinthe had chatted up earlier in the day. The second one led straight into the basement. Ice was willing to bet the kid was in a cage in the basement with a camera on him to remind the buyers what they were getting.
Two guards spun around as they approached. Both were armed with semiautomatics, not the usual equipment for a rent-a-cop. These two were definitely private security, paid for by Bitters. No way would the massage parlor pay for obvious mercenaries. The place was classier than most, but they’d never shell out the kind of money that would pay for these two. That meant there were more mercenaries inside.
One guard was directly in front of the door, the other was three steps away, just about to start his walk along the halls in order to ensure no one was near the room he’d been paid to keep secure. He dropped back a little farther in order to cover his partner.
The sentry looked grim as he held up his hand to stop Savage. “You need an invitation to this party,” he said. “Everyone on the list has already checked in. Wait at the front desk, and Tabs will find you a masseuse.” He winked when he said it, but he had turned slightly, just enough that the weapon was pointed directly at Savage’s chest.
Ice wanted to laugh, but he wasn’t very good at that. He was better at killing. He didn’t so much as glance at the guard in front of Savage. That was Savage’s problem. He moved out from behind Savage, Storm pacing along beside him. They didn’t even look at the mercenary, the party room or anything else. Storm held up a piece of paper with lines drawn on it. He indicated the hallway the second guard had begun to walk down.
“Hey,” Storm said, holding out the paper. “The room numbers don’t match what that girl wrote on this. She did write down her phone number, but that isn’t helping when we want massages.”
“That’s not how it works,” the guard snarled and brought up his gun.
“I’m so sorry,” a female voice came from behind them. It was sultry. Low. Gave promises of sinful sex.
Everyone froze in place as heads turned to see the newcomer. She was tall with a killer body. Her thick hair was glossy black and curved around her face, kissing her neck with every step she took. Not that anyone was looking at her hair. Not with the amazing rack she had on display. Her curves were full and round, pushing to get out of the simple thin tee she wore stretched over them, with a logo for the massage parlor.
“This is my first day and I got stopped by a cop for speeding.” She flashed a grin, inviting them to be happy with her. “I got off with a warning. Tabitha at the front desk said I was supposed to meet two customers in room four-oh-seven. It should be down this hall.”
She caught up with Ice and Storm, but kept walking to lead the way, pointing to a room at the end of the hall. Her walk was just as sexy from the back as it was from the front, and the man watching Savage kept shifting his gaze toward her swaying ass. She was nearly up to the guard in the hall. He was trying to pull his gaze away from the two breasts nearly falling out of the too-small uniform she was wearing.
Ice could have kissed her. Lana was known as Widow to the other members of Torpedo Ink. She often made widows out of women married to mercenaries. She looked sexy as hell and innocent at the same time. How she did it, he had no idea, but she was a thing of beauty. She always had been, even when she’d been a child, being tortured like the rest of them. She’d come back crying, but ready to do whatever it took to escape.
She walked right up to the sentry as if she were going to walk past him, her eyes staring right into his, a sultry, sexy expression on her face. Savage and Lana stepped into their victims and two blades slammed deep into throats simultaneously. Ice caught the guard in the hall while Lana knocked on a door lightly, opened it and indicated the room was free. Ice hauled the guard into it, took the weapon and handed it to Lana. She rolled her eyes and shoved it onto a massage table. The guard gulped a few times, his eyes wide with shock, choking on his own blood while Storm dragged in Savage’s victim.