She was running, running. People were shouting again, but it was his laughter she had to escape. She heard a screeching squeal, like an animal in severe pain.
Hands pulled at her, pain pierced her arm, and then her world dissolved into blessed, peaceful darkness.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ash stepped into the limousine and began to rid himself of Humphrey. His driver, Finn Sullivan, was a trusted associate with a private security firm. Since every OZ operative was otherwise occupied, Finn was his backup in case something went sour after the sale.
With one hand, Ash removed the veneers from his mouth and used his other to grab the earwig from the case in front of him.
“It’s done, Ash,” Finn said.
“No one hurt?”
“A few of Lang’s men got roughed up a little. None of your people or mine was injured.”
“And Lang…he’s healthy?”
“Oh yeah, cursing like the devil on Judgment Day, but not a bruise on his scummy ass. He’s plenty healthy to go to prison.”
Finn grinned at him in the rearview mirror. “It was a beautiful thing to hear. Wish I could’ve been there.”
Ash nodded his thanks and turned his earwig on. He had more than one op going tonight, but first he needed to check in with the team.
“Xavier, you copy?”
“Hey, boss. Glad you could join us. You missed all the fun.”
“Heard it went well. Everyone okay?”
“Oh yeah. Couple of Lang’s men got their asses kicked, and I had to shoot a hole in one of them, but it’s nothing that won’t heal.”
“And Lang is…”
“On his way with the bigwigs for a fun Q&A.”
Relief flooded through him. They’d planned this down to the minute, but there was always the possible shit factor to contend with. Learning at the last minute that one of their own was a traitor could have derailed everything. In spite of that, the op had worked.
Xavier’s tone went from pleasant to grim. “You talk to Gideon?”
“Not yet.”
“Might want to give him a call ASAP. I think they had some trouble.”
“Will do.”
His entire body pounding with a new kind of dread, Ash grabbed his phone and punched a number. Gideon answered immediately.
“Hey, man, you headed this way?”
“Yes. What happened? Xavier said you—”
“We’ve got a problem, Ash. I don’t know who Jules is or her agenda, but she’s had some kind of mental break. You need to get here now.”
“What happened? How…”
“She’s secure right now. I had to give her a sedative.”
“Did she tell you anything?”