My heart is racing as I run to my truck. I get in and slam the door and switch my phone over to Bluetooth. This is too much to process. “So you’re not taking the hit?”
“Yes. But I’m hiring you as my hitman. Once the contract is open and the other agencies are in, there’s nothing I can do.”
“I’m not a hitman, Rogue. I won’t do your dirty work.”
His laugh is menacing. “You want your girl to live? I think you’ll do what I ask you to do. I can open this hit now and there will be a number of men ready to take it on.”
I’ve never been one to be backed into a corner, but for Kinsley, I will. I can’t let anything happen to her. “Fine. Put me on your list. This one job. But I’m saving her, Rogue. There’s no money in this for you.”
“Done.”
I shake my head as I run a red light, skidding on two wheels, and a car I barely miss lays on their horn. “Just like that, you’re giving up the chance for five hundred thousand dollars? Tell me, why do I feel like there’s a catch?”
“There’s no catch. I told you I’d pay you back one day. Today’s the day.”
I’m driving down the highway toward the airport, and I’ve got a bad feeling about this, but any time you deal with someone like Rogue, it’s never easy or something simple. But I don’t care. Not if it comes to saving Kinsley. I’ll do whatever I have to do.
“Thank you, Rogue.”
“You’re welcome.” He hangs up just as I take the off ramp to the airport. I know Jax may not be here yet, so I’ll start to prepare the jet.
I park in the garage of the hangar, and to my surprise, Jax pulls in next to me.
He doesn’t beat around the bush. “What’s up?” He jogs next to me and instantly starts checking the plane as I start to explain.
“Rogue called.”
“Rogue?” he asks as he continues what he’s doing. I guess in the business we’re in, we don’t get surprised by a lot.
“Yeah, he got a new hit today.”
And this time he stops and turns. His eyes are dark, jaw clinched. “Who?”
I blink, hating to even say her name under these terms. “Kinsley.”
He tries to place the name. “May’s best friend?”
I nod, even though that doesn’t exactly cover it all. Yes, Kinsley is my sister May’s best friend. They have been since they were little. But Kinsley’s more than that. She’s haunted my dreams for what seems like forever. She’s the one I let get away, the one I know deserves more than me. But I’ve kept tabs on her to make sure she’s well and looked after. I didn’t have a choice. She deserves more than I can offer. So I’ve kept a close eye on her even though she’s across the country. But obviously not close enough.
“So we’re going to save Kinsley in...”
“Los Angeles.”
He shakes his head. “Of course we are.” It’s a seven-hour flight from Tennessee, but I know Jax doesn’t care. He’s used to flying farther than that.
I watch as he files the flight plan and finishes everything needed to depart.
I pick up my phone and dial the office. “Riggs, I need you to find out where Kinsley Adams will be in approximately seven hours, and I need you to find a safe house in Los Angeles.”
I can hear pecking on the keyboard. “Well, hello to you too, Stone. Is this why you went racing out of here?”
“Yes. Can you help me out?”
“She will be teaching her Advanced Photography class at the University of California at eighteen hundred hours. I’ll send you a map of the school and coordinates to the safe house. Do you need backup?”
It’s scary sometimes how fast Jax acquires information. I finally take a breath. “No, I should be able to extract her and go from there. There’s a hit on her that came from Ruthless Corporation—”
“Rogue?” he asks.
“Yeah, one and the same.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, well, supposedly he’s doing me a favor on this one. But can you find out more information on this hit?”
“Will do. Watch your back. If Rogue’s involved, I don’t trust it.”
“Yeah, but this is what we’re trained to do, right?”
Instead of answering me, he grunts into the phone and hangs up.
“We’re clear. Let’s go,” Jax hollers out the door.
I climb the stairs and settle into the seat in the cockpit. I’ve done hundreds of missions just like this – but this seems more intense. Each and every mission is important, but this is different. I’ve guarded politicians, kidnapped activists, saved many people. But this is Kinsley. My Kinsley. We’re protectors. Each of us has served in the military, each of us with our own set of skills. And because of those skills, the Ghost Alpha Team was formed. We go in unnoticed and do what we’re supposed to do. We don’t get credit; that’s not why we do it. We do it because we can.