“Tyler, you’re my guy, you know that right. But any more of that shit, and I’ma have to plant my foot in your ass.”
I walked away as the rest of them started teasing the disgruntled Lyon. I stopped halfway down the hallway when I realized that I didn’t know where the hell I was going. From the outside, the house looks huge and inside was no different. Anyone passing by would never guess that the upscale red and white brick monstrosity was now housing some of the toughest bad-asses I’d ever come across. It looked more suited to the American dream family if that dreamer was worth millions.
I saw movement from the shadows and moved to protect her and myself when this unknown stepped into the light in front of me. “Right this way, Master Jason, the room has already been prepared for our guest.” The man with a smooth British accent held his hand out in the direction I was supposed to follow.
“Who the fuck, are you?”
“He’s one of Mancini’s spooks kid not to worry.” Lyon came up behind me on stealth mode. So much for protecting her, I didn’t even hear or sense his approach. “Henry comes with the house.” Lyon’s smile didn’t quite come off as such. It looked more like a shark sizing up its prey. I’m surprised that he and Gideon haven’t known each other longer. The two of them sure do share some traits.
“Are there any more unknowns around here?” I was beginning to feel exposed. For the past ten years, I’ve worked with the same group of men with Gideon at the helm. It struck me all of a sudden that I was in unchartered territory. I didn’t know anyone here for more than a few hours. It’s not like my brother to be this trusting; he’d never have let me leave that island with these men… in fact, we’d never have set foot on that island in the first place if he didn’t trust them so I guess I could relax. Somehow that wasn’t working because it wasn’t just me.
I looked down at the bundle in my arms and tried to imagine if someone else had been on the job, someone else would be holding her like this right now. My blood started to stir in my veins, and any second now, I was going to bare my teeth.
“Yeah, there’s the chef, the maid who looks like she took classes the same place Bond did, and a shit ton of security spooks. Don’t sweat it; I already vetted them all.”
“Lead the way, Henry.” Lyon’s voice sounded amiable enough, but there was an edge to it, it seemed. Or maybe I’m imagining things since I’d only just met the guy and don’t know him that well. Nope, I know those signs have seen them countless times with my brother. He had the look of someone who was on high alert.
His tone might be jovial and easy-going, but he was ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Logan and Law came down the hallway behind us just as the middle-aged man Lyon had called Henry opened one of the many doors down the never-ending hallway. There was another guy already in there, wearing medical scrubs, who looked like he was setting up his little torture devices as we walked in.
A female Amazonian turned down the bed and smiled back at me without a word. I wasn’t ready to let her go. I looked around the room, ready to bolt. “It’s okay kid, let the doc look her over and make sure she’s okay.” My arms started to tremble, and the word no burned a hole at the tip of my tongue. I looked at the harmless-looking guy in the scrubs who looked like someone’s grandfather and swallowed back the words of denial before placing her on the bed.
I stepped back to give him some room but not too far. “Okay, we’re not doing anything intrusive right now. Just checking her vitals and such.” He moved in with the stethoscope as he spoke, moving her top out of the way over her chest so he could place it against her skin. Everything that happened next was a blur of movement that none of us could’ve seen coming.
As soon as he touched her shirt, her hand came up and wrapped around his throat, pushing him back and away from her. She did some kind of flip and threw herself off the other side of the bed, landing in a crouch with her hands ready to strike. She looked around the room at the rest of us just as I heard feet come running towards us. The others had been alerted by the sound of the doctor hitting the wall.
“Roxy, it’s okay, we’re not going to hurt you.” Her head jerked at my use of her name, but she never took her eyes from the others as she assessed the situation. “How do you know my name byeong-sin saek-ki?” Her voice was like a melody, but I’m not quite sure about the words she’d just used.