Shadows Redeemed (Garrison Security Innovations #4)

Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

DANE STOOD QUIETLY BESIDE her, but she could feel the weight of his gaze on her, the silent concern that simmered just below the surface. She knew he worried about her, her closeness to all of this. Jacob. Now Parker. However, she didn’t have time to worry about what he thought. Not now. Now she had to save Parker, and she no longer cared what happened to Jacob.

However, before they took another step, Blaze was in their ears. “You guys didn’t beat him. I spotted Jacob slipping through a vent on the roof. He’s inside.”

“Shit,” Dane growled. “Do you have eyes inside yet?”

Cookie stood on Sage’s other side, the others trailing a line behind him. She wasn’t sure why the man was even there, but she’d take the help.

“No,” Blaze replied. “You’re going in blind.”

Elvis scoffed. “Won’t be the first time.” He glanced over at Sage and shrugged. “It is what it is, darling.”

Sage sighed, knowing the man was right, but not liking it any more. She turned to Dane, shrugging. “Let’s get this over with. Jacob will just have to take care of Jacob. It’s what he’s good at, after all.”

Dane simply nodded as he motioned for them to move out.

They had parked in a dark alley a few buildings away from the warehouse so no one would see a bunch of people with guns piling out of cars. The old building loomed in the distance like some kind of dark fortress for lowlifes, and Sage thought it fitting for Luc Broussard. The team moved out in silence, their footsteps muffled by the thick, humid afternoon. Sage’s heart pounded in her ears as they approached the building, and every instinct in her body screamed that they were running out of time. However, she knew they didn’t dare move any faster, not without knowing what was happening inside.

Dane motioned for the team to fan out, and they quickly fell into position. Sage moved with practiced ease, her senses on high alert, her body ready for anything. This was what she trained for—high-pressure situations, quick thinking, fast reflexes. However, this time was different. This time, it was personal.

They entered the warehouse through a side door, the metal creaking loudly in the quiet afternoon. Sage held her breath, listening for any sign those inside heard them, but the building remained eerily silent. She exchanged a glance with Dane, who simply nodded as he signaled them to move forward.

The warehouse was dark and musty, the air thick with dust recently disturbed and the lingering scent of decay of a building left abandoned for over a decade. Sage’s pulse raced as they cleared the front, making their way to the large double doors that led to the main part of the warehouse. They found nothing but emptiness, however, and the tension mounted with every step she took, her anxiety ratcheting up as they drew closer.

As they neared the doors, Dane held his fist in the air, calling for a halt as voices reached them from the other side.

“…your ass down from there.”

Sage recognized the voice of Detective Sullivan, and he seemed pissed. But at who?

And then it was obvious. “I kind of like where I am, thanks.” Jacob. “My brother’s not some weakling, Sully. He’s seen this scenario played out a few times. We’ve talked about it. About what would happen and the need for sacrifice.”

She felt her eyes go wide as she shot a troubled glance at Dane, who was already reaching for the door handle.

“This ain’t no time for chitchat.” Sullivan again. “You’ve got two seconds to back off, or I’ll spill his guts all over this warehouse.”

Just as Dane gripped the door handle, Sage heard a new voice. “And you be a damn fool if you did. Let him go.”

Bryce? What the hell is he doing here?

She turned to Dane, leaning in so he could hear her whisper. “I know that man. He taught me everything I know about being an investigator. He’s the one Parker and I went to see yesterday.”

Dane cocked a brow. “Friend or foe?”

She hesitated. She honestly didn’t know. Bryce always played angles, and he wasn’t a fan of Jacob’s, but would he truly work for the Broussards?

After thinking for another second, she merely shook her head. “I honestly don’t know. He’s a wild card.”

“And we have enough of those right now,” Sighing, Dane turned to Gage. “Get me a peek inside.”

Gage gave a curt nod as he slid his backpack from his shoulder and placed it on the ground. After rummaging inside the bag for a moment, he pulled out a small borescope camera. Setting his pack on the ground against the wall, he snaked the camera under a small gap at the base of the door, watching the small screen for movement inside the warehouse.

Sage walked around, glancing over his shoulder pointing to the screen as Dane leaned over Gage’s other shoulder. “That’s Sullivan next to Parker, Blake Nealey next to him. The older man is Bryce, my mentor, and the scrawny kid is Luc Broussard. The men near Luc are his enforcers. But why are they all looking at the ceiling?”

“And who’s the body on the floor?” Dane asked as he looked over at her.

She could only shrug and shake her head.

Gage aimed the camera upward to the ceiling, and Sage felt her eyes go wide. “Shit,” she hissed.

She could only stand there and watch as Jacob stood straighter and stepped away from the support beam he had obviously been hiding behind. “That’s why he went through the vent on the roof.” She shook her head. “They’ll kill them both. We need to get in there before either of them does something?—”

Too late. She watched as Parker fell, twisting as he went down.

“Now!” Dane called out as he slapped Gage’s shoulder, who merely dropped the camera as he pulled his gun.

Elvis yanked the door open, and the rest filed into the room, Dane leading the way and Sage right on his six. Cookie brought up the rear. They fanned out once through the door—Dane, Sage, and Elvis going to the left while Cookie and Gage went right. She chanced a quick glance at Parker, who wrestled with Sullivan, both fighting for control of the detective’s gun. Shots rang out as Blake and Broussard spun on the newcomers, and Bryce took a quick shot at Jacob, clipping him in the shoulder and sending Parker’s brother spinning into the support beam.

Her team ducked to the side, hiding behind some tables they flipped over or stacks of ancient crates, and she clutched her gun, growling out her frustration. She needed to get to Parker.

Another shot, and then she heard a groan. But who was shot?

“Bryce, you need to end this now!” she called out, her back against the table. “There’s no way you guys can beat my team. It’s over.”

“Ah, girl, you know it’s never over,” Bryce said, sighing. “There’s always a way out. Ah, little girl, you shouldn’t have stuck your nose in. I warned you, but like always, that stubborn Silver pride of yours got in the way. You’re just like that old man of yours.”

She froze, her mouth ajar as she stared at the concrete wall in front of her, her heart pounding in her ears. What the hell did he know about her father? “What are you talking about, Bryce? You never met my father. Hell, you were the one helping me track down his killer.”

“Best way to keep you from finding out who it was,” Bryce told her. “Look kid. You’re in over your head. Always have been. Now, before anyone else gets hurt, how about you and your friends just back on out? None of this concerns you. It’s a New Orleans matter.”

She glanced to both sides, noticing her team trying to fan out even more to cover the sides as they moved in. Dane pulled a small mirror out of his side pants pocket, angling it so they could see where everyone was positioned. Parker and Sullivan were still locked on the ground, Blake and Luc, guns drawn, were inching toward them, Luc’s men fanning out as well, and Bryce motioned to all of them, giving directions while he kept Sage talking, almost as if he were the one truly in charge. And on the concrete floor on the far side of the warehouse sprawled Jacob. He wasn’t moving, either.

“What does my father have to do with this, Bryce?” She glanced at Dane, her face pinched with worry. “He was a simple teacher. He had nothing to do with anything.”

Through the small mirror, she watched as Blake moved one way and Luc the other, both with their heads on a swivel and their guns ready. Parker slammed Sullivan’s hand against the concrete floor, the man finally losing his grip on the gun, the weapon sliding a few feet away from them. Parker scrambled, but Bryce must have heard it fall and was already there, his own gun aimed at Parker’s head.

“Your father cared too deeply for his students,” Bryce said. With a wave of his gun, he motioned Parker to his feet. “One of them fell in with the Broussards, and well, your father did a little snooping, trying to pull the kid out. Old man Broussard called me to go talk to him.”

Before she even knew what she was doing, Sage shot to her feet, her gun aimed right at Bryce’s chest. “You killed my father? You?” She moved around the table, no longer worried about her safety, a burning fury raging through her like a forest fire out of control. “You watched me struggle with his death all that time, and it was you?” She gripped the handle of the gun, her muscles taut, trembling, and it took everything she had not to fire.

Bryce looked at her, genuine anguish creasing his weathered face. “Look, girlie, it wasn’t supposed to go down that way. I warned him, just like I warned you.” He ran his free hand through his hair, sighing. “Damn, but you Silvers are some pigheaded busybodies.”

Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched as the four men with her stood to their feet, each one aiming their gun at a different target. Without looking at her, Dane took over the conversation. “This needs to end. Now. My tech guy has heard it all, detectives, and has already called it in, I assure you. Police will be here any minute. There’s no need for anyone else to get hurt.”

Sage cast a quick glance at Jacob—or where Jacob should have been, except now he was gone. Only a puddle of blood marked that he had even been there. She jerked her gaze around the warehouse, searching for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Where the hell did he go?

Yet, it didn’t surprise her he was gone. Typical Jacob.

She turned her attention back to Bryce. “So, are you the one who stole Broussard’s drugs?”

“It was him,” Parker said, walking around the man as he glanced at Sage. “It was all of them, actually.” He cocked his head as he turned to Broussard. “Seems little Luc here no longer wanted to wait for his inheritance and decided to branch out on his own. And why not? With two detectives and a street-smart investigator in his pockets, he could do whatever he wanted. Until he couldn’t, that is.” He moved over to Sage, stopping a couple of feet away before turning back to Bryce. “Someone got a little greedy.” He cocked his head as he studied each of the detectives and Bryce. “My guess is Sullivan was ready for more.”

“Why you son of a—” Sullivan stepped around Bryce, shoving the older man out of the way as he lunged for Parker.

“Stop!”

Everyone looked up into the rafters where Jacob stood again, blood seeping into his chest and a black duffel bag in his hand. He swung the bag out into the air, letting it fall to the concrete floor, where it landed with an echoing thud. “Your drugs.”

Everyone turned toward the undercover cop, and Sage felt confusion pinching her brow. “You did it? You took the drugs?” Why was she not surprised? Anger replaced confusion. “They almost killed your brother, damn it!”

Parker stepped in front of her, however, pointing to Luc. “He looks kind of pale, don’t you think?”

She turned to look at the young Broussard. The man simply stared at the duffel bag.

“You?” Bryce spun on the man, jerking his gun arm up as he took a step toward Luc. “You stole from us? You lousy son of a bitch!”

“Bryce!”

Everyone looked up at Jacob, who leaned against the support, looking paler than he had a second ago. He aimed his gun at Bryce, but his hand shook and Sage doubted he could aim it with any accuracy. Still, he pressed forward as if he had all the time in the world, time the dripping of his blood to the floor said he didn’t have.

“It’s jail for him,” Jacob said. “Now back off. The drugs were in his car. I just needed him here so I could get in it and search. Now, back off.”

Bryce snarled, jerking his gun arm around and firing. “Like hell I will.”