Violent Angel (Pretty Broken Things #1)

17. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

T hree days. Damon had Elliot to himself for three days of total bliss before the walls of reality came crashing down on them.

Gerard being the one to wield the sledgehammer wasn’t a total shock, but Damon didn’t expect the regret in his tone when Elliot put him on speaker phone.

“I need you both to come down to my office.” The handler sounded worn out, his voice rough, as though this wasn’t the first call like this he’d had to make. “I’ll make it quick, but…this is a conversation better had in person.”

Frowning, Elliot rolled off the bed, where he’d been lying naked all morning, trying to catch up on Our Flag Means Death so he could chat with Lux about it when he came home at the end of the week. “We’ll be right down. It’s not Virgil, is it?”

“No, Virgil’s fine.” Gerard let out a shallow laugh. “If it was him, you probably wouldn’t be hearing from me again. Ever. He’s not here, though. I wish he was… It doesn’t matter. I’ll talk to you soon.”

The call cut off.

Damon joined his man at their shared dresser, yanking on some boxer briefs, then jeans, waving Elliot off before he could ‘neaten up’ the three drawers that now held Damon’s clothes. “No time for that, baby. Focus. You start stress cleaning and the boss man will come get us.”

“Fuck, that would be…” Elliot looked around the room, which was clean enough, but definitely not up to his usual standards. Getting him to loosen up for a few days was starting to backfire. “I can’t believe I let it get this bad.”

“It’s not bad. Now breathe.” Damon took a firm grip of Elliot’s shoulders and met his eyes. “What’s the real issue? Do you want me to go see what’s up on my own before you—”

Eyes wide, Elliot shook his head. “No. No, but… Gerard sounded off. Whatever happened has him messed up enough to tell us he wishes Virgil was here? He never does that.”

“The man’s human. He might be good at hiding it, but so were you.” Damon’s lips curved when Elliot huffed out a laugh and smacked his chest. “There. Much better. Mild abuse toward me is better than you and him going at it. I like Virgil—don’t make a widower of him. Not for a few more years at least.”

Elliot leaned in, kissing the spot on Damon’s chest that he’d smacked. “Sorry for hitting you. No more mild abuse. Just sexy violence.”

“And you won’t pull any weapons on Gerard?”

“I can’t promise that, but I’ll make an effort.”

Asking for more wouldn’t be realistic, so Damon nodded, and finished getting dressed.

Less than five minutes later, he and Elliot were in Gerard’s office on the first floor, sitting across from the man while he paced behind his massive executive desk. There were deep shadows under Gerard’s black eyes, and the lines on his face seemed carved in ragged lines from the stress of whatever he’d been dealing with lately.

Almost as though it’d aged him a few decades since Damon had last seen him.

“I’ve told my men news like this so often, I’ve developed a system.” Gerard finally spoke, almost to himself, staring blankly at the built in bookshelf surrounding the one big window in the room. “Be blunt and move on to the next assignment. Maybe it’s heartless, but it works. If the men need comfort, or time to grieve, they find it together before doing the job.”

Elliot’s throat worked as he rubbed his hand over his mouth. There was a flash of fear in his eyes before he schooled his features and lowered his hand. “Who do we lose?”

“Gail.” Gerard dropped heavily into his chair. “It’s not confirmed, but he hasn’t checked in for over thirty-six hours. After Archie and Hart, I’m not optimistic.”

When he sensed Elliot tensing beside him, Damon sat forward and spoke up before he could say something…unfortunate. “If it’s not confirmed, why not send a team to go look for him? You have his last location—”

“I don’t. And we can’t spare the manpower.” Gerard fixed Elliot with a level look. “You’ll have to take over his mission. I know you haven’t had enough down time, but we’re running out of options. If you refuse, I’ll have to send Tig and—”

Standing and kicking his chair over, Elliot slapped his hands on the desk. “Don’t you fucking dare. Tig is still healing. He was almost fucking beaten to death, Archie is dead, Hart is dead, and now Gael’s missing? You’re on edge because something’s going on, isn’t it?”

Gerard picked up a file and tossed it between Elliot’s hands. “Will you take the mission or not?”

“Who is targeting us, Gerard!”

“When I have information to share with you, I will.” Gerard’s tone took on a dangerous edge. “There are four of you left. This would be Parker’s mission, but he took yours so you could go with Lux. I’ve taken your brother out of the rotation so you won’t be distracted worrying about him. I have made every concession I am willing and able to make up to this point, mot?nel, but do not for one goddamn second think that I’ll risk innocent lives to make things easier on you.”

Jaw ticking, Elliot glared at his handler. “I’ve never asked you to.”

“You’ve been doing a lot of things you’ve never done lately.” Gerard glanced at Damon, his lips thinning. “Maybe I should be asking him if you can go on this mission. Tell me, Elliot. Are you still part of the team or not?”

Wincing like he’d been slapped, Elliot took a step back, bringing the file with him. “You damn well know I am, Gerard. And I’ll go, but when I get back, I expect some fucking answers.”

“As I said, when I have them to give, you’ll know.”

Not looking convinced, Elliot stared at his handler for a few beats.

Then turned and strode out, slamming the door behind him.

Damon moved to follow, but Gerard spoke again, stopping him. “You’re going to have some decisions to make, Mr. Burrows. When he’s gone, come see me and you’ll understand why he can’t know anything yet.”

“I think you’re underestimating him.” Damon opened the door and paused, glancing back. “If you don’t want to lose anyone else, letting them all know what they’re up again might be a good idea.”

That got him nothing but a cold, dismissive stare. “This is above your paygrade, driver. Now get out.”

By the time Damon got back to the loft, Elliot was already packing. The file Gerard had given him was open on the bed, screenshots of what looked like snuff porn spread scattered everywhere, along with arrest records and court documents.

At Damon’s questioning look, Elliot sighed. “It’s a prison job. This guy, a businessman with mob connections, was caught by a cyber crime unit, producing this sick shit. He was in protective custody for years after making a plea bargain, but the other case was thrown out after the evidence was tampered with. We've been waiting a long time for the green light to take him out once we had access to him. He’s one of three men who were involved and the other two are dead. Once he joins them…”

Damon shoved the photos back in the file and closed it. “There’s no more films.”

“Well, there will be other assholes making them, but this will get rid of one of the bigger sources.” Kneeling on the floor, Elliot looked helplessly down at his bag. “He shouldn’t be hard to get close to, Nexus has people in the court system and several in this prison. Parker’s usually in and out in a couple of days. But I need to do something big enough to get arrested so he’ll hear about it.” He lifted his gaze. “All I can think is I don’t know what to pack that won’t draw suspicion. I won’t get to have any of it in prison, but I have to bring something .”

A slanted smile curved Damon’s lips as he stepped up to Elliot and took his hand, pulling him to his feet. “Thankfully, your boyfriend is a criminal who’s been through all this before.”

“You can’t come with me.”

“Why not?” Damon arched a brow. “You said it yourself, Parker’s in and out because he knows the system. You don’t. Why put yourself at risk by being there longer when I can be there with you?”

Elliot already looked very very tempted. He blinked, as if something had just occurred to him. “Gerard would be pissed if I went off the books and did this my way.” Grinning, he rose up to wrap his arms around the back of Damon’s neck, speaking against his lips. “Or our way.”

“Does that mean you’re ready to commit crimes with me?”

“Hell, yes.”

“Good. Pack a change of clothes to leave in the car. Don’t keep anything in your pockets you’re afraid to lose, some guards have sticky fingers.” Damon kissed Elliot, squeezing his ass before moving away to throw his own bag together. “Hitting a bank is our best bet. With my record, it’d make sense that a judge would refuse bail and expedite the process.” He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “As long as you’re sure you can’t get us out after this is done?”

Opening one of the top drawers of his dresser, Elliot pulled out a small leather notebook. “I have to make a few calls, but it won’t be a problem. This job will pay enough blood credits for me to grease some palms without going into more debt, and still have enough to share some with you.”

“You don’t have to give me any.” Damon bumped his shoulder against Elliot’s as they headed out. “I’m coming along for the hot prison sex.”

Elliot’s pupils dilated with arousal, but he quickly shook his head. “ Never take a job for free, even if it’s with me. Blood credits don’t only get you anything you might need, they also build up your reputation. It’s easier to gain valuable contacts when people know you’ve completed several important missions. This will be a big one.”

“Fine, but I’m using my credits to do something fun with you, away from here, when we’re done.” Damon nodded toward the stairwell, needing to get rid of some of the nervous energy building up inside him. His voice echoed along with his rapid steps as they made their way down. “I’m thinking somewhere without cell service.”

Snickering, Elliot raced ahead of him, turning as he pushed open the door at the bottom of the stairs. “Our first date is gonna be at a secluded cabin in the wilderness? That could be…interesting.”

“It could, but why not a private island?”

“How much do you think we get paid for jobs like this?”

From the sounds of it, not nearly enough, but Damon didn’t want to have that conversation right now. Even though Elliot had been managing just fine long before he’d come into the picture, his man allowing him to tag along on the mission made it easier to shelve the mounting unease from Eros’ Eight’s numbers being halved within the past month.

If someone was targeting the team, none of them should be going on any missions alone.

Whatever the cost, protecting them should be Gerard’s priority.

He didn’t doubt the man cared about the young men under his command, in his own fucked up way, but his attitude toward Damon’s presence proved how resistant to change he was. Maybe he wouldn’t listen to any of Damon’s suggestions—he would listen to Virgil, though.

Soon as Damon got back, he’d give the man a shout…

Hopefully, if he wasn’t at The Inn by then, Elliot had his number in that little black book.

Because Damon might just be a driver, but he cared about all the guys in Eros’ Eight.

And it'll be my personal fucking mission…

To make sure we don’t lose another one of them.