Maya Banks - Into the Mist

“Jonah’s called a meeting,” Mad Dog called out as soon as she drew within hearing distance. “We’ve got company coming.”

On cue she heard the whop whop of an approaching helicopter. Mad Dog reached out to pull her close to him, and he urged her under the cover of the trees lining the rocky path to the house.

“What’s the meeting for and who’s coming?” she asked as they started the climb to the house.

It wasn’t like Jonah to allow a meeting on their island. When they met a client, they always did so in a large international city.

“I don’t know,” he muttered. “It came through Burkett.”

Tyana raised an eyebrow in surprise. Burkett rarely got involved in their jobs. Though if he’d recommended a client, she could understand why Jonah was at least entertaining the offer.

“Be on guard,” he said as they neared the house. “I don’t like that Jonah let them come here. Our location has always been a secret.” He turned to look at her. “Are you packing?”

She shook her head. She’d left her gun in her room while she’d gone jogging.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a Glock. She nearly chuckled. He likely had two more guns and at least three knives stashed on his big body. Knives were his specialty. There didn’t exist a way he couldn’t defend himself with a blade.

He pressed the cool metal into her hand. Then he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. “Come on. Jonah’s waiting.”

“And D?” she asked.

Mad Dog shook his head. “He’s still sleeping. I gave him another injection early this morning. He’s fighting…” He let his voice trail off as they entered the house.

“His body is fighting the injections,” she said softly.

“Yeah, something like that. I’ve called Marcus to come out and take another look at him.”

“He can’t last much longer like this and you know it,” Tyana said fiercely. “You know Eli Chance is our best hope right now. We need to go after him.”

“If you hope to sway me against Jonah, it isn’t going to happen. In this we’re united. Call us overprotective older brothers, but we’re not going to sacrifice our baby sister for our baby brother. It don’t work like that. We’ll find a way to help D. One that doesn’t involve you getting yourself killed.”

Tyana ground her teeth but didn’t argue. When Jonah and Mad Dog made up their minds about something, there wasn’t anything she could do to sway them.

She pushed her arms into the sleeves of Mad Dog’s jacket and shoved the gun into the inside pocket as they headed down the hall to the meeting room. They stepped in to see Jonah standing behind his desk, arms crossed, a serious expression creasing his face.

“What’s going on?” Tyana asked as she dropped into a chair in front of the desk.

“We’ve got company,” Jonah said grimly.

She lifted one brow. “You let them come here?”

He returned her gaze. “I had our pilot pick them up. He flew a flight pattern that would have you confused about where you were going. And I made damn sure members of our security team frisked them for any GPS equipment. I think we’re just fine.”

She winced at his rebuke. He didn’t like that she’d questioned his judgment, and in his defense, it certainly wasn’t something she normally did.

“I’m sorry,” she began. She was interrupted when the intercom beeped. Jonah leaned forward, pressing the button on his desk.

“Yeah.”

“They’re here. We’re coming up.”

Tyana recognized the voice as their head of security. Jonah employed a dozen men to maintain the tight security net around their island. In short, no one got on or off the island without Jonah’s permission.

“ Who’s here, Jonah?” she asked.

“Someone about a job,” he said shortly. “Burkett called and asked as a special favor for us to entertain what the man has to say.”

She frowned. Burkett never asked for favors.

A few moments later, a knock sounded at the door.

“Come,” Jonah called.

The door opened and Henderson, their chief of security, entered. Behind him walked a man in an expensive business suit. Smarmy was the first word that came to Tyana’s mind. But then a lot of their clients weren’t exactly the upper crust of humanity.

He was flanked by what looked to be two personal bodyguards who were in turn surrounded by members of FMG’s security detail.

“Burkett said you were interested in hiring our services,” Jonah said abruptly. But then he’d never been one for formalities or beating around the bush. He seemed on edge, and Tyana knew he wasn’t keen on having clients on their home turf. Must be one hell of a favor he owed Burkett to allow people on their island.

The man pulled his sunglasses off, a flashy move that didn’t impress Tyana. His gaze flickered around the room until it settled on Tyana, making her shift uncomfortably beneath his scrutiny.

Mad Dog moved closer to her and slid his hand over her shoulder.

“I was under the impression there were four of you,” the man said mildly.

Jonah scowled. “You’re wasting my time. Either outline the job you want to hire us for, or leave.”

The man raised an eyebrow but smiled, flashing straight white teeth. “Very well.”

He reached inside his suit jacket and withdrew a folder. He flipped it onto Jonah’s desk. “We’d like you to deliver these three men. One of them we want alive. It’s imperative that he isn’t harmed, merely immobilized. If you deliver, we’ll be content to let you name your price.”

Tyana raised her eyebrow in surprise. Money clearly wasn’t an object, but she sensed desperation in the man’s tone. Whoever the men were he wanted them to find, they must be bad news.

Jonah opened the folder, glancing over the contents before passing it over to Mad Dog. Tyana leaned forward to peer over Mad Dog’s shoulder, her curiosity piqued. She sucked in her breath when she saw the photos. She recognized two of the men immediately as part of the team that had hired D, and the third… She was on intimate terms with the third, also a member of that same team. Eli Chance.

“Why do you want them?” she spoke up.

The man turned glittering eyes on her. The corners of his mouth quirked upward in a fake smile. “You needn’t concern yourself with my use for them. All I need from you is their delivery. Eli Chance alive. The other two…” He shrugged. “Dead or alive. Doesn’t really matter.”

“No,” Jonah broke in.

The man turned in surprise back to Jonah. “No?”

“That’s what I said,” Jonah said evenly. He snapped his fingers at Mad Dog and held out his hand for the folder. When Mad Dog handed it over, Jonah shoved it toward the man. “We have no interest in taking the job.”

Tyana leaned forward. “Jonah—”

He held out a hand to silence her, his expression black. He turned back to the man. “I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time, but we don’t have any interest in this assignment.”

The man studied Jonah for a long moment before turning his gaze to Tyana. Then he shrugged and turned away. “Let’s go,” he said.

Tyana watched him leave, a sense of frustration beating against her temple. As soon as the man had disappeared from view, she rounded on Jonah.

Before she could spit out a single word, he held up his hand. “There won’t be any arguments, Ty. Not over this. At the moment I don’t even want to ponder the coincidence of this man appearing from nowhere asking us to deliver Eli Chance on a silver platter.”

“But—”

“But nothing,” he said firmly. “The subject is closed.”

She sighed, shutting her eyes against the overwhelming urge to throttle him. He was like a freaking steel beam when he made up his mind about something.