Page 65 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
“No, and I suddenly wish I’d brought Delilah instead. Actually though, she may still be able to help us.” Arek walked away, talking on his phone.
“If you’re not solid with this, you can stay in the car,” Cody said to Ray. “You have a lot to lose.”
“We all have a lot to lose. Besides, I can’t have you going back and telling Little Spice that I was a chicken, and you get all the glory.” Ray gave him a smile.
“I think I’ll be on her hated list for awhile, she was pretty pissed with me at breakfast.”
“She’ll get over it, you’re her hero.”
Cody didn’t want to be anyone’s hero or have any glory. If he could, he’d walk away from all this shit and live a simple life. He’d even prefer a private island for them all to go to and hide away from death and darkness. Now that he’d gotten the taste of a real home and happiness, he was terrified that at any moment, the carpet was going to be yanked out from underneath his feet. Not to mention the mental image of Trev walking out of a lagoon looking like fucking model had certain parts of him hard and revved to go. The corner of his mouth lifted at the thought.
Three more cars pulled up that were members from the old Crimson Vipers. The eight guys got out and walked over. “Boss, sorry we’re late,” they said almost as one. He lifted an eyebrow at them.
Arek caught his attention as he jogged out of the shadows. “We’ll talk about it later,” he said to the group before he walked over to where the man was holding up his phone. “The back of the building is vacant. There are no cars parked there, and Delilah can’t see inside the building since there are no cameras in or around it. A mile down the road, a number of trucks came and went from this direction, but it’s been quiet since.”
“What do you want to do?” Cody asked.
“Let’s go inside. If Spike is holed up in here, he will be pissed that we didn’t show, and if he’s not, then we need to keep our eyes open for a trap.”
Cody nodded and turned to his group. “Alright, let’s go, but be ready for anything and what Arek says is law,” he called out to the small group.
Arek led the party to the front door, he gave the old glass door a tug, and it opened, a small bell chiming, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet space. He stuck his head inside the lit front foyer and then waved them inside. The old reception area was not very large, and the door off to the side was hanging off its hinges. Giving it a push, Arek moved the broken door out of the way and pointed to his eyes the message loud and clear.
Not that Cody had any intention of letting his guard down. He stepped into the warehouse, and the shitty fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling swayed gently and flickered slightly, casting eerie shadows along the walls. There was no noise but for the sound of their own breathing and their boots on the concrete floor. More lights automatically flicked on as they walked, the motion sensors revealing a number of long rows of high metal racking. They appeared to stop about halfway toward the back of the building, which opened up into what looked to be a vacant space, but from this far away, it was hard to tell for sure.
Arek used hand signals to divide the group up and spread them out to travel down the rows, leaving the three of them together once more. Arek’s eyes shot around the space and up to the ceiling as he took in everything. Cody tried to see this place through his eyes, what he might be looking for.
Cody could just make out his men on either side as they moved, guns out and moving just as cautiously. There was a soft click sound and Arek held up his fist, the two of them stopped mid-stride. Something caught Cody’s attention, and he stared at the small baggie on the floor. Bending over, he grabbed the small piece of plastic, that was half under the shelving unit and flipped it over in his palm.
His eyes grew wide as he stared at the logo and opened his mouth to call to Arek when Arek yelled to get down. Like they’d been in the calm before the storm all hell broke loose. Bullets flew in every direction and pinged off the metal racking, sending them off in erratic directions. Arek dropped to his knee and fired two shots to his left and then one to the right.
“Get out,” Arek looked at him. “Now.”
He grabbed Ray’s arm, who seemed paralyzed to the spot, and ran back the way they’d just come. More shots were fired, and he ducked and covered his head with his free arm as he ran, practically dragging Ray behind him with his long strides. They burst through the door outside as police cars, lights and sirens streaked up the street toward them. He faltered in his step, unsure if they should still head to the car or try to hide.
“Get to the car and follow me,” Arek yelled, running past them.
“What about the cops?” he said as the first car screeched to a stop.
“They’re going to be preoccupied,” Arek said, jumping in the Mustang and revving the engine.
“Turn off the car and get out with your hands up.” A loudspeaker blared.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Cody mumbled just as the group of Vipers came running out the front door, their guns firing. He started his car, and the wheels squealed, smoke rising into the air as the car fishtailed and took off after Arek.
He hit answer as his phone rang. “We’re not out of the woods yet, there are more lights ahead, and you see that light up ahead.” Cody leaned forward, looking up at the light Arek mentioned, and swore as he spotted the helicopter.
“What the fuck is going on?”
“It was a setup, and if we didn’t die inside, it was designed to take us out one way or another. Our saving grace is the guys in there are fucking idiots and I spotted the plan before we were trapped. Stay on my ass like sticky fly paper. I’m going to call Trev.” Arek hung up just as the car was bathed in bright white light.
“Cody?” Ray said.
“What?”
“I…I think I was shot.”
Cody’s head whipped to the right, and Ray held up his hand that was covered in blood.
