Lyon's Family (The Lyon #5) (12 page)

Now I had the others eyeing my ass, like I was gonna share all my secrets. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust them, but there are no lengths I wouldn’t go to-to keep my family safe. I’m sure these boys were of the same mind.

“So what do you have for us Mancini? Our women aren’t the most patient bunch.” Connor was cool as a cucumber as he held up the wall.

“What I have is a conspiracy. These players are into more shit than a little bit. We have trafficking, sex slaves, pedophilic rings, murder and espionage. What you boys walked into goes way beyond what’s going on-on the waterfront in that little town of yours.”

“How much did you know about your commander?” He turned his attention to the SEALs who all stepped towards him like they were ready to tear him apart. “He was clean, I don’t give a fuck what you think you know that much we do know. So if you’re here to sell us anything different you can get fucked.”

“Take it easy Tyler, I’m inclined to agree with you. I asked because he had more than you’ve found. He was killed…”

“You know this for a fact?” It was Logan’s turn to move on him. I was lost. I hadn’t heard shit about the fucks that had put my daughter in that book, other than the mention of their name.

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“I’m not at liberty...”

“You say that shit one more time…”

“Cool it, everyone to their corners. Look Mancini show us your cards or get out of the game.” That’s what I get for playing along with these organized fucks. I could’ve been to the desert and back ten times by now and put an end to this shit. The fuck I give a fuck about espionage?

“Gentlemen, I understand your frustration, and believe me I’m not interested in protecting these fuckers any more than you are. But there are things involved that if not handled carefully can backfire on us, and yes that us meant I am throwing my hat in the ring. Like I said I have somewhere to be, I just dropped in to take your measure so to speak, see who it was I am getting into bed with. I’ll be in touch.”

The fucker got up and left the way he came. “Uh, am I the only one who’s confused?”

“No Law, I think we’re all in the dark on this one.” Smooth motherfucker, he might’ve pissed me off coming into my place the way he did, but I had to give him his due.

“That’s Mancini, I’m surprised he even showed up here.” Creed looked after the door where he’d disappeared.

“This other guy Thorpe, what the fuck is he like?”

“I don’t think he’s as hard core as that one, Law but he’s no light weight either.”

What the fuck did I get myself into? The guy is good, the way he came in, had I not had my place rigged he would’ve blown past my security. My guys hadn’t seen him, but I was warned just before the phone rang and that’s what tipped me off.

“So what just happened here?” Quinn, one of the least heard from SEALs spoke up. “He just appeared, said some shit that we already knew and left, what was the purpose?”

“Just what he said, taking our measure; I get the feeling he knows more about us than we do him.” I wasn’t sure how to feel about that shit.

“I think he did a little bit more than that, I think he just warned us about what we’re really dealing with here. What was that crack about the commander? He said it almost as if he knows something. He said ‘he knew more than what we’ve found.”

“What I wanna know is how the fuck he knows what we found Cord. Until Lyon mentioned this guy I never heard of him. We’ve looked since he came up and all we found was the billionaire bullshit. That’s no mere billionaire that just left this room.”

“You’re right Dev, this guy whatever, whoever he is, he’s under deep, but I still say he was giving us a hint. And he knows who killed the CO I want that information. Then I want to go after the fuckers one at a time and skin the flesh from their bodies.”

“You and me both brother, looks like we have shit to do, fuck.” Logan paced the room deep in thought. I could only imagine what these boys were feeling. I’d heard some of what had been going on with them, had heard about the old man who’d taken them all under his wing. I couldn’t imagine anyone fucking with Daniel so I felt their pain.

“We need to get this shit together boys, there’re too many things going on at once. We can’t do this now with a house full of people, but we need to get this shit sorted and soon. Everyone seems to agree on one point, this desert fuck isn’t coming here because of the trafficking we need to find out why he’s coming. Seems to me that’s the most important thing at this point. We find that we may be able to get in front of this thing.”

“Lyon’s right, in the meantime, Susie was in that book and I need to know why. She wasn’t mine when that picture was taken so how did Khalil know and why her? I think we know.” He looked at his brothers as he spoke. “We need the targets, let’s go through that book again and take another look at the girls in there, maybe something in there will lead us to something.”

“Wait, what did I miss? You know why she was in there?”

“We think we do but it’s not something we can discuss until we’ve spoken to the parties involved, believe me it’s nothing that will hurt this.”

“The fuck, you spook types take lessons from each other? I find it strange that I’m about the only one who doesn’t have shit to hide. I know why my kid was in there, the Porters. Law, your girl was in there why?”

“The fucker that paid her father off killed my family or had them killed, I don’t know why she was in the book, other than that he wanted a Stepford wife or some fuck.”

“And you Creed?”

“Her fucked up aunt sold her out.”

I studied the room, there was something there but what the fuck that was I couldn’t put my finger on it. I watched each man in turn, the way they stood, almost at attention. The way their eyes were directed one way but I could tell they were very aware of everything that was going on in the room.

“I think I’ve got it. You boys were all in some branch of the military at some point weren’t you? Any chance all of you worked for this commander at some point?” The room came alive then, everyone started talking at once.

“I’m guessing that’s right?” They all nodded but there was nothing else forthcoming, I guess that was top-secret shit too. “Fine, so maybe whatever this fuck is after has something to do with the commander. What did spook boy say, he knew more than you’ve found? Where have you been looking?”

“Well fuck, we’ve got to head back.”

“Not today Lo. We promised these girls a good holiday away from the bullshit and this is baby Zak’s first Xmas and that fuck don’t get to mess with that fuck no.”

“Ty what is it with you and that kid?”

“What do you mean?” He looked at me like I was the crazy one.

“Nothing, nothing at all.” Well he was gone.

“Right, let’s go salvage what we can of the rest of the day before these women revolt.” We’d only been gone an hour or so but it felt much longer. We each got glares and rolled eyes from our women but no one said anything.

“Good afternoon Mr. Lyon I’d like you to meet my parents.” Fucker ambushed me as soon as I came out the room. It was on the tip of my tongue to rip into his dad for not keeping his ass home and away from my kid, but the rational part of my brain, the part that Kat and her kids hadn’t fucked up, knew that was an asshole way to think.

So I outstretched my hand and played nice. Turns out, the dad is some hotshot engineer and the mom’s a medical researcher. They seemed cool enough and the mother Doreen seemed fond of my kid. “So, I hear you’re moving soon.” The kid walked away after making the introductions. Probably off to go sniffing around my daughter.

“Tomorrow to be exact, Todd wanted to spend one last Xmas with our girl before he left and we couldn’t deny him.” What the fuck?

“Our girl?”

“Oh yes, Caitlin, we’re very fond of her, very bright, sweet, disciplined. Just the kind of girl we would’ve chosen for Todd had he not had the foresight to find her himself.”

Did this fuck even know how close he was to taking a header out the nearest fucking window? “You talking about my fifteen year old daughter?” He didn’t exactly smirk but there was some kind of look on his face that wasn’t gonna last long.

“Don’t misunderstand Colton, I may call you Colton correct? Look we understand your position, if Todd was any other kid we would be having the same issue, but our son is a very well rounded kid with a good head on his shoulder. We’ve already spoken to him about the dangers of going too far at their age, things like that.”

“You talked about my daughter having sex?” this fuck was two steps away from a pine box. What the fuck was it about this holiday and people fucking with me? “Not exactly, but I did have a talk with my son about his responsibility to your daughter. Look, Todd knows you don’t approve of him, all I’m saying is that I get it, but you don’t have anything to worry about.”

I studied him. His words sounded like textbook bullshit to me, but the man had every right to talk to his son. The fact that he was full of shit was another matter. “Look, you can spout all the crap you want, but we both know kids are gonna do whatever the fuck they want in the end. You’re right, I’m not happy with the relationship, but my kid thinks she’s in love. The fact that you’re moving might’ve saved your kid. I don’t dislike Todd, but I don’t want my daughter that deeply involved with anyone until she’s thirty.”

“You have to know that’s not realistic.” He smiled while his wife started to look nervous. “What I know is that it’s good your kid is leaving, no disrespect but you seem to be all gung-ho about this shit, I’m not. And she’s nobody’s girl but mine.” I walked away from them just a little more pissed than I’d already been.

At least that shit had taken my mind off the fuckery in the study for a hot minute. I went in search of my kids it was their day after all. They were knee deep in new shit and making enough noise to raise the roof, but they were happy.

Nothing that was going on had or will ever touch them. “This is what it’s all about, them, keeping them safe.” Law came up beside me in the doorway where I was peeping in on them. “That’s what I’m most worried about, how the fuck do we keep them safe when we’re all spread out all over the place?’

The others came to join us. “We were just discussing that. The way this thing is panning out, we’re gonna have to watch each other’s six, we have to weed out the bad seeds starting now because we all know money trumps most anything when it comes to the lesser known.”

“My guys are safe, I don’t surround myself with fucks. They’ve all been with me for many years and those who weren’t aren’t close enough to get at me and mine.” He had a point though, if what Mancini said was on point and I had no reason to doubt him, then these fuckers were gonna be gunning for us.

I didn’t kid myself that if they were as cold as he intimated that they didn’t already know everyone that was involved here. “Anyone got the sense that they were under the scope? I didn’t think about it before today, the fact that they might know we’re onto them. That Stockton fuck is dead but who knows who was watching him.”

“We’re way ahead of you, the compound is secure and there’s more than enough room for everyone if it comes to that.”

“Thanks Lo but I’m not running from these fucks, I have shit to do, they’re kids out there depending on me to come stand guard at the drop of a hat. I can’t just drop everything and go into hiding like a pussy because of these bureaucratic assholes.”

“Creed, think about Jess.”

“I wish those motherfuckers would. They had their one chance already, any fuck even looks at her too long I’m dropping ‘em.” I could get behind that.

“Gentlemen.”

“What the fuck?” Mallory snuck up behind us.

“I understand you met the great Mancini; Lyon I gave Kat the loot for the kids.”

“Brother, where’re yours, where’s Lydia?”

“She’s in there with her nosy ass, the kids are with mom and pop, I didn’t want to expose the other kids to whatever the fuck some fuck sent his kid to school with that made my boy sick. I find out who this asshole is I’ma go rip the fuck apart.”

“The kid?”

“Nah the father. Who the fuck sends his kid to school with a hundred other kids knowing he’s contagious?” Crazy fucks, I’m surrounded.

“Anyway what did you boys think of Mancini?” He smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Where the fuck did you find him? Spook’s R’Us?” Tyler, fucker thinks too much like me, it’s eerie.

“Nah, he’s my cousin and that’s all I’m prepared to say. By the way did anyone think to warn Summers and Masters to watch their backs until we can get with them?”

“I did, I’ve been keeping them up to date, but now with what your cousin told us today I’m not sure that’s enough. I’ll feel like shit if anything happens to those boys, I’m the one who brought them in.”

“No worries Law, I had a look at those boys and they can hold their own. By the way boys my old man said to tell you anything you need. He hates these fucks almost as much as we do.”

“Why, what did they do to him?” This ought to be good.

“Other than fucking with Caitlin? He heard politician and went off on one of his tangents.”

“What’s he got against politicians?”

“Says they’re all shylocks, thieves and liars.” This from a man who’s spent more than half his life on the FBI’s most wanted list.