Dare (BLOOD Brothers Book 5), page 14
“Copy.”
We started moving—quick, controlled, silent. The spotter stumbled blindly between Bones and Legend while Voodoo kept an eye on every exit point like he’d memorized the place weeks ago instead of today. Goblin flowed at my heel like smoke.
My heart pounded hard enough it felt like my ribs were vibrating.
Up ahead, Voodoo lifted a hand—a silent stop signal.
We all froze.
Footsteps.
Not ours.
Close.
Coming down the other end of the alley.
Bones turned, grabbed the spotter, and shoved him tight against the wall, one hand clamped over his mouth over the beanie. Legend braced beside them, ready to quiet the man if he panicked.
Voodoo drifted backward until he was inches from me, positioning himself between me and the approaching shadows.
He didn’t even look back. He just said, low and calm, “I’ve got you.”
And I believed him. I believed all of them. The footsteps drew nearer, slow and searching. We held our breath.
The hunt had found the trail. Unsurprisingly, we were the trail. The footsteps came closer. Slow. Careful. Someone sweeping the alley like they expected rats. Or bodies.
Voodoo’s body blocked half my field of view, but not his peripheral awareness—he kept his weight on the balls of his feet, shoulders angled, hand near his camera bag like the thing doubled as a weapon. Legend tensed behind me, and based on his whitened knuckles, Bones’ grip on the spotter’s mouth tightened.
Then—
The footsteps stopped.
A man’s voice—low, irritated—muttered something in Spanish I didn’t fully catch, but between what words I did hear and the tone, it was most likely, Where the hell is he?
A second voice answered from somewhere farther down the dock, it was clearer if barely audible but still in Spanish. He stopped responding. Sweep wide.
My stomach dropped.
They were hunting their missing spotter.
Bones’ lips moved in a faint whisper we could hear through the comm, “Two inbound. One ahead, one right.”
Voodoo’s posture shifted—so small I don’t think I would have noticed it before, but I did now. I knew him, how he moved, how they all moved. I’d learned the difference between soft tension and lethal readiness.
He was ready.
“Grace,” he breathed without turning, “when we move, follow me. Don’t stop.”
I nodded, then said, “I will,” in the barest whisper I could manage because he wasn’t looking at me. I didn’t realize until that second that my hands were shaking.
Which was when the first man stepped into view.
Tall. Broad. Gray tactical jacket. One hand in his pocket like a guy walking to grab lunch. As casual as he was trying to appear, it registered as wrong. Not just because of the way predators moved before they struck, but also where we were.
He scanned the alley.
His gaze was about to land on Bones. On the blindfolded spotter. On us.
Bones moved first.
He exploded sideways off the wall, one hand grabbing the man’s wrist while his other slammed into the base of the man's skull. Fast. Brutal. Quiet.
The man sagged before he could make a sound.
Bones caught him, lowered him to the gravel, and dragged him into the shadow of the dumpster.
My breath caught.
Then the second man rounded the corner.
This time we weren’t in position.
“Contact—rear!” AB snapped in my ear. “He’s fast. He—”
But he was already here.
He barreled toward us down the other end of the alley, not subtle at all—charging like someone who’d gotten the order to kill anything that moved.
Legend stepped forward, broad shoulders blocking him from me. “Stay back,” he murmured.
Goblin’s body coiled, muscles taut, teeth bared.
Bones couldn’t intercept this one—he still had the unconscious man slung half-hidden behind him. And the spotter was pinned between us and the threat.
Voodoo made the split-second call.
“Lunchbox,” he said sharply. “Left side. Funnel him.”
Legend stepped left without hesitation, forcing the charging man to adjust his angle by instinct—straight into Voodoo’s attack line.
Voodoo moved.
I loved to see them fight. It was always faster than I expected, like they broke physics in half on the way to hitting someone.
This time he ducked low under the guy’s swinging arm, pivoted, and hooked the attacker’s knee with his own. The man stumbled forward—off-balance.
Voodoo struck him across the ear with something metal from his camera bag—once, twice—enough to disorient but not kill.
The man reeled.
But he didn’t go down.
He swung blind, a wild arc of muscle and panic that would’ve smashed into Voodoo’s skull if the world hadn’t slowed around me.
I moved before thinking and grabbed Voodoo’s jacket and yanked. His body jerked back, the guy’s fist slicing through the air where Voodoo’s head had been a second earlier.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
Voodoo twisted, shock flashing across his face for a fraction of a second—shock, then something hotter, deeper. But he used the opening.
He jammed his elbow into the man’s throat. The guy dropped like someone had cut the power to his spine.
Bones stepped in immediately, catching the attacker and dragging him beside the first. Legend covered the far end of the alley, shoulders filling the entire width like a barricade.
Goblin finally eased off his snarl.
“Grace,” Voodoo breathed, turning toward me, “that was—”
“Lucky,” I said, though my legs felt unsteady.
He didn’t correct me. He didn’t need to. The look he gave me said enough.
We didn’t have time to linger.
Bones stood fully, wiping his knuckles on his jeans like he’d brushed dust off. “Move. Now.”
We fell back into formation—Bones dragging one unconscious man behind him, Legend hauling the other by the collar, Voodoo beside me with the spotter shoved between us like a shield he didn’t trust.
“Alphabet,” Bones said as we moved, “route.”
“Go straight,” AB replied. “Service road is clear for the next twenty seconds. I’ve got three heat signatures sweeping the west dock but they haven’t reached your lane yet.”
“Copy.”
We broke out of the utility corridor and moved fast across the service road behind the seawall. My lungs pulled cold air in too quickly; my feet felt too light, too loud. Goblin jogged at my heel, glancing up at me every few strides like he was checking my pulse.
Voodoo stayed glued to my side like a second shadow.
When we finally ducked into the narrow stretch of brush behind a row of stacked shipping containers, Bones and Legend dumped the unconscious men beside an overturned pallet. The spotter was shoved to his knees again, still blindfolded.
We were out of direct sight. Hidden—for now.
My heartbeat finally started to settle.
Bones faced me first, then hauled me to him for a fierce kiss. “You did good, Dollface.”
I shook my head, still breathless. “I just—pulled him out of the way.”
“Exactly,” Legend said with his crooked half-grin, hooking me right out of Bones’ arms to press his own kiss to my lips. “Which means he gets to keep that pretty brain of his. So yeah. Good.”
Voodoo watched me intently and as soon as Legend’s grip loosened, he pulled me into him until our chests touched. He cupped my jaw with one hand, gentle, grounding.
“Firecracker,” he said softly, eyes scanning me like he needed to confirm every cell, “you saved me.”
That hit somewhere deep. Deeper than I expected. Somewhere that ached and glowed at the same time.
But before I could say anything—
Before the moment could settle—
A memory punched through the adrenaline like a fist wrapped in ice.
A huge warehouse.
Women screaming.
Sobbing.
My head ached, my wrists…
I blinked hard.
The alley was back.
The seawall.
Bones.
Lunchbox.
Voodoo’s hands on me. My breath shook once and they noticed.
“Hey.” His voice dropped, soft as a secret. “You’re here. You’re with us.”
I nodded. It wasn’t a strong nod. It was enough.
Bones didn’t interrupt. He just scanned the perimeter, jaw tight like he’d fight the whole pier himself if I needed thirty extra seconds.
“Guys,” AB said suddenly, sharp and urgent, “you need to move deeper. They found the radio. They know the spotter’s missing.”
Bones straightened. Voodoo released me but stayed close.
We weren’t done.
Not safe.
Not yet.
But we had the spotter.
We had two of his backup team.
And we were still standing.
That meant we were ahead.
For now.
Bones jerked his chin toward the darker stretch between container stacks. “We move. Keep it tight. Grace, you stay between me and Voodoo. Lunchbox, rear.”
I wiped my palms on my jeans, exhaled once, and stepped back into formation.
Goblin nudged my hand with his nose.
Voodoo brushed my shoulder with his fingertips.
Bones checked the next corner for movement.
Then we moved deeper into the container maze, following AB’s instructions. We navigated through a world carved into narrow steel canyons. Colors blurred—faded blues, chipped reds, shipping logos half-peeled. Goblin’s nails clicked on the concrete, the only sound besides our controlled breathing.
Bones didn’t stop until we reached an alcove formed by three containers pressed tight and a fourth pulled half a foot off its frame. A hidden square of shadow. No camera lines. No foot traffic. No workers.
“This,” Bones said, sweeping the area with a glance, “will do.”
Legend dropped the unconscious men beside the far wall, then propped them in positions that looked almost casual—like they’d fallen asleep on the job. He checked their pulses, quick and efficient.
“They’ll be out a while,” he reported. “One’s gonna have a headache the size of Miami, but he’ll live.”
Voodoo set the spotter on a crate in the center of the space. The guy stumbled, blindfold still on, breathing sharp.
I stayed near the entrance with Goblin while Bones secured the perimeter—checking angles, shadow lines, reflective metal, anything that could give us away. After thirty seconds, he nodded once.
“Secure.”
As secure as a port filled with cartel watchers could be I supposed. Fortunately, I’d wager my guys against theirs every day of the week.
Legend tugged the blindfold off the spotter’s head. The man blinked wildly at the sudden light, eyes darting between us, landing on me last.
He flinched.
Voodoo had already seen it. So had Bones. Legend, too.
I didn’t know whether the flinch was guilt, fear, recognition, or habit. I just knew I hated it.
Bones crouched in front of him—not touching, just occupying his entire horizon. Calm. Heavy. I’d once watched Bones stop a guy’s swing with a glare before he laid the man out with his fist. This was that, but weaponized.
“What’s your name?” Bones asked.
The man’s throat bobbed. “Luis.”
“Luis,” Bones repeated. “We’re going to ask you some questions. Your answers determine what happens next. Understand?”
Luis nodded quickly. “I didn’t call them. I swear—”
“You tried,” Legend said. “Intent counts.”
“I wasn’t sure,” Luis said in a rush. “I thought she—” His eyes flicked to me again. “I recognized—”
Bones’ voice dropped to something raw. “Don’t look at her.”
Luis’s gaze snapped down to his shoes.
My pulse spiked, but Voodoo stepped closer to me, not touching, but present enough that my body understood safe. Goblin leaned against my leg like he was trying to glue me to the ground.
“Alphabet,” Voodoo murmured into the comm, “status.”
AB’s voice was tense, fingers audible on a keyboard miles away. “Working. The manifest trails aren’t clean—someone scrubbed the container logs retroactively. I’m digging through hardware-level timestamps now. Keep him contained. I need ten minutes.”
Bones gave a short nod. “You have it.”
Legend cracked his knuckles, suggesting he was bored rather than angry. Not sure what would be worse for Luis. Not sure I cared either.
Bones kept his focus anchored on the man. “Who are you reporting to?”
Luis swallowed. “I—I don’t know their names. I get paid through dead drops. They don’t talk to me.”
“Specifics,” Bones said.
Luis shook his head. “I mean it. I’m not— I’m not high enough for names.”
“Then why did they place you here?” Voodoo asked.
Luis hesitated.
It was Legend who crouched beside him slowly, arms braced on his knees this time. “Think carefully. If you lie, Bones knows. He’ll hear it.”
Luis’s breath rattled.
“They put me close because I have a good memory and sometimes I recognize faces,” he whispered finally. “People they’re looking for. People who tried to run.”
Run.
My stomach flipped.
“Who did you think she was?” Voodoo asked softly.
Luis’s eyes darted between Bones and Legend before settling near Voodoo’s boots. Anywhere but my face.
“I don’t know. A rumor, maybe.” He swallowed hard. “Someone said they lost someone months ago. A girl. From a warehouse. They look for her everywhere now.”
My spine went rigid.
Voodoo’s breath caught—barely. Bones shifted his weight toward me a single inch, subtle but protective.
“They have a name for her?” Bones asked.
Luis nodded. “La Perdida.” The Lost One.
Ice slid down my back.
“Luis,” Bones said, voice flat as a blade, “look at me.”
The man obeyed instantly.
“You didn’t tell them anything,” Bones said. “You didn’t speak into that radio.”
Luis shook his head. “No—no, I didn’t. I didn’t have time. You—all of you—moved too fast.”
Bones leaned closer. “If you had?”
Luis’s voice cracked. “They would’ve come. They don’t care who else dies around the target.”
The target.
Me.
He meant me.
Voodoo’s jaw clenched, and I saw his fingers flex once like he wanted to break something.
Bones stood slowly. He exhaled through his nose, long and controlled. Then he looked at Legend.
“He’s staying quiet,” Bones said. “Tie him. He’s not going anywhere until we’re done.”
Luis started to tremble. “Please—I—”
Voodoo stepped in, voice low but not cruel. “Luis, this is your safest possible outcome. Believe me.”
Legend peeled duct tape from his pack with a soft rip and secured Luis’s wrists behind him—not tight enough to injure, but tight enough to keep him from running straight back to the people who’d kill him for failing.
Bones turned toward me next, expression shifting from stone to something gentler around the edges. “Dollface?”
I straightened even though my heart still felt lodged in my throat.
“You good?” he asked.
It wasn’t a casual question. Bones didn’t do casual checks. He was asking if I was triggered, if I needed space, if I was slipping.
“I’m okay,” I said quietly.
My voice didn’t shake. Good.
Voodoo slid closer, his fingers brushing the back of my hand. “You did everything right.”
I didn’t look at him because if I did I might not look away.
“Guys,” AB said suddenly, tension crackling. “Big update.”
Bones pivoted instantly. “Talk.”
“I found a ghost container.”
Voodoo stiffened. “Where?”
“Pier C,” Alphabet said. “Exactly where you thought. But that’s not the problem.”
Legend raised a brow. “Then what is?”
“The problem,” AB said, voice dropping, “is that whatever’s inside it… someone scrubbed the record eight hours ago. Completely. No ID. No contents. No weight. It’s a blank box.”
A chill slid down my arms.
“They’re hiding something big,” AB continued. “And whatever it is? It’s tied to Luis’s people. It’s sealed but not logged as empty. My bet? It’s holding something—or someone.”
Bones looked at the unconscious men, then at the duct-taped spotter, then out toward the port. My stomach twisted. He looked at each of us, one by one, silent but in that way of communicating.
“Then we’re not done,” he said finally. “Not even close.” We move smart. We move fast. We do not leave people behind.
Voodoo reached for my hand again—and this time I let him hold it.
I swallowed hard, pushing past the prickling fear at the edges of my ribs. “What… what do we do if we find people in that container?”
“If we find people in that container?” Legend echoed, voice low and sure.
His grin sharpened and he shot me a wink.
“We improvise.”
Chapter
Sixteen
LUNCHBOX
The second Bones gave the nod, we started moving. Not running—running gets you clocked. Just a steady, unbothered walk through the steel canyons of Pier C, the kind of pace every dock worker here adopted once they realized time was a suggestion and forklift drivers were gods.
I had point, mostly because people tended to step out of my way without realizing they’d done it. For Bones, they crossed the street, but for me, they just shifted aside and accepted my easy smiles without a second thought.
