Jackson (Mercy Ring Book 1)

Jackson was seconds from pulling River back to the car when another vehicle parked on the road. Fuck. It was the same one that had been tailing them.

Two men stepped out.

Jackson aimed his gun at the men on the street while Cole and Declan aimed at Kenny and the other man in River’s house.

“Put the guns down and come inside,” Kenny said from his position behind her couch. When Jackson briefly met his gaze, he added, “We’re the good guys, Jackson.”

The men from the street stopped several feet away. None of them pulled a weapon, and none of them seemed particularly concerned about the guns aimed at them.

“Please,” an unfamiliar voice said.

Jackson swung his attention to the man sitting on the couch. A man he’d never seen before. He didn’t recognize the guys on the street, either. Certainly not from the club. In fact, they looked too clean-cut for that place. The guy on the couch wore a suit and glasses, and the two guys in the front yard were also wearing suits. If anything, they looked more like law officials. Not quite cops, but something else.

Jackson exchanged a look with Dec and Cole. Both were waiting for his decision.

He took River’s hand, tugging her inside, but keeping his gun drawn. He positioned River behind his team as the two new men stepped inside the house, closing the door behind them.

“If you’re such good guys, why the hell did you break into River’s house? Why were you sitting here in the dark, waiting for us?”

“Because there are people who can’t see me here,” Kenny said, his arms crossed. “It’s for my safety as much as yours.”

That had Jackson pausing. “What are you talking about?”

His gaze flicked to the guns, then back to him. “Drop the guns and we can talk.”

“Like hell we will. How about you tell us who the fuck you are and we’ll consider dropping the guns.”

Kenny sighed. “Jackson—”

“We work for Homeland Security Investigations,” the man on the couch said, interrupting Kenny. “I’m a case agent, Agent Dwight Widow. Kenny’s real name is Todd Pierce. He’s an undercover operative. The guys by the door are Alan and Kevin.”

“Case?” Declan asked.

“Everything we say tonight is confidential. It doesn’t leave this room. Do you all understand?”

Again, Jackson and his team shared glances before nodding.

Widow leaned forward. “We’re the primary law enforcement agency responsible for international smuggling operations. We work to disrupt and dismantle illegal export of weapons, so they’re not used to commit acts of violence here or abroad.”

River took a step closer to Jackson’s side. Immediately, his fingers tightened around her arm, on the verge of pulling her straight back behind him.

“Export of weapons?” River asked.

“We’ve known for a while that a large-scale gun trafficking organization is being run out of Trinity Nightclub, and that the guns are being trafficked into high-crime areas in Canada.”

Exactly what his father had told him that morning.

“You may have heard of Elijah,” the guy continued. “He’s the brains of the operation. His men have been recruiting spectators from the cage fights to buy the guns through straw purchases. A straw purchase is when someone purchases a firearm for someone else who can’t legally buy one of their own or doesn’t want the paper trail attached to the sale.”

The agent’s eyes flicked between Jackson and his team. “The firearms are driven over the border and the money comes back in the kegs. Unfortunately, Canada is one of the biggest recipients of US firearms, and those guns are used in some of the worst crimes in the country.”

“I’ve been undercover for about a year,” Todd, the man they’d known as Kenny, added. “When we discovered the operation was being run from the basement during the cage fights, I wasn’t able to get close enough. Mickey keeps me in the bar. After Ryker started in the ring, we did a background check and learned that he was former special forces.”

River jolted beside him. “Was he working with you?”

Todd met her gaze. “Yes. He was happy to help. And he was able to get what we couldn’t by asking a lot of questions. He even got close to a woman who knew a lot of the ins and outs of the operation.”

“Angel…” River whispered.

Todd dipped his head. “Yes.”

Agent Widow shifted in his seat. “It’s a violation of federal law for an individual to provide a gun to someone while having reasonable cause to believe they’re prohibited from possession. Fortunately, Ryker was able to identify the leader and all men involved. He was also able to identify many of those responsible for the straw purchases, who’ve broken the law by making false statements in connection with their gun sales.”

He paused. “In other words, we needed to know all the players, and obtain as much evidence as possible for prosecution and asset seizure. Ryker made that happen.”

“So why are you here telling us this?” Cole asked. “Why aren’t you out there arresting them?”

The agent cleared his throat. “They move the trucks every week to throw anyone off, while the firearms are only transported once a month. We never know when. But we’ve finally learned a shipment of guns are scheduled to leave the club next Friday night. That’s when we’ll enact the sting.” He stood. “And we’re telling you this because you all need to stop. Stop engaging with the club. Stop questioning Brian. And stop digging. Leave it to us to bring these people down. We can’t afford for this to go wrong. Not after a year of planning.”

Todd nodded. “There’s already a lot of tension between Mickey and Elijah over you being allowed in the ring, Jackson. Elijah’s been growing more brazen, threatening the whole operation. Mickey doesn’t like it. He knew letting you in, someone close to Ryker, would be a statement of sorts. We can’t afford for Elijah to do something reckless.”

River inched closer to Jackson. “Would us getting out of town be safer?”

Todd and Agent Widow shared a look. Widow was the first to speak. “It would. But it would also make them suspicious. Possibly make them deviate from their plan. We don’t think they knew that Ryker was working with law enforcement, just that he knew too much and was former military. We don’t want them finding out about us.”

“So where is he?”

The agent glanced at River. “Who?”

“Ryker. He was working with you, then he was compromised, so you needed everyone to believe he was dead for his own safety. That’s how it went, right?”

Todd swallowed, and the agent frowned, both appearing uncomfortable.

Jackson’s stomach dipped, knowing what was coming but unable to protect River from it.

Todd moved to the front of the couch. “River…Ryker’s dead.”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve seen him. Twice. This is the point where you confirm he’s alive.”

Todd’s voice lowered as he shook his head. “I’m sorry. Your brother is gone.”