Jason (Blue Halo Book 2)

The engine was loud, melding with the pitter-patter of rain hitting the car like white noise. The sun had just gone down and the road was almost empty as they made their way toward the Pioneer Hotel. It was the location where the guys had pinpointed the Mafia family members.

Jason touched his fake mustache, shooting a quick glance across at Aidan, who sat behind the wheel. The two of them were wearing black business suits and wigs. The outfits were uncomfortable, not just because he wasn’t used to wearing a suit, but also because the mustache and wig were both scratchy as hell.

Lima’s men were staying in rooms eight and ten on the fourth floor. Interconnecting suites. According to the hotel blueprints, the rooms were right beside the staff stairs and adjacent to an emergency exit.

They would no doubt have chosen those rooms specifically to be near more than one exit option.

Callum and Tyler were also driving to the hotel, but in a different car. Whereas Jason and Aidan wore suits as a way to disguise themselves from any watching Mafia members, Callum and Tyler wore hotel staff uniforms and would take the employee entrance. They even went as far as to add padding to their uniforms.

The team had booked room six on the fourth floor, right beside the Mafia’s.

All four of them were armed but their goal wasn’t to injure or kill. The goal was to find out what the Mafia wanted from Courtney and get them out of Cradle Mountain for good.

Of course, if that didn’t work, then they weren’t afraid to resort to more extreme measures. They were very aware, though, that if they killed a handful of the family, more Mafia would no doubt come to town. And that wasn’t something any of them wanted to risk. Not when they had loved ones.

“You think Peters knows we got their location?” Aidan asked quietly.

The fact that his team had found it so quickly just confirmed to Jason that the information was accessible. Peters already had it. He had to.

Why hadn’t he acted on it? Shared it? Done something to drive these criminals out of town? They were all questions Jason needed answered.

“Who the hell knows.” He watched the trees speed past the window.

Peters hadn’t been happy when he’d left Blue Halo that afternoon. Jason didn’t give a shit. Courtney was his priority.

Aidan pulled the car into the hotel parking lot. They studied the area. Watching. Half expecting a member from the Bonvicin family to pop out.

Callum’s voice sounded through their earpieces. “We just arrived. Pulled into the staff parking lot at the back.”

Jason nodded. “Us too.” The microphone was attached to the inside of his shirt. No one would be able to see it. “We’re going in.” He climbed out, the icy coolness of the rain slamming him in the face.

“Damn, I hate these things,” Aidan muttered, straightening his suit.

“You’re not the only one.” It would be the first thing to go when he got home.

They entered the hotel, covertly surveying the area. There were no guests around. Wasn’t surprising though. It was early evening. People were probably out at dinner or doing whatever they came to town to do.

They stopped in front of reception. Jason smiled at the lady standing behind the desk. “Hi, we’re here to check in. We have a reservation under Roberts.”

The woman gave them a warm smile. “Good evening, gentlemen. Of course, let me find your room.”

She clicked a few keys and her smile slipped. Just a fraction, but Jason noticed.

He leaned against the counter. “Hotel’s pretty quiet tonight.”

When she looked up, there were strain lines beside her eyes. “It is. We’re not very busy at the moment.”

“So we can expect our room to be fairly quiet.”

Her neck bobbed just slightly as she swallowed. “Unfortunately, we can never guarantee these things. But if you have any trouble, we’re happy to move you.”

Trouble? Oh, he was almost certain there would be. And by the clerk’s remark, the woman knew exactly who was staying there.

They went through the check-in motions, Jason handing over his fake ID. An ID the guys had procured for themselves when they’d opened Blue Halo Security, should the need for them ever arise.

When check-in was done, they moved to the elevator, continuing to scan their surroundings.

“Just going up to the fourth floor,” Aidan said under his breath to Tyler and Callum once the doors closed.

A second later, they opened to an empty hallway. They walked down to room six.

Jason frowned, trying to listen through the doors but hearing nothing. Was the floor empty? Had they intentionally kept people off this floor?

“If they aren’t placing guests on this floor, I’m surprised they put us here,” Aidan said, obviously coming to the same conclusion.

“They didn’t want to. I pushed the matter.” He’d used some bullshit line about having stayed in that room before and it being the only one he was willing to accept.

When they reached room six, they used their card to open the door but didn’t walk straight inside. Both Aidan and Jason stopped and listened. Silence.

The room was empty.

They walked into the suite, entering a lounge area and kitchenette. An open door sat to the left, where Jason could just make out two queen beds.

He dropped his empty suitcase onto the couch and moved toward the wall connected to room eight. At the same time, Aidan moved out to the balcony. When they caught each other’s gaze, they both shook their heads.

Dammit to hell.

“There’s no one in room eight,” Jason said quietly to the guys downstairs.

“We just swiped the master key.” There was the sound of light footsteps in the background. “We’ll go to the doors to rooms eight and ten.”

“And we’ll climb onto the balconies,” Aidan finished.

No one being there wasn’t ideal, but they’d planned for it. Enter. Search. Ensure it was in fact where the Mafia family was staying, and wait.

Jason and Aidan went out to the balcony. Once Callum and Tyler confirmed they were outside the doors and couldn’t hear anyone inside the suites, Jason climbed onto the railing and jumped onto suite eight’s balcony. The balconies weren’t close, but they weren’t too far. His enhancements made the distance attainable.

He heard Aidan leap onto the balcony behind him just as he continued onto suite ten’s balcony.

His hand went to the doorhandle, easily snapping the lock. He didn’t care about a broken lock. If this was where the Mafia was staying, he and his team would be waiting until they returned anyway.

Jason stepped inside. The space was exactly the same as the suite he’d just left. It was also completely dark. And it would remain dark. He had perfect night vision. That was an advantage he wouldn’t give up.

Tyler stepped in from the hall, closing the door behind him and scanning the space.

At first glance, the room looked empty. But that didn’t mean no one was staying here. He went over to the drawers beside the couch, searching, while Tyler checked the cupboards. He could hear the faint shuffling sounds of his teammates next door.

Nothing in the drawers. He systematically went through the living area, Tyler doing the same to the bedroom.

“Are you sure this is where they’re staying?” Jason asked softly, not finding anything. Not a single thing. Even the bathroom looked unused.

Tyler straightened, moving out of the bedroom and going to the door connecting the two suites. “We tracked one of them back here. Staked out the place all day, saw more than one in these very rooms from the windows.” He pushed the handle down.

An ear-splitting explosion tore through the room.

Jason was torn off his feet and thrown back against a wall. Pain ricocheted through his limbs, but he pushed it down, rising to his feet.

Fire blazed around him, smoke billowing through the room.

He searched through the smoke. Where was Tyler?

When he scanned the floor, his gaze stopped on Tyler’s still form. He lay on his stomach, blood pooling around his body.

Jason didn’t stop to think about what all the blood meant. He was at his friend’s side in under a second, lifting him into his arms and tearing out of the room. A smoke alarm screamed through the hotel hallway, water spraying from the ceiling.

Aidan and Callum met him in the hall. Both uninjured. They didn’t stop to talk, instead moving down the stairs and out of the hotel.

The fuckers knew they were coming. They’d set this up as a warning.

Jason would make sure they paid. The Mafia—and whichever double-crossing asshole had warned them.