Bluegrass Undercover (Bluegrass Brothers)

won’t be the same as what Devon just got caught with. Leave the rest of your supply at Devon’s place. Hopefully this strain won’t result in so many deaths because of heart issues. Thank goodness for all these brats. Better than rats, and they actually pay me to be my test subjects. Profits were way up this quarter. At least you’re not failing me financially. But, Trevor, you go with them tonight to make sure the job is done right. Davies is not to be seriously injured, got that?”
    “Yes, Boss.”
    “The girl on the other hand… feel free to make a statement.” The phone disconnected and Trevor relaxed some. If tonight went well, he wouldn’t need to leave town. If it didn’t go well, then he needed to get gone.
    He pulled out an eight inch hunting knife he kept in his drawer and slid it into his holster against his back, hidden by his black sports coat. He sent a text to the boys and headed downstairs. Tonight he would get back in the boss’s good graces. Boss wanted a statement kill and what Boss wants, Boss gets.

Chapter Twenty-One
     
    “Humph. I can’t get the door to open.” Steve had his shoulder against the door and was trying to quietly push it open.
    “It’s probably locked.” Trevor tried not to roll his eyes. His boys were good for violence, bu t that was about it. They were definitely not hired for their intelligence.
    “It’s not locked, Mr. Gaylen.”
    “Move over idiot, I’ll get it.” Doug pushed Steve out of the way, and with his curly hair sticking out in different directions he put his shoulder to the door and shoved. The door flew open, and Doug face planted in the entranceway and came nose to nose with Justin. “Shit! It’s a big hairy dog.”
    “Slit its throat.” Trevor shoved Steve forward before the dog could alert Davies and his girl that they were there.
    “No need. It’s a nice dog,” Doug whispered. Justin thumped his tail, turned and trotted upstairs.
     
    Cade awoke in the middle of the night with the feeling someone was watching him. He felt the warm breath on his face and slowly opened his eyes. Justin’s face was no more than an inch from his. Justin’s brown eyes were looking right at his, and he brought his big paw up and slapped him in the face with it.
    “Go back to bed, Justin. It’s the middle of the night,” Cade whispered to his dog. But, Justin didn’t go lie down, and he didn’t jump on the bed. Instead he pawed at him again and looked at the door.
    Cade was about to roll over to ignore him when he heard a noise that wasn’t right. It was a creak that didn’t fit in the normal noises his house made when it settled. He quickly got out of bed and slipped on a pair of Bearded Collie boxer shorts that were lying on the floor. They certainly weren’t the most intimidating, but his Ranger boxers weren’t at hand.
    He crawled onto the bed to wake Annie up, just to find her already awake. “I count at least five, possibly more,” she said as she slipped on her panties and a t-shirt.
    “Those aren’t good odds.”
    “They’re learning, but they’re still not too smart. Got any weapons up here?”
    “Bat or knife?”
    “The priest gnome worked pretty well, so I’ll go with the bat.” He tossed a Louisville Slugger across the bed and watched her take position on one side of the door. If Cade wasn’t worried sick about her, he would have appreciated her fighting knowledge. They would bottleneck them so they could have a fighting chance.
    Cade picked up the portable phone, dialed 9-1-1 and tossed it back down on the bed while it rang. He could hear them easily now and didn’t have time to talk to the operator. They would trace the call, but he knew they were too far away to make a difference now.
    Annie pressed herself against the wall and closed her eyes. She counted the footsteps. Seven against two. Those odds were definitely not good. She knew she could take two, but that would leave five to Cade, and there was no way he could handle that. She would just have to take more on because there wasn’t a chance in Hell she’d let anything happen to him.
    She tightened her grip on the bat and tried to control her breathing. Her plan was to bottleneck them in the doorway. Two could probably get through at once, but then it would be one on one. If they went down, the thugs behind them would have an even harder time getting through the door.
    Annie heard the men stop. One tried to creep quietly forward but was about as quiet as a