HIS Choice: An H.I.S. Novel (H.I.S. series Book 2) (31 page)

She looked down and furrowed her eyebrows. “He’s stopped at
the corner.”

Devon grabbed his thumb drive and stood. “Done.”

AJ grabbed her hand and rushed her to the front door. “Now it’s time
to go.”

She looked at the tracker. “He’s still
not moving.”

AJ turned and winked at her. The three of them filed out of the front door. He propelled her forward without
his brother.

“Don’t look. Just keep walking. He’ll catch up,” he
told her.

“Brad’s gone. What will
we do?”

AJ stepped toward the gray car slowly approaching them. “Danny will give us a ride as Brad’s busy with a broken down car at
the intersection.”

It took her a moment to process what he’d said. She’d wanted to applaud the brilliance of these men. “Do you think he’ll know we were in his house? What was the paper you hid in
the office?”

He shook his head. “I doubt it. He didn’t have his deadbolt locked. That would’ve been our only giveaway since we wouldn’t have had time to
lock it.”

“And, unless he’s computer savvy, which I doubt based on what I saw, he won’t know that I was there,”
Devon added.

“Did anything identify the Magician?” Fingers crossed in her mind he had found something to
help them.

“Not that I noticed, but I’ve quite a few files to review. Don’t count on his being named. Even Paul is smarter
than that.”

A devilish grin stretched across AJ’s face. “We’ll find out. We still have plenty of cards up
our sleeves.”

“How will you do this? You didn’t even bring your cane to help you walk?” Worry reflected in the furrowing of Megan’
s brow.

“Why do you think the twins are tagging along?” AJ smiled cheekily.

“We do have names,”
Matt retorted.

“Yeah. The twins.” AJ chuckled. They’d picked on him his entire childhood. Not only had he been the youngest Hamilton brother, but he’d been born on the first of April. An April Fools’ baby. They had never let him forget it. That love of poking at him had bled over to the H.I.S. team. Even with the ribbing, he knew without a doubt they had his back. He and Megan
were safe.

A grunt sounded from one of the twins in the back seat and Megan giggled. Ah, a smile looked much better
on her.

They had to move to his Plan B to learn the date of the prison escape. This had a chance of tipping their hand, but they had to do something. They needed that bust. This group couldn’t slip through their fingers. They’d just set up elsewhere with their excessively large
bank accounts.

They found a parking space across from Tony Mather’s house, a driver on the prison break team. AJ dialed a number on the secure cell phone. Before anyone could speak, he said, “I’m here,” and then hung up without waiting for
a response.

The four of them cautiously approached the door. With a nod to his brothers, he confirmed they
were ready.

His pulse rate increased as adrenaline shot through his body. He’d never tire
of this.

Ignoring the doorbell, he pounded his fist on the door three times and then removed his weapon. He glanced back to witness the twins placing their hands on theirs, but leaving them holstered as they tightened their coverage
around Megan.

He didn’t expect this to be dangerous, but one never knows how a suddenly caged animal would react. With his brothers protecting his little dove, he could keep his attention on the task
at hand.

A tall man with shaggy, sandy brown hair opened the door and gasped when he saw AJ and the weapon pointed at him. After scanning his uninvited guests, the man straightened, changed his demeanor and acted as if someone held him at
gunpoint daily.

“AJ,” Tony said with
a nod.

“Inside,” AJ demanded, waving
his Beretta.

Following his instructions, the man turned and walked into his house followed by
their group.

“That’s far enough. Let’s go to your
dining room.”

Tony was prodded to a red leather chair pulled back from his
dining table.

“Have a seat. Matt, put the cuffs
on him.”

AJ’s brother
walked forward.

“Put your hands behind the back of the chair and don’t try anything. I’ve been shot and am not in the mood for any
more shit.”

He breathed a silent sigh of relief when Matt returned to
protect Megan.

Tony shot AJ a furious look. “There are a lot of people looking for you, especially now that they know you’re not who you said you were. You’re a Fed,” he
spat out.

AJ holstered his Beretta, taking in Tony’s words. When had they found that out? And how did they find it out? At this point it truly didn’t matter if they knew. AJ wanted the leak, but one task at
a time.

His cover being blown worked to his advantage
right now.

“Good. Then you know that I’m about to bust you.” He turned a chair around and sat across from
his prey.

A panicked look struck the man’s face. “W-What?”

“You heard me. I’m having you arrested. You’re the first of Paul’s team I’ve come to see, so I’m giving you an opportunity to help yourself. And, you will go to prison today unless you
help me.”

Tony flattened his lips and shot a venomous glare at him. “Are you kidding me? I’m not telling you anything. I don’t want the Magician on me. I don’t have a
death wish.”

AJ shook his head. “Tony, Tony. You don’t understand. Even the Magician will go down this time. Your entire team will soon be arrested. The first one to talk has a chance at protective custody and a new life. If you don’t want to be the first to talk, then I’ll go to someone else on the team. One of them will see the writing on the wall and spill
their guts.”

The man blanched. “What do you mean the Magician is going down?”

“I’ll be arresting
him too.”

Tony’s eyes bulged. “Do you know who
he is?”

AJ allowed a cool, confident smile to curve his lips. “
I will.”

His brothers had visited the night prior while Megan slept. They’d discussed the information gathered to date on the investigation being quietly conducted by the H.I.S. team. Putting together their facts, they created a short, solid list of possible suspects. Megan wouldn’t like any of them so he hadn’t shared the information with her. At some point the two of them would need to discuss it, but he didn’t want to see the pain it
might cause.

“How?”
Tony asked.

AJ stood and walked around the man. Without the cane to hold some of the weight off of his leg, pain pulsed through it with every step. “Don’t worry about that. Here’s what’s going to happen. We’ll arrest you for your part in the operation. Taking me with you on a mission was a mistake.” He stopped in front of him. “After I arrest you, I expect Paul will have you sprung. Unfortunately, the Magician will think you spilled the beans to either me or the police and will put a hit
on you.”

Tony’s eyes widened again. “What?”

AJ assessed him. This could be easier than he thought it would be. He’d expected some fight from Tony and truthfully was disappointed not to get it. AJ needed to take his anger out on someone. They’d shot at him
and Megan.

“The Magician won’t take the chance that you made a deal or talked. We can keep you alive with the Witness Protection Program if you become our source of information, testifying against Paul and
your team.”

The man visibly trembled. “I don’t want prison, and I don’t want
to die.”

“You really should’ve thought of that before you joined Magic Shop. I’m not in a position to promise you anything but the chance
to live.”

He dropped his head and a loud, defeated sigh emanated from him. “Are you sure the Magician will put a hit out on me, or are you just
saying that?”

AJ held in laughter at the question. Did Tony think it would be that easy? That he would get reassurance it was no joke? “I’m one hundred percent certain he will do it. He’s had people killed for less
than that.”

Tony swallowed audibly. “Are you sure you can keep
me alive?”

AJ contained his triumph. He had him, hook, line and sinker. “There’s a deputy U.S. marshal on the way here. He’ll take you to prison or into protective custody. That’s your choice, Tony. It’s a live or die decision. It should be an
easy choice.”

“What about my girl? I don’t want to go
without her.”

That was the reason AJ had chosen Tony first. The question had been expected, and AJ had cleared the way if the man asked. “Are you ready to
marry her?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Then I think we can work
something out.”

Relief shifted in the depth of Tony’s gaze. “Okay, I want protection.”

AJ smiled, returned to his seat and sat. “Good choice. Now, how about you give us
some information?”

“What do you want to know?” The man’s voice broke betraying
his nervousness.

“When is the next
prison break?”

“Tomorrow.”

Shit. He’d know it was soon, but fuck, he’d have to
work fast.

Tony answered all of the questions to AJ’s satisfaction. Another person’s life he’
d saved.

A deputy U.S. marshal walked through the door and AJ stood to greet him. “Protective custody and no one knows except your
protection detail.”

* * * * *

Megan covered the mouthpiece of the cell phone. “Victoria has all of the information on the brothels and prostitution ring. She wants to meet in person for us to review each other’s photos and information to pull
everything together.”

AJ shook his head. “You two have talked daily. You ask me the same question every time. My answer hasn’t changed. You discuss with her only what you’re prepared to publish. You are
not to…”

“I know,” Megan interrupted in a dejected voice. “Don’t share anything on future activities she has no need to know about.” Her face brightened. “But she has all of the names and locations, pictures of
the pimps.”

The woman exasperated him. “Megan, the answer is still no. Get as much of the information as you can from her. We’ll add it to ours. We see no one outside of
my brothers.”

She narrowed her eyes before she turned her back to him, returning to
the call.

* * * * *

AJ paced the floor waiting for the secure cell phone to ring. He hated sitting on the sidelines. No longer would he wait like this. He’d be involved, injury or not. He had a slight gait, but nothing that would’ve prevented him from participating in a raid or arrest. Maybe he’d bust a stitch or two but who cared? That could be fixed. Hell, he’d already had a few stitched again after his and Megan’s escapades
in bed.

“Calm down, baby brother. He’
ll call.”

He gritted his teeth and swung around on Brad. AJ hated it when any of them called him ‘baby brother’. “
Fuck you.”

Megan’s giggle lifted his spirit, sending a shot of happiness bouncing around inside, relaxing him. He needed that in his life. Fuck
.
No use thinking that way. It was almost time to tell her. She would fight him on it, but she’d lose. And, in the end, so
would he.

He checked the phone to ensure he hadn’t missed a call. His head back into work, her laughter forgotten, his muscles tightened into knots worrying something had gone awry. They couldn’t afford that to happen. They’d selected the right people. He was sure
of that.

Tomorrow would be the biggest day. Besides the prison escape, they’d add hitting the brothels at the same time. The team had quickly checked out Victoria’s information. Even though accurate, it hadn’t added anything to what they’d
already known.

After today, hitting Carl and Erin’s business should be the final straw. And the final card in their deck. This had to be the right approach to capture the Magician. It had to be. Everything agents had done over the years to identify him had failed. This had been a gamble. Adding Megan’s articles to the plan had been his brilliant suggestion and strengthened
it all.

He jumped at the ringing of the phone in his hand. He answered but
remained silent.

“It’s all done,” Arthur
stated gruffly.

AJ let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “
Any issues?”

“Nothing they couldn’t handle. No one expected them. You could’ve told me what the plan had been, soon to be ex-Special
Agent Hamilton.”

He nodded his head even though the caller couldn’t see it. He’d deal with his job status later. “Yes. I
could have.”

Arthur cleared his throat. “I’ve added the deputy marshals you requested for tomorrow. Dammit, AJ! Tell me about this one. I had to pull a lot of strings
for you.”

“Can’t, Arthur. I don’t trust the phones anymore.”

“Yours is secure and so is mine. What’s the
fucking problem?”

“There’s a leak, and I’m not willing to chance it. This is too important
to me.”

His boss sighed. “I never should’ve allowed you so much leash on this one. When you come back, we’ll discuss your choice to keep the girl with you over your career and possible
jail time.”

He could care less what happened to him after this ended. He’d go back to his lonely life tearing apart every potential lead he had to find Jake. His heart clenched.
Where the fuck did you go, brother?

“AJ?”

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he stated, “I’m leading the
team tomorrow.”

Silence. “Is that what you really want to do? You could blow
your cover.”

“I found out my cover has already been blown, not that it mattered anymore since they attempted to kill me. I couldn’t have slid back in the organization. So I’m not sitting
out tomorrow.”

“How’s
the leg?”

He absently stopped pacing and rubbed the wound. “It won’t be
a problem.”

“What about the girl? How do you plan to protect her when you’re playing
federal agent?”

He had no choice in the matter. If he left her, she’d find a way to get into trouble. The team already had a weak spot for her. Her bubbly personality was contagious. They all wanted to be around her. Which pissed him the hell off. He’d kill any of them that touched her. He feared she’d somehow sweet talk one of their warriors into breaking protocol. If anyone could do it, it’d be her. So,
no choice.

“She comes with me. H.I.S. will be there to keep
her safe.”

“Maybe you can convince her to leave with
the marshals.”

Arthur had no clue how adamant she was about that topic. ‘No’ was her only answer, never hesitating. She stayed with him, her faith unwavering. He didn’t deserve it. He still held important secrets from her. One was the secret that would rip
them apart.

He ended the call and gave Megan the go-ahead.