Page 66 of Kade

All right then. Here we go.

I turned the knob, letting the door swing open.

Zeke’s desk spanned the entire wall. There were multiple computer screens. A plastic mat covered the floor, and as he worked, he cursed, then wheeled his chair over to type away on a different computer screen.

I’d never witnessed hacking. I had no frame of reference, but this wasn’t what I expected to see. Zeke Allen had been a jock in high school. Baseball, I thought… He frowned in concentration. A couple of energy drinks sat next to him, along with a bowl of candy. He was shirtless with sweats. There were barbells on the floor beside the desk. A kitchenette was in the corner of the room with a microwave and a small refrigerator. He’d pulled out some water and a beer, leaving them on the counter beside the sink. A Keurig machine sat in the corner.

“Fuck…shit,” he muttered. “Not today, asshole. Not. Today.” He hit a button and froze. Then he shot out of his chair and whooped, throwing his arms in the air. “Fuck yeah! Take that. I got you, you little piece of—” He shoved the chair away and bent down to keep typing, but when he looked back to see where his chair had gone, he saw us instead.

Fear flashed. It took a second before he understood what was happening. He sprang, going for his desk. His hand reached for something under it.

We jumped first. I launched myself at him, tackling him, and I rolled him all the way away from his desk and chair. I didn’t know what he was reaching for, but I wanted to be safe in case there was a gun stashed underneath.

During the roll, he started fighting.

I kept my grip on him tight and shifted my leg to block his kicks.

He tried to get to his feet. Logan was there, but I grabbed his ankle and yanked. Hard.

He fell flat on his face.

He roared and was in the air in the next second, red in the face and swinging. The fight was quiet, but it was violent. We didn’t goad him. Instead we were silent, calm. He was desperate to get away from us, and he knew he was going to lose. His eyes were dilated, panicked. He just hit and hit and hit. For the most part, Logan and I continued to block his hits until he began to tire out. Once that began to happen, Logan raised his eyes to me.

I nodded.

We rushed him again, taking him to the ground. I reared up, coming down with one last punch to knock him out. His body slumped. He was unconscious.

We worked quickly to clean any evidence of our struggle. When we were done, the room didn’t look as if a struggle had happened. We took his phone, wallet, and keys. Everything wentwith us, including his truck. A note was left behind that he needed to run an errand. His computer was still unlocked so we searched for the security cameras, erasing us. Logan was still at his computer when I returned after carrying Allen to his truck and loading him in the backseat.

“Look at this.” He gestured to the computer.

I saw the file he had open, titledBennett family. Inside there were additional folders for Kai Bennett, Tanner, Jonah, Brooke, Cord, Riley, and others. Logan looked at me. “Is that their whole family? Zeke’s looking into all of them?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Kai mentioned his brothers and their partners. He mentioned Tanner by name.” I motioned to Tanner’s folder. “Click on his.”

It contained a multitude of photographs taken with a long lens. In one he was walking with Cutler Ryder. Others showed him with a different guy, and in one Tanner had him backed against the wall, gripping the guy’s hair.

Logan clicked on a few other files inside of Tanner’s folder. Bank statements. Building layouts. There was too much for us to take in at this moment. I tapped his shoulder. “Make a copy.”

“I didn’t bring a USB—” He stopped talking because I had. He took it from my fingers, a wry grin on his face. “It’s like condoms. You came prepared.”

“Speak for yourself. Some of us weren’t man whores growing up.” I scoffed, heading for the door. “Hurry. I’m going to take his truck and leave.”

“Okay. Wait.”

I waited.

“Security system. We don’t know how to arm it.”

Fuck. He was right. “Finish with the copies. I’ll go upstairs and see what I can figure out.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything.

Studying the security panel when I got there, I realized I had no clue what I was doing. There was no button that saidpush me to arm. I didn’t recognize this security system, and I’d been around my fair share of security systems.

I weighed the odds.

If his wife came home and the system wasn’t on? If we weren’t done with him by then? She’d know right away something was wrong. Cops would get called.