Page 43 of Nothing Special X: The Last Stand

The horizon was still black, the streets below almost empty, and the luxury around him was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

Not much impressed him these days—especially not excessive opulence—except the capability of his team, who were now on their way back.

That was all that mattered.

Ruxs, Green, and Steele had reacted at record speed getting to Xander Vale’s residence.

Free and Tech were already doing what they do, and he’d learned long ago not to bother asking them to explain their genius. He only wanted details of the conclusions.

Day stood behind them, leaning over their shoulders with one hand braced on the table, his sharp gaze moving between screens while Free’s fingers flew across his multiple keyboards.

God trusted his enforcers. Still, waiting for them to return safely always prickled underneath his skin.

Luckily, he had his younger brother talking his damn ear off to distract him.

“Come on, Cash. You gotta be kiddin’ me.”

God shifted his phone tighter between his ear and shoulder while taking the printout Free just handed him.

“I already said no.”

Gen groaned loud enough to make God roll his eyes.

It was only six a.m. on the East Coast, but his brother was an early riser.

He was a big shot engineer for Apple who worked from home and made his own hours.

The crack of dawn was his favorite part of the day. His fiancé, Curtis, was still in bed, the house was quiet, and he could watch SportsCenter without interruption.

Right now, apparently, the favorite part of his morning was harassing God.

“You don’t even get how unfair this is,” Gen said. “How the hell do you get so damn lucky all the time? First, you end up workin’ a case with Wes and Law, then your task force gets audited, and somehow instead of sitting at home to wait out your punishment, you get flown first class to Hollywood, put up in a five-star hotel, and asked to protect the hottest superstar in the world.”

God’s mouth twitched.

“No, wait.” Gen’s voice rose. “Let me rephrase that. The hottest gay superstar in the world. Xander-fucking-Vale, Cash. Do you know how much Curtis loves What Breaks in Silence? Do you know how many times I’ve had to sit through that bull rider movie and act like I wasn’t emotionally damaged afterward?”

“Curtis told Green you cried at the end.”

“No, I didn’t! My allergies were acting up,” Gen snapped. “And that’s beside the point. I’m just asking you to let me and Curtis come out there. We’ll stay outta the way, promise. I just want you to get us on Stage 8 one day. You know Wes and Law loved Curtis when he met them in Atlanta after you guys’ bust. They won’t mind a little tour.”

God looked down at the report in his hand, scanning Free’s summary of Xander’s alarm perimeter failure. The guards had left the property after receiving fraudulent texts claiming the threat was over and the studio’s personal security for Xander was suspended.

Minutes later, the power had been manually cut at the breaker. A rear window had been broken. No theft or extreme vandalism beyond the entry point.

Which meant the intruder hadn’t come to steal, they’d come for Xander.

God shook his head.

Why the fuck was someone targeting this guy? That was the million-dollar question.

“Cash.”

“No.”

“Man—”

“This is a job, a potentially dangerous one,” he grumbled. “Wes and Law called us to protect their friend. We’re not here on vacation, G. Someone is literally trying to kill this guy, and I’m not about to let my only brother and Curtis get caught in the crossfire because you wanna fangirl on a movie set.”