by Tate James
“Back it up, speedy,” the boy ordered in a hard-edged voice that almost made me grin. Yeah, Rex was right about these kids. They’d be valuable assets to the Timberwolves if they had the stomach for what was to come.
The terrified target threw his hands in the air, spinning around again like he might be able to plead his way out if he could locate whoever was in charge.
“Over here, Anthony,” I called, stepping forward so I wasn’t totally shadowed from the backlight. “You surely must have been expecting me by now.”
His eyes rounded to the size of saucers, and he swallowed heavily. The kid from the gold Nissan stepped around his door and gave Anthony Yang a prod in the back, getting him walking back over to where I waited with my guys.
“Y-you,” the sweating man stammered, licking his lips. “Y-you can’t k-kill me. I’m FBI.”
I laugh coldly. “I wasn’t aware that gave you immortality. Pretty sure dead’s dead, no matter what your job title.”
The slippery fuck shook his head. “No, y-you can’t kill me. They’ll know it was you, and then—“
“And then what, Anthony?” I hissed, taking a step closer. My little helper with a gun to Anthony’s back kicked out his knees, sending him crashing down to the dirt at my feet.
The rat peered up at me, a sneer twisting his face. “And then you’ll end up right back where you were six weeks ago,” he spat, “chained to that bed in Chase’s basement, screaming at all your delusions and begging him to kill you while he—“
I couldn’t stomach hearing it. I did something I knew would shut him up, short of killing him. I shot him in the shoulder.
Anthony Yang had just confirmed the suspicion I’d formed when I realized his role in Chase’s business. He was an FBI techie. The man could erase key pieces of evidence from databases, alter test scores for paid-off recruits, and delete any reports of crimes that Chase was involved in. He also, apparently, had a video feed into Chase’s cell of terror.
This man. This slimy, pathetic man screaming in the dirt as he clutched his bleeding shoulder, was the Lockhart version of Dallas, but better connected. He was why it’d been so hard to track Chase down. That was why his loss would hit Chase hard. Without Anthony Yang to wipe security footage and erase evidence, Chase would have to be so damn careful from here on out.
“You bitch!” Anthony shrieked. “Chase should have finished you off when he had you! He should have just drowned you properly instead of—“
Oops. There went Anthony’s knee.
Without speaking, because fuck chatting with this dead man, I gave Zed a nod. He gave me a cruel smile back and came over to grab Anthony by the ankle. Amusement rippled through me when he grabbed the leg I’d just shot.
Without paying attention to our nasty little rat’s squeals, Zed dragged him over to the point we’d chosen for this specific death. It was a wide metal grate in the ground, leading down into the storm-water drain below the shipping yard. Lucas helped, making quick work of securing Anthony to the grate, hand and foot.
“Don’t worry, Anthony; your former employers won’t be coming out to avenge a good, upstanding FBI agent’s death. My associate took the liberty of forwarding some very damning evidence against you about five minutes ago. They’ll know exactly why you’re dead. Because you’re a dirty, corrupt rat. So, consider this karma.” I flashed him a toothy grin and exchanged my gun for a long-bladed knife.
Tugging his shirt up, I closed my ears to his screams and slid my blade into his flabby belly. The steel was so sharp it was like cutting butter as I dragged it across his body from hip to hip, splitting him open.
His blood ran freely over the grate, dripping down into the drain while he screamed and screamed, then passed out from the pain or fear, or both.
“Holy shit,” the kid from the gold Nissan murmured, staring down at Anthony’s opened guts. “Is he dead?”
I laughed. So did Zed. We were sick fucks some days. “Nope, not dead. A wound like that could take hours to kill him.”
“Pity he doesn’t have hours,” Zed murmured, his eyes meeting mine with bloodlust shining bright. As if perfectly on cue, high-pitched squeaks echoed out of the drain below Anthony.
“Rats?” One of the other boys exclaimed, coming closer. Micah. “Oh man. Brutal.” His smile was just as feral as Zed’s though, and I decided I liked this kid.
“I trust you four can hang around and make sure this rat doesn’t wiggle free before it’s all over?” I arched a brow at Shelby, who nodded back. “Good. Shelby, I’ve forwarded you a phone number for my cleanup crew. She’ll sanitize the scene when it’s done. Don’t leave until she gets here, understood?”
“Understood, sir,” he agreed.
Satisfied with my new helpers, I headed back to the SUV. Zed tossed the keys to Lucas, telling him to drive, then followed me into the backseat. He pounced on me the moment the doors closed, hot and hard, riding the bloodlust like an aphrodisiac, and I was just as bad.
Cass got into the passenger seat, and Lucas gunned the engine, peeling away from our latest crime scene. It wasn’t long before Cass climbed over into the back with us, though, and Lucas almost crashed twice while we celebrated a successful night out.
Anthony Yang made five. One more, and my list was done. One more... and I could take down Chase Lockhart himself. Just that thought alone was enough to make me come.
54
The sun shone bright over the lush green of Shadow Grove Botanical Gardens, not a single cloud in the sky as we wandered into the upscale charity event. Blown-up pictures of smiling children were propped up on stands all over the place, but there were no children in attendance. That was a relief. I’d have hated to scar any innocent kids by killing a man in front of them... even though it wouldn’t have stopped me.
“Ms. Wolff,” a woman called out, and I pasted a polite smile on my face to greet the mayor of Cloudcroft, Julia Smythe. “I’m glad you could make it; the foundation is beyond grateful for your generous donation.”
The fundraising event we were attending was for a charity specifically aimed at giving foster children a better start in life, ensuring they weren’t falling behind in school and providing funding for textbooks, clothes, whatever was lacking. The irony of the situation made me sick.
“It’s the least I could do,” I murmured with a tight smile.
The mayor looked around me with curiosity, her brows raised in question. “Is your handsome fiancé not here today?” She smiled warmly, glancing down at the ring still firmly in place on my finger. I hadn’t taken it off once since that argument with Zed, and secretly, I think we all knew it was never coming off. It was mine.
“Oh, he’s around here somewhere,” I replied with a low chuckle as Lucas approached through the crowd. He was dressed impeccably, blending in with the rich crowd with ease, but his devoted gaze was only for me. “Julia, I don’t think I’ve ever formally introduced you to Mr. Wilder.”
I indicated for Lucas to come closer, and he wrapped an arm around my waist possessively, kissing my cheek. “Hey beautiful,” he purred, everything about him dripping sex.
The mayor's eyes widened to the size of saucers, then she gave a slow smile and nod. “No, I don’t believe we’ve met.” She held out her hand to Lucas. “Mr. Wilder. A pleasure.”
Lucas shook her hand, his arm still holding me in a clearly intimate embrace. “Mayor Smythe, I’m so sorry about the loss of your deputy the other week. What a tragic event.”
The mayor's lips tightened, but she looked more irritated than upset. “Yes, such a tragedy,” she murmured, “an unfortunate allergic reaction.”
I almost laughed out loud at that, but clearly Mayor Smythe was happy to be rid of her deputy. She’d just lacked the balls to do it herself.
“Well, I certainly hope you have some solid replacement candidates lined up, Julia,” I commented with a sharp edge in my voice.
The mayor heard it and smiled back. “Absolutely, I do.”
I knew, li
ke she did, that her staff would send me a list of the names she was considering for my approval or veto. Julia and I had a good arrangement, and she didn’t want to rock that boat—especially not now, while I was making so many high-profile power moves against my enemy. She may not understand the game, but she did recognize the danger.
“I saw a buffet of sweets over there,” Lucas said quietly, then kissed my hair. “I’m going to grab some before things... kick off.” He shot me a wink and nodded to the mayor before disappearing back into the crowd.
Julia’s eyes followed him a moment, like she couldn’t help herself, then she flushed when she realized I was glaring. “Handsome man,” she commented with an uncomfortable laugh. “Will today’s event be as... dramatic as the last you attended?”
It was a diplomatic way to phrase it, and I grinned with teeth. “Probably.”
She blanched but gave a tight nod. “I see.”
Cass appeared at my side then. For such a big, tattoo-covered man, he slipped through the crowd like a ghost. It was scary, in a good kind of way.
“We’re all sorted,” he told me, ignoring the mayor entirely. His hands gripped my hips, and Julia quirked a brow. Because I didn’t give a flying fuck about people knowing I had three lovers, I covered one of Cass’s hands with mine. Our fingers tangled together, and his thumb stroked over my ring as though it was from him as much as it was from Zed.
Fuck, I wouldn’t put it past him to have demanded Zed let him pay for half, just so he could lay claim too.
“Lovely to see you again, Julia,” I told the mayor, dismissing her. “I suggest staying back from the stage during our good lieutenant governor’s speech.”
That was as good as my warnings ever got. But like I said, Julia and I had a good arrangement. I’d hate to have to start from scratch again if she became collateral damage.
She melted away into the crowd once more, and Cass turned me in his arms to press a soft kiss to my lips.
“I didn’t know we were all public with this,” he rumbled, his hands holding me close to his body.
It was understandable why he’d think that; I was usually careful to avoid public displays of affection with any of the three of them, at least when it came to those casual, intimate touches that implied a relationship deeper than sex. I’d spent so long cultivating my reputation as a strong, independent woman to be feared and respected without relying on men that I’d shied away from all affection. But I was past that now. I was too fucking in love to care.
I shrugged. “Since when did I give a fuck what people thought of me? I won’t hold back simply for societal expectations. If I wanna kiss you here in front of all these stuck-up pricks, then I damn well will. If I wanna drag you behind that hedge over there and let you fuck my ass, I damn well will. No one stops me from doing what I want, and I want you, Saint.”
To prove my point, I cupped the back of his head, pulling his face down to meet my kiss. It wasn’t a chaste, polite sort of kiss, either. I melted into his strong body and parted my lips to meet his aggressive tongue.
“Fuck, Red,” he growled when he released me, his forehead against mine. “Now all I can think about is fucking your ass behind that hedge, and I didn’t bring any travel lube.”
Chuckling softly, I snaked a hand between us to squeeze his hard dick through his pants. “Save it,” I whispered. “We’ll have something to celebrate soon.”
He gave a frustrated groan, but didn’t protest as we went in search of Lucas at the dessert table.
For a while we played the part of polite—if scary—party guests. But eventually, a woman took to the stage and tapped the microphone, making it squeal painfully in the speakers.
She launched into her spiel about the charity and all the good it does, while a slideshow behind her displayed pictures of all the smiling, happy children they’d supposedly helped. Across the garden party, I caught sight of an eye patch–wearing bastard and smiled.
“He knows,” Cass chuckled in my ear. “He knows, and he can’t do anything about it.”
I grinned wider. It was why I’d picked a different method of death for each of his associates. He had no clue how the attack would be coming, so he couldn’t prepare for it. Would it be poison again? Or a subtle knife in the back later in the day? Maybe a ranged shot or even an explosion? The options were endless and impossible to safeguard against.
Based on the grim scowl on Chase’s face, he’d already accepted that I’d win this one, and he wasn’t even going to try.
He started crossing the party, his eye locked on me, and I forced my lingering fear back in its box where it damn well belonged. He wouldn’t ever get the satisfaction of seeing me scared again, that was a goddamn promise.
The guests clapped as the woman from the charity finished her speech and announced their patron, the lieutenant governor of our state.
“Darling,” Chase greeted me, ignoring the important man taking the stage behind him. “Somehow I knew you’d be here today.”
I smiled wide, all teeth, and leaned back against Cass. “Of course I am,” I replied as Cass slid his hand around my waist and splayed it across my midsection possessively. “I give generously to foundations like this. Foster children are so easily preyed on by bad men; they need all the help they can get, don’t you think?”
Chase’s lip curled in a sneer, then his eye flicked down to where I’d placed my hand over Cass’s. My ring was on full display, and it was short-circuiting his pea-sized brain. His claim of ownership over me was the cornerstone of his obsession, so the idea that I could be engaged to—going to marry—someone else? Unacceptable.
“Hush, Pirate Chase, the lieutenant governor is about to begin telling us what a great man he is. You won’t want to miss this.” I laid a finger over my lips and winked, making his eye twitch with anger.
The silver-haired politician started his speech on stage, talking about how the matter of foster children was so near and dear to his heart. Meanwhile, the slideshow behind him faded from smiling kids to something far more sinister: security footage of a shipping container and a dozen crying girls being herded inside at gunpoint. And there he was, our charitable lieutenant governor, shaking hands with one of the armed men, his face tilted just the right way toward the camera to make his identity unmistakable.
The crowd was gasping and whispering, horrified at what they were seeing, but I just grinned at Chase. Neither one of us was watching the stage when the suppressed sniper shot sounded and blood splattered the projector screen. The video clip froze on an image of the lieutenant governor receiving head from a woman chained to the wall like a dog, and I couldn’t have timed it better if I’d tried.
“Oops,” I murmured, “my mistake. It was Zed who didn’t want to miss this one.”
A vein pulsed in Chase’s temple, and I could hear his teeth grinding painfully. He wasn’t stupid, though. He knew I’d outplayed him again.
“There will be retaliation for this, Darling,” he gritted out, furious. “Count on it. I’m coming for you, and when I succeed—which I will—you’ll wish you’d never escaped my mountain home.”
The entire party was in a panic, people running and hiding, women crying, and security running around like headless chickens. But the deed was done, and they’d never catch Zed; he was too damn good.
Chase stormed away, and I needed to bite my lip to hold back my glee as Lucas, Cass, and I made our way out of the garden party with all the other guests.
The Escalade pulled up with precise timing as we reached the main road, and the three of us piled inside. I grabbed Zed by the front of his shirt before he could pull back out into the traffic, dragging him close and kissing him long and hard.
“I fucking love you, Zayden,” I murmured against his lips. “Take us home.”
He licked his lips, shifting the car back into drive but keeping his hot, hungry eyes on me. “Take your panties off, Dare. I’m not waiting that long.”
I gave a low, throaty chuckle at that...
because he damn well should have known I wasn’t wearing any.
55
It wasn’t until late the next morning that I remembered to ask Zed and Cass about their secret mission from the other night. We were all piled into Zed’s bed this time, and Lucas had woken me up with the push of his thick cock into my pussy from behind. I hadn’t even fully woken up, grinding back onto him while still floating in a light sleep, until Zed had started sucking on my breasts, biting my nipples, and making me cry out.
When they were all done—each needing to take a turn making me come on their dick—we just lay there in a comfortable, naked, cum-soaked pile.
“So, when do I find out what mischief you two got up to while Lucas and I were getting shot at by Rodney?” I murmured, playing with Zed’s fingers splayed over my hip.
Cass propped his head up on his hand and met my sleepy gaze. “I think Zeddy Bear was waiting for a special occasion.”
Zed scoffed, before brushing kisses against my bare shoulder. “I wasn’t. But right after Alexi was killed didn’t seem like a good time.”
Lucas made a frustrated sound from the end of the bed, where he’d rolled so he could watch while Zed had screwed my brains out. “Just do it now,” he groaned. “I hate keeping secrets.”
I turned my head, giving Zed a pointed look, and he huffed a sigh.
“Fine,” he muttered. “I guess early morning group sex is as good an occasion as any.”
With a groan, he rolled out of his big bed and headed out of the room without bothering to grab clothes. Lucas immediately crawled up the bed and took the place at my back that had just been vacated, and I gave a laugh as he snuggled close.
Cass caught my chin between his fingers, pulling my face back to his, and kissed me hungrily as Lucas’s hands found my breasts. The horny bastards were already keen to go again, apparently.
“Cut it out, you two,” Zed snapped as he returned with a neatly wrapped giftbox in his hands. He climbed back onto the bed, to kneeling either side of my legs, and presented the box to me. “This is from me.”
