by Naomi West
I swallowed hard and made the decision to run out the front door. I hopped on my bike, revving the engine just as the goons flew out the front door of the headquarters building. Sure enough, one of them had a gun, and I was glad I hadn't stuck around and tried to fight with them.
Instead, I peeled out of the parking lot, roaring down the street on the way back to the hotel. I could only hope that Cherri and Rosetta had at least made it out safely. I'd need their help to hatch a plan so that I could get Liv back. I only hoped I wouldn't be too late.
Back at the hotel, I was relieved to see Cherri's car in the parking lot. That, at least, appeared to have worked out. Sure enough, she and Rosetta were there in the car.
“Where's Liv?” Cherri asked, looking around a little as though Liv might somehow materialize beside me.
“She didn't make it back to the meeting point,” I growled. “I'll need to go back for her—but I'll need to wait until the element of surprise is on our side again.”
Cherri's eyebrows rose to her hairline. “Good luck,” she finally said.
“Oh no,” I said, shaking my head. I pointed at Rosetta. “I helped get your sister back. You're going to help me get Liv back.”
“I don't think so,” Cherri said, shaking her head. “I've got the two remaining packages, and I'm prepared to deliver them to Cat. But that's as far as my involvement in this is going to go. You're on your own for this one.”
I scowled at her. “Cherri—”
“Don't,” she said. “There's nothing that you can do to make me help you out. You don't have anything on me. Unless you want to go to the authorities and explain what your role is in all of this, but I'm sure you wouldn't be stupid enough to do that.”
I frowned at her, hating the fact that she was right. There was nothing I could do to force her to help me get Liv out. I slammed a palm down on the side of her car and then turned and stalked into the hotel, trying desperately to think of ways to get Liv back.
I wouldn't be able to just walk right into the national headquarters again. They had to have video surveillance in the building, and everyone would be on the high alert, looking for someone who fit my description. What's more, I knew Castor wouldn't let Liv out of his sight like he had Rosetta—not after this humiliation.
I was so caught up in my thoughts that it took me a moment to realize someone was reclining on the couch in the suite, clearly waiting for me. I blinked at the man as he moved, sitting up and leaning forwards to stare at me. “You are in some serious trouble, Rip Stevens,” the man told me, a dark look on his face.
I blinked in surprise at him, shaking my head a little. “What the hell are you doing here, Damien?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rip
I woke up gasping from another dream about Liv. It wasn't even a very graphic dream — I had just dreamt of her trapped in a room there, pleading with me for help — but it had tugged at my guilty feelings nonetheless. It had been a week now since the fiasco at the national headquarters, and I still had yet to come up with a plan to get her out.
Damien wanted me to go back home and forget about all of this, but I wasn't able to do that. I knew better than to outright disobey him, but we were stuck in a strange sort of limbo at the moment, tiptoeing around one another and both too stubborn to give in to what the other person wanted.
“It's not just about Castor,” Damien said over breakfast, glancing up at me from the bagel that he was spreading cream cheese on. He shrugged a little. “I mean, Castor is undoubtedly the one who has Liv trapped, but it all goes back to Cat in the end. You know once she gets out, she'll be gunning for your life.”
“She won't,” I argued, shaking my head. “She got her packages delivered. She got everything that she wanted. There's no reason for her to come after me.”
“Cat Zodiac doesn't need a reason to go after you,” Damien said patiently. “And anyway, you have given her a reason. You showed up in her prison and directly defied her orders. She's got to be pissed as all hell about that.” He shook his head. “You've gotten yourself as mixed up in all of this as I'm going to allow. I'm sorry, but it's time we were headed back home.”
I ducked my head a little, feeling like a chastised kid. “Damien, you don't understand,” I said, shaking my head. “I got Liv mixed up in all of this. I can't just leave her there with Castor; it's not right.”
“You have feelings for her. I understand that,” Damien said. “But what you did was stupid. And although you enabled her to get involved in all of this, it ultimately was her choice. You have to leave her alone to deal with the consequences.”
“...the notorious Cat Zodiac.”
I whipped my head around, staring up at the TV which was currently spitting out the morning news. Sure enough, there was Cat Zodiac on the screen. And the headline? She had escaped from prison.
I swallowed hard, my heart sinking. If she was out already…
“We've stayed here for too long already,” Damien muttered, shaking his head as he watched the story as well. He eyed me consideringly. “I don't like the way the Gemini Riders has gone lately,” he said succinctly.
“You're not the only one,” I muttered.
“I know,” Damien said. He cocked his head to the side. “Now that Cat is out of prison, she's just as much a target as you are.”
I frowned at him, wondering if he could possibly be suggesting what I thought he was suggesting. “Are you saying—”
“If you're going to stick around here,” Damien said very deliberately, “you're going to need to take out your biggest rival.”
“You want me to kill Cat Zodiac?” I hissed, looking around. I knew that she had had me followed before. If there was anyone around who could overhear this conversation… What Damien was suggesting was just…
“You know you can do it,” Damien said, shrugging a little. “Strike now, while she doesn't expect it. She'll be feeling invincible; she just escaped from a federal prison. Before she can get her feet under her again, before she can sort out Castor and everything else—everyone who stepped up and took some of her power while she was in jail—you need to strike before she is ready for you.”
I found myself nodding, even though I knew this plan was absolutely insane. Damien seemed to believe that I could do it, though. And if I took out Cat, maybe I could figure out some way to get Liv free from Castor before the chaos settled.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Okay.”
Damien smiled at me, the edges tinged with sadness. “I always thought you were smarter than all of this, Rip,” he said. “You never really struck me as the kind of brash and impulsive person who would get tangled up in something like this.”
I shrugged a little, unable to meet his eyes. “Yeah, well.”
“Cherri will be coming by this afternoon to help you brainstorm. She says Rosetta may have uncovered some things that could help you out.”
I blinked at him. “Okay,” I said, surprised to hear that. “I thought Cherri was out of this as soon as the packages were delivered to Cat in prison. Now that Cat's free, can't she wash her hands of all of this?”
Damien shrugged a little. “I suspect there's quite a bit of a need for revenge there. Anyway, she's in law enforcement. For all that she did to get Cat the packages, I imagine she also wants to set things right in the world.”
I frowned at him and then shrugged as well. It would be good to have her help. Especially when I knew we could rely on Rosetta for insight into Castor's character and behavior.
We went back upstairs after breakfast and settled in to wait for Cherri to arrive. My phone started ringing, and I stared down at the unfamiliar local number, debating whether or not I should answer it. It could be something to do with Liv, though, or something to do with Cat. Finally, I answered it, pressing the plastic to my ear.
I didn't expect it to actually be Cat on the other end of the line, that's for sure.
“Rip Stevens,” she said in her silky voice. “So nice of you to pick u
p my call. I have a deal to make with you.”
I quickly changed the phone over to speakerphone, knowing that Damien would want to hear this as well. “What sort of a deal do you want?” I asked suspiciously.
Cat laughed a little. “Well, as you may have heard, I've flown the coop. I'm out of jail. And that means that I'm here with your lovely little fuck-buddy, Olivia Harrell. And I have a feeling you want to continue to ensure that nothing too horrible happens to her.”
I swallowed hard, trying my best not to let my temper get the better of me. “What sort of deal do you want?” I repeated, an edge to my voice.
“Well, I figured I'd make you an offer — her life in exchange for your life. We all know that she's innocent, and you, on the other hand … well. I'm feeling generous, and I think that you might be more of service to me than she is. She makes for good entertainment, but there's nothing like having a good, strong man by your side...”
“Her life for mine,” I repeated flatly. “How could I ever believe that you were going to let her walk free, though? You weren't going to let Rosetta Velasquez free, even if Cherri and I delivered the packages to you in prison.”
“Well, Castor was having a lot of fun with her,” Cat said dismissively. “I couldn't take away his fun.”
“You might say the same about Castor and Liv,” I pointed out.
“Oh no,” Cat said, and I could just imagine her tossing back her long, flowing hair. “He refused to sleep with the girl — says he doesn't need your sloppy seconds. Of course, she's still providing quite a bit of entertainment, but he won't mind being done with her. He'd rather have you here, paying for the humiliation that you've caused him.”
“Fine,” I said, even though I knew I shouldn't be agreeing to anything like this. I could see anger on Damien's face out the corner of my eye, but I knew Cat wasn't going to make the offer again, and she wasn't going to give me time to think things over or anything like that. It was now or never here, and I couldn't leave Liv trapped in whatever fate had befallen her over the past week. “Fine, I agree.”
“Good, good,” Cat said cheerfully. “You'll need to meet me here, at our regional headquarters. Tomorrow, at noon. Make sure that you're alone; I don't need you trying to play the hero and making us all do extra work to take you in. There will be no escaping.”
“I understand,” I told her, nodding my head grimly even though she couldn't see it. “I will see you tomorrow at noon.”
Without bothering to say goodbye, Cat hung up the phone, leaving me staring down at the blank screen. As soon as she had hung up, Damien exploded, cussing me out in three different languages. “For fuck's sake, Rip!” he finally cried, shaking his head. “And here I thought you couldn't do anything more stupid than you already have done!”
I shrugged a little, staring out the window at the view. “As much as I'd like to say that there is another way to do this, you and I both know that there isn't. This is the best chance that I have to ensure Liv's freedom. Whatever else happens after that, we'll deal with it when it comes to that.”
Chapter Thirty
Rip
Cat was grinning at me as I walked into the national headquarters the next day, and I couldn't help but feel chills run up and down my body. Damien had done everything that he could to try and dissuade me from actually meeting up with Cat and Castor, but he'd ultimately been unsuccessful. I owed Liv at least this much, for getting her caught up in all this mess.
Anyway, I didn't think my emotions would allow me to leave her there, caught amongst these sick bastards.
Cherri had supported the plan too, when she'd come over the previous day. Or at least, she had agree with me that it was the most plausible option that we had. That didn't really make it any better, but it was good to have that vote from her too.
I squared my shoulders and marched over towards Cat. “Where is she?” I asked. Despite the fact that I was bartering away my life, all I could think about right now was Liv, wondering if she was okay, wondering what sort of state she might be in after a week as Castor's plaything.
“She's fine,” Cat said, rolling her eyes a little. She gestured with the flick of her hand and Liv was led out of one of the other rooms.
They had her collared, and they were leading her along on a leash. She was stark naked, and I could see goosebumps on her flesh even from here; she must be freezing. But she held her head high, seeming to look straight through everyone around her. I was surprised to see how strong she looked, how little this captivity seemed to have taken out of her.
Her eyes finally focused on mine, and she looked mildly surprised to see me there, but just for a moment, before that flicker of emotion was gone again.
“Doesn't she make a lovely pet?” Cat asked, reaching over to stroke Liv's hair as though the woman really were, in fact, a pet of some sort.
Castor leered at me. “But I sense that you're going to make a much better pet for us.”
“What?” Liv asked, sounding shocked, and I took that to mean that they hadn't told her exactly what deal I had struck to get her freedom. “Rip, what are they talking about?” she asked. “They can't be taking you as a pet, can they?”
I shrugged a little. “It's my life in exchange for yours,” I told her. I wished I could tell her the rest of it — how Damien was trusting in me to kill Cat, so that the Gemini Riders could start over again. I wished I could tell her about these feelings that I had for her, about the way I had been thinking about her all week while she was in here, feeling more and more guilty about the whole thing with every passing second. But I couldn't say any of that in front of Cat and Castor.
I turned to Cat. “All right, you have me here, so that means she goes free. Where are her clothes?”
Cat laughed a little. “I didn't say I was going to clothe her before putting her free. She can walk out just like that.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You wouldn't dare,” I said, a warning note in my voice.
Cat just shrugged, though. Finally, I stripped off my shirt and tossed it to Liv, figuring that that at least would give her some amount of decency. She gave me a grateful look and quickly pulled the shirt on over her head.
“What's in that box?” Cat asked suddenly, pointing at the box that I'd brought with me.
I shrugged a little. “Just a package for you,” I told her. “You can see what's inside it soon enough. But for now...”
I pulled Liv into my arms, knowing that this was probably going to be the last time I ever got to embrace her. I held her there for a long moment, trying to memorize the way her warm, sumptuous curves fit against my body, the way she clung to me as though I were a life-raft and she were drowning. “You're going to be okay,” I murmured.
“But what about you?” Liv asked, sounding scared.
“Head back to the hotel,” I told her, ignoring her question. “You'll find help there. I promise. You're going to be okay.”
Liv shook her head, clinging even more stubbornly to me. “I can't let you do this, Rip. I can't let you sacrifice yourself for my sake.”
I rolled my eyes a little, surprised still by how stubborn she was proving to be. “You can let me do this,” I told her. “There's nothing else for it. Now go.”
Finally, finally — with one more sad look into my face — Liv started to walk away. I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched her go. Now for Cat…
I turned towards the woman right when I was sure that Liv was far enough away. I reached down and grabbed the box I'd been carrying, fidgeting with it. Inside were the explosives that Damien had brought for me to use on Cat. The goal was to bring down as much of the headquarters as I could with Cat. I wasn't worried; I figured Damien must have done his job well.
But before I could detonate the explosives, suddenly there were people swarming out f seemingly every available opening. I cried out in surprise as I was jostled left and right by armed ... FBI agents?
Somehow, they must have tracked down Cat Zodiac already, and they were
here to arrest her. I could practically weep with relief. I dropped the box of explosives and put my hands up above my hand, ready to comply with anything the FBI agents said to me.
Cat flung herself at me, her eyes flashing maniacally. “You little—” She started to say.
But before she could make contact with me, one of the FBI agents intervened, pulling her back away. The man was reading her her rights before I even knew what was really happening.
I looked around, trying to figure out just what was going on. One of the agents separated from the crowd buzzing around Cat and Castor and came over to me. It was Cherri, I realized, staring at her in shock.
“So we meet again,” she said wryly, a small smile twisting her face. She nudged at the box with the toe of her boot. “All the packages were already delivered, so what's in the box?”
