Target shouted at first, bringing them closer. “Hey, we need you back!” Savvy and Boston walked slowly to meet them, the waves crashing on their left.
“Boss wants to roll out. We have a meeting.”
“All right. But I’ve got to stay with her,” Boston pointed out. There was no one else Sagan trusted.
“No, she’s coming. And we have to be dressed and out of here in twenty minutes.”
With that, two other assholes showed up in dune buggies to move things along.
Boston hadn’t even gotten to know what had gone down in Sagan’s bedroom, and he wasn’t going to get a chance. It was extremely odd that the boss wanted her out of the house when he prized her safety and seclusion above pretty much everything else.
After parking the buggies at the house, Target told Savvy to dress in jeans and Boston to go for business, which meant a suit layered with weapons underneath. Savvy shrugged and went back to the room. Boston gave Trooper water before strapping on his uniform.
Savvy knocked on his door when she was ready. He told her to come in and sat back for a minute. She wore skintight jeans, wicked black heels with spikes all over them, and a black tank top with a leather jacket. Her hair remained down, and her lips were now bright red.
“Okay. Heels?” Boston had no clue what they were in for, but when he heard jeans, he’d pictured her dressed in sneakers and a ponytail.
“I do my best work in heels.” She gave Trooper a scratch before heading out with Boston, letting him open the door.
Sagan stood on the other side, obviously ready to knock. Boston watched the man appraise Savvy’s outfit and made a fist when he saw lust in his eyes. Savvy stepped to the side so Boston could come into the hallway.
“Middle of the night field trip?” She had an edge to her voice.
Sagan used his thumb to twirl the gold ring on his finger. Savvy licked her lips as she watched. She wanted that ring off of him.
“Something like that,” Sagan responded. “Boston, see that she doesn’t kill anyone.” He led the way, but when they got to the driveway, he settled into a waiting black Suburban, and Boston lead Savvy to another in the line.
Target crawled in with them and shut the door. Boston held his hands up in a questioning gesture.
“Cassos meeting. Not sure why. Same old same old? I don’t know.” Target lit a cigarette. “Why the hell is he bringing her?” He pointed his thumb in Savvy’s direction.
She rolled the window down a crack and gave Target a dirty look.
“I don’t know.”
“He drank a boatload of rum during the orgasm marathon,” Savvy reported. “Maybe he’s more insane than usual.” She crossed one leg over another, putting the killer heel between the two men.
Target blew the smoke in her direction. “I would give my left nut to have the run of that room for ten minutes. Jesus fucking Christ.”
“Really? It smells like perfume, ass, and desperation.” She turned her face to the window, and the breeze washed over her.
“That sounds like my favorite smell ever.” Target bit his bottom lip and rubbed his palms together.
Savvy rolled her eyes and stayed quiet.
“So is he enforcing territory? Disputing profits? Acquiring business?” Boston didn’t like going in blind.
“Shit if I know. Stay alert.” Target lit another cigarette with the end of the one he was finishing.
Boston watched his surroundings as the convoy of four Suburbans rolled into a contentious part of town. There was a single restaurant between the two territories. The feud between the Cassos and the Sagans was legendary. The Cassos were known for their brass-knuckle ways and loyalty. The Sagans were known for playing dirty and being unpredictable.
When they arrived at the restaurant, the Cassos were already outside, waiting for the Sagan crew. The boss got out of the first Suburban, buttoned his suit, and headed for Boston’s car.
“Oh, shit. Get ready, Savvy. I think you’re arm candy.” He wanted to give her a ton of advice, but she looked calm.
She opened her door before Sagan could reach it. He watched her get out and then offered his elbow. Boston jumped out, buttoning his suit as well, and stayed as close as he could to her. He was able to overhear Sagan threatening.
“Just know, the second my heart stops beating, the bullet leaves the assassin’s gun headed for your brother.” He smiled at her, but she refused to look at him. “Take my arm, Savannah. It’s all about appearances.” He touched her with his elbow, pressing the point.
She gave him a hard look. “Take your ring off.”
“Not part of the deal. Sorry. Does it hurt? I hope it hurts.” Sagan stopped walking.
Savvy turned when she had passed him by two steps.
“I’m not going until you do this properly, Savannah.”
“This is how you do business? You need me to hold your hand?” She stalked back to him and looped her arm around his elbow.
“Better. Follow directions. Is that so hard?”
“Yes. Harder than your dick will ever be.”
Boston watched the strain evident in her neck when she moved her long hair to her shoulder. He worried that touching Sagan actually did hurt her.
Target stomped out his cigarette and tapped Boston on the shoulder.
“What?”
“Stay back. He wants to go in alone at first.”
“Bullshit. He wants me to keep her from killing people.” Boston whispered the last little bit.
“Not at first.” Target pointed, and Boston realized all the men had hung back. “Just Cassos and Sagan. Though they can bring girls.”
“Shit.”
“But be ready. If that chick loses her mind, we’re going to have a bloodbath on our hands getting to Sagan.”
“I’m hating this more and more.” Boston touched his gun, but it gave him no comfort.
Chapter 25
Big Daddy
Savvy was almost as tall as Sagan in her heels. He held the door for her and insisted on putting his hand at her lower back as she navigated the foyer of the dimly lit restaurant.
A stout man sat at a large, round table in the middle of the room with an outrageously decorated woman feeding him bites of pasta from a bowl.
He had one of her breasts in his hand, squeezing it and rolling the nipple in what looked like a painful way, yet the tattooed lady leaned into his touch. Her black hair was cut in a hard line of bangs, which framed her painted eyes.
One of her hands disappeared under the table.
“Not right now! Shit, Juicy.” He pushed her away.
The way she retreated made Savvy narrow her eyes. The auras on both seemed a murky red, but with Sagan’s ring running interference, it was so hard to tell.
“I got business. Sit still. Put your tits away.” He slapped her across the face.
Savvy made a fist and started to smile.
“Don’t.” Sagan’s words landed on her cheek. He stepped around her and sat, expecting her to sit in his lap after he patted it. Savvy shook her head once and stood behind him.
“Your pussy don’t listen to you anymore, Sagan? You’re losing your touch. Watch this.”
The man poured his drink on the table in front of him. “Lick it up. Suck it dry.” He pointed at the spot on the table with his pinkie. The woman worked on a smile, her cheek still red from his slap. She bent down and began licking and sucking on the white tablecloth, leaving stains from her lipstick behind.
The man watched her in an oily way before putting his hand on the back of her head, holding her still, smooshing her nose flat. “You’re messing up the tablecloth. Whose gonna pay for that shit?”
“Oh, fuck this.” Savvy stepped from behind Sagan’s chair with every intention of making the asshole eat the tablecloth. Ring or no ring, she could hurt this asshole.
Sagan hopped up and grabbed the top of her arm. “How other people run their house is their business.” He smiled, but it was forced.
“L
et go.” Savvy looked from his hand to his eyes, letting him know she hated it.
“Maybe we should have the ladies leave,” Sagan suggested. “I don’t have time for your discipline or mine. You have something you want to say? Say it.” He put his hands on Savvy’s hips to remind her to stay still.
The man still had Juicy’s head pinned, and it looked like she was having trouble breathing.
Savvy reacted, seeing the implications of her actions clearly in her head before she set them in motion. She reached for the tablecloth and yanked it hard—like a magic trick. And despite the man’s firm grip on Juicy’s head, Savvy pulled it out with a snap.
The remains of the man’s drink and the bottle he’d poured from tilted over, splashing all over him. He released his captive, and the color flooded back into her lips as she gasped.
The man began cursing up a storm and swiping at his pants as he stood. He pushed around Juicy and advanced on Savvy.
“Come for it, big daddy. I’m begging you,” Savvy taunted.
His red aura sharpened before her eyes, fed by his anger.
Sagan stepped between them, turning to face her. “You need to go outside. And you also need to remember that your brother counts on your best behavior for his next breath.”
She peered over Sagan’s shoulder as he spoke. Both Juicy and the man drew knives from under the table. It was less than a second’s second, her hesitation, but her mind was busy.
It would be so amazing to take the knives from those assholes and hack through Sagan, turning him into bloody red ribbons. Savvy gritted her teeth so hard they squeaked. She had to choose right now, right here whether her love for her brother, her desire to do what Kal and Sara had asked outweighed her need for Sagan’s evil soul to leave his body. She had to make her emotions, her sense of self stronger than her strange power.
*~*~*~*
Silas watched as her eyes focused behind him. He was trying to figure out how to keep her in the room—so she could see him in action—when she put her hands around his waist and pulled him in for a hug.
He reciprocated out of shock and turned to look as Savvy slipped under his arm.
She kicked backward, forcing him to take a few stumbling steps in reverse. He could hear the night light up with gunfire outside.
It was an ambush. A horrible ambush.
Savvy pulled a knife from each of her palms with a roar. She’d stopped them with her body rather than letting Cassos take him out.
“Take off the ring!” she shouted as she punched Cassos with a bloody fist and kicked Juicy in the stomach.
The doors splintered as Cassos men with guns tried to get in.
“Off, Sagan. Off!”
He believed in the talent of his men outside, but he knew she could be a monster. Whether she would kill him—that was the worst question, and he didn’t even have seconds to wonder. He slipped off the ring and put it in his pocket.
Savvy staggered a bit, as if something hit her, and she put her hands near her ears. Silas watched one of her palms heal before his eyes.
“Get down.” Savvy wiped her face with her healed, but still bloody hand, smearing the red under her eyes like war paint. The door opened, and she was ready.
With hands and kicks, she rendered the first three men in the room unconscious immediately.
Then Boston busted in, and she seemed to hold herself back.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed at her arm.
“Got to bring the asshole.” She tilted her head in his direction.
“I meant both of you. It’s crazy out there; we’re outnumbered.” Boston got low, though the interior room had no windows.
Silas met them in the middle. “How many?”
“Easily ten to one.” Boston stopped to listen to his earpiece. “It’s getting worse. We’re surrounded.”
Savvy shook her head. She looked down and kicked one of the Cassos guys who was coming to. “Keep Sagan alive. I’ll handle it.” She reached inside Sagan’s jacket and removed his hidden pistol, her bloody hands staining his suit.
Amid the explosions rocking the building, he threatened her again, stopping her hand. “Don’t think of leaving.”
She exhaled and shook her head. “Keep that ring close, ’cause the minute you don’t have it, you’re dead.”
Boston let her walk outside, and together they ducked as the door was riddled with bullet holes.
“She’s gonna die.” Silas pointed at his now loose asset, his obsession.
“She’s our only chance right now, or we’re all gonna die,” Boston countered. “And then the assassin will have a textbook-sized list of people to kill.”
The screaming outside, where Savvy had gone, was inhuman—a combination of disbelief and pain that made both Silas and Boston cringe.
The gunfire seemed to be tapering off, and Silas was about to try to peek outside when the motor of a vehicle crashing close to the side door shook the paintings off the wall.
Boston shouted, “It’s her! Let’s go.” The man shuffled him into the backseat like a president in danger before crawling over him to return fire.
As soon as they were in, Savvy look off like a madwoman.
“Boston?” she called, her eyes never leaving the road.
But he didn’t respond, too busy taking out the Cassos detail following in fast cars.
“Sagan?” she said, meeting his eyes in the rearview mirror. “I’m about to pass out. Can you drive?”
He crawled over the seat to find her bleeding from multiple gunshots. He locked eyes with her again, just in time to see them roll back in her head as she lost consciousness.
“Shit!” He grabbed the steering wheel and pulled her to the passenger side. He settled behind the wheel and hit the gas pedal, tearing through town as his helicopter appeared above them in the trees. He headed straight for it as Boston leaned over to check on Savvy.
“I’m out of ammo,” he reported as he felt for her pulse.
The helicopter came in low, and the cars behind them instantly began trying to retreat, squealing their tires and leaving smoke trails. The snipers in his choppers brought hell down upon the cars as Silas kept driving, all the way back to his compound.
“She alive?” he asked, unable to look at her as he drove.
“Yeah.” Boston put pressure on the gunshot wound in her shoulder. “You still got the ring? We should get her away from that maybe…”
Silas thought about tossing the ring out the window, but he pulled it out and slipped it on instead. What she had done, the army she’d stopped, was terrifying. He couldn’t be unprotected from her.
“Tell the chopper to pick me up at the fairgrounds. I’ll get away from her for a little while.” Sagan pulled through the gates, which had opened at precisely the right time. He tore up the driveway and slid out, getting on his cell phone to call Doc while he got in his Ferrari.
In the rearview mirror he watched as Boston took Savannah from the Suburban. She was magnificent. Her head lolled, dangling at an impossible angle, the spotlights catching the steady drip of blood from her elbow. He put the pedal to the floor and blew back through the gates, eager to get her the space she needed to survive.
The Cassos had blown everything to shit and taken an unprecedented chance at killing him. Why were they so eager? Bizarre. Nothing about it made any sense. Maybe they were on to him, knew about his plans for Compound E. But they certainly hadn’t seen Savannah coming. He couldn’t help but swallow a smile. As long as she healed, tonight would be a success.
Chapter 26
Wakes
When Savvy woke, it took a few seconds for the room to come into focus. After a moment she found her hand resting on Trooper and Boston sitting across the room. A surge of raging energy that desperately wanted a red-auraed outlet told her Sagan and his ring were gone. There was no filter at the moment, which was both good and bad. She closed her eyes and willed herself not to act, reminded herself of the need to protect Tobias by keeping those around he
r alive. The combination of catching her breath and putting up her guard was not even close to reflex yet.
Her gunshot wounds were not nearly as painful as when she realized that Kal and Sara hadn’t come to her as a reward for pounding through so many red auras.
“No. No!”
Boston looked alarmed as Savvy covered her face with her hands. Trooper began to whimper.
“What? Pain? You need the doctor? He just left. Savvy, what?” Boston sounded frantic.
She knew she really should soothe him. Instead she felt her chin start to shake. Biting her lips, she pulled her knees up to her chest and sobbed. She needed them. She needed what they gave her. They were the life in her heart. The moments of nearness to them kept her soul intact.
Over the sounds of her weeping, she could hear Boston on the phone, asking for help. Trooper licked her face, probably getting a tongueful of tears. She tried to steady her breathing, tried to think about what had happened at the restaurant.
When she’d been fighting to save Sagan, it’d given her added strength, knowing she would soon see Kal and Sara. Every gunshot was another possible way to see them. She’d killed people this time. But she had to—there was no other way to escape the restaurant and commandeer the truck.
Maybe that was it…she’d killed rather than just causing injury. And instead of a reward, a precious, mind-healing reward, she’d gotten nothing. Just vacancy. God, it hurt so much. It wasn’t legal or fair how addicted she was to them.
She now cried so hard she had trouble taking a breath. The doctor eventually came in and assessed her, despite her not helping him out at all.
“I think this is just emotional, not physical,” he told Boston after a moment.
He was right. That was her exact problem. Her entire family existed only in the emotional. She could no longer physically touch them. She had to try again, to see if she could touch them. If she didn’t kill anyone, maybe.
Boston and the doctor seemed shocked when she sprang from the bed in search of an aura. She slipped past them out of the room and staggered a bit, grabbing the handrail as she got the stairs. Trooper was hot on her heels, and Boston’s hands came to her shoulders from behind her.
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