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Her shoulders bounce. “Two birds, one stone. I’m efficient.”
I lean against the table and cross my arms. “I don’t suppose you’ll fill in the blanks on that one. The short version, if you don’t mind.”
She smiles at me again, gently tilting her head. “The Boss is building a new team.”
“For what?”
“For whatever the fuck she wants,” she says, dropping patience. “The short version is that the organization is looking for new blood. We need a good hunter and, naturally… I thought of you.”
“I’m not interested.”
“I’m going to give you thirty seconds to redact that.” She takes several steps forward, stopping in front of me. “This was a test, Archer. I wanted to be sure you still had a little bit of that…” she reaches out and straightens my jacket collar, “survival instinct.”
I slowly cup her wrists and guide her back a step. “That’s one bird. Who’s the other?”
She stands a little taller and crosses her arms. “Lilah.”
“What were you testing her for?”
“Doesn’t matter. She failed. You didn’t.”
I hold a fixed expression as I search her stone-cold face. “So, you pop a bit of popcorn, raise the gates, and watch as the two rats tussle over the last piece of cheese, eh?”
“I’ll be honest,” she chuckles, “I had no idea which way it would go. You went above and beyond expectations.” She smiles wider. “I’ve never been prouder of one of my creations.”
I look away. “And Enzo hiring me to hunt her down. Was that you, too?”
“One part me, two parts blissful serendipity.” Her smile shifts into a scowl. “And by the way… stop taking jobs tracking down our agents. It looks bad.”
I squint. “I thought that’s what you hired me for…”
“I hired you to track them down for me. Not for two-bit mobsters.”
“They pay better.”
“They pay with money. I pay with heartbeats.” She bridges the short gap between us again. “Join the team, Archer. This is a you’re either with us or you’re against us type of situation.”
“It always is with you.”
“Then, I’ll save the really scary bits and skip right to it.” She caresses my cheek with the back of her hand. I fight the urge to recoil. “You’ve always been my favorite but remember one thing: I pulled you out of that box. I’ll stick you right back in again.”
I stand still as she gives my face a gentle, but firm, slap before spinning around to the door. “And what happens to her?”
Myra blinks with curiosity. “Do you care?”
“No,” I answer, flashing a smile. “I’d just like to watch.”
Chapter 19
Lilah
We arrive at the Botsford Plaza Hotel at seven-thirty on Friday night.
I walk in through the front entrance and quickly blink to adjust to the bright, golden light reflecting from the chandelier above my head. My trained eyes scan the sea of blurred faces, searching for the easiest exit routes and my heart skips with excitement.
It’s been a while since my brothers and I went on a mission together. One last job and we can put this chapter behind us and move on with our lives.
One last kill.
