Tiffany grabbed my hand and gave it a tight squeeze, not letting go as I shifted my gaze from Rhylan’s to see her beaming smile.
“We burn together.”
Hellyes, we do.
Myanxietywasthroughthe roof.
I was confident that we could kill this woman and walk out of here like nothing ever happened, but a part of me was worried about the tiny possibility of everything going sideways. Like Jaiden.What happens if I screw up? Miss my shot?
“Breathe, D. You’ve been wound up ever since we arrived. What’s your deal? I thought this was what you wanted? Hell, you even convincedmeto sign up, and here I am, in the trenches with you.” My sister gave me a look of concern, her eyes begging me not to tell her that I’d suddenly changed my mind. That I didn’t want to go through with this anymore.
Tiffany and I were waiting in one of the bars on the opposite side of the arena from the luxury suites, keeping an eye on our target while our husbands handled her bodyguards. We watched as she relaxed on the sofa in her private room, sipping on champagne without a care in the world.
Octavia was dressed in a check-cotton Lily Pulitzer dress with matching dame pumps. Her strawberry blonde hair had been curled in luxurious, loose waves. She looked as though she belonged at the Kentucky Derby, a little overdressed for a rodeo.
“How are you so calm and collected right now?”
“How are you not? You knew what we were doing, unless killing her isn’t the reason for your hesitation...” My sister thought long and hard before something clicked in her head. “Was it the pregnan—”
“Shh…” I rushed out, stopping her from saying the one thing I didn’t want to hear anymore about until this was all over. “Don’t say that word again...”
“Holy—” Tiffany covered her mouth with a gasp, her eyes growing wide as they lowered to my belly before flicking back up to connect with mine with disbelief. “You’re not—are you?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t taken a test, but… I’m late.” Only by about five days, but long enough to be concerning.
“Your period?”Seriously?
“No, my tax return, Tiff…” Probably wasn’t the best time for sarcasm, but I needed some form of nervous relief.
“Why haven’t you told Rhylan?”
“Told him what? That Imightbe carrying his child and could possibly die before even knowing?” My chest tightened at the thought of breaking Rhylan’s heart. “Sounds a little cruel if you ask me.” It was wrong of me to keep this from him, but the timing was fucking awful.
There was a pause before Tiffany gave a nod of understanding. I wanted to mention it while we were at the range, talking about how I was being overprotective with my sister, but then… I just couldn’t.
“Do you think you are?”
“Maybe? I have been feeling a little off these past few days…” Nauseous in the morning, random headaches in the evening, and more tired than usual.
“Confirmed test or not, youhaveto tell him, D.” Her lips pressed together as she now became concerned for not only me, but for the potential baby I could be carrying.
The stakes of our test just got even higher.
“And I will,afterwe put a bullet in this woman’s head…” I took a slow, deep breath, squaring my shoulders, as I collected myself—got my head in the game. We had to be strong; I had to be resilient. “We go in, we shoot, we leave.”
“Right!”
Just as we’d given each other an energetic high-five, my phone vibrated in my hand, and I looked down to see a new message from my husband.
Rhylan: All clear.
“It’s time.”
Thelonghallofsuites was surprisingly empty; guests were already in their rooms, enjoying the show as the bull-riding held everyone's attention.
Turning the corner, we found Rhylan and Trent standing in place of Octavia’s guards. No bodies in sight and no sign of a struggle, which shouldn’t be surprising considering our husbands were well-seasoned killers.
“You two were quick.” Tiffany teased with her observation as we approached them. Their arms crossed over their chests while they lounged against the wall on either side of the door.
