Page 8 of Till Death Do Us Part

“Our rivals.”

“Your rivals? So you’re also a mobster?”

“No,” she said flatly, “just an accountant with some very particular skills.”

“Should I… also be worried you’re going to kill me?”

She laughed. “That would play right into the Whitecliffs’ hands. We’re trying to keep you safe long enough this operation stalls. We thought we’d found you well before the Whitecliffs knew about you, but it looks like they’re faster than we thought.”

“So who are you?”

“Blackbirds. If the Whitecliffs get the South Yard, we’re done for. So, trust that our operation is behind you.” The city got sparser and smaller around us as we headed out into the quiet suburban sprawl beyond, hauntingly empty this time of night. No sign of our pursuers.

“So… I guess… thank you,” I said quietly. “I just can’t believe it’s… me.”

“None of us can believe it’s us. Not until the moment comes when there’s no other way out.” She narrowed her eyes on the road. “Fate’s decided you’ve got a role to play, Elaine. So just keep your head down. We’re almost there.”

“How long am I going to have to… lay low?”

“Don’t worry about the details. We’ll get the situation taken care of.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to cry. Everything was just… catching up to me.

But there was no doubt what those Whitecliff people were there for. If Vera hadn’t shown up when she did, I’d… my family would have no one to help them.

It wasn’t long before we turned off a long dirt path through the trees and rumbled up to an old farmhouse, dilapidated and forgotten. Vera parked the car inside a faded clapboard garage, and we went inside, a back porch door creaky and sitting ajar when we found it. We passed through the kitchen and into a closet, where Vera opened a utility panel and pushed a knot of faded cables out of the way to reach an electronic keypad, where she tapped in a code. The wall rumbled, and I gasped, stepping back as it swung slowly open, a modern and clean staircase behind it that led into a basement.

“This is…”

“The safehouse. We can deadbolt it from the inside. We’ll wait until Petra’s given us the go-ahead that she’s led Whitecliff away, and then we’ll go to the real hideout. Come on,” she said, starting down the stairs, and I caught her by the arm.

“Wait—Vera,” I said. “You… your arm. Are you okay?”

“Huh…” She looked down at her cut. “Ah. Forgot about that. Should have been out clear, if we hadn’t gone back for that kitten…”

I swallowed. “Um… thank you. I know first aid. I can help.”

She smiled dryly. “You think I don’t know first aid? I’ve pulled a bullet out from between my ribs before, Elaine.”

“I’m sure. Accountants live very full lives. But… it’ll be easier for a second person to do it.”

She stood there, one step below me on the staircase, putting us at just about the same height, her eyes fixed on me, and my heart pounded.

She had to be the most beautiful woman I’d ever met. She had these long, wild locks of dark hair, brown eyes that swam with murky depths like a lake at night, and she was so… chiseled. All severe edges, but in a way that was mesmerizing, like she couldn’t have been real.

But she was. And she’d saved my life.

“Fine,” she said, finally, and she slipped her jacket off, tossing it to me as she started down the stairs. “You win, Elaine. Could use a glass of wine and a beautiful woman tending to my injuries.”

Chapter 4

vera

Safehouse was clear. Good. Even knowing it was this secure, I’d still swept the place with a wary eye, hand near my gun. Just a couple rooms, not a lot of places to hide. Once it was clear we were good, I shut the front door and drew the heavy steel bolt across the frame, and I sighed as I stripped the holster off and set my gun aside, throwing knives on the table on top of it.

“You can put the damn cat down.”

Elaine looked at me with that fierce look in her eyes. “I’m worried about both of you.”