Page 79 of Pretty Little Assassin

Alley Cat claps excitedly before another guard shows up. She whips around, pulling a piece of barbed wire out of absolutely nowhere, and wraps it around his neck in a move that resembles a pirouette.

“Squeeze!” Her eyes look delighted at the mess she’s just made.

“Get the omega, Viktor!” Zero shouts as she rushes back out of the room, responding to the sound of more footsteps coming up the stairs. “Get her out!”

“I shouldn’t be the one left in charge of the rescue part of this. I should be the one taking out the guards.”

Alley Cat shrugs as I start to untie the omega from the chair she’s restrained to.

“Maybe it’s because of all your muscles?”

I smirk and get ready to prove Zero’s point.

The omega comes free and folds. Nothing left in her at all.

I take her under one arm and Alley Cat under the other and go down the stairs.

Four men on the way. None of them draw a weapon.

Alley Cat squeals in delight. The omega is dead weight but breathing enough that I know she’s still alive. Zero is already at the door, heading toward the car outside when we get there.

“Hold on, stop.”

Someone’s in there. I see it before we reach the car. A man sits in the driver’s seat. That’s not how I left the vehicle.

Primacy driver, crouched down in the front seat, as if I wouldn’t notice. Fat chance of that.

I go to set down both the omega and Alley Cat, but Alley Cat’s feet are already on the ground before I can set her there.

Zero doesn’t even attempt to call out to stop her. I’m guessing she already knows it’s futile to rein in the feral little kitten.

Part of me goes protective over the small strange one. I do not know where that comes from.

To her credit, she does not need it.

Before either of us can even reach the car, Alley Cat has left me and Zero in the dust. It’s not the first time she’s improvised, but it might be the most decorative.

“Where does she hide all of those weapons?” I ask, still holding onto the omega as Zero and I watch the crazed, feral kitten at work.

“The tutu, I think. Pretty sure it doubles as a carry-all.”

Alley Cat is fast, whipping around in a flurry of tulle as she breaks into the car and goes for the Primacy driver’s face. A makeshift shiv lands in one eye, bursting the orb like a grape, and making quite a mess of the windshield.

Somehow, inside that tiny space of the front seat, she winds up upside down, one leg in the air and the guy’s head in a chokehold.

I count to three before his good eye rolls back in his head. Another count of three before she kicks the driver-side door open, tosses his body out, and hops out of the car, pleased with herself.

“See?” She smiles broadly, blood splatter not only on her face, but some of it in her mouth as well. “This is why you should always bring me along. I can do things.”

“I’ll drive.” She reaches back into the driver-side door and eagerly grips the steering wheel.

“Not a chance in hell.” Zero pushes her out of the way and over into the passenger seat. “Get in, Viktor. We’re on the ticker.”

Indeed we are. Normally, I like to drive, but I don’t have time to argue with Valentina’s overly capable friends right now. One minute and ten seconds. That’s how long before backup arrives.

“Floor it, Zero.”

“Are you backseat driving?” she scoffs.