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“PACK A BAG. We’re hitting the road in an hour,” Trouble says as soon as I close the door behind us. He walks over to a locked medicine cabinet, pulls out a set of keys, and proceeds to unlock it.
“Why? What’s happened?”
I watch as he shoves around a few vials none too gently. I’m only here and not at his house with Rella because he called me, demanding I get my ass here.
A smile creeps across his face as he obviously finds what he’s looking for. It’s not a nice smile. It’s one filled with malice and makes his eyes appear sinister. He grabs the vial and pockets it. His eyes lift to mine.
“We got them. We fuckin’ got them, Emo,” he says with conviction.
I straighten up from my perch against the door. “Marco and Gabriela?” I need him to clarify.
“Yes.”
“It’s about goddamn time,” I growl. Excited jitters form in my stomach. My hands are already itching to get a hold of them. They’ve been itching since the day Rella told us about them. And now I finally get to scratch that itch.
“Where?” I ask, stalking over to him.
He snatches a couple of syringes
off the counter and shoves those in his pocket as well. He prowls over to his desk and yanks open a drawer.
“Small town called Red Rock,” he answers, rummaging through his desk. “About an hour and a half northeast of San Antonio. I was with JW in his office when he got the call. His guy finally came through. I’ll explain more on the road.”
I shove my hand into my pocket and fist the fuck out of my key. Anticipation makes my heart strum heavily in my chest. It’s only been a few weeks since we’ve known about Marco and Gabriela, but it seems like I’ve been waiting forever to get my hands on them. I enjoy every kill I make because it means there’s less evil in the world, but Marco and Gabriela, I’m going to savor the hell out of.
“Go get your shit and meet me at my house. I’ll be home in a few minutes. I haven’t told Remi we’re leaving yet.” He looks up. “I’ll let you tell Rella.”
I give a clipped nod before turning and stalking out of the room. I stop by the bathroom on my way out and clean the fresh cut on my hand. It’s not bad, so I slap a Band-Aid on it and leave the office. The walk back to Trouble’s house is short. Other than the time I went home to check on things and grabbed Boo for Rella, I haven’t been away from the house without Rella. I don’t breathe easy again until I walk into the living room and find her curled up on the couch. I don’t know what it means that her eyes light up when she sees me, but the look sends a weird feeling through me. I like that she missed me.
“Hey.” She sits up, dropping her feet to the couch. “Is everything okay?”
I walk over and sit beside her. She scoots closer and her scent immediately assails me. It’s been three days since I woke up with her body against mine. Three days since I touched her. Three days since I stood in that bathroom and dug the key into my bicep so deep I had to stitch myself up. I’m still ashamed and disgusted with myself.
“What’s wrong?” Rella asks, reaching for my hand.
Since the night she asked me to hold her, it’s like she can’t stop touching me. Holding my hand, resting her head on my shoulder, pressing the side of her body against the side of mine when we’re sitting on the couch. Small touches. Innocent touches. Touches that send warmth through my body, heating cold and dead parts of my soul. I know I shouldn’t, but I soak up every single minute. Any type of innocuous body contact is still foreign to me, and I know I should back away from her, but I’m starting to crave them. Her touch soothes something inside me.
Her hand squeezes mine, reminding me she’s waiting on me to answer.
“There’s nothing wrong, but Trouble and I have to leave town for the day. We’ll be back sometime tonight or tomorrow.”
“Oh.” She glances down at our hands. “Where are you going?”
“Just a couple of hours away.”
“What are y’all doing?” she asks, lifting her head.
I pause, not wanting to outright lie, but not wanting to tell her what we’ll be doing either. It’s not that I don’t want her to know. On the contrary, I do want her to know. Just not yet. I want it done and over with first.
“Taking care of business. I’ll explain once we get back.”
She nods, but her expression turns troubled. “Okay.”
The thought of leaving her, of not seeing her for hours, burns like acid in my stomach. But knowing that I get to slaughter the bastards who’ve caused her fourteen years’ worth of pain helps. That’ll be one threat taken care of.
She peeks at me through her lashes, her cheeks turning pink. “I’ll miss you,” she says quietly, almost shyly.
My heart jumps into my throat, and I swallow thickly. “I’ll miss you too.”
