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“I don’t understand.” That statement was stupid. There were too many things she knew. Not all of them relevant.
“You know I’m your friend,” he said.
“Friend…” Daisy tested the word. It felt nice. But not quite right for him.
Axel continued, “You know Elena thinks the world of you, and you know I want…” His gaze blazed a slow path down her body. He seemed to catch himself admiring her, cleared his throat and met her eyes again. “But what do you know for sure, Daisy Lazarus? Tell me one thing.”
She opened her mouth but nothing came out. This was the opportunity to reveal he was her mate. He mentioned he understood every Lazarus sibling had a special person that balanced their sin. It would be logical to talk about it now… but everything was loaded with expectations, even the small things.
Something shuffled in the shadows beside the pitch. They whirled toward the sound. A white robed intruder emerged from the shadows. It was impossible to see his identity behind the faceless white mask. Slits for eyes, nose and mouth. One of the Faithful. Daisy had been the one to pick those masks from the Halloween shelves when the psychotic henchmen were born. She’d only been fourteen at the time. Julius had paraded her down the store aisles and said to pick the most frightening costume.
To her, the most terrifying mask was a blank canvas—no emotion, no identity, nothing.
Two more Faithful entered the room. Each held knives or a bloody katana sword; standard weapons for them, but after the Seven had destroyed the clubhouses during their hunt for their missing mates, there should have been nothing left.
Clearly, they’d regrouped somewhere. Daisy should have realized. The Faithful were fanatical cockroaches, impossible to eradicate.
Daisy picked up the fallen baseball bat. She checked on Elena sleeping soundly to the side of the net, then shared a glance with Axel. He inched closer to his sister.
Their leader’s gaze shifted to Axel then to Daisy. His voice came out muffled through the mask. “Falcon?”
She wasn’t surprised they recognized her. With silver hair and violet eyes, she stood out.
“What do you want?” she asked.
They all glanced at each other, confused. The leader shrugged. “We’re just sowing chaos like the boss asked. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”
They had no idea Daisy had defected. Or Axel. The shock of it hit Daisy hard. Had Julius not put the word out that she was public enemy number one as far as they were concerned? Madness must well and truly have a hold of Julius’s usually ruthless and strategic mind.
Parker’s fiancée used to be a Sinner—one of the Hildegard Sisterhood assassins. They believed Julius was trying to open the gates of hell. Daisy didn’t believe in hell. But she was with Parker in his belief there could be other dimensions. She knew Julius too well to believe that even in madness, he’d waste his time on a lost cause.
She was the prime example. The moment she’d betrayed Julius, and he realized she wasn’t ever going to be the powered soldier he wanted, he decided she was worth more for her organs and bodily fluids.
Suspicion sparked in the eyes of the Faithful. She wasn’t in her Falcon white leather battle uniform. Nor was Axel wearing his Faithful gear. And they had a sleeping teenager nearby. If they were sowing chaos like they should be doing, why were they hiding here in the dark?
“Something’s not right. Call this in,” the leader announced to a Faithful who pulled out his cell phone and dialed. Probably Julius, or whoever had taken over as enforcer.
Axel pitched a baseball and knocked the cell from the Faithful’s hands. Each white-robed fanatic turned his plastic-masked face Axel’s way.
Cold emptiness bottomed out Daisy’s stomach. She hated that they’d ruined the precious moment she’d been carving out for herself. The fizz and light Axel and his sister had given Daisy died with each of their advancing steps.
“This,” Daisy said to Axel.
His brows furrowed at her.
“This right here,” she said, and pointed to him and Elena with her bat. They’d been kind to her. They’d embraced her as a friend. It was more than anyone had done before. “This is the small thing that I know. I won’t let them hurt you.”
“Stop her.” The Faithful leader pointed his sword at Daisy.
Daisy wanted to be good. But right now, she needed to be bad. Very bad.
She launched at the intruders. Starting with the leader, her bat swung toward his head. He blocked with his sword, but it was sloppy. Weak. He parried like an infant. She booted him in the middle and sent him to the floor. A swift jab to his mask with the heel of her bat and he was out.
The remaining Faithful approached Elena and Axel. Rage exploded inside Daisy. She screamed and went for them as Axel dove for his gun somewhere near Elena’s backpack. But there was no need. Daisy was a hurricane of vengeance as she struck each Faithful in the head, then repeated her attack aiming for different body parts. She moved so fast, and with such swift violence, that she shocked everyone.
It was a tactic that had been drilled into her. Give it a hundred and ten percent, shock them, overwhelm them, put them on the back foot.
Don’t stop. No mercy.
