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Renard wasn’t even hiding that deep. He was in a mansion out in the Vegas hills, a remote property that eliminated any possibility of sneaking up.
The ideal approach would have been numbers and brute force.
But I only had one of those though.
So I employed it at the highest level I could, every step of the way, banking on being able to slip out of sight once I was on the main property. I was fast on the bike, and fast on a trigger, and had no shortage of ammo thanks to the visit with Retta before I left thePredatorscompound.
She was definitely the age of somebody’s granny, but she knew what she was talking about in the weapons garage. She got me together, in a way that made me think she’d been instructed to do so if I came asking.
And then she made me sit there while she prayed over me.
I wouldn’t front.
Between her prayers and Tati’s necklace, it kind of felt likesomebodyhad to be watching over me. Either that or pure luck was the only reason I made it all the way up to the property like I wanted.
It was quiet, no flashing lights or clanging sirens, but there was no doubt in my mind that an alarm had been set off.
The infrared headset from Teo was more than pulling its weight.
I used the insight it gave me into the positions of the guards to find the points of weakness to slip through, and pulled my “interruption” song closer to my consciousness, doing like Alicia said and letting it play over and over.
On my way through the courtyard that would get me into the main house, an eerie feeling crept over me.
And then it struck me, all at once, that this place was a damn near perfect replica ofThe Gardencompound in France. Nearly as soon as that revelation hit me, the lights came on full blast and I had to snatch the night vision headset off so I wouldn’t be blinded.
I’d never been more grateful for anything in that moment than the fact that I hadn’t got too confident in my movements. I was still tucked away, out of sight for the most part.
I wasn’t exposed in the open when Renard walked out.
“If you wanted to stop by for an early breakfast, you could have just called,” he said, the sound of his voice making me sick to my stomach.
The sun had already been on the rise anyway, but the blast of artificial lighting made the space seem particularly hazy, overlaid with a surreal glow.
“I take it you got my message?” He chuckled.
From my position, I could tell he didn’t know exactly where in the courtyard full of overgrown planters I was. I watched him signal the twoThornsaccompanying him to fan out, looking for me.
How many does he have?
They’d picked off five atBottomsand I’d ended at least six on my way in here.
I didn’tthinkhe had the means—not just the money, but the infrastructure—of training newThornsandRoseswithout the facility in France, which was where everything had always been centered.
But I had to consider the possibility.
If not though, there were only so many leftovers fromThe Gardenhe would have been able to track down and re-engage in this manner. I couldn’t imagine anybody willingly joining his side, but if he could track us down, he could play the song on anybody.
Alicia had nearly two dozenRosesandThornsin contact at varying degrees—maybe a quarter of what I knew our numbers to be. By my count so far, Renard had maybe ten or fifteen… hopefully, not many more. Those were the odds I chose to focus on. If that was all he had, this was close to what was left of them.
Besides the hired reinforcements he very likely had.
But I wasn’t worried about them.
“The motorcycle club queen,” Renard said as he grinned, pulling my attention fully back to him and away from my tactical brainstorming. “That isquitea lovely woman,” he continued, pacing. “I can see why you were upset enough to come and pay me a visit about her. Maybe after this, I’ll be able to get a sample for myself, an even deepertaste, if you will of… exactly what it is about her.”
Goading me.
“You know, I’d already heard some of it from that other young man though; the accountant, was it? Apparently she liked it violent? Is that right?”
