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Rueben stopped on the fifteenth floor, proving he knew all along where we were going. He sat me down on my feet and kissed my forehead before patting my hair. It felt like the equivalent of a coach telling the next player they had this.
Or at least that was what I assumed organized sports were like since I’d never played any. Unless assassin relay counted? Yeah. I didn’t think so.
Taking a deep breath, I nodded as I opened the door and crept down the hall. The closet I needed loomed ahead, and I hurried to it, using my phone to gain entry. Once inside, I pushed all thoughts of everyone else out as I made quick work of climbing the shelves and opening the panel in the ceiling for the air vent. Squeezing in, I had to suck in a big breath to push through, as my oversized hips didn’t want to fit. Again.
“Why do I always try to go through the smallest spaces? It’s like I forget the size of the junk in my trunk since I can’t see it. I’m going to need a ‘big caboose’ sign so I can warn people so I don’t accidentally knock them out with it,” I mumbled as I army crawled through the vent. “Though, that would be hilarious at the next assassin retreat. How did you take down your last mark? I knocked them out with my ass.”
Chuckling, I focused on my insane conversation to ignore the sensation of being too enclosed. Never thought I was claustrophobic until right at this moment. It took me a few tries until I had the right room, and I hoped I hadn’t scared the family of four too badly when I dropped down on them. Oops.
Carefully, I slid the tile over the bathroom this time and eased my way onto the counter. I stalled every few seconds to ensure no sound came from the room. Once clear, I returned the tile and pulled my mask over my face. With a knife in one hand and the spray in the other, I stepped out of the bathroom.
A shape was curled in the bed, but I knew better than to trust it. Scanning the room, I took my time as my eyes adjusted to ensure Steel Strike wasn’t hiding and using pillows as a decoy.
The body turned, the red hair of Steel Strike spread over the pillow, and I knew I had her. Holding the spray over her face, I pressed the blade to her throat. Immediately, her eyes opened as she reached for her weapon, but it was already too late.
“You should’ve stayed away, Steel Strike,” I seethed, emotion thick in my voice.
“I never thought I’d see the day the Peppermint Killer used a blade. I thought you were too good for all that,” she sneered, trying to buy time to distract me.
Smirking, I pressed on the nozzle and watched as they fell asleep and their body relaxed into the bed. Only then did I remove my blade. I’d been prepared to use it if I had to, knowing Steel Strike couldn’t leave this room alive.
Pulling out my syringe, I lifted the tongue and injected the same solution I’d given my last mark—potassium chloride. It would be a painful two minutes as their body went into immediate cardiac arrest. Steel Strike’s eyes popped open a second later, the knockout potion having worn off as the other chemicals spread through her bloodstream. I waited by her bedside and watched her die, finally able to take a breath when she quit convulsing. I headed to the door and stopped before I opened it, turning my head back.
“And it’sSilent Blade, bitch. You don’t warrant a peppermint!”
With those parting words, I slipped out of the room and down the hall without being seen. My hands shook as I neared the stairwell, the adrenaline leaving my body and the knowledge that my family was safer.
Rueben grabbed me the second I stepped through and held me close. His arms felt so nice; I melted into him and let out my sobs. I hadn’t realized how hard it would be to kill someone I’d known. Someone I’d trained with and respected.
Someone just like me.
Tears fell before Rueben even made it one flight, and I clung to him like a baby koala as he soothed me, taking each step slowly as I cried out my feelings.
“I didn’t know,” I murmured, hoping it would assuage my guilt. It didn’t. “I’m sorry I tried to do it alone. Thank you.”
Rueben didn’t respond; he just kept holding me and rubbing my back as he descended the fifteen flights of steps.
My tears dried up by the fifth floor, and I wiped my eyes and nose on my sleeve. Yeah, it was gross, but I didn’t have anywhere else to do it.
Rueben peered out the backdoor before he stepped out and headed toward the truck. I’d turned in his arms so I could see, wanting to assess the scene now that we were in the open. The truck came into view, and I smiled, the feeling of safety flooding me. I needed to apologize to Otto too, but I couldn’t see him.
“Did he follow you?” I asked, glancing up at Rueben. He shook his head, frowning as he picked up his pace. Fear slid up my throat, something feeling off now.
Reuben barely had time to set me down before yanking the door open. Otto had fallen between the seats and the floor, his body constricting and seizing. Rueben jumped into action as he ran around to the other side to brace Otto’s head and turn him on his side.
My feet froze in place as I stared open-mouthed, this scene feeling too familiar for my liking as I tried to remember what to do. I needed to do something. I couldn’t lose Otto.
“Drive?” Rueben yelled, his voice breaking me out of my fog. The sound was pain-filled and hoarse. I shook my head and climbed into the seat, clocking the time as I counted. We’d missed a good portion of this episode, but I could at least help with the time we were here.
Seizure, my mind said.Otto was having a seizure.
It took a few minutes, but Otto finally stopped, his body sagging to the seat. Rueben wasted no time turning on the truck and driving out of there like a bat out of hell. I pulled Otto’s head into my lap, gently brushing his hair off his forehead, and hoped he was okay.
Was this new? No, Rueben hadn’t been shocked.
How long had it been happening? How bad was it?
Little pieces of information connected in my mind, anger growing out of the fear as we drove. It was much easier to blame them than myself because I had a feeling I’d caused a lot of this. And that wasn’t something I wanted to look too closely at just yet.
