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He gurgles but doesn’t manage to get any actual words out as the fear chokes him more surely than the grip I have on him. I keep the knife digging into the delicate skin at his throat.
“Should have known this would come eventually when you get involved with someone like Romano,” Scar adds.
There’s a rush in the power we both hold over these men. Men who have contributed to the absolute vile nature of Romano and his organization. The very reason we both lost our sisters. Both had our lives destroyed.
We share a smile and a nod and run the knives in our hands across the Stratter brothers’ necks in perfect synchronization.
Kade pulls out his burner phone and snaps a picture of their dead bodies just as we hear the chime for the front door.
“Scar?” a familiar voice calls out.
“We're in the back,” she calls back as she wipes her knife on Clive’s shirt. His lifeless eyes still open, seeing nothing as he stares up at the ceiling.
Adam walks through the door with two other men I recognize from earlier as part of Mikey’s crew. They wordlessly follow his lead as he directs them to the dead brothers’ bodies while he walks up to Scar.
“All the houses are rigged and ready to blow.” He pauses as he checks his watch. “In just about twenty-two minutes.” Scar follows along with his words, even as she continues to clean her knife.
“Cameras?” she asks next.
I laugh, because of course she wants to watch all of Romano’s safe houses go up in flames. If I’m being honest, I do too. I still have an abundance of energy rushing through my veins. Like the thrill wasn’t enough to satisfy the cravings after so long. I still need more.
I just don’t know more of what.
Adam doesn’t betray any amusement he might feel over that question, only answering her with the utmost seriousness. “All of the guys made sure that it would be caught on film.”
“Excellent.” Her savage grin makes her look like a true villain as she responds. Even Adam, who never waivers in his respect for her, cracks a smile. I guess they had an odd start where he didn’t realize who she was and hit on her. Ever since he figured it out, he’s been extra attentive to never get too friendly with her. Probably smart considering how possessive Luca can be. I don’t think the rest of us are nearly as bad as he is when it comes to that sort of thing.
Just then, we hear another chime over the door. No one calls out this time, putting all of us instantly on guard.
The very last person I expected to walk through the door to the back was Josie. We haven’t seen her in months, even though I know her and Scar still talk on an almost daily basis. Their relationship is one that’s hard to maintain when they need to keep any association so tightly under wraps.
“Hey, girly,” she greets Scar with a quick kiss to the cheek. “Guys.” She waves to the rest of us, her eyes avoiding the bloody disaster still being cleared at our feet. Her eyes drift over it so easily, she has to be used to ignoring this type of thing.
“I didn’t mean for you to show up here at the crack of dawn,” Scar murmurs.
Josie just shrugs. “I had no approved teams readily available in the area.”
I knew Scar had called her when we realized there were girls chained up in the back storage room here. We couldn’t take them with us, not with all of our resources still in such a disarray from the Ciar fiasco. Tonight was chaotic enough without adding in the rescue and rehabilitation. Doesn’t mean we could leave the girls here to fend for themselves either.
Scar rolls her eyes. “So you decided you’d just do it yourself?”
“Obviously,” she answers warmly. “Don’t worry I brought some backup. But we are on a tight timeline. I head back to the East Coast in a few hours. Where are the girls?” There’s a sadness that hangs around her when she says it, even as two tall men and a small woman walk in from the front. I didn’t hear the chime over the door again, so they must have been giving her a moment with us before following her back here.
I can tell Scar’s guard is immediately raised, making my own hackles rise. My nerves are already frayed from the adrenaline wreaking havoc on my system and I instantly know I need to step back before making a mistake. Seeing Scar on edge makes me almost feel out of control.
I slip my knife back into the holster on my hip and sink backwards until my shoulders are pressed up against the wall. I keep my eyes on Scar even as I can feel Kade’s on me. Watching Scar, feeling the hard surface at my back, it’s keeping me grounded. Just barely, but it is.
I can’t let her out of my sight. I know that I wouldn’t be able to handle that. She must sense it as well as she slowly forces herself to relax and listens to Josie even as she maneuvers herself closer to me.
“They can be trusted,” Josie assures. I know there’s no one more trustworthy than her. She’s one of the only people in the world that has stayed at Scar’s side since she abandoned her old life as Charlotte. There’s a reason she’s the one who runs Mending Hearts. It’s because Scar is confident in her.
Her loyalty, her skills, her smarts. If Josie says these people are trustworthy then we have to believe her. I know that logically. But I can’t help the way my heartbeat picks up to an even faster and more erratic tune. My palms begin to sweat and my chest gets tight.
I flinch as one of the guys moves towards Scar. Adam immediately intercepts him and I force myself to focus on breathing. Scar takes another step back and she’s almost within my reach. Almost. If I could just lean forward, but I’m not capable of it. I need the wall at my back.
“We have ten minutes before everything goes boom, so we’re all on a tight schedule. We can exchange pleasantries next time.” Scar easily slips back into her boss lady mode, taking command of the situation. Knowing exactly what needs to happen.
She keeps her eyes on Josie as she talks, even as she steps back into my chest. My arms immediately wrap around her waist and I notice just how badly I’m shaking. I’m not even sure what is happening. This wasn’t my first run, or even my first kill. I haven’t ever experienced this level of… I don’t even know what.
