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The hitman tugged his collar aside, giving me a good look at the flaming rose tattooed on the side of his neck. Well, that sucked. I wasn’t so out of the game that I didn’t recognize gang ink when I saw it. These guys were part of the Castle Grove Crimson Thorns, a group known for running most of the crime around here. Since I always kept to myself, I’d never had a run in with them. Until now.
“I don’t believe you, thief. Either the Hales sent you here to spy, or you ran out on them, and they’ll want you back. Maybe even at a price. We’re going to hold onto you until we can get this all sorted out.” Hitman seized my wrist, moving to grab the other. “And if they don’t want you, then we’ll keep you for ourselves. You owe us for working our turf without permission.”
Knowing I had only seconds to make my move and escape, I reached beneath my skirt for my blade. He saw me going for it, but it all happened too fast. I slid the dagger out of its sheath and plunged it into the side of his neck. As I pulled it free blood poured from the wound, spilling down the hitman’s front, splashing onto my chest and dress.
His grip on my wrist loosened, and I shoved him with all my strength into his friends. Then I burst from the stall, almost falling in my haste. I paused only to shove my blade back into its thigh sheath, and then I ran like the devil himself was hot on my heels.
Screams rang out from behind me as the women in the washroom took notice of the bleeding man and his frantic friends. The sound of footsteps pounding hard after me spurred me on faster. I ran for the closest exit, a side door that spilled me into the parking lot. My car was at the back of the lot, giving the man pursuing me a chance to catch up.
I kicked my heels off and turned back as he emerged from the building behind me. Just one guy. The other must have stayed with the hitman. That guy was a goner though. Knowing that others may come, I didn’t hesitate long. I whipped both heels at the guy’s head, nailing him with one of them.
Dodging between vehicles and ducking down as low as possible saved my ass once he started firing. These morons weren’t thinking their actions through. There could be any number of innocent people in this parking lot. Maybe they just didn’t care.
As soon as I dove into my older Chevy Malibu, the shooting stopped. I locked the doors and dumped the keys out of my purse, starting the engine. With barely a glance back, I reversed out of my parking spot with a squeal of tires. As I peeled out of the parking lot, the man ran out from between two vehicles, his phone raised as he took a picture of my license plate. I didn’t have much time before he sent it to a contact that could look up my information, possibly a cop. Every organized crime crew had a few such people, if not more. Then the Thorns would have my name and address. In less than an hour they would be at my place.
I raced home, doing my best not to break any traffic laws while careening around corners until I pulled up in front of my townhouse. I had mere minutes to gather my valuables, leaving everything else behind. Shoving my laptop into a suitcase, I tossed in a few changes of clothes and the small jewelry box on my dresser. Last but not least, I scooped up my black and white tuxedo cat, Akasha, and secured her in the pet carrier.
Because part of me always knew this day would come, I hadn’t acquired many things in my time here. I guess I always knew that something would drive me back to River City, the city boasting the highest organized crime rate in Western Canada. I just thought it would be Rumer getting in over her head rather than me pissing off the local syndicate.
I was back in my car and headed for the highway before the Thorns caught up with me. Once they found my place empty and realized I wasn’t coming back, they’d come looking for me. I’d killed one of their men. There’s no way the hitman could have survived that gush of arterial flow. To be fair, he’d insisted on taking things to the next level. He should have left me alone.
The five-hour drive to River City was the perfect amount of time for worry to creep in. Using the hands-free command in the car, I called my sister, leaving a message on her voicemail telling her that I’d be there before morning and not to tell anyone.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide my homecoming from the guys for long. But I could try.
CHAPTER FOUR
MAVEN
ELEVEN YEARS AGO
Adrenaline in my veins had me feeling shaky and excited. Try as I might to pay attention to my sister’s exuberant rambling, I was still reeling from what the guys and I had just done. It was the first time Maddox’s father had asked us to do something as big as confront the local street gang about a car they’d stolen from one of Mr. Hale’s men. A car with a trunk full of illegal weapons.
Not only did we get the car and the weapons back, we’d helped ourselves to some of the street gang’s cash. A payment they were happy to make if it meant we wouldn’t come back. They claimed not to know the car had belonged to the Hale Syndicate. A probable lie, not that it mattered. The repercussions were the same.
My face throbbed slightly from the punch I’d taken during the confrontation. The guy who’d thrown it had to pick up two of his teeth after my elbow met his face a few times. I may look like I didn’t know what I was doing, but my father started teaching me how to fight before I grew boobs.
The wild berry vodka cooler in my hand dripped with condensation. It was a hot summer night. Two weeks before graduation. I couldn’t fucking wait to be done with high school. Too bad for Rumer. She had two years left to go. Not that she minded. Popular and kind, school was an everyday social event for her. But for me it had been a long, tedious prison sentence.
“I think Graham Lawson is staring at me. Tell me if he comes this way.” Rumer splashed water from the pool at me when she realized I was barely listening. “Fuck, Maven. Get out of the zone and party with me. You get weird after doing a job.”
The last bit she whispered even though nobody else at the party was close enough to overhear. Together we sat on the edge of the pool at the Hale house, dangling our legs into the cool water. Maddox’s weekend parties were notorious at our school. Getting an invite was a big deal.
I slid a glance across the pool to the patio where Graham and a few of his friends clustered together, smoking a joint. Rumer tried to pull the cooler from my grasp, and I held tight. She just turned sixteen. If I brought her home with alcohol on her breath, my mom would blow a gasket.
Sipping my drink, I watched the popular jock laugh with his friends while sneaking glances over at Rumer and me. He nudged a buddy and said something while nodding at us. Oh boy, here we go.
“Yep,” I sighed when they launched into motion. “They’re coming over here.”
“Be nice,” Rumer hissed beneath her breath. “You don’t have to chase off every guy who isn’t one of those four lunatics.”
She jerked her head toward the house and the floor to ceiling glass wall with the patio door slid wide open, allowing the party inside to spill outside. I followed her gaze to find Maddox, Wolfe, and Ruthless doing shots with a group of people in the living room while Ace gamed on the big screen TV.
Ruthless came by his nickname naturally. His given name, Micah, was no doubt a great name, but it didn’t embody what he was capable of. I’d watched him curb stomp a guy tonight. One of the sickest things I’d ever witnessed. He hadn’t even flinched. Lunatic may not be an unfair assessment.
“I don’t have to let these dicks think I’m available either. If you want to be another notch to some popular jock asshole, that’s your choice. I’m not interested in some macho dumbass that can’t find a girl’s clit.” I laughed when she elbowed me in an effort to quiet me before Graham and his friend drew close enough to hear.
“Says the virgin,” Rumer whispered, elbowing me again. “Just fuck Maddox already and get it over with. He’ll burn the city down if he’s not your first.”
