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“Finish the job.”
My body shut down, my heart stilling, my breathing stalling. “No.”
The word was a whispered plea, one I knew wouldn’t make a difference.
“You have three days.”
The door opened with a loud click, and I forced myself to stand, my body numb, my mind empty.
They were also asking me to return to a job. The security would be much better than last time, and it would be hard to get close again. And there was no way I could take out Jude’s dad.
I walked out of the room, blood rushing through my ears. Janus met me at the door, his face an unreadable mask. He was talking to me, but I didn’t hear a word.
Holding up a hand, I blinked at him. “Get me out of here.”
Reading my expression correctly, he turned without uttering another word. We somehow made it back to my car. I didn’t remember walking there, my mind screaming at me.
A hand on my arm stopped me from getting in. “Ariel—”
“Don’t. There’s nothing you can say that will fix this.”
“They’ve given you a chance to make this right.”
A bitter laugh escaped, and I opened my door. “We both know that’s not true.”
I left, not once looking back. As soon as I’d cleared the gate, I sped up, the trees and street signs a blur outside my window. I almost wished they’d just ended me. Because now I had an impossible choice to make: kill Jude’s father or get killed.
16
JUDE
I watched Ariel drive away,everything screaming at me to follow her. She’d looked shaken. Something was off.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, but I ignored it. My brothers had been calling me nonstop. I hadn’t heard from Gladius yet, and everyone was on edge.
But the only way I would movewack home like my family wanted me to, was if Ariel and Lenny came with me. I didn’t want to leave them unprotected. And I’d gotten used to having them close.
They also had a connection to the shooter. And they could still be in danger. What if he came back to tie up loose ends?
I greeted the guys currently painting the facade as I made my way back to my apartment.
Workers were at the apartment complex nearly every day. I’d given up fixing things myself when I’d almost shot a nail into my foot with the nail gun.
I’d decided it was much easier planning and carrying out the perfect assassination than it was renovating a house.
Liam had also given me a few jobs, which I had yet to complete. It was boring office work, and I’d never been good at sitting still unless it was to stake out a target.
But I needed something to take my mind off Ariel. It would only lead to worrying about where she’d gone off to. Her eyes had lacked their usual vibrancy, and she’d been evasive.
Turned out the spreadsheets Liam needed me to go through were the perfect distraction. When the unmistakable sound of Ariel’s car pulling back into the parking lot filled the air, I was deeply engrossed in a formatting war with the spreadsheet currently open on my screen.
Screw it, he can do it himself.
Snapping my laptop shut, I jumped to my feet. Ariel was coming up the stairs as I walked out of my apartment, her arms crossed in front of her as if she needed something to hold on to. Her attention was on the floor, her steps sluggish.
“Ariel.”
She didn’t so much as lift her head.
