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But where were the others?
From the corner of my eye, I watched Liam move closer, getting in position near the doorway.
Jude got up, making his way to the table, his movements unsteady. He was mumbling incoherently, waving his arms up and down. He was disturbingly good at playing someone who’d had one too many.
He banged into the table Carnifax and Constantine were sitting at. The bodyguards rushed forward as planned, and Liam moved in.
I snuck in among the chaos, ready to subdue Carnifax with the sedative I held in my hand. Crouching low, I moved amid the chaos, Liam landing a right hook on one of the bodyguards while Jude spilled beer all over Carnifax.
He jumped up as we’d hoped, and I moved in. Lifting my hand, I put my thumb on the end of the syringe and pressed it down as soon as I’d sunk the needle in his arm. A vise grip on my wrist stopped me.
Looking up, Carnifax’s icy glare trapped me. “Fortuna. Not so lucky now, are you?”
He squeezed and twisted my wrist. I cried out in pain, dropping the syringe, the glass shattering when it hit the floor. My bones cracked, and all breath escaped me as the excruciating pain set my arm on fire.
My mind screamed at me to get away. I’d always been scared of Carnifax. Would have been stupid if I hadn’t. He’d killed one of the other recruits for messing up a shot in one of the training exercises. Apparently, it was what he did to scare all the new recruits into compliance. And it had worked.
“There’s nowhere you can run to where we won’t find you. But I don’t think we’ll need to look for you since you’ll come to us.”
“Not likely,” I managed between the pain. I was sure he’d broken my wrist.
“But we have something I’m sure you’ll want back.” He released me, pulling out a gun. “I do hate having to take care of jobs myself. You know I don’t get my hands dirty anymore. Why have staff when you have to do these things yourself?”
He aimed at Constantine, and I threw myself forward with a grunt. The gun went off, the silencer going unheard in the chaos. One bullet lodged into the table in front of the Olysses patriarch, spraying wood chips everywhere.
The second went into the ceiling, and the third grazed my leg before I got control of the gun.
My leg refused to hold me up any longer, and I collapsed to the ground, the gun clattering onto the wooden floor next to me.
The pain from my wrist and leg was overwhelming, my vision swimming in and out of focus. I heard someone call my name, the sound muted as if I were underwater.
Someone shook me, hands searching my body. Jude’s frantic gaze appeared in my vision, his mouth moving. I couldn’t hear anything. Maybe it was the shock. Or maybe I was hit worse than I’d thought.
I felt myself floating through the room, my eyes on the high ceiling, noticing the water stains in the corner.They should check their roof for leaks.
I faintly heard a car door closing, and then I finally passed out.
* * *
My body ached as if I’d been working out for hours. At least that’s what I thought it would feel like if I worked out for hours.
“You’re awake,” Jude’s voice murmured from the side of the bed.
At least I could hear again.
Blinking my eyes, his head came into focus, bent close over me, his hands hovering in the air as if he was afraid to touch me.
“There she is.” He smiled an exhausted smile at me. “How are you feeling?”
“Peachy.”
“The doctor is on his way. You have a broken wrist, and the bullet tore a strip out of your leg.”
Lifting my right arm, I felt the heavy cast before I saw it.
Fuck. That’ll mess with my aim.
I shifted up on my elbows, and Jude moved out of the way but stayed close to my side. I moved the blanket away, revealing my bandaged leg before collapsing back onto the bed. At least I was in his room instead of a hospital. Money really could buy almost anything.
