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I zipped my lips, not wanting to spoil the fun yet. Ninety seconds later, I couldn’t wait any longer. Carefully setting the bag on the ground again, I started unloading things.
Dominic swore under his breath. “You’ve been carrying grenades this whole time?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. What else did he want me to do, start a campfire on the ground floor?
Holding the first grenade out to Nate, I gave it a gentle wiggle. “You want to do the honors?”
I figured he was the one whose whole life had been uprooted by this shit. He’d lost his carefree existence, his job, his future, all because Cash had put him in my line of sight. The least I could do was give Nate the first swing back.
He crept forward, wrapping his whole hand around the grenade in mine. “I don’t regret it.”
I could hear what he wasn’t saying. I don’t regret you.
“I know.” I even believed it most days.
Nate stared, making sure I knew he was serious before he took the grenade. Hands free, I gave the others theirs and palmed my own. We didn’t need more than four for this. The gas would do most of the work.
“Where do you want them?” Nate asked.
“Ideally, through one of the windows, but as close as you can get works.”
“Are we far enough back?”
“Absolutely.” Probably.
“This is a terrible idea,” Nate said under his breath.
“No, it isn’t. He thinks that he’s cowed us, that he’s the big bad in this city. It’s time he remembers that it’s always been me.” When Nate still didn’t throw it, I rested a hand on his arm. “Do it for your mom. If he keeps going, she’s not going to be safe either.”
We hadn’t spoken about it, but the reality was, this war would bleed over into everything. The mundane lives of those outside our world would be affected. Nate’s mom’s care would be compromised if we didn’t end things soon. I hated that the responsibility lay heavily on his shoulders, but he couldn’t avoid it anymore. The longer this continued, the more likely it was that we’d lose more than we could accept.
With another look at me, Nate cranked his arm back and tossed the grenade, sending it through the only other window on the first story. For a moment, all was silent beyond the tinkling of broken glass.
Then, boom.
The second the yelling started, Dominic, Grey, and I sent our grenades flying through the windows too. I waited as the heat from the burning structure crept closer, wondering if it was going to be the hit I wanted. Then the front doors crashed open, and the roar of an engine echoed through the night.
“He’s here.” Something in me knew it like I knew my own name.
The car raced down the front stairs just as the final explosion hit. Whatever wasn’t on fire from the grenades caught with the gas, and the whole place shook. From my protected crouch, I watched the car be lifted into the air with a whoosh of heat, and I heard the crunch of metal as it was thrown roof-first into a nearby tree. I had no way to know for sure that Cash was in the car, but I hoped he was.
“We should check the car,” Nate said, eyes trapped on the crunched-up metal. “See if he’s there.”
I wanted to. God, I wanted to, but the roar of more engines was a battle cry we couldn’t ignore. “We have to go.”
Nate didn’t move, and I wondered if he’d run off and finish the job himself. I would’ve done it, but we really couldn’t risk getting cornered without backup. Stealth was the key for now.
I held out my hand, watching the flames flicker over Nate’s face. “Let’s go home.”
He grabbed it immediately, letting me drag him down the road and back to our car.
By the time we got home, his limp was more pronounced, his brow furrowed in pain.
Checking my watch again, I cursed. He was well past due for some painkillers and a nap. I slipped his arm over my shoulder and wrapped mine around his waist to support him. “Let’s get you to bed.”
We were halfway up the stairs when his phone went off. He reached into his pocket, and I took most of his weight as he pulled out the device.
I saw the name, and my heart sank like it knew something I didn’t.
