Sinner's Revenge(87)

He’s gathering his bearings by the time I make it to the door, and I can see the gleam of his pistol out of the corner of my eye. Knowing I won’t be able to outrun his bullets, I rush into the hall and pray like hell the maintenance room is by some chance unlocked. Before I can twist the handle, it’s opened and I’m jerked into the darkness as a hand covers my mouth.

“Shhh,” I hear, and I whimper with relief as the smell of Shady engulfs me. His hand presses further into my mouth, silencing me as Fin shuffles around outside and tries the handle. Putting his back to the door, Shady’s arm goes around my waist, holding me to him, and I know it’s to protect me in case Fin is stupid enough to shoot.

Moments later, a door slams and Shady’s phone illuminates the small room. The light blinds me as his eyes move swiftly over my face.

No sooner is his hand away from my mouth than I’m whisper-shouting at him. “It’s about fucking time! I was two seconds from being ass raped before you showed up.”

“Well now, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” He’s trying to be a smart-ass but I can see the flash of anger in his eyes. Softening his tone, he asks, “You okay?”

I nod. “I’m fine.” But really, I’m anything but.

“How about you let me handle this one?” he suggests, tucking my hair behind my ear. The gesture is intimate and for some reason I feel like crying. But of course, I don’t.

He doesn’t wait for my answer; he just leans in and kisses my head, then bolts out of the room and across the hall. I stand in the darkness, waiting for him to return. Everything was going to be okay. I feel in my back pocket and smile when my fingers touch the jump drive. Soon, we wouldn’t have to worry about hunting Death Mob. They would be coming to us.

Shady returns minutes later and I can tell by the look on his face that Fin is dead, but he didn’t die the slow death Shady was hoping for. Pulling off his hoodie, he hands it to me and I slip it on over my torn blouse. Dammit. It was one of my favorites.

“We need to leave. Now.” Grabbing my hand, he pulls me into the hall, keeping his head down as we walk to the elevators. “Rookie and Clark are waiting outside.”

I smile beneath the hoodie, but he can’t see it. I guess he was smart enough to figure out my plan. I just hope Clark doesn’t hold any hard feelings against me. Business is business, after all.

“Clark doesn’t know anything about this. Rookie doesn’t know much either.” I turn to look at him as we board the elevator, his hand tightening around mine as he clenches his teeth. That vein next to his temple bulges and I know he’s pissed. And he has every reason to be. “What the fuck were you thinking, Diem?” he growls between his teeth, burning me with the intensity of his gaze.

When I don’t answer, he reaches out and punches the stop button on the elevator. I guess he wants an answer now. “I had to do this alone. I figured turning each of you against the other was the only way for it to work.”

“Why did you think you had to do this alone?”

When I take too long to answer, he lets out a growl of warning and suddenly I have diarrhea of the mouth. “Because I didn’t want to risk getting caught. I’ve worked too hard and sacrificed too much for anybody to jeopardize this all because they thought I was too weak to handle it.”

“You’re the one in charge, Diem. Simply telling us to stay the fuck away would have worked.” But even as he says the words, I can hear the doubt in them.

“Really? You’d have stayed away? What about Clark? His head is further up my ass than yours is.”

A low rumble rips through his chest, and I can see him biting his tongue to keep from yelling at me. Or kissing me. Either wouldn’t be very smart right now. Although I wouldn’t mind being kissed out of anger. He has a way with his mouth when he’s pissed.

“So the leak on the inside? Is that bullshit too?” he asks, seething.

“Not entirely. Dorian does think it’s safer for me to have you around. In the event someone gets the idea to take me out. He’s always been a little paranoid. You can never be too sure how people will react when someone new steps up.”

“And Rookie being your second? What the fuck is that?” he barks, and I know he’s trying to scare me, but I’m too relieved that he’s here to be frightened.

“It went with the plan.” I shrug. “If you really would’ve killed Clark, then that’s exactly what would’ve happened. I needed you prepared just in case.” Either he isn’t pleased with my answer, or he’s going over it in his head. But then I remember I have a question of my own. “How did you even find me?”