I covered my mouth to not make a sound but that was ridiculous. I probably should have been screaming. Loud. But I couldn’t make a noise.
On the floor, dead in a puddle right in front of the room was the nurse. Someone had bashed his head in. What was left of his eyes stared open at me.
“Run.” A noise caught my attention and Oliver, crawling on his stomach, as he left a trail of blood behind him, called out to me in a strangled voice.
I took two steps toward him and stopped. Coming out of the room next to ours was a man I’d never seen before.
“Got her,” he called down the hall. “This room is empty. That just means it’s the two of them. Not dead yet?”
I took him in fast. Dark hair. Dark clothes. Otherwise nondescript. As I watched, he stepped on Oliver’s head, pinning it to the floor. Run? Oliver had told me to run. I turned and rushed into the room slamming the door behind me. That was ridiculous. There was no lock. What did I think shutting the door on the man killing Oliver was going to do? Encourage him to stay out? And the lock probably wouldn’t matter either.
He’d killed both of them so silently I’d had no idea as I’d sat in this room.
I had to assume everyone was dead. There was more than just the one man I saw. He’d spoken to someone behind him.
“Derrick, people are here to kill us.”
He didn’t budge, didn’t even open his eyes. Fuck. Yes, of course he couldn’t. He was as helpless as a baby right now. He wasn’t going to wake up and save us.
I had to do this, and I had no time because the man with the gun was coming in here any second.
I grabbed my phone. Clicking the help icon I texted a blank message to it. I hoped that was enough and ripped open the windows to the room so that Kade’s satellite could locate my phone and hopefully me. I didn’t know that anyone could be here in time to help me anyway.
Psycho with the foot and the knife knocked on the door. Damn it, I wasn’t coherent. We all had feet.
“You can make this easy or hard. I understand my mentor kept you captive for a long time. I don’t want to cause you any more pain. You’re Derrick’s current whore. I’m sorry this happened to you, but you’re dead. That’s all there is to it.”
Anything can be a weapon.
That was what Derrick had told me. I hadn’t seen him do it, but he’d wanted to show me. Anything could kill anyone. The door swung open, and I reacted without thinking. I grabbed the giant blue binder the nurse had left sitting on the counter by the door, and I swung it hard straight into that man’s face.
I didn’t know why it startled him except that he must not have seen it coming. I had one goal and that was to get him away from Derrick who would have no chance of defending himself. I ran into the hall and grabbed onto the stethoscope that lay next to the nurse’s prone body.
The psycho had stumbled forward when I whacked him with the book, and I spun around, wrapping the stethoscope around his neck. I wasn’t Derrick. I couldn’t choke a man with my bare hands, but so help me, I could do something.
I had the element of surprise. This dude had not seen me coming and that was all I had going for me. I couldn’t think. I didn’t know I breathed. All of this was instinct. I could never have thought to ask Derrick to show me how to choke someone to death with a stethoscope, and in any case, it wasn’t working. He was about to get away from me any second.
I kicked him hard in the back, and he surged forward into the counter. I rushed into the hall. I’d left Derrick and that was the last thing I wanted, but I had to do better. I had to find something that could kill.
The operating room where they’d taken D was through two heavy double doors followed by another set of thicker double doors. I rushed in and grabbed a scalpel. The good news was psycho followed me. He’d left sleeping Derrick where he was. Good. Let him chase me.
I lunged at him just as he jumped at me.
In the end, I got lucky. I didn’t know why. With my heart in my ears and a roar of terror expelling from my mouth, I jammed the scalpel right into his carotid artery. I shouted at the top of my lungs, couldn’t seem to stop doing it, as I pulled it out.
Psycho stumbled back, his hand going to the wound, and I watched as he hit the ground. I didn’t know how much time passed until he died. I knew that I kicked his knife out of his hand lest he try to come at me one more time. I at least had the presence of mind for that. The rest of it was a blur.
I’d killed him.
And I stumbled out of that room covered in blood that wasn’t mine, carrying his knife and my scalpel. It would always be my scalpel now.
That’s when I saw him. The other person. He headed toward Derrick’s room. I screamed again. I didn’t even know I could make these noises. I held the knife forward facing just like D had told me.
Maybe it was because I was a woman that they’d underestimated me. Or maybe Ben had told these guys I was weak because the truth was that I mostly had been and I was only learning how to be something else now.
I slit his throat.
I jerked off of him as he fell backward into Derrick’s room.
There was a lot of blood in the human body. I’d watched two people choke to death on their own in the last ten minutes.
I sunk to the floor next to Derrick’s bed. He mumbled something but didn’t rouse. Was that okay? Should he have been more awake? There was no one to tell me. The only thing I knew was that no one would be getting near him.
Not as long as I had my knife and my scalpel. I’d use them again. If I had to.
I didn’t know how long I sat there. It was long enough that the puddle of blood from my second kill got all over my clothes. I got up and moved away from it but close enough to Derrick I could still defend him. There might have been more than just the two of them.
Three men appeared at the door, and I jumped to my feet.
The first one put his hands out in front of him. “Everly. My name is Stan Johnson. I work for Warden. We all do. We’re here to help you.”
I put the knife in front of me. “You could be lying.”
“You’re right. But we’re not. You should always doubt members of the Alliance. We’re loyal to Warden. We’re here to help you and Derrick. Warden says to answer your phone.”
My phone? I blinked. That was right. Fuck. I had a phone. I did. I had one. Why hadn’t I… My mind, it had left me again. I slipped on the blood, grabbing the end of Derrick’s bed before getting over to where I’d dropped my phone in the first fray with the psycho.
I grabbed it in my shaking hands before I rounded on the three men. “Don’t go near him.”
Stan nodded. “We won’t. But just so you know, this man here, Peer Faigenbaum, he’s a surgeon. He can help Derrick if he needs anything.”
“He might bleed.” Even I could hear how ridiculous I sounded.
“Let’s hope not,” Peer stated. “How long has he been out of it? Taking a while to wake up?”
I nodded. “Maybe twenty minutes.” Was that it? “He spoke twice. Mumbled.”
“Okay. We’ll get him roused.”
I put out my knife. “I didn’t say move yet.”
“Got it.” Stan answered.
I looked down at the phone. I had a lot of missed calls and texts from the four conscious Letters. I didn’t stop to read what they’d said. I dialed Warden. He picked up before the first ring stopped.
“Everly.” He sighed. “Okay. Good. Those men. I’m looking at you right now. Kade and I both are. They’re safe. I sent them. They work for me. Let them help you. Let them.”
“Warden.” My voice shook on par with my hands. “I killed some people. Two of them. I stabbed them. There’s a lot of blood. I need a… what did Derrick call it at the house yesterday… a cleanup.”
“Yep.” His voice sounded clipped. “We know just what you need. You did a very good job. I didn’t see the first one but we watched the second one. You did exactly like you should have. They’ll clean this up. They have peop
le that will do it. Let Stan help you and Peer help Derrick. And Andrew will take care of the logistics. They’re safe. I promise.”
He sounded calm, and I wanted to believe him so I did. It was that simple. I couldn’t continue as I had been. I needed help and what was more was that Derrick needed help by people who could do that.
“Okay.”
“Evy,” Kade spoke into the phone. “I’m so proud of you.”
“I don’t even know what I did.” As I spoke the words, I realized they were true.
“I know. We’re coming. We’re already on our way.” Kade’s words were a comfort.
I hung up and looked at Stan. “Wh…” I had to force out the words. “What do we do now?”
* * *
The sun rose in the sky as Stan drove me to Warden’s home. Shaped like an L, the building was yellow and brown with a ton of windows everywhere. I was dressed in scrubs. The first thing Stan had me do was change my clothes. I couldn’t put my hair up in a ponytail so it was going to need a good wash down. That was true for my whole body.
“This is it?” I pointed at the house.
Stan nodded. “It’s intimidating. That’s for sure. Warden had it made from scratch. Knocked down a house and had this one put up. We’re supposed to be inconspicuous, but he makes enough money in his real job it doesn’t matter if he shows off. We call this the ‘fuck you, I can kill you’ house.”
I wasn’t sure I could get out of the car. “I’m not sure I can take any more ‘I can kill’ things.”
He got out of the car. “You’re safe. From Warden anyway. The Alliance sure does want to kill you. Kade and Warden will be here soon. I told him I’d get you settled inside.”
Six bedrooms with a view of the water from the hills. It was stunningly beautiful. Stan walked ahead of me, taking me straight to the bedroom. “The best part of this house is the wine cellar. We’re all obsessed. Occasionally, when we close a big deal, he breaks out a bottle that is so incredible it’s life changing. He’s stingy with it.”
With Warden, I’d spent more time smoking pot. We’d lived off the grid. This opulence was really something. The furniture was white, classic, and all of the floors were wooden except for the bedroom that had a gray carpet.
“Take a shower. Wash off. Your bag is coming with your clothes. And Derrick will be here soon. Peer is bringing him, and he’ll stay until we get a nurse to stay with him for the next few days. It’s all taken care of. You did well. Not one person in a million could have done what you did. There’s a lot of buzz about you in the group. We don’t know what to call ourselves yet.” So at least I wasn’t the only one having that problem. “I can see why that is. Survive Ben and now survive two Alliance trained killers? Yeah… I can’t wait to see what you do next. The boss is really taken with you. Don’t break him. We all count on him.”
That was sweet. It was weird to hear Stan call W the boss, considering W was at least ten years younger than Stan. “Thank you for coming. I don’t think I could break Warden.”
“You might be surprised. I’m waiting downstairs. See you again soon.” He nodded at me and stepped away, leaving me to the silence of Warden’s home.
He’d said to take a shower. Yes, that I could do. I stood under the heat and tried to wash away what happened. I wasn’t in the basement anymore. But I was somewhere else… and I didn’t know where that was yet. I knew it was somewhere I wasn’t sure I wanted to be.
And I didn’t mean Warden’s mansion. It was something… inside.
* * *
The door to the shower flung open. Both Kade and Warden stood there. I’d long since stopped getting clean. At this point I was just pruning because I couldn’t bring myself to move. Kade grabbed a towel and wrapped me in it. He had a habit of doing that, and I liked it.
“There was weather. It took longer to land than it should have,” Warden told me, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek.
I looked out the window. The sky was sunny blue. “There’s weather?”
“Coming in. Not here.”
Kade pressed his forehead to mine. “I think you took ten years off my life. When you ran from that room and he chased you… Sorry, this is not about me. You are amazing. Seriously, you took out two assassins.”
“I don’t feel like I did anything other than stumble around and get lucky.” I touched each of them to steady myself. “How is Derrick? Do you know?”
“He’s here. Groggy. Confused. But doing fine. We have a nurse with him. He’s not really with it yet, but he understands something happened and that you’re fine. I promised him I’d send you in.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll go do that.”
“Hey.” Kade hugged me. He felt cool against my overheated body. “Take it easy. He’s asleep right now. Take a breath. We don’t need you to do anything right this second.”
I closed my eyes. Maybe doing nothing was something I could do.
“Sweetheart.” Wade rubbed my back. “Just one more thing to do. Trace has been calling every two minutes. He’s on an airplane, and he’s not patient. Judson took my word for it that you were okay. He’s on his way here. So is Trace. But Trace needs to speak to you.”
The phone rang on speaker, and Trace’s voice came over. “Talk to me. She’s okay?”
“I’m okay. Little shaken but here.”
I heard Trace let out a breath. “Evy, you were so strong.”
“You all watched?” I looked at the two present while I listened to Trace and presumed if they had, then Judson had, too.
Warden answered me. “When you click the Help text it alerts all of us. And whichever one of us can get you help gets you help. In this case, it was me. But yes, we could all see. We collectively held our breaths.”
Trace must have set something down. I heard a clink. “Pretty badass. I’m going to see you soon.”
“You didn’t have to drop everything and come here. I know you’re working hard on James Robert.” And Warden and Kade had been in the middle of something. They’d run here, too. Was this just going to keep happening? Was I going to be forever in some kind of hell they had to run to rescue me from? Was this becoming a trend?
Was this what I had to look forward to for the rest of my fucking life?
“You getting attacked takes preference over him. He’s fine. He’s all set up to do what I want. He’ll be making the right calls. I’m about to be done. I’m coming home to you. Kade, how did this happen?”
Next to me Kade shook his head. “Damned if I know. I’m working on it. I don’t know who put the hit out on Derrick. It could be any one of thousands of people. I’ll know soon.”
“Trace.” I sighed. “I’m not in the basement anymore. I don’t know where I am now. I mean, I’m not delusional. I don’t think. I’m in Warden’s bathroom. But… somehow where I am on the inside. And that sounds like something you don’t all need to hear about.”
Trace didn’t hesitate; he answered me immediately. “You’re standing in the doorway of what comes next. I had hoped it wouldn’t be assassins in clinics. Even I couldn’t have predicted that, and I anticipate human behavior for a living. Keep her safe. Everly, Warden has the best wine in the world. Drink some of it.”
He hung up, and I walked with the other two back into the room. My suitcase was open on the bed. I walked over to it. I didn’t really want to wear any of it, but I didn’t suppose I could stay in this towel for the rest of my life.
I grabbed a nightshirt I’d brought and a pair of yoga pants. I ran my fingers through my hair. Kade and Warden stood in the doorway, watching me.
“You do look better. I mean, I realize today has sucked in every possible way. But you look more alive than the last time I saw you.” Kade strode toward me. “Derrick has fed you over the last few days. What have you been eating?”
I paused. “Steak. Eggs. Pizza. Chicken. Cheese. Wine. Now that I think about it, we did eat quite a lot.”
“Good.” Kade stroked my cheek. “We’re going to keep fe
eding you.”
My stomach clenched. “I don’t know that I want to eat right now. I’d better go see Derrick. And then I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Warden nodded. “Sounds good. You’re safe here.”
“I’m not safe anywhere. None of us are. You know it, I know it, Kade knows it. Saying it doesn’t make it so. The best we can do is keep on getting on with it.”
I didn’t know if they agreed with me, but they didn’t argue. I found Derrick’s room, it was the farthest down the hall from mine. A television played low and a nurse dozed in a chair, his head back as he snored. I couldn’t help but smile. He was doing the exact thing we’d brought Derrick in for surgery for doing.
I walked quietly in the room and Derrick lifted his head. He had ice packs on his nose, and his eyes looked bloodshot.
“Hey.” He reached his hand for me. “You okay?”
“No. Am I ever okay?” I referenced our conversation from the shower. “But I’m here.”
He groaned. “This pain sucks. I’ve had it before. But it never gets easier. Please believe me, if I’d known there was a hit on me currently, I’d have solved that before I went under the knife and left you alone.”
I sat on the end of the bed, squeezing his fingers in my own. “I used a scalpel and a knife.”
“Good girl.” He nodded. “I’m going to be out of it for a while. You weren’t supposed to be bothered. I was going to handle this myself.”
The nurse made a snorting noise, and I grinned at Derrick. “This? You were going to manage this all on your own? I was going to take care of you. Now you have help that’s probably better than me. Get better. We’ll stay here. It looks nice. The skies are blue. I guess they always are in San Diego, right?”
He nodded. “But you and I both know that blue skies can hide evil as well as dark clouds. Maybe more so because we forget to look.”
Derrick was always teaching me things.
“Get your pretty face better. I need to look at you again.”
I thought he smiled, but it definitely turned into more of a grimace.
Dark Truths: Kiss Her Goodbye #2 Page 13