by Scott, Kylie
“But none of that matters now,” she says, and then clears her throat. “Something’s worrying me, Archie. I hate to admit it in front of everyone, at a time like this, but I think I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
“You think?” Archie laughs, looking around at all the destruction that used to be her house. At all her exhausted and injured protectors. He smirks, and the smugness radiating off him is just sickening. “You always did underestimate me.”
“You?” She smiles. “Oh dear, no, not you. Charlie.”
He frowns. “What are you talking about?”
She looks at him hard, as if trying to gauge if his surprise is genuine. “I was wondering how he got you to come here, to your certain death. But you don’t even know. He’s been pulling your strings without you even suspecting.”
“You’re babbling,” Archie snaps, but his eyes look worried.
“Don’t feel bad. He fooled me too. Got me to place my entire estate into his hands two days ago, telling me we’d use it to put such a massive bounty on your head that, even if you got to me, you’d never sleep another night of your short life in peace. And I fell for it.”
“Bounties don’t scare me.” Archie’s nostrils flare. “Besides, I really thought Charles would no longer be an obstacle. Must have a word with my man on that job.”
Helene shakes her head. “You don’t understand. There will be no more words and no more jobs. Charlie’s already won, the cunning old fox. It never occurred to me that he was the only one who knew. He told me to come here. Off the grid and defensible, he said, and I never suspected.”
“Suspected what?” Archie looks furious now. The tip of his nose has turned bright red.
She smiles up at him, but this time her smile is sad. Almost sympathetic. “About the dynamite.”
“What?”
Slowly, she turns her right hand over, revealing a little black device nestled within her fist. It’s whatever Thom passed her, and when they see it, Archie’s whole little army stiffens. The two at the back exchange a glance.
I’m guessing Helene’s holding some type of dead man’s switch, so if she dies or releases her hand, everything goes up in smoke.
My insides clench in fear, and the only useless, stupid thought I have is that I wish Thom were next to me. So that if it all ends in a blazing inferno, at least I can be in his arms at the end. But he’s way on the other side of the room. He’d never reach me in time.
Helene continues, talking calmly, as if she weren’t holding everyone’s lives in her fingertips. “The whole property’s been laced with it ever since the 1990 renovation. All the way from the basement out past the driveway. And Charlie knew about it from the very start. He was the one who put me in touch with the team to rig it up.”
“You’re bluffing,” Archie says, almost spitting out the words. “You wouldn’t kill all your people.”
“Oh, please. They were dead the moment they agreed to come here, and you know it.” She lets her left hand fall to the floor beside her, the gun tumbling from her fingers. “Face it, Archie, we’ve been outplayed. Charlie got us to pool all our resources and people together in the one place he knew you could successfully attack, and I could successfully destroy. It’s over for all of us. You thought you were the one taking over, but it was him all the time. He knew I’d be willing to die to preserve the organization if pushed to it. Ah, well. At least I get to be the one who kills you. That’s some small consolation, I suppose.”
“Boss?” says Scorpion. She’s looking worried now.
“Quiet,” Archie snaps at her. Half his team is shuffling their feet nervously. “Just let me think for a moment. Let me think!”
“The only thing that truly makes me sad is the Vermeer. It’s hanging in the master bedroom.” Helene looks up at Archie hopefully, and then looks at me. “We’ve got a civilian here. None of us are getting out alive. But we could send her down the road with it. She could probably get far enough away in time. After all, there’s only thirty-four of his paintings in the world.”
“Wait, what?” I blurt, shocked by the sudden turn of events. “No! I’m not going anywhere.”
To be honest, with my injuries, I’d be surprised if I could even make it out of the house, much less all the way up the driveway. But no way am I leaving Thom. Whatever is coming, we’ll face it side by side. Or at least vaguely in the same room.
“Ah, well.” Helene nods and looks down at her right fist, knuckles white, grip tight around the detonator. “It was just a thought.”
“Wait, you stupid bitch—” Archie reaches out a hand toward her.
“Fuck this! I didn’t sign up for a suicide mission.” That voice comes from behind Archie, from one of his team stationed nearest the exploded wall. The guy turns and runs.
“What are you doing?” Archie turns in alarm. “Stand your ground!”
Four of Archie’s remaining team members turn their heads, toward the mercenary hightailing it out of here, the poor sap obviously hoping to get clear of the blast zone before Helene blows us all to kingdom come.
And without a word Thom, Bear, Crow, and Fox all raise their guns in unison. They start firing, in that tiny moment when all of the enemies are distracted. Several of the bad guys hit the ground and don’t move again.
But not Scorpion. She never turned her head. And as the shooting starts, she pulls Archie down behind the kitchen island and returns fire.
Everything is happening too quickly. Thom’s gun is shredding the kitchen island. Everyone is firing their weapons, running for cover, and generally all hell has let loose.
I get even lower, lying on the ground. But not because of a new injury. It’s what Thom told me to do. Only, while he’s busy trying to flush out Scorpion and Archie, I’m perfectly positioned to wriggle my way around the other side of the island to do some good. If trying to kill someone can ever be called good.
Fox is engaged in hand-to-hand combat a few yards away, a huge guy slamming her head against the stovetop until she slides limp to the ground. Before this dude can shoot me or someone else, however, someone paints a bloody circle in the center of his forehead.
Thom ducks out from behind the remains of the wall between the kitchen and great room. Every time, he fires off some shots at Scorpion. Safe to say all of her attention is currently taken up by my man. Not far away, Helene has raised her pistol again and is firing back gleefully. But she’s right out in the open, just sitting there, and it’s only a moment before she’s struck, the impact of the bullet spinning her tiny frame as she slumps to the floor.
Her eyes meet mine as blood flowers from her chest, and the dead man’s switch tumbles from her hand.
Time freezes.
A couple of the bad guys throw themselves to the corners of the room, probably hoping to have a chance of surviving the building’s collapse.
But Helene just winks at me.
Nothing happens.
A bluff. The whole thing was a fucking bluff. Charlie, the dynamite, handing over her estate, all of it. All to buy them that one-second advantage.
Thom, Bear, and Crow don’t stop shooting. Two more of Archie’s men drop. Then a couple of flash bang grenades go off and a stunned silence follows. I’m not even sure which side threw them. Dust fills the air, gray noise piercingly loud in my ears. Now is my chance.
I crawl forward on my elbows and knees. Whatever injury I sustained to my back is howling in bloody anguish. Although, the one on my arm isn’t much better. Bullets continue to fly, though none in my direction. Everyone’s mostly busy at the other end of the room, where the kitchen opens onto the living area—where Thom, Bear, and Crow are still giving them hell.
Pain levels going berserk, I get far enough around the island to see the douchebag in the three-piece suit. I pant out every breath, the edges of my vision growing dark. But I can still see clearly enough to get the job done. Hopefully.
Archie holds a pistol, his hands shaking. You can tell the moment he sees me. Because he le
ts out a startled shriek and tries to point the weapon at me. Only he’s fumbling so badly he makes me look like an expert.
I squeeze the trigger, my first bullet slamming into his thigh. The man drops his gun, an expression of shock on his face.
Higher. I need to aim higher.
The second bullet hits his chest and he falls backward, leaving the way open for Scorpion to kill me.
Oh, fuck. She’s realized that someone has snuck around her guard. The direction of her gun moves off Thom and settles straight on yours truly.
She’s in the process of squeezing the trigger when Thom slides across the top of the island and tackles her. They roll around on the ground as Archie groans in pain—blood pouring out of him. Good.
Also, I think I’m about to pass out. My head is heavy, the darkness continuing to inch in around my field of vision. No. Hell no. I’m okay. Just need to hold it together a little longer. Thom needs me.
I wrench myself up to fully standing and try to aim my gun, but they’re a blur of moving parts, fighting it out. Some mix of martial arts, boxing, and sheer necessity fueling their movements. It’d be impressive to watch if lives weren’t at stake.
Scorpion suddenly has a knife in hand, slamming it into the meat of Thom’s shoulder just as he strikes her windpipe with an open hand. He grunts and flinches, rearing back. And this gives her the chance, the second necessary, to bolt for the door, one hand on her throat.
Thom rips the knife out and hurls it at her retreating figure. Blood—Thom’s blood—spirals through the air as the blade spins toward its target. There’s a crunch as it glances off the doorframe as Scorpion slips through. Maybe there’s a yelp from Scorpion, but she’s still moving, disappearing fast into the shadows of the surrounding woods. A wise choice, given her boss is bleeding out in front of me and most of her compatriots are dead.
Her desertion isn’t much of a surprise. She’s already proven how loyal she isn’t by joining with Archie.
For a moment, Thom and I just look at each other. With real live love. Stupid amounts of the stuff. While it’s kind of annoying, Archie’s moaning is easily enough ignored. Nothing can distract me from feeling all of these good things. To think I used to fall for Thom’s bland and boring bullshit. He’s nothing less than beautiful, and I love him. Not a single thing can take away from this. Not the debris, the few remaining shots being fired as the others ensure our enemies are indeed dead with a bullet to the head, or the general carnage surrounding us.
None of it matters. Just us.
Though apparently Thom doesn’t feel the same, because he puts a bullet in Archie’s brain. Then another for good measure. He does it without even looking. Just cavalierly dispatching the big bad to the great unknown. Fair enough.
Since Thom already knows I love him, I say the next thing to come into my head. “You’re bleeding.”
Thom’s gaze narrows. “What’d you say?”
Given I’m wheezing more than actually speaking and everyone’s got to be half deaf by now, this does not surprise me. “I um…you’re…oh shit…”
Everything falls silent. And I fall too, my consciousness just hanging on long enough to register me planting face-first into the ground. So that’s the end of that.
CHAPTER TEN
So many beeping noises destroying my peaceful sleep. Sheesh. Also, pretty much everything is white. Sheets, blanket, wall, ceiling.
Oh, no. My bad. When I turn my head, the monotony is actually broken up by some stupendous floral arrangements and bouquets. Peony roses, hydrangea, orchids, tulips, chrysanthemums, lilies…you name it. How overwhelming and lovely. Someone spent big-time on me. Like seriously. People can just be so amazingly wonderful sometimes. I mean, the world is really a delightfully lovely place when you stop and think about it. Just so extraordinarily great in general.
“Betty.” Thom hovers over me, face pale. “Babe, I’m here.”
“I know you are, silly. I can see you.”
The man of my dream just blinks. “You’re high as a kite right now, aren’t you?”
So maybe I giggle. Who could blame me?
His smile is tired. “I’d ask them to dial back the morphine drip, but I’m afraid you’ve got some deep bruising to your spine and a couple of fractured ribs. But you’re going to be fine. We’re damn lucky the bullets that hit you in the back weren’t armor piercing. They did enough damage as it was. They also cleaned up the deep graze from the bullet on your arm. That one’s going to scar. I’m sorry.”
Then it all hits me. The cottage and the crazy battle and everything we went through. With my fuzzy brain, however, the pictures are distorted. Askew. I can’t seem to see my way clear. “Thom. I think I killed someone. Again. Oh my God. I know we didn’t have much choice, but still…”
“Shit,” he mumbles, gently brushing my face. “Babe, don’t cry. You only shot Archie a couple of times, remember? He was a terrible person. But I’m the one who killed him. Put two straight between his eyes. So it was me, not you. Okay? Do you think I’m a terrible person?”
“No. You’re wonderful. The most wonderful man I’ve ever met.”
“Maybe I should keep you drugged more often.”
“I can’t believe we made it out of there alive.” I blow out a breath. Despite whatever happy drugs they gave me, even this small action takes a toll. “I don’t think I should move just yet.”
“Probably a good idea.” His gaze is so warm and fuzzy. Prettiest blue eyes ever. Only then I remember something else. Thom frowns. For some reason, there’s a vague long-suffering air to the man. “Why on earth are you crying now?”
“I just remembered. You got st-st-stabbed in the shoulder.”
“Babe, they stitched that up hours ago. I’m fine.” He’s wiping my blubbering cheeks again, a little line between his brows. “Stop that. Come on, you need to keep calm. It’s not good for you to get all freaked out over every little thing.”
“Every little thing? We just survived a war!” I sniffle. Can’t wipe my nose with the back of my hand because there’s a freaking huge needle sticking out of it. Geez. Luckily, Thom recognizes my need and hands me a Kleenex. I proceed to blow my nose in a totally ladylike manner. “Thank you. How’s everyone else?”
His expression stills. “Helene didn’t make it.”
“Oh no.”
“Charles is here now. He’s taken over command and is dealing with the feds and so on.”
“Did they find Scorpion?”
“No. Not yet. But we will.” He smooths my hair back from my face. “Betty, I’ve been thinking.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ve decided after this mess is tidied up, I’m going to retire.”
Color me stunned. Despite the fog in my head, his words slap a healthy though unwelcome dose of reality back into me. “Really? You’re ready to give up all the excitement and running around with a gun and everything? Hang on…are you just doing this for me?”
“Of course I’m doing it for you. I’d hardly be doing it for anyone else.”
“But what if you wind up all bored out of your brains and resenting me?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “That’s not going to happen. How could life with you possibly be boring? Besides, you were unconscious when I made the decision.”
“Yet I’m still the reason you’re making this decision, and it’s such a big-ass decision.”
“It’s the right decision.”
“Will they even let you retire? The organization?”
“After everything that happened, they’re kind of in our debt right now.”
“Oh.” I close my eyes. Despite having only just woken, I’m tired again already. On the other hand, I like looking at him. So I open my eyes once more. “You’re so pretty. But you’re talking about life-altering stuff here. On the one hand, I love the idea of you not being in constant danger. On the other…ugh. I can’t remember what I was about to say. Pretty sure I’m too high and wounded for such a serious discussio
n. I also don’t want to say the wrong thing. Are you sure you shouldn’t be lying down and resting too? How much blood did you lose?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. And yes, that’s true, it is a big-ass decision. Let’s discuss it later.” He kisses me lightly on the lips. “I love you. Do you believe me when I say it to you now or what?”
It hurts. But I can’t help but smile. “Yes. I do.”
“This is bullshit,” says Jen, arms crossed, standing at the end of my bed on my second day in the hospital.
“I’m sorry.”
My bestie just frowns some more. Can’t really blame her. With the morphine dialed back, I’m not at my happiest either. Care of a big patch of spine that’s bruised black and blue, ribs giving me hell, and all the rest, there’s not much to smile about right now. Apart from being alive. And being gaga about Thom. And getting to see the people I love again. Those things still matter. It’s just hard to remember that even when breathing makes me wince with pain.
“I watched those two weirdos cart you off in that ambulance,” she says, voice tight with anger. “They had to push me out the door to stop me from going with you.”
“I know. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get word to you. Not even a message. They wouldn’t have allowed it, and even if they had, it would only have put you in danger.”
“So what can you say, exactly?” she asks, shoulders slumped.
“Nothing,” I admit. “I’m supposed to say nothing at all. Despite this, I’m going to tell you that someone very high up in the government told me not to say anything or bad things would happen. Litigation. Jail time. I don’t know what exactly. She used a very ominous tone. I’m not ashamed to say I was frightened.”
And it’s the truth. The woman Charles sent to debrief me kind of quietly terrified the crap out of me. With Scorpion still out there somewhere, there’s always one of the guys or Thom hanging out with me. Since Thom was busy elsewhere and Fox had been on guard-the-fiancée-duty, I had to deal with the government lady on my own. In all honesty, I’d probably rather go through another gunfight than face her again. If she’s taking Helene’s place on the committee, I wish them all the best.