To Catch A Bandit

by Emma Dean

  “Seeing you shift with clothes on is never going to not be weird,” Aiden told her, walking up to them. “So, what’s the deal?”

  “It would be better if we went somewhere a little more private,” Chance muttered, walking up with Ben.

  The Wonderland rebels made a good show of going about their chores while not looking at them. No doubt they wondered who these strangers were, but Emily glared at anyone who dared to meet her ruby gaze. They were not going to be these people’s saviors.

  “They assigned us a room, if you can call it that,” Chance said, jerking his head toward one of the doors back the way she and Jace had come.

  Jace nodded his agreement, and Ben couldn’t stop staring at Emily as they let the other three lead the way, Aiden glancing back only once.

  “I can smell you,” Ben murmured.

  Emily stared up at him, hating how tall he was for a brief second – knowing how much she loved it normally. “Can you now?”

  He took a step closer. “I can. You smell…”

  She wasn’t sure why, but she braced herself as she waited for him to say it, her heart pounding.

  “You smell like a starless night.” Ben’s voice was so quiet yet deep she felt the words ripple through her skin and bones more than she actually heard them with her ears.

  She could barely move as he reached out and traced one of her curls after her hair had come undone in the river. Emily jerked away and stalked toward the room the other three were already in, waiting.

  After these misadventures were over, she would have to go back to her life at the eyrie and face her punishment. Emily planned to have fun while she could, but these four were turning fun into pain.

  The idea of leaving them again, it made her breath catch in her throat and it felt like a fist slowly crushing her heart until it was nothing more than tiny pieces stomped into dust and dirt – just like her mother would prefer.

  Couldn’t feel if she didn’t have a heart. Couldn’t make mistakes if emotions never swayed her decisions.

  And at the very least she wouldn’t be in this mess, and she sure as shit wouldn’t care if her mother had ever felt affection for her in her entire life.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Chance asked, setting his pack down against the wall.

  Emily scanned the space. It was only one room. Five bedrolls were stacked against the far wall, but that was it. Otherwise the room was completely bare.

  All five of them would have to sleep in here, pressed up against each other thanks to the small space. But sleeping separate wasn’t a good option either. Emily had never slept separate from any of her faction, ever.

  “I’ll take first watch tonight,” she murmured, rolling her shoulders back to try and ease some of her internal tension. Aiden had her pack, so she went to the door and watched the rebels who carefully averted their eyes when they saw her.

  “Okay, but I meant about Wonderland,” Chance snapped. “We need to get the two items of power and then leave.”

  “Alice said they’ll have dinner. We’ll ask after that,” Jace said mildly.

  “No, now.” Her voice was sharper than she’d intended, but that pressure on her chest urging her to hurry started to crush her at the thought of waiting hours for an answer. “If they won’t help us, we need to leave. I’m not the only one contracted to kill you Jace. How long do you think it’s going to take before that demon finds us again?”

  No one spoke as her words settled into them. They were flat and angry and the dirt and rock all around seemed to absorb her words instead of echo them back. It made them sound as dead as fallen leaves crunching underfoot.

  Jace and Ben studied her. She could feel it between her shoulder blades like a knife as she watched the rebels.

  “Fine, we’ll talk to her when she gets back, but we’re going to have to stay here overnight,” Jace warned. “We need time to make a decent plan. In and out, no fuss no muss. I don’t know how ravens like to do things, but the four of us aren’t sloppy and never will be.”

  Before she realized what she was doing, her pistol was in her hand and pointed between Jace’s eyebrows.

  None of them moved.

  She bared her teeth at him. How dare he imply she was sloppy? That the shitshow in the forest was somehow her fault.

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Emily felt her voice more than heard it, a whisper on the wind—smoke and shadow. “You have no idea.”

  “No, he doesn’t,” Chance agreed.

  Chance.

  Out of all of them.

  It was enough to snap her out of her rage and shift her gaze from Jace to Chance even if her grip and aim never once wavered.

  “None of us have any idea how ravens operate,” Chance stated as if he was talking about the weather – nonchalant and uncaring. For once it didn’t rub her the wrong way. “But Jace runs us through every job for weeks normally. Even one day isn’t enough time. It will create too many unknowns and potential mistakes.”

  “The last job we took was a favor to our fox friends and a last-minute mission occurred, thanks to an impromptu kidnapping. Too many people almost died that day,” Aiden murmured soothingly. “Preparation is the key to our survival.”

  None of them tried to reach for her gun. None of them tried to tell her she was being crazy.

  They were smarter than she gave them credit for.

  Emily tried to shove down the rage that made her snap and lose it too many times to count. It was like walking on a tightrope the width of a few strands of hair. The adjustment period to her emotions caused so many extremes it was hard to know what was real sometimes.

  But Emily was the best assassin there was other than Corbin. Her control was perfect and unwavering. Her training flawless.

  She couldn’t manage to shove down the rage, so she ignored it. “I still haven’t decided if I’m going to kill you or not when this is all over Jace. Try not to piss me off.” Emily holstered her pistol and turned her back on the raccoons again, ignoring the weight of their gazes.

  “So, how do ravens do things?” Jace asked, no doubt riling her up on purpose.

  Emily felt the muscles between her shoulders tighten but she didn’t rise to the bait and she didn’t turn around.

  No one spoke for a long time.

  Then…

  “They break us,” she said, words barely louder than a whisper as she watched so many normal people turned rebels go about their daily lives. “By the time we’re five years old we’ve made our first kill. Usually an animal, but sometimes not.”

  The tension in the room rose exponentially and Emily wondered sometimes how she wasn’t more messed up. But it wasn’t like she’d expected anything more or less than the lot she was given in life.

  “Once we survive that first year on the ground at the ripe old age of five, they take the feral beasts they’ve made and give us the discipline no soldier could ever possess.” Emily glanced over her shoulder at them. “Don’t ever assume because I’ve got a pretty face, I’m anything more than that feral beast. Deep down…that’s all I am.”

  That’s all they’d ever wanted her to be. A ferocious killing machine.

  And Emily had thrived in training. She’d never truly shattered apart like the others – only to be remade into something stronger, something unbreakable. Emily had been perfect from the very beginning.

  Maybe that was why she was falling apart now. She’d never been forged the same way the others had. She’d been born…different.

  Wrong.

  “I can hear Alice. Let’s go.” Emily ignored the way the four of them looked at her.

  She was a failure as a raven in so many ways.

  Never was there any reason she should ever tell an outsider about their ways, about what made them the best assassins in the world for a millennium and more. But, these four…

  They were different too.

  17

  Chance

  “The Vorpal Sword?” Alice asked, glancing a
t Jack. “Yes, of course we know it.”

  Chance ignored the vortex of emotion that was Emily. From all outward appearances she looked bored and disinterested with her arms crossed over her chest, looking at nothing in particular. The last week with her had been full of painful whiplashes.

  Ever since he’d seen her in that forest, Chance had been furious. And now it was a mix between that and the stupid urge that kept pushing him to connect with her, to understand her.

  “We’re here to get that sword and the Crown of Madness,” Jace told Alice. “We need three items of power to save our world.”

  He could feel Emily’s irritation at that statement and Chance stiffened. As if the four of them couldn’t possibly be capable of such things. That alone set off his fury again, but it wasn’t the first reason he was so angry.

  “I can’t let you have the Vorpal sword,” Alice told him, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. “That sword is rightfully mine. The Red Queen took it from me, and I need it back if I will ever have a chance to free Wonderland.”

  Ugh, more deals. Chance wanted to force these assholes to give them what they needed so they could just leave this shithole already. But knowing Aiden…

  “We can find something else to take the place of the sword,” Aiden said diplomatically. “But we need to know where the Crown of Madness is. We can’t leave here without at least one of them.”

  There it was. Always making fucking concessions for everybody.

  Chance wanted to argue that they didn’t have to give up anything if they didn’t want to. Who was this girl to stop them?

  Ben placed a hand on his knee and Chance gritted his teeth instead of challenging Aiden.

  Emily gave him a knowing look and Chance could see it clear as day. She was just as desperate to get out of this place as he was.

  “Lucky for us, both items are in the same place, the same castle,” Alice said slowly, taking Louis’s hand in hers. “Jack is the only one who knows that place better than the queen.”

  That guy with the white-blond hair and blue eyes set Chance’s fucking teeth on edge and he couldn’t honestly say why. All he knew was he wanted to slit Jack’s throat before the other male killed them all in their sleep.

  Jack’s smile was sharp as they all looked at him. “I can get us in. With so many though, it poses risks Alice.”

  Alice stared at Jack, her hair more golden yellow than his platinum. “We’re not going to do that again.”

  Chance didn’t bother to ask what or why even if he thought it sounded intriguing. No doubt it would just piss everyone else off if he opened his mouth.

  Emily though, she glared at Alice. Chance smirked. She, on the other hand, did exactly what she wanted whenever she wanted. “We’re all trained. Make a plan and we’ll follow it.”

  “Why him?” Chance asked, jerking his chin at the blond wrapped up in a red cloak like some mysterious rogue. “We can manage this on our own.” They didn’t need a fucking escort.

  “I’m sorry, lad, but I’m not allowing Alice back into that place alone,” Louis snarled. “If you want an in to the most guarded, dangerous place in all of Wonderland, you will have company. Me, him, and her.”

  Bunch of morons if they asked him. But he caught Emily watching those three closely and he could almost see what she did. Jack and Louis were both in love with Alice, and hated each other.

  “You’re taking me, because I’m the Red Prince.” Jack stood and sketched a very fancy bow that made Emily’s eyebrows rise into her hairline. “I’m the Jack of Hearts.”

  Chance snorted when Emily rolled her eyes at him. She was always good at taking males down a peg or two.

  “What does that even mean?” she asked.

  Jack turned on Emily then with that sharp grin and Ben shifted ever so slightly so his broad shoulders were between her and Jack. Chance felt a growl rise in his throat and it took everything he had not to attack Jack.

  “I grew up in that castle. I know its every nook and cranny. The Red Queen…is my mother. If you want to get in and out without being detected, you need me.” With that he bowed again and sat, content to ignore them all again.

  If anyone had bothered to ask him, Chance would have told them that, having read those romance books for days. He’d read sex scenes for fuck sake. Some with these people in them.

  Chance decided it was his fucking turn to talk. He’d earned it goddammit.

  “The crown for the sword,” Chance said. “One mission, in and out. Tomorrow.”

  Louis shared a look with Alice.

  Jack pulled out a wicked sharp knife Chance considered stealing and started cleaning his nails as if none of this mattered to him despite his feelings for the girl.

  “If Jack agrees, then we’ll do it tomorrow,” Alice finally said. She sure as shit didn’t look happy about it though. “If our intel says it’s too dangerous though, we need to wait until the right time.”

  “Anything for you, Alice,” Jack drawled.

  Chance wasn’t exactly opposed to waiting for the intel, but he felt Emily stiffen at the prospect and he wondered again how a five-year-old had survived a year on the ground alone, and what that even really meant. Had it been some Lord of Flies shit? Something like Hunger Games, or more like Tarzan of the Apes?

  He doubted she would ever tell them.

  But instead of arguing with Alice, Emily smiled slightly. “If there’s anything you need help with, just let me know. I want to make sure we’re out of your hair as quickly as possible.”

  Chance couldn’t figure out what it was, but ever since they entered Wonderland something about her was different. He didn’t just feel her emotions which was one of those strange little gifts raccoons had – empaths.

  He could smell her too.

  “I appreciate that, but we will have to wait for our spies to come in for the night,” Alice explained. “Why don’t you join us for dinner? As soon as we know what’s happening, we’ll make a plan for tomorrow night.”

  Emily’s rage tasted sweet on his tongue and he felt Ben breathe it in too.

  “Whatever you need,” Emily insisted. That slight smile on her face never once wavered.

  No one else seemed to notice what simmered underneath the surface and Chance figured they didn’t have anything like shifters here with their strange magic. Jack definitely had something, what he might even consider hunter abilities. Same with Louis. Alice had some power here, but she wasn’t a witch.

  Red was the only one who might actually possess some strange sort of magic similar to what they had in their own world. Something that gave him the ability to see into the shadow realm per Jace.

  Chance looked at Ben and the other raccoon gave him a nod. They would both look out for Emily and her mood swings. Nothing could jeopardize this mission, and neither of them wanted something to happen to her…or for her to happen to something.

  She was a wild mess and no matter how much it bothered him sometimes, Chance secretly loved that he never knew what would happen when she was around.

  Five bedrolls. It was fucking madness. Chance hadn’t been able to fall asleep even though Emily’s watch had come and gone. Aiden was outside now on second watch.

  He sighed and shuffled closer to Ben. Having the larger raccoon close eased some of his concerns. Chance wouldn’t put it past Jack to come in here and try to murder them all. Louis was too busy with Red to worry about them.

  If anyone asked, he’d deny his inability to fall asleep had anything to do with the female between Ben and Jace.

  Chance rolled over and propped his head up on his hand to look at her in the dark, a tiny bit of firelight leaking in from outside the door.

  She was on her side, breathing evenly but he knew she wasn’t asleep. Ben was curled around her, one arm flung over her waist – to comfort her, to protect her. It was all the same to the quiet raccoon.

  Watching them together…Chance hated the way his heart clenched.

  He hated her.<
br />
  Mostly because he hadn’t expected any of what had happened after Samhain, and normally Chance was excellent at assessing risks. He’d seen her at that witch ball and despite Ben’s obvious interest in her, she’d wanted nothing more than a night of fun.

  And they’d wanted nothing but a night of sex.

  Win-win.

  Until it wasn’t.

  Chance’s gaze went from Emily to Ben and he wondered what had made him get up and cross the ballroom floor to talk to the raven in the first place. Ben rarely ever spoke when it wasn’t just the four of them. Even with the foxes he didn’t talk much, unless it was just Ash.

  So, why her?

  Ben opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder at Chance, raising an eyebrow. What do you want?

  Chance shrugged. I don’t know what I want.

  Ben looked to Emily, and then back at Chance. I can roll over.

  Then she would be unprotected. Chance shook his head.

  They stared at each other for a moment and Chance could see the same doubt in Ben’s eyes that he felt. Why do we want her so badly?

  Chance was about to tap his nose and ask if he could smell her, but Emily sighed and rolled onto her back to glare at Chance.

  “Can I fucking help you?”

  Oh, that fucking mouth of hers. Never had one female pissed him off so much and managed to turn him on in the same breath.

  “What exactly is ‘the ground?’” he asked, hiding his real questions.

  The other three focused on her as well – their attention razor sharp. All of them wanted to know more about her past, about what made her into what she was. Maybe it would help them understand her, maybe it would help them understand why she’d disappeared and never once reached out to them despite the Rolex still on her wrist.

  It looked as shiny, sparkly, and permanent as a diamond ring.

  Emily blinked at him, glancing down at the arm over her waist, like she really had been asleep, and she hadn’t realized just how close to Ben she was. She didn’t move though, and Chance could feel Ben’s silent relief ripple through him.