the pilot who landed on the hostile planet in Aliens said, not long before her blood and brains were splattered all over the cockpit.
“We’re on our way,” she said before disconnecting.
“He’s in trouble, isn’t he?” Bryn asked.
“Yep.”
Greer stood up and cracked her knuckles. “Time to go be superheroes, kid. You ready?”
Her eyes lit up again. “You’re damned right, I am. This week has been a total snooze fest. I was sure I was going to die if I didn’t get to kick someone’s ass soon.”
Well, that pretty much said it all, didn’t it?
CHAPTER TWENTY
RIO LIVED in the heart of the trendy, affluent, hipster district of Gem City. Greer was fairly certain no one over the age of forty lived here.
The buildings were historic and had all been meticulously restored to their original glory. Everyone recycled and walked to mom-and-pop-owned fresh markets with their reusable canvas bags to buy groceries. The population was diverse, family friendly, gay friendly, pet friendly…well, pretty much just friendly in general. It was Nirvana.
But something bad was happening in Nirvana. Greer could feel it in her bones. And one of the only people she loved in the whole world was in the middle of it.
Greer glanced up at the balcony of Rio’s Brownstone walk-up. He’d left the French doors open, which he never did. It was a clear invite for her to fly up, rather than using the stairs, which put her at a disadvantage if Rio was in danger. Her reaction time would be slowed by hauling Bryn up with her and landing with all of their combined body weight on one leg (because landing on her bad knee was not an option).
“Don’t worry about me,” Bryn said. “I’ll run up the stairs. You can fly up. I’ll be right behind you. We’ll close in on whoever or whatever is up there from both sides.”
Not a bad plan, Greer realized. And Bryn was wicked fast. She could probably run up those steps almost as fast as Greer could fly. “OK,” she said, “but please be careful and mindful of your surroundings.”
Bryn—the same girl who’d fallen through a ceiling recently—had the nerve to look offended by the implication that she might run head first into danger without looking around her. But thankfully, she kept her mouth shut. Just nodded and took off running at a clip that impressed even Greer.
Ah, to be young and have two good knees.
When Greer landed on Rio’s balcony, she took her own advice and looked around before walking through the open door. Rio was sitting stiffly at his desk in the small study with his back to her. His hands were on his keyboard, but they weren’t moving. That was disconcerting. Greer was pretty sure she’d never seen Rio sitting completely still like this.
Then she noticed why.
In the guest chair in front of Rio’s desk, sat Declan Rhoades.
And he had a gun pointed at Rio’s head.
OK, now she was pissed.
“You’re going to want to take that gun out of my friend’s face,” she hissed through gritted teeth. “We were evenly matched last time we fought, but I have rage on my side now, so I will fuck you up.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when Bryn kicked the front door in—Rio was going to be pissed about that if he survived this little standoff—and burst into the study. She skidded to a halt when she saw Declan and the gun.
Her eyes lifted to Greer’s, and they and they had a quick, wordless conversation using nothing more than intense eye contact, frowns, and eyebrow quirks.
Bryn: I’m fast. I can get the gun from him before he can shoot.
Greer. You’re fast, but he’s faster. Stand down. Let me talk to him.
Bryn: But…
Greer: Stand. Down.
Bryn: Oh, alright. *pout*
Declan didn’t move a muscle. His gun remained firmly on Rio, which pissed Greer off more than she already was.
And she was pretty fucking pissed off, so that was saying something.
“What the hell are you doing here, Declan?” she asked, struggling to rein in her rapidly rising temper and blood pressure. “You got away from me. Couldn’t you just go into hiding like any other wanted criminal would? Why come here and threaten one of mine?”
He narrowed his eyes on her, his hands annoyingly steady. “I did go into hiding. But your boy keeps tracking me down.”
“Rio’s just doing his job.”
“Not him,” Declan said. “Your other boy.”
That gave her pause. And unless he was referring to the kid who delivered her groceries