Don't Touch My Men - Helen Scott Page 0,69

for a second and think about my skill set. I’m the best person to try and do this. Plus, the vamps have gone missing so I can’t ask them anyway, not that I was going to. You need to trust me on this. I can kill her. Just let me do what I do best. You know I’m a sneaky bitch,” she said with a grin at the end.

Only my sister could grin at a time like this.

The longer we stood out in the open, the greater the chances of us getting caught, so I relented, knowing that unless I carried her out of there myself, she was going to do it anyway. “Be safe,” I said as I squeezed her shoulder.

“Safe as houses,” she said with a nod.

I took one last look at her and turned away, heading back the way I’d just come and working my way around to the stage door. Adelle wouldn’t take long, she never did when she had her sights set on a target. This one was tricky though, and my stomach churned with worry over everyone in my life that I cared for.

The stage door was tucked into a corner with a guard stationed outside. As powerful as the Horseman was, he was also smart. He knew it was safer to have guards and let them take a bullet than to take one himself. I had no doubt he thought they’d act as an early alarm system, and they very well could, depending on the type of magic he was using, but somehow, I doubted it. He didn’t seem like he cared enough about any one creature to put up with having them in his head all the time. Fortunately, this guard wasn’t exactly a big man. I had no idea what his supernatural nature was, since it wasn’t anything obvious, but taking him out was my best shot at getting a weapon and getting back stage.

I squeaked my shoe against the linoleum floor and listened for the footsteps of the guard. As he drew near, I readied myself for a fight, one I hoped didn’t last long. As soon as the guard rounded the corner, I jumped, my fist swinging toward his face with all my might and weight behind it.

The guard’s head snapped to the side, and his body slumped to the floor. One shot knockout. The guy never even saw me coming, which was just how I liked it. I scooped him up and tossed him over my shoulder, hurrying down the corridor to the closest doorway. I opened it and found an empty storeroom, where I unceremoniously dropped him before disarming him. The leather belt slid against the fabric of his pants as I pulled it off to get at the sword and its sheath.

As fast as I could, I threaded my own belt through the loop on the sword’s sheath before using the guard’s belt to restrain his hands and secure him to one of the desks in the room. It wouldn’t be enough to keep him there, but it should slow him down.

When I got back to the stage door, I pressed my ear up against the wood, trying to listen for anyone on the other side. When I heard nothing, I eased the door open and slipped into the relative darkness of the backstage area, relieved to find that it was as empty as it sounded and that the banshee wasn’t even on stage with her master. I had no doubt she was close though, the Horseman wouldn’t let her go far.

I watched silently as the Horseman gloated over getting his head without having to let me live, rage bubbling inside me as I looked for his head. It wasn’t attached yet, which had to be a good sign, but I couldn’t quite see where he was keeping it from the narrow angle of vision I had on the side of the stage. There wasn’t a lot of room to move around if I wanted to remain unseen. If I couldn’t find the head, then the only option was to try and take him out myself before he gained that extra power.

The fact that I might die while doing it didn’t scare me. I’d been deadside, I knew what waited for me there if I stayed. What lay beyond that was a mystery, but that didn’t bother me. The only thing that did bother me was the fact that I wouldn’t get to say goodbye to