my family. Do you know what I do to people who hurt my family?” I ask him with an evil grin. “Now, who sent you to kill me?”
“No, I’m telling you I was sent here for Jude. I was told he would be here with you. My orders were to take him out.”
“Well, you were fed bogus intel.” I shrug as if to say it happens. “Now tell me, who sent you?”
He shakes his head, so I press my gun harder against his temple.
“He’ll kill me,” he grits out.
“And just what do you think I’ll do?” I shake my head with a snort.
“I can’t go against an order when it comes from Zodiac, you have to believe me. I didn’t want to do this. I was just doing what he told me to,” he pleads, finally cluing into the fact that I’m serious. People always seem to think I’ll be more forgiving because I’m a woman, but my boobs are not magical stress balls that keep me calm.
“Zodiac ordered a hit on Jude?” I ask, surprised. This is the confirmation I needed. Up until now, I couldn’t prove one way or another if he knew about him.
He nods against the gun.
“Anything else?” I ask, waiting to see if he spills any other secret, but he shakes his head. Just as well, really, I’m running out of time here.
“Thanks,” I offer before firing the gun and shooting a bullet into his brain.
Climbing off him, I stand and move over to pick up the gun. I check it out, feel the weight of it in my hand, and nod. I can add this one to my growing collection. I’m still admiring it when the stairwell door flies open. I don’t think. I just lift the gun and fire. The bullet hits its target, right in the center of his forehead.
Wyatt would be so proud.
The body collapses to the ground like its strings have been cut, severing it from its puppet master, and in a way, I guess it has been.
I look at the man and recognize him as Cancer.
Fuck, I just shot a division head.
Looking at the smoking gun in my hand, I groan. I wanted to keep this one. Quickly, I wipe it down, removing my prints from it, and take it over to the other guy I shot and place it in his hand. It’s unlikely to hold much water if truly investigated, but if someone stumbles across the scene before my guys get here, it will give me a cover story.
I make my way back to the elevator and find Ben sitting up with his head buried in his hands, shaking a little.
“Hey, it’s okay. No more gunfire for now. They’re both dead,” I comfort him.
He looks up at me with bloodshot eyes, looking both angry and defeated.
“I’m sorry, I’m fucking useless,” he bites out.
“Hey, shut the fuck up. I’m fine, you’re fine, if perhaps a little bloody. I don’t need a big strong man to take care of me,” I snap, making him sigh.
“Clearly,” he huffs before looking at me. “You okay?”
I sit down beside him and lean my head against his good shoulder.
“Things are about to get bad, Ben. We need to be prepared. If you need to leave, you say the word, and I’ll get you and the boys out of here and set up at the safe house outside the city.”
“I’ve already told you I’m not leaving you, don’t say that shit to me again,” he growls. “When the time is right, we will send the boys off with Chris, but I’m staying,” he says adamantly.
I lift my head and tell him what just happened, leaving out the part about the first shooter looking for Jude instead of me.
“So one of the division heads is dead? As callous as it sounds, it’s happened before. That’s how you came to be here after all. I can’t see why this would be any different.”
“It’s different because Zodiac ordered the hit, and he just sacrificed one of his star players to take out another.”
Ben whistles, likely realizing, as I have, that something far more significant is going on here. This is about to become a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
Chapter Thirty-One
Danny and Baker flank me as Thomas drives Ben to Shadow Falls, where my personal doctor is on his way over to fix him up.
“You wipe the cameras?” I ask Baker, my arms crossed over my chest.
“Yeah, it’s done. I’ve downloaded the footage for you to go over later