Ripped (24 page)

“I think you and I can come to an arrangement,” said the man. “See, I know about you. I know who you are. You’ve made quite a name for yourself, Ripper, and I know you’re a bit of a bleeding heart.”

Cade glared at me.

I wasn’t leaving.

The old man continued. “I won’t try to bribe you, and I won’t try to torture you. But I might make a phone call and have some of my men pick up a friend of yours.”

I took a deep breath. I wasn’t leaving, but I wasn’t sure if I was really brave enough to go after that old man. I had to do it, though, didn’t I? I had to move into the room, aim the gun, pull the trigger, and take the old man
down
.

“What are you talking about?” Cade gave his full attention to the old man.

“We know where Sable Clarke is,” said the old man.

I willed myself to move. But I didn’t.

Cade strained against the robes that held him, suddenly serious. “You don’t know shit about that. And if you touched her—”

“Maybe I make a call is all I’m saying. Or maybe you tell me what I want to know.”

“If you know where she is, then tell me where she is.” Cade raised his eyebrows.

“I might make a call—”

“You won’t tell me where she is, because you don’t know,” said Cade, settling back in his chair. “You don’t know anything. Sable’s safe, and you’re a liar.”

And that was the moment in which I decided to move. I hurled myself into the room, raising my gun at the same time. I gripped the handle with both hands, steadying it as I sought out the old man.

There. I saw him.

I thought of the target, picturing my bullet hitting home, and I pictured it this time as well. I pulled the trigger, staring right where I wanted the bullet to go.

The gun exploded, kicking back in my hands…

And caught the old man in the gut. He shrieked.

I ran for Cade and began to work at the ropes that held him to the chair.

“I tried to tell you to get out of here,” said Cade, looking furious.

“I’m saving your ass.”

“I don’t need saving,” he said.

“Oh yeah? What were you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t worked it out, but I would have figured something out.”

I had him free.

He stood up.

I glared at him. “Well, you’re welcome.”

He darted across the room to a chair, where his stuff was all in a pile. A money clip. A gun. A pocket knife. A tiny spray bottle. (I couldn’t figure what that was for.) He shoved them into his pockets, checked the gun to see if it was loaded, and turned to me. “Get out of here, now.”

Another door on the other side of the room opened and the three men from before came back in, guns blazing.

Bullets ripped into the walls, the floor.

I dove out into the hallway, landing on my stomach.

“I’m really never coming back here,” Cade was yelling over the noise of the gunfire. “I don’t know about the food, but the service leaves a lot to be desired.”

I raised my head and and crawled back to see what was going on in the room.

Cade was on the floor behind some of the chairs, pulling the trigger over and over again.

I couldn’t see the other men.

I wondered if I should go back in and help him.

And then…

It was quiet.

Cade got to his feet, brushing himself off. “Really should pay someone to tidy up in here. I can’t figure how this place passes health inspection. Oh, right. It’s a mafia front.”

There was a groan from the other side of the room.

I got up too, coming back into the room. The other three men were all lying dead on the floor, crowded inside the doorway.

The groan had come from the old man, who was bleeding in his chair.

Cade put his gun to the old man’s head. He pulled the trigger.

The man’s head jerked back. He was still.

Cade looked at me.

I swallowed.

“Give me your gun.”

I handed it to him.

He dug out the spray bottle and sprayed the gun down. Dropped it on the floor. Then he sprayed down his own. Dropped it as well. Went to the chair he’d been tied up in. Sprayed it. Sprayed the ropes. “Bleach water,” he said to me. “Bleach destroys DNA.”

“Oh,” I whispered.

He looked around. “Scene like this, place this dirty, they’re probably going to have trouble finding anything. Anyway, supposedly, this will look like a hit from inside the family.” He shrugged. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Cade

Fuck, she’d shot that guy.

It was all I could think as I drove. I kept gazing at her out of the corner of my eye, unsure of what to say to her.

She was sitting in the passenger’s seat, staring out the window. She wasn’t even looking at me.

She must hate me for putting her in this situation. She must be horrified, guilt-stricken. I wasn’t sure what taking a life would do to a normal person, to someone who wasn’t like me, who didn’t enjoy it. But I thought it would probably be pretty upsetting. I never wanted her to ever have to feel something like that.

I gripped the steering wheel. I needed to think of something to say to her, some way to make her feel better. And then I had to find someplace for her—someplace safe until I could figure out the shit with Ice.

Whatever stupid dream we’d been living in at my house, fucking like bunnies, that was all over now.

She’d never want to lay a finger on me again.

I swallowed. “Uh… how are you?”

She turned to look at me and her expression seemed calm, not tortured and upset. “I’m a little hungry.”

“That’s… that’s it?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Should I be feeling something else?”

I didn’t answer.

She tucked a strand of her hair behind one ear. “I mean, okay, I’m a little annoyed with you because you aren’t at all grateful to me for what I did. I saved your ass, and you’re too arrogant to even admit it.”

“What?” I looked from her to the road.

“I did save your ass. I wish you’d admit it.”

“Uh… yeah, I guess you did, love.” I smiled a little. “And, um, thank you.”

She beamed. “Well, you’re welcome.”

“You aren’t, uh… shooting that man back there didn’t upset you?”

“The guy who strangled his girlfriends and got away with it? Yeah, not so much.”

“Really?” Huh. I had thought that she would be really torn up over it.

“Should I be upset? Because you’re the one who actually killed him, anyway. I just wounded him.”

“That’s true.” I eyed her.

“What?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

“You think I should feel guilty or something? Do
you
feel guilty?”

“Well, no, but I’m not like other people. I mean, there’s something wrong with me and all. They say that people who work on death row, who have to administer the lethal injection and stuff, that they get bothered about it over time, even though they’re executing convicted killers. So, I just thought…” I didn’t know how to finish.

“Well, I mean, I haven’t really thought about it yet. It all happened so fast.”

“No,” I said. “Maybe it’s better if you don’t think about it.”

“Okay.” She shrugged.

We were quiet.

“You said you were hungry?” I said.

“Yeah. Starving.”

“Me too. Let’s hit up a drive-through or something.”

“Drive-through?” She raised her eyebrows. “You eat fast food?”

I laughed.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Cade

When we got back to headquarters, I knew something was wrong the minute we stepped off the elevator. All the lights were off, and we never turned the lights off down here. The place was never closed, because anyone might need its resources at any hour of the night or day.

My body suddenly went on high alert, and I was aware of everything.

I put my hand out to stop Shell from going anywhere.

“What?” she said.

I put my finger to my lips. “Get behind me,” I whispered. I was glad we’d stopped to eat, even if it had been junk. Actually, all the calories were a good thing. I was going to need them for whatever was in store in here.

It had to be Ice. He’d gotten in somehow. Probably, he’d just waited until he’d seen someone he knew, grabbed them, held them at gunpoint, and then forced them to enter the codes for him.

That was it. We needed to move. Damn it. Setting this place up hadn’t been cheap or easy, but it was obviously compromised, and that wasn’t good news for anyone. I’d give orders to have it dismantled, starting tonight.

My foot collided with something in the darkness.

Slowly, I bent down to check what it was. “Fuck,” I muttered. It was a body. One of the best guys in here, too. Blackie. He’d been shot in the head.

Suddenly, I was very glad that I hadn’t left Shell in here with him for protection. It obviously wouldn’t have worked.

And then I had a terrible thought. Kiera.

Her desk was this way…

I hurried over, bringing Shell behind me.

But there was no one there.

“What’s going on?” Shell asked in a soft voice.

I shook my head at her. There was enough light from scattered computer monitors that we could barely make out each other’s features. “It’s got to be Ice.”

She bit down on her lip. “I don’t have a gun anymore.”

“Come on,” I said, pulling her after me. We darted out of the main room and into a hallway. I led us down it, to the main weapons room. Once inside, I flipped on the light switch.

I handed her one of the guns, and then I started back for the door. “I need you to stay here. Lock the door. Don’t open it for anyone except me. You got it?”

“I don’t want you to leave me alone,” she said.

“I don’t know what’s out there,” I said. “I might not be able to protect you. I won’t be gone long.”

She still didn’t look convinced.

“You have a gun,” I said.

She nodded.

I turned to go.

She stopped me. “Wait.”

“Listen, Shell, I know you don’t want to be alone—”

She silenced me by placing her lips on mine.

I was stunned. I couldn’t believe she would kiss me after everything we’d been through that day. It didn’t seem to make any sense. But she was, and her lips were warm, and her body was soft and small. I crushed her against me, loving the way she felt there, wanting to hold her forever.

But eventually, I had to break the kiss.

I pulled back. I planted a small kiss on the tip of her nose, another on her chin, another on her forehead.

“Be careful,” she whispered.

“You too,” I said.

And then I did leave. I only paused to make sure that she locked the door behind her.

I checked the rest of the rooms in the place. There wasn’t much here. The main room, the weapons room, the bathrooms. We had showers down here too, in case you needed to make a fast getaway someplace and wash off the evidence.

I moved through the shower room, pulling aside curtains in each of the four stalls, making sure no one was hiding there.

Nothing.

I found another body, though, outside the bathroom. It was Guns, another of my guys.

But there wasn’t anyone else inside. I went back to the entrance and keyed in a code on the elevator. Then I dialed the number I had for Kiera.

She didn’t answer.

Fuck.

I hoped something hadn’t happened to her. I was going to have her spread the word to everyone that we were compromised here, that the place was under lockdown, and that no one was coming in or going out.

But if she wasn’t answering…

My phone rang.

I picked up. “Yeah.”

“Ripper? Danger.”

“Danger, when did you leave HQ?”

“Guess you’re in there, then? That why you’re calling Kiera?”

“How do you know I’m calling her?”

“We’re together,” said Danger. “I got her out of there. I had a little scuffle with Ice first. Dude’s got very bad blood with you for some reason.”

I sighed. “Yeah, he’s kind of a bastard right now.”

“Anyway, I told Kiera not to pick up the phone in case it was someone else with your phone. Said I’d call you back and make sure.”

“It’s me,” I said. “Was Ice alone?”

“He had Guns with him. Forced him in at gunpoint. I guess he used him to get the code in.”

“I figured he did something like that shit.”