I hear the door of my room open, and footsteps approach. Security?
The chief of police walks in. He says something, and I wish I could understand him, but his voice sounds like it’s echoing.
The nurse nods at him but looks at me apologetically as she pulls out a loaded syringe. I try to fight her, but Sergei presses a knee over my body, holding me down. I’m weak anyway. The nurse pushes fluid through my IV. I can feel it in my veins.
Are they putting me under?
It’s okay. I’m not afraid. Chi-chi grew up and doesn’t need me anymore. I’m sad nobody will tell Connor’s story. My dad will miss me.
Declan? I’m pretty sure he’ll burn the city down. I smile as I go under. Maybe dating Lucifer isn’t so bad after all.
Chapter 32
Back to work
Declan
On the other side of town
Mary and I narrowly escaped death.
Since I drove like a bat out of hell toward the city, somebody must have called the police. A line of cop cars chase me on the highway.
My foot is like a brick on the gas pedal, my grip on the steering wheel deadly as I maneuver the SUV between the traffic.
On the radio, there’s a report of an explosion in the hair salon across the street from the hospital. The helicopters circling the city tell me there’s an active scene.
“Dec, honey,” Mary says gently from next to me. “Whatever the matter is with Connor, you can fix it, but nothing will be fixed if you die in a car crash. Then you’re just a corpse. Rather useless, wouldn’t you say?”
“Thanks for the fresh perspective, Mary.”
“Take a right toward the hospital here,” she says, reading the GPS as if I can’t. Granted, I’m driving over a hundred miles per hour and reading the GPS at the same time.
I cut the right corner and get off the highway.
Mary cracks open the sunroof, not enough to let in the prying eyes from the chopper that’s joined the chase and is flying above us, but enough that we can see it.
“It’s a news station chopper.”
Good. They can report all they like. I enter a dense residential and tourist area in the city. From here, I recall several exit plans I’ve circulated in my head before we landed in Selnoa. I’m sorting through them in my head, but my plans never involved another person.
On the ground, I work solo. Connor is my eyes and ears. I need a new plan, on the fly. A plan that ensures that Mary and I survive.
Something presses on my chest. It feels as if I’m being crushed.
The cops follow me through the narrow, busy streets, but I’m putting a reasonable amount of distance between us. The thing is, I have to shake the news chopper, lose this car, and send Mary away, preferably all in a single move.
My phone rings.
Mary grabs it. “It’s your uncle.” She picks up and says, “Endo, we’re in the car being chased by the police. There’s a chopper above us too, and you’re on speaker.”
“What happened?” Endo asks as I pull into a busy parking garage for the city’s biggest shopping center. I circle around until I find what I’m looking for. An SUV that’s been covered by a tarp to protect it while the owner doesn’t use it. There’s always at least one in these parking lots.
“Need a minute.”
“Take your time,” my uncle says. I slide pods into my ears. Anytime I do this, it’s a cue for my brain to activate my training. It’s almost like flipping a switch. A trigger where I engage my assassin mode. Master Yi teaches this because an assassin is a weapon and, as such, should not be engaged while mingling with civilians.
I must function as a brother, nephew, and now also a lover. I cannot be just an assassin. But once I flip the switch, that is all I am.
