Holding the blades pointed inward, he covers them with one hand while he waves us close. “Longest dagger goes first. Then the next longest, second. The shortest, last.”
Catching my gaze, the reaper jerks his chin. “Ready?” It’s a loaded question.
To kill my father?Absolutely.
We all withdraw a dagger and Maeve directs, “Hold them up.”
Ethan and Finn do so, following me. Swearing, I bite my tongue aggravated.
“Finn, Ethan, then Hayes.” She nods once, frowning. “You start tomorrow. Only twenty-four hours to do the job. Twenty-four hours to see if it took. Good luck.”
My competition departs and I turn to leave, mind racing. I have calls to make. Collins was already aware of her role after I told her I killed Simon. She’s too strong to buckle to her fears, but I still want to explain to her what I’m to do next.
Maeve cuts me off, frowning. “Are you alright?”
She sees the bandage on my arm but doesn’t move to touch it. A line appears on her forehead and her mouth pinches.She’s annoyed.
“I’m fine,” I say, elbowing her. “I thought we decided not to talk?”
“That was before.” She shifts her weight. “Can you do this?” she whispers. “It’s a big ask. Going after Senior was the only way to make Bruno back off?—”
“Are you worried about me?” I raise a brow. “You’re getting soft in your tenure, Ace.”
She glowers. “Fuckoff. I’m trying to make sure you can handle this.”
I don’t take it personally. Not everyone can kill their parents.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to be second,” I remind her. “Including going after our enemy. Any enemy. You know that.”
Because he is. He’s not my father—he’s the man who tried to take Collins. Who hurt me. Who let Bruno run his empire and become a threat to my chosen family.
“Then explain what thefuckhappened with Roman,” she asks, poking me in the chest. “How did he find you?”
“Ow,” I gripe, rubbing my breastbone. “Your guess is as good as mine. I assume he’s watching the compound.”
Killian looks from Maeve to me, taking out his phone. “He would need access to the grounds to watch us. Or be stationed outside the gates.” And the mansion is surrounded by heavily patrolled, thick woods. The gates at the front are monitored by guards stationed there as well as high-tech cameras.
Cameras that run on a closed loop, with only Briar accessing them. It’s almost impossible for anyone else.
“Neither of which are happening,” Maeve comments, chewing her lip. She takes out her knife, flipping it, stalking back to her desk.
She stabs the top with expert precision. It’s a swift move, too fast to track. “We have a leak.”
My blood runs cold, terror tightening my gut. “What makes you say that?”
But as I say it, I know she’s right. Everything fits. Roman can’t watch us inside unless he’s being fed information. Someone has to be tipping him off as to where Collins is going and when. If he was at the gates, we’d see him. If he planted cameras, we’d find them—well, Briar would. Somehow, he is always on top of our cybersecurity.
“Someone on the inside.” Killian chuckles, eyes dead, the knife in his hand the hand of death. “I’ll cut out their heart.”
“That means we’re in trouble.” I lock eyes with Maeve. “Roman didn’t know about the first trial because he came to the museum to bitch. But going forward? He’ll know we’re going after Senior.”
That means more security. More complications. More issues.
More opportunities for Roman to get Collins.
“He turned someone.”
“Probably got scared.” Killian twirls the knife. “He went after one of our guys, bribed him. Now, he’s got a finger on our pulse.”
