More like he’d stumbled out of bed, slouched to the bathroom where he’d spent some time washing his face, brushing his teeth, and castigating himself for being thirty-four years old and still being stupid enough to think he could drink that much bourbon without it making him feel like death warmed over.
By the time he’d slipped on the only pair of clean jeans he had—they were black denim with a hole in one knee and hems that were frayed—and the last T-shirt in his drawer, he’d been anxious to get downstairs and see how many ways Eliza had devised to kill him. Slowly. Andpainfully.
Now, here he was back upstairs without having had a moment to apologize. And it was all thanks to the feds’ ill-timed arrival.
He wasn’t surewhyhe felt the need to arm himself. But he never questioned his sixth sense. So he lifted his pillow and reached for his Glock.
It wasn’t there.
A spurt of adrenaline fired in his blood as he threw back the top quilt and the flat sheet and?—
There.
His sidearm sat atop the fitted sheet on the opposite side of the bed—he was always a restless sleeper after he’d had too much to drink.
Instead of taking the time to walk around the bed, he simply grabbed the fitted sheet and pulled. The gathered corners ripped out from under the mattress and his favorite pistol slid his way.
The grip was worn smooth in places from the palm of his hand. The familiar smell of gun cleaner tickled his nose. And the metal was cold as he slipped the barrel into the back of his waistband.
Eliza had left her door open, so he rapped his knuckles against the doorframe before leaning against the jamb. “I’m sorry ’bout last night,” he said lowly. “I can be a real shit when I’ve been in the Wild Turkey.”
“You’re never a shit, Fish.” As she loaded shirts and pants into a leather duffel, her tone matched her expression. Both were affectionate. And maybe a little sad. “And besides, like you said, can’t blame a guy for trying, right?”
“You’re too easy on me.” He shook his head.
“Oh, I’d be happy to make a list of all your faults while I’m sequestered away under federal protection.” The sun had risen over the horizon, and the pink light of morning filtered through her window to make her dark eyes glint like rich mahogany.
He was happy to see she’d packed a pair of frumpy, long-sleeved pajamas. If she’d packed the flimsy silk set he’d seen her in two nights ago, he might have had to shoot Agent Douchecanoe as a precaution.
“Not sure there’s enough paper on the planet for that job,” he teased.
The cold, hard stone that was his heart felt even colder and harder than usual at the thought of not being able to see her. Touch her.Protecther. And he planned to stay on Agent O’Toole’s ass to get this entire thing solved so that she could come back where she belonged.
Back to BKI.
Back to him.
Except she doesn’t belong to you, the better angels of his nature reminded him.
She could if you’d only let her,the lesser devils teased.
23
Flour Power Bagel Shop, Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois
Yang’s sniper rifle sat assembled beside him as he crouched on the roof of the bagel shop across the street from Black Knights Inc. He sighed when he felt his phone vibrate with life inside his jeans.
It promised to be a lovely morning. Too bad he would be spending it making a clandestine escape from the city.
He preferred stealth when it came to taking out a target. And all the better if he could take out a target from afar—like he had done with Senator Chastain. But Bishop had called him earlier to say he had gotten his hands on a summary of Eliza Meadows’s official statement and people at the party had brought up Bishop’s name—hisrealname—in conversation.
“I want her dead,”Bishop had hissed. And for the first time, Yang had heard fear in the man’s voice.“And sooner rather than later. I’ve laid down all the crumbs needed to lead the feds to Reynolds. So that leaves only Eliza.”
Pulling his burner from his pocket, he thumbed on the device. “Yes?”
“Is it done?” There was always impatience in Bishop’s voice. But it was emphasized this morning.
“Not yet. She is still inside the compound. But as soon as she emerges, I will finish it.”
