I kept Lark close and we moved along the wall, Nash and Cole with us. Landon, Alessio, and Rafe were on the other side of the tunnel. I couldn’t see them in the darkness.
“You can’t hide from me, Lark.” Dean’s voice echoed off the walls.
I squeezed her arm.Draw him out.
“I’m not hiding,” she called back.
A gunshot echoed through the tunnel, the noise deafening.
“Is that the best you’ve got, Dean?” I taunted. “Who taught you to shoot? Oh, that’s right, no one. Ed knew you had zero potential.”
“Thorne.” Dean made an enraged sound. More gunfire filled the tunnel. I crouched down, covering Lark with my body.
I waited. Soon, he’d need to reload.
The gunshots stopped.
I rose and strode down the tunnel. Dean looked up from trying to reload, his eyes widening in the light from his flashlight. I didn’t pause. I kicked him.
He staggered back, but caught himself. The flashlight rolled across the ground, giving us a little light. Then he launched himself at me.
I blocked his hit, then swung my arm. It turned into a wicked, brutal fight. We moved fast, our blows a blur, our grunts filling the tunnel. I blocked his hits, and landed some of my own.
We got close to the wall, and I twisted sideways, pressed my shoe to the wall and jumped into the air. My kick curled around and hit him in the face.
Dean’s head snapped back, and he sprawled back on the dirty ground.
My friends and Lark emerged from the shadows. Seeing them, a panicked look covered his face. He scrambled to his feet.
“Did you expect us to be alone, Dean?” I shook my head. “It ends here.”
Lark stopped beside me. I reached out, gripped the back of her neck, squeezed.
“I won’t let you hurt him,” she said.
“And I won’t let you hurt her. We learned an important lesson, Dean. Being alone makes you weaker, not stronger.” I looked down at my woman. She slid a hand into the slit of her dress and pulled out a knife. Then, she tilted her head.
I slid my hand in, along her sleek thigh, and pulled out her last knife.
“No.” Dean tried to run backward.
“Do your thing, little bird.”
She ran and leaped, her thighs clamping around his neck, the skirt of her dress like a red waterfall. With a twist, she took him down, landing with one knee on his chest.
I knelt beside them. “The last thing you’ll see before you die is the Reaper.” I smiled. “And his Lark.”
I met her gaze. Our knives moved in unison. She stabbed. She knew exactly where to aim for maximum damage.
I slit Dean’s neck. I cut into the artery and blood gushed.
Lark stabbed directly into his heart, her blade sliding between his ribs.
Dean made a gurgling sound, his eyes as wide as dinner plates, his body thrashing.
I leaned in, my mouth close to his ear. “I’ll bury you in that unmarked grave in the desert. No one will know your name, or what you’ve done. You’ll be nothing, and no one will remember you.”
He made one last sound, and I saw the life leave his eyes.
