“This is a raid on some kind of stash house with a bunch of other mafia bros. You’re not exactly storming the beaches at Normandy.”
“Ooh, it sounds like someone’s been watching Grandpa documentaries. I’m in. As soon as I get back in the car, you’ll have to teach me about the beaches at Normandy.”
I already know about them, obviously. But I love how much pleasure Colm seems to take in learning things despite having no urgent need to, and how he even has to hide it from his men. He does it for the love of the game. I could turn into a pool of melted butter right here in this passenger seat listening to him explain WWII history to me, I’ve no doubt.
Colm hesitates again, but then leans forward and kisses me like I wanted. It’s brief and chaste, but sends shivers up my spine all the same. I keep waiting for the disgust or discomfort to settle in, but it never does. I don’t know if it’s literally just him that can do this to me, or if he happens to be the only person I’ve been around long enough to actually build up a tolerance to, but I don’t really care. I’m not trying to repeat the experiment any time soon. I’m still exploring the results of this one.
The others are still sitting in the car, probably arguing about something, but I don’t want to lose their trail, so I need to getmoving. And I want to help them find Bane. They’re all kind of cute, in a criminal way. I want to be part of the fun.
“Wait for me,” I say, breaking off the kiss.
“Be safe.”
Colm holds my gaze, still looking stressed, so I have to be the one to get out of the car because otherwise he’ll keep me there forever.
As soon as I’m on the move though I feel absolutely psyched to cause a little carnage. My adrenaline starts to flow, and I picture what might be waiting for us inside the house.
I’m nearly bouncing on the balls of my feet when I approach the car and knock on their window. Casey—the tall one—rolls it down, looking confused as if we hadn’t literally discussed me coming to help them. It’s possible they’re all a little slow. Especially considering they’re still in the car, not inside causing carnage.
“What are we waiting for? I thought this was urgent.”
The angry Russian gets out of the car with the same intense expression he wore earlier, and I get a little thrill as I realize some nasty shit is about to go down. He looks through the trunk for a minute and pulls out a wicked looking knife before making an abrupt beeline for the house.
“Oh shit. There he goes. He’s fast, isn’t he,” I say, watching him move very gracefully for someone so tall.
When a man answers the door for him, this guy shoves the knife right in his neck. I’m a little jealous, because that’s normally my move, but it’s always nice to see someone fully committed to their skill set.
Someone swears behind me, but I’m too excited to pay attention.
We move inside, and my own knife is in my hand, but the Russian takes out the next guard seamlessly with a double tap to the heart and thigh.
“Damn, he’s good,” I say, feeling an intense surge of jealousy.
I’m not sure I’ve ever stabbed someone directly in the heart. I need to get one of those fancy fucking knives he’s carrying.
Another man appears to the side, and this time, I’m fastest. My butterfly knife sinks neatly into his temple, and I get to enjoy watching him sputter and paw at it for a few seconds before I put him out of his misery and drop him to the ground.
That’s more like it.
The rest of the guys are sweeping through the house, while my new hero is still on his mission, looking through one room after another to find his Bane. It occurs to me that I really, really like that name. It’s even better than Fallow. Once again, I’m a little jealous.
Oh, god. If I keep hanging about with Colm, is he going to expect me to tell him more personal things? I don’t think I could ever face telling him my real name. I’m enjoying this whole intimacy thing for the first time, but nobody gets to know my name except Murphy, Ellery, and me.
Angry man has found a room, and based on the sounds, we’ve finally gotten to Bane. It takes too long for me and the others to catch up to him, caught up with the remaining guards in the house. Just as I get to the doorway, a gunshot goes off.
Inside is a bloodbath. I’m not sure how many people are in here, but I see a woman slumped on the floor and the evidence of some messy, major knife wounds. A startlingly pale and blood-soaked man is tied to a chair, looking significantly worse than when I first found Colm, on the edge of consciousness.
He moans out, “Georgiy,” before passing out.
The angry Russian man—Georgiy, I assume—clearly caught that bullet. He’s conscious, but as soon as Bane’s eyes close he starts to lose it.
This is so much more high drama than I expected. At first, I was just along for the ride, but now I feel committed. I lookat Kit and his friends, resolved to help with the cleanup for this situation any way I can. I just hope they have a medical connection, because Bane and Georgiy both look like they’re going to need it.
Chapter Twenty-One
Fallow
Iwas really hoping San Francisco would be our final stop, and Georgiy’s crew would reveal that Ellery was in a hotel room somewhere and take me to them. But no, we had to go down to Los Angeles next. I’m frustrated by the delays, especially as it’s given me time to build this whole situation up in my head.
