He listened again, then huffed a humorless laugh.
“Understood,” he said. “We’ll be there.”
He hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
“Roman wants a meeting,” he said. “Tonight.”
I glanced at Vladimir.
He glared back up at me, sweat and blood making his face shine.
“Can he walk?” I asked Priest.
Priest snorted. “Not without screaming,” he said. “But with enough drugs and tape, we can get him upright long enough to throw him into a cage.”
“Nothing helpful. Let him feel it all. We need him alive, not comfortable,” Blackjack said.
He looked at Liberty next.
“You riding with us?” he asked.
“Wouldn’t miss the finale,” she said. “Besides, I didn’t come down all this way just to let you Devils have all the fun.”
I felt Valkyrie step close to my side.
The adrenaline was starting to ebb, leaving behind a weird floating feeling. My ears rang. My hands were still steady on the gun, but my heart knew what it had almost just agreed to.
We stand up, we die together.
We stood up. We didn’t die.
Not this time.
Her fingers brushed my wrist, just for a second, under the guise of checking my grip.
“You okay?” she asked under her breath.
“No,” I said. “But I’m here.”
“Same,” she replied.
I thought about what Miami had said at the bar. About not waiting. About how quickly things flipped. About lying on your back somewhere with only one thought left—I should’ve done something when I had the chance.
I’d made a call behind that patio stack. I wasn’t going back on it.
I turned my hand and caught hers properly, squeezing once.
Her eyes widened slightly, then softened in a way I hadn’t seen before. Like some part of her armor had decided it could shift without everything underneath spilling out.
“We’ll talk later,” I said.
“Yeah,” she murmured. “We will.”
Sirens wailed closer now, echoing out onto the boards.
Blackjack started barking orders.
“Valkyrie, Jersey, help Priest and Turnpike get Vladimir into an SUV,” he said. “8-Ball, you coordinate exfiltration on the street side. Liberty, take your girls north-fast, then cut back through side streets to avoidthe cops. Valkyrie, you can peel off with them once we’re clear here.”
