Although the man had no problem turning them loose when it suited him, to take out some target he’d chosen for reasons he never shared with them.
After hearing it so much, of course they began to internalize the word, make it part of their self-image. But the facts were that the truth had always been staring them in the face. Lion had never been able to completely give up the woman from his past, even if he’d ruthlessly cut her out of his life. They’d all quickly grown attached to Beth Lindon, a woman Bravo Team had rescued who had lived through more darkness, pain, and suffering than they ever had. Dragon had developed feelings for Cassandra Charleston while the woman stayed with them for protection, and then Steel had fallen hard and fast for Rose Gardner.
None of them were monsters.
But maybe they weren't quite human either.
Something in between. An angry darkness had been planted inside them. Most days, they kept it on a short leash. Some days, it raged and howled and they let it out. Days when they struck down evil men and women, took out threats, and eliminated targets who put innocent lives at risk.
Days like today.
Today’s target might be a personal one, it might be revenge for what had been done to them, but that didn't mean this was entirely self-serving. They knew from both what Dr. Gardner had told his sister, and what the mystery woman had told Cassandra that the scientist had never stopped with his experiments. Men and women had died after being given his drugs, either consumed by the anger ripping them apart from the inside out, or doomed by the suicidal thoughts that urged them to end it all.
Taking out this woman wasn't just about revenge, although Blade couldn’t deny that it would satisfy him immensely to toywith someone who had so easily played with his life, it was about saving other lives.
No one else was going to suffer at the hands of Dr. Gardner and his staff.
There weren't enough apologies in the world to save this woman from the consequences of her actions.
As he followed close enough to watch her movements, the woman completely oblivious that not only was she being followed but that he was so close to her, he watched as she paused at the side of a road. They’d made their way through the forest and back down to the main road.
On the other side was a small shopping mall. At this time of night it was closed, the parking lot mostly empty other than for a handful of cars. Seemed like the woman was smart enough, at least, to have planned things through. Likely, she’d panicked when she saw them show up there, worried they would find something that would lead them to her, and decided that the plan had changed and it was better to take them out.
In her hands, she clutched a duffel bag, and he wondered if she’d perhaps been staying at the building. If they’d found the link to it sooner, they might have been able to catch her without the building exploding around them. She was lucky they’d all survived because if they hadn't, she would have been punished for stealing the lives of the people he cared about.
After dragging in a few breaths, the woman straightened, checked both ways, and then darted across the street. It was more than obvious that she had indeed planned this all out.
When the mystery woman headed for a small black car, Blade scanned the lot for one he could hijack. While he never liked doing things that would hurt an innocent, he needed to follow this woman, there was no other option. They couldn’t allow this lead to slip away, so he was going to have to steal a car. He’d call Prey later and make sure that the vehicle was returned tothe parking lot. Once he secured the woman, he could use her own vehicle to take her back to Delta Team’s mansion, where she would remain until they finished dragging intel out of her, then they’d kill her and burn her body.
Setting his attention on a large black SUV that looked the same as most of the vehicles out there, he thought that was his best bet. It wouldn't look suspicious or draw attention if she happened to notice that she was being followed, but given that she hadn't so far, he guessed she wouldn't.
Her world was in the lab, but his was out here.
She didn't stand a chance. She was a dead woman walking and didn't even realize it yet.
Without even checking her surroundings, she scurried into the driver’s seat of her vehicle and slammed the door. The sound echoed through the night, sounding much louder to his ears than it would to anyone else’s, rising above the sounds of the forest.
Once she drove off, he darted out of the shadows, headed straight for the vehicle he’d chosen, and made quick work of gaining access to it. By the time he was driving out of the lot, he identified the sound of the woman’s car, thankful for the quiet road that made it easy, and began to follow.
With his enhanced hearing, there was no need for him to keep the vehicle in his line of sight, all he had to do was let his ears guide him.
They drove for a while, close to two hours, deeper into the forest, away from the city, before the woman’s vehicle slowed. Keeping his distance, he followed, noted the driveway she’d turned down, and pulled his vehicle to a stop.
Chances were, she would be keeping an eye on the driveway, believing that if anyone was going to come for her, that’s how they’d approach. But he lived in the shadows, the darkness had become his friend, and he’d become accustomed to doing thingsthe hard way. Blade drove his vehicle just into the trees enough to be hidden from both the road and the driveway.
Then he climbed out and melded into the forest. He could hear the woman opening doors and then closing them, he even heard the click of a light switch being turned on, which told him that she wasn't very far away.
The light was the first thing he saw as he crept through the trees. Another twenty yards or so, and a cute little farmhouse came into view. It had been freshly painted white, and the red trim around the windows glowed in the light streaming from inside. The car was parked out front, and he could hear the woman bustling about inside.
This was perfect.
Better than he could have hoped for.
While the woman had likely chosen this farmhouse as her hideout because it was remote and she thought it would decrease her chances of being found, it would now work against her.
Out here, no one would hear her screams—and she was going to be screaming until her throat was burning and her voice was hoarse—or come running to her rescue.
If he’d been choosing a location for his upcoming intel gathering session, he would have chosen one just like this. But as anxious as he was, he couldn’t just go running in there immediately, grab the woman, tie her up, and make her bleed until her secrets oozed out of her.
