“Maybe. Remembering that your life could end at any moment reminds you to cherish every second you're given.Tomorrow is not promised. Especially not for us. The fight might end our time together. Until then, I’m going to cherish every fucking moment we have—like it’s our last, because maybe it is.”
CHAPTER SIXTY
KNOX
Bones looks at the map Killian drew of the warehouse. I’ve been having trouble getting Heather's words out of my head. I wanted to pull her into my arms and swear to her that none of us would die—but I couldn’t do that because it’s probably not true. We are simply pawns in her father's game. He knows what he’s planning, but we aren’t privy to that information. For us, the best we can do is prepare for the worst-case scenario, which is why we all have trackers embedded under our skin.
“There’s only two entrances which are also exits?” Bones asks, and Kill corrects him.
“This here,” he points to the rooftop, “could also allow someone to get access inside.”
Bones takes his pen and marks x’s on the rooftop.
“I will have twelve men up here. It sounds excessive, but I think there’s a high probability this will be used as an exit strategy.”
Kill drags his hand down his face, the unknown of this fight is getting to him.
“Do you agree that the plan is to take Heather?”
He glances at Benji before turning to Killian with an answer.
“In our world, an enemy would take our women to get to us. This situation is a little different. I think it’s probable that you’re right. It’s her they want. Especially if her father is involved, and I believe he is. Benji will talk more about that shortly, but yes, I think it’s a valid concern.”
Bones holds up the map to show Killian something.
“These rooms—I’d like them bolted shut ahead of time.”
Carter glances at me, but I shrug my shoulders because I don’t know why either.
“I want to close off all unnecessary areas. If we keep them all in one space, it eliminates the element of surprise. These corners near the office and the medical room would be prime hiding spots. The bathrooms will be closed as well. We will put a sign on the door that says closed for maintenance. People will bitch because that’s what people do, but they’ll get over it. They can piss outside. Any questions before I let Benji talk?”
Carter sits up straight and clears his throat before he speaks.
“Why don’t we go after them ahead of time? No fight means no risk for Killian. I know that’s what Heather wants.”
Bones nods as if he has already thought of that.
“Benji can explain this more, but there are too many people involved. It would take too long and we would run the risk of people being alerted. The fight is going to be our best chance with minimal fatalities on our side.”
Killian looks at me and I know he also noticed, Bones said, minimal instead of none.
“Benji,” Bones says, and the much smaller man clears his throat as he prepares to speak.
“I’m still waiting for more information, but I’ll go over what I have thus far.”
He holds up a picture, one I figure out quickly from the dumbass tattoo on his face.
“Grave.” I say, and feel a chill run down my spine now that I know what he did to our girl.
“He and his gang are working closely with not only the church but St. Dymphna’s. My intel suggests this fight is intended to be a bloodbath. I wish I had better news, but you should prepare for the worst. The only good news is that I don’t think the plan is to kill Heather at the fight. My guy on the inside with Morte said she has been offered as payment to Grave. He intends to keep her.”
Carter, Killian, and I sit motionless. My chest squeezes painfully as I hear Killian growl, his anguish matching mine.
“She is ours. He can’t fucking have her.”
Bones holds his hand up.
“Raven said you installed the tracker. If he takes her—and we will do our best to prevent that from happening—we will at least know where to look.”
