At that, a genuine laugh bubbled from my stomach. “Oh god, I’d needwaymore practice to be that good. Training, too.”
“Okay…” Spencer sidled up beside me. “Then why not get it? If this is your natural talent without any teachers, I can’t imagine how good you’d be with some lessons.”
The compliment stirred up a warmth in my chest that tingled right through the rest of me. Getting to explore my creative side would be a dream. But dreams were dangerous things.
I’d never considered the possibility — not fully. There was no money to pay for something like that and no point getting attached to some fantasy that would never pan out.
And that was okay with me — there was no chance of getting disappointed by something I never really believed in. No need to rely on someone else to provide me with what I needed.
Other people were fickle. I was the only one I could really count on. It was why I’d started drawing in the first place — it gave me somewhere to escape to inside my own head, something separate from all the chaos, something that only relied on my own talent.
But Leo and Spencer didn’t need my sob story. So instead, I just shrugged.
“I mean, I’d love to work with a live model or take a class sometime, but…” I gestured to my wig, to the disguise that just barely kept me safe. “Clearly that’s not happening anytime soon.”
Leo frowned at my excuse, but Spencer shrugged and let it go. “Fair enough.”
With the topic finally exhausted, my angels’ eyes went back to scanning the dance floor. The heavy silence that settled over the table was a relief: not quite comfortable, but at least I wasn’t the center of attention anymore.
A part of me felt guilty for chastising Leo. She’d only been trying to support me. And it wasn’t her fault I didn’t know how to handle it.
But before I could catch her eye and offer an apology, Spencer’s eyes caught on something across the warehouse: our mark. “Bingo.”
23
KIERA
Moving forward,eager to make my way into the bustling crowd on the dance floor, I kept my eyes locked on our target. “Let’s move.”
I watched him move through the crowd with ease, unbothered by using his shoulders to muscle other patrons out of his way.
Entitled prick.
All I could see was Grant’s face. How desperately he wanted to get that poor girl somewhere quiet. The fear on his face. The way his eyes went blank as his blood drained onto the warehouse floor.
He’d deserved it. And so do these assholes.
And as much as I wished I could deny it, I was hungry for more. My captors had corrupted me, shown me what real Justice looked like.
As I lurched forward, Spencer gently raised her arm to block my path. “Not tonight, Bunny. Strict orders, data collection.”
“Non-interference.” Leo growled.
My face scrunched up tight, my blood boiling at their words. “What the fuck? But won’t they just leave and hurt more women? Isn’t that supposed to be what we’re here to stop?”
Hoping to be the voice of reason, Spencer nodded. “I know, I hear you. But if we intervene now, we won’t get to the higher ups. You can only kill the hydra by cutting off every head.”
My eyes flicked back to the mark. He was settling into a seated area at the very center of the chaotic dance floor. There, he held court.
Of course I knew Spencer was right. She’d done this more than I had and knew how these kinds of operations worked. But I hated it. And more than anything, I didn’t know why the fuck The Oracle was the one to decide the fates of these women.
Who are they to make this call?
From what I’d seen, they were happy to let us do the grunt work.
It was only when Leo’s massive hand rested on my shoulder that I felt myself ease. “They promised us they’d watch for the girls. But this is our part for tonight.”
I met her gaze, searching her golden eyes — darkened by the dim lighting of the bar — for answers. And I knew what hid behind her words. Dissatisfaction. And duty.
