“They’ll never forgive you,” my ex snaps angrily through his teeth that are crimson with blood. “You’re gonna keep him around to raise my fucking kids!”
“Lean against me,” Bishop croons, pulling me back harder into his chest. “I got you, baby. He’s trying to sike you out.”
“The dude shit his pants, Ems,” Mills points out. “Who’s really scared here?”
“Why do you think we’re all standing on this side,” Marty adds as Blue chuckles down the line.
“And to stand behind the fiercest female we know,” Kyson voices from behind us.
“Grip the bow firmly, but don’t squeeze too hard,” Bishop directs me. “You don’t want the tension on your right hand.”
I loosen my hold a little and Alexander startles me, jerking forward like he’s going to jump out of the chair and beeline straight for me.
“Bitch!” he shouts. “I have a whole life planned out for us. I fucking told you that I loved you!”
“So?” my counter is weak but loud as he screws his face like I’m insane.
I am. I work with a bunch of psychotic people, but they were all right; we’re in this together. They’d never leave me behind even though I don’t deserve it.
But I’m nothing compared to him. He’s evil that hides behind a suit and company. Who attempted and almost succeeded in annihilating three lives in one shot.
“So?” he repeats sardonically. “How do you think you’re gonna get away with this? People will look for me. You want your boys to beat my ass—fine!” He sucks in a breath, struggling to keep calm and hide that he’s not in so much pain. “But they’re gonna look at you, sweetheart.”
“Why me? I’m dead.”
He scowls. “Your secret is out. My brother knows.”
“Ah, yes, the congressman dealing with a terrorist.”
“You know nothing!”
“Don’t need to,” I reply flatly. “I know all I need to know.”
Alexander’s mouth sets in a fine line. “This…won’t work out for you…the way you think it will.”
I glance down at my squad, all staring straight ahead at him with pure venom in their eyes. “Didn’t you guys tell him?”
They all glance over at me but remain silent. They didn’t say shit.
“Tell me what?” Alexander counters confidently. “That you roll around with a gang?”
“Geezus Christ.” I hear Marty utter.
“Why does everyone think we’re a gang?” Mills complains. “We don’t wear matching jackets and shit with a logo.”
“Maybe we should,” Blue chimes in. “We can have cool nicknames and shit.”
“I call Mighty Mills.”
“You’re so fucking dumb,” Kyson snarks. “What are you mighty in?”
Mills crosses his arms along his chest and scoffs. “My dick for one. Two, my charm. Three, I keep on trying to tell you guys that I’m pretty fuckin’ baller, but y’all keep acting like I’m not one of the smartest guys here.”
“You’re not dumb,” Blue says. “Just special.”
“I’m not eat-the-paste kinda special.”
“Nah, you’re the kind that sniffed white-out to get high,” Marty surmises.
“That was one time,” Mills huffs. “And I was doing an experiment.”
Marty scoffs. “To get high.”
“How about you all shut the fuck up and leave,” Alexander storms. “Let me talk to my fiancé.”
Mills plucks my left hand and lifts it in the air. “Damn, I don’t see a ring, do you guys?”
“I don’t remember him asking for our permission either,” Marty adds. “The answer is no.”
Alexander’s face softens, and he gives me a lop-sided grin, changing his whole deposition. “Emmy…c’mon. We were gonna talk about this. I’m going to a therapist and everything for you.”
The room fills with a bunch of snorts and the back and forth banter between the guys and Blue. Their chatter makes me relax a little against Alexander’s indifference of how to act.
“I’m ready,” I tell Bishop, trying not to do what he told me not to and squeeze the bow.
Alexander frowns but still keeps his light tone. “Think about this.”
“I did.” I take a deep breath, settling my nerves. “You’re done.”
“Done? What the hell do you think this is?”
My lips twist into a proud grin because the boys were right—this right here is family. “This is B723.”
Bishop wraps his hand around my right and brings back the taut string that I’d release like Robin Hood.
“B, what?”
“Alexander…we’re a secret group of government assassins. Why do you think I was able to hack into your shit way before you found out? How do you think I faked my own death? That I was able to forge several DNA tests and knew where you were sending requests to just to give you back a fucked result.” A mirthless chuckle escapes my lips. “I’ve killed more men than you know how to count, you stupid piece of shit.”
I didn’t know it was possible, but I think Alexander’s face pales more.
“Transfer that tension to your left hand,” Bishop buzzes in my ear. “And pull when you’re ready.”
I do it immediately, wanting to do what everyone told me to—get this over with.
The pads of Bishop’s fingers tilt my elbow up a little as he moves to the side and back to give me space.
His hand though, stays on the spot between my ass and my back.
“You can’t be,” Alexander argues with a shake of his head. “You’re…”
“Here we go with the stereotypes again,” Mills drones.
Yeah, I can only imagine what Alexander is going to say next, and I don’t care.
He picked the wrong one at the end of the day.
Releasing the arrow, it makes a slight whistle and just misses the side of Alexander’s head.
He. Is. Absolutely. Furious.
“Are you fucking kidding me?!”
I hand the bow off to Bishop, irritated that I missed, but I still keep my hard stare on my ex. “Your turn.”
The boys snicker and Blue finds my other side when Bishop loads up.
“Think you can get a dick shot, little Lou?” she asks me. “It would suck to go to hell without your pecker.”
I sniff at the thought.
Yeah, it would.
“I’ll give it a shot,” I impart, watching Bishop line himself up. His muscular arms rippling under his blood-stained white shirt.
Geezus, I’m so fucked up.
He’s super freaking attractive right now, about to maim or kill
