Page 113 of Deadfall

“I’m going to say my last words to you instead,” I smirked. “You don’t own me, Riggs. No one ever has, and no one ever will. I know what I’m capable of—and now, so do you.”

I pressed my lips to his cheek. “And, that’s five, baby.”

I pulled back enough to watch the light drain from his eyes, blood trickled from his lips, and his body went still. I tipped my head back and inhaled breath after breath of him, the earth damp with his blood, the scent of death, and I smiled.

53

EMERSYN

I took Riggs’ radio and put it to my ear. “Hangman, Jamal—come in.”

Silence. “Rex? Jackal? Come in.”

Nothing. Something was wrong. Not that this job hadn’t already gone to shit, but the team being silent meant there was trouble down the hill. Deep foreboding cut through the satisfaction of killing Riggs. I thought I’d feel at least a little remorse, but I didn’t. All I felt was a deep sense of rightness.

I climbed off Riggs and pulled his gun from his belt, along with a few extra mags. I crept to the edge of the ridge to see what was going on. The dust cloud I’d seen had been two additional SUVs. They were parked a good distance opposite the other two. Except, no one was around. At least no one alive—there were a few bodies littered around the SUVs, but otherwise, it was quiet.

I made my way down the ridge to the single structure on the property. It was a dilapidated old hanger made of sheet metal. When I reached the door, it stood ajar. I carefully navigated the entrance, gun at the ready.

“Drop it.”

A voice boomed across the space and as my eyes adjusted to the watery florescences, I cursed. My team was lined up on their knees in the center of the room. Multiple guns were pointed in my direction, and the man who’d spoken had his pointed directly at Hangman’s head. Hangman grimly met my eyes over the space that separated us. They held an obvious, silent question when he looked over my shoulder.

Where was Riggs?

I gave the barest shake of my head. Not coming.

His lips firmed, but something settled on his face and he shifted his focus back to the man who’d spoken.

“Drop the gun,” the man said again. “Where’s your team lead, girl?”

“You’re looking at her,” I said with way more confidence than I felt.

I carefully placed my gun on the ground and straightened with my hands up.

“That’s cute,” the man smirked. “So, this tiny band of misfits is run by a girl? I should’ve guessed.”

“You know, I just killed the last man who spoke to me like that,” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. I heard Rex curse quietly, putting two-and-two together. “If you want to be next, I’m good with that.”

I looked around. When I didn’t see Octavius anywhere, my hopes fell.

“Speaking of bosses,” I said. “Where’s yours?”

“He sends his regards. He’s been following along with your little escapades for a while.”

I chuckled. “You don’t say? I didn’t know I was famous.”

The man laughed. “My boss is interested in anything that hinders business. And you—” He scraped his eyes down my body and back up. “You have been particularly disruptive. He would have come himself, but he lets me handle the small pests.”

I bristled at the dig, but knew better than to take the bait. Two men came over, and the second one grabbed my wrist. In seconds, I had him on the ground about to beat the shit out of him, when I heard a gunshot. I looked up just in time to see Rex fall dead. Fuck.

The moment of hesitation was all they needed to yank my wrists in front of me and handcuff them. They threw a loop of chain up into the rafters and attached it to my wrists, then hauled them above my head until I was on the tips of my toes. I stared at Rex’s lifeless body, feeling nothing but a numb sense of foreboding for what was to come.

“Here’s how this is going to work,” the man said.

He seemed undisturbed by the last few seconds.

“One of you is going to tell us where your safe house is. The longer you don’t divulge the information, the more angry I’ll become, and the more suffering you will all go through before you die. So—” He threw his arms wide and turned around. “Who wants to go first?”