Two shots rang out. Red bloomed on the rider’s chest. They swerved then smashed into a parked car and fell into the street.
I looked over my shoulder. Kaspar stood there, clutching his arm, grimacing.
I ran and kissed him.
He kissed me back, but pushed me away, wincing. I touched his bleeding arm, but it wasn’t bad. His old wound opened again.
“I’ll be fine. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. What’s happening back there?”
“Cops are coming. My men are scattering. We’ll meet up with Redmond’s soldiers and deal with Maeve.”
That answered my other question then. It wasn’t Darren coming to save me. It was Maeve coming to kill me.
I kissed Kaspar again.
“You saved my life.”
“And I’ll keep on doing it if I have to. Now come on, let’s get moving.” He tugged me along, staggering a bit.
I tried to support him as best I could. I took his arm then draped it around my shoulders. He stared stoically ahead though I knew he was in pain. My ankle throbbed and would probably be swollen.
If he hadn’t come, I’d be dead.
That was his super power. He managed to show up as I was about to be killed.
We reached another intersection. He looked around then tugged me to the right. At the next stop sign, a car pulled up, screeching to a halt. The window rolled down and a grizzled-looking man gestured.
“Get in. Redmond sends his regards.”
Kaspar pulled me into the back seat of the car. It smelled like gasoline and tobacco. The driver spit out the window then sped off.
I gently got Kaspar’s jacket off and used it to sop up his bleeding wound.
He stared out the window with a pale and set jaw.
“What now?” I asked, leaning my head against his neck.
He turned and kissed my cheek softly. “Now we go interrogate the prisoner. After that, we find Maeve and kill her nice and slowly.”
I tried not to smile, but all of a sudden, the idea was appealing.
28
Penny
Present Day
Chicago
Kaspar was right. Redmond had done most of the work. There were three prisoners: two men and a woman. All three were bloody wrecks. Both men were missing fingers. The woman had slices along her thighs and an ugly cauterized stump where her big toe should’ve been.
I’d never seen something so repulsive. Kaspar sat down and spoke quietly to the prisoners while Redmond’s doctor tended to his arm. I tried not to be sick as the prisoners came in and out of consciousness, and Kaspar was forced to slap them to keep them awake.
The girl talked first. She told him whatever he wanted to know. Maeve was staying somewhere outside of the city in one of her businesses; she probably sent the attack as a desperate last-ditch attempt at taking Kaspar out; they had orders to delay him as long as possible.
“Why do you need to delay me?”
“So the other Oligarchs can get involved.” The girl’s voice was a croak. The other men looked disgusted and exhausted, and neither of them spoke up to stop her. “Maeve would’ve killed you if you hadn’t come for her first. She knows you’re a threat.”
He glanced back at me. “And what about the others? Darren and Roman? Redmond?”
“She doesn’t care about any of them,” one of the men said. He had dirty black hair and a torn button-down shirt. He spit blood onto the floor. “Maeve knows you’re the catalyst. She’s afraid of you.”
The last man looked disgusted, but said nothing.
Kaspar nodded, thanked them, and stood up. The doctor was finished cleaning and suturing his wound. He gestured for me to follow him upstairs into a simple safe house. Redmond wasn’t there, but it was swarming with his men. Kaspar steered me to the second floor and into an empty room.
“What did we just learn?”
I shook my head, walking to the window. Outside was quiet and nice. It seemed like a good evening to go for a stroll, aside from all the bullets flying around.
Kaspar closed and locked the door.
“I don’t know, honestly.”
“We learned Maeve was going to come after me if I hadn’t attacked her first. We learned she’s afraid.”
“Because of me.”
“That’s right.” He stepped closer. “How much more convincing do you need?”
I closed my eyes. I saw Alice under his hands, turning blue, dying. I shook my head. “I don’t need more. I know you did the right thing.” I turned to him. Something broke in my chest and tears sprang into my eyes. “She drugged me. I thought we were friends. She was the first friend I made in my entire life. Can you imagine that? Going through life without a friend? I didn’t know anyone outside of my family except for the staff, and I couldn’t be close to any of them.”
“I understand better than you realize.” He walked to me. His hands pressed against my hips. He smelled like blood and spice. I tilted my chin up, wanting to look at his lips, tugged back into a sad smile. “I’m so sorry about Alice. I only wish I could’ve protected you better.”