26
Spence
Ilay on a grassy hill at the top of a deep valley. Trees and shrubbery camouflage me and my weapon while I watch Soph stand on the road at the bottom beside our car. Romeo is just thirty feet to my left, Jay is all the way across the valley in the same position as I am, and the others spread out, watching, waiting.
Sharpshooter, marksman, unrepentant if this goes bad.
Our guy – the guy who claims his name is Theo – agreed to a meet. This could all go away if he decides the Bishops aren’t a problem for him. But if he can’t come to that conclusion on his own, then my job, Jay’s job, Romeo’s job, is to take him out and end it.
I wouldn’t be sorry for ending his life. He wouldn’t be the first, and he’s the one and only reason I’m not with Abigail right now. He’s the reason I haven’t been with her for the past two months, he’s the reason I wasn’t with her three days ago when Marcie died. Or yesterday, when Kane told me she had blood tests taken as a precaution.
I knew the testing was coming, and I get that it’s just a precaution, but it wasn’t supposed to be until later in the year.
Taking this dude out would be a relief, a sin that would keep me from Abigail when our time in this world is up, but a relief for the life we live now. It’s tempting, but I do the right thing: I watch through my scope and listen to the radio crackle, since Soph ordered silence.
Our meet was organized for noon… it’s now ten past the hour. Our meet was organized for a discussion. To figure out his problem, and either fix it or silence it.
Is he one of Colum’s soldiers, set on revenge for our part in ending that money train? Or the opposite; is he related to one of the thousands of girls who Colum hurt?
Ironically, Jay and Soph are the reason Colum was taken down. They’re singlehandedly responsible for ending Colum’s trafficking. So ifTheois related to one of those girls, it’s understandable he might think Colum’s sons are of the same cloth. But it also means it’ll only take moments to explain, and end this war.
The Bishop sons are not the same as the Bishop patriarch. They ended his empire. They do not profit from it.
“Car approaching, a thousand yards to the east.” Jay’s voice is deep, low, and in work mode.
He might be the craziest, stupidest, most immature guy I know when we’re not working. But put a rifle in his hand and his girl in danger, and he’s the deadliest man you will ever meet. He will straight up assassinate a man if it’s what needs to be done to keep his family safe.
“I’m watching,” Soph murmurs. “I don’t see him yet.”
“It’s bendy,” Jay replies. “And there’s no dirt, no dust. Everyone understand their roles?”
“Yeah,” Romeo’s voice crackles in my ear. “Listen to him. Silence him. Go the fuck home. I miss my family.”
“You’re almost done,” Soph says. “Stay sharp, guys. I’m the only one who might die today.”
“I’ve got you, Sugar Plum. Never doubt me.”
“I’m watching, ballerina.”
I turn my rifle and watch the approaching SUV. One male driver. Two passengers… female. He wears a hat and sunglasses to hide his identity. His limbs are long. Long torso, long arms, long thighs, which imply long legs. He’s going to be tall when he stands. Not as tall as me, and not as broad as me, but he’s not a beanpole either.
He wears a thigh holster on the right side, a black gun tucked tightly against his leg, and keeps another handgun in the cup holder between him and the passenger seat.
“Okay, I see him now.” Soph’s voice catches. She’s brave, but she isn’t stupid. She could die if he decides he’s not willing to talk. He’ll die too, that’s a certainty, but it wouldn’t bring her back to the land of the living.
A cell phone chirps. One sharp bleep, then I hear, “Hello?”
I turn in Romeo’s direction and frown.
He has the phone pressed to his ear, but we all hear him through our earpieces.
“Romeo!” Sophia hisses as the car approaches. “What the fuck!”
“Now?” Romeo’s voice snaps. “Today?”
“Romeo!” Jay cracks. “Focus, motherfucker!”
“I’m out.”