“It’s too late for you to run.” I smirk at my father.
“I told you to wipe that look off your face.” His hand flies out, smacking me across the cheek. I let myself fall to the ground. My hand wraps around a chunk of glass. “Take her.” Jeremiah grabs me by the arm, pulling me off the floor and out of the office.
“I think it’s finally time we got our moment alone.”
I grip the glass in my hand, testing the edges.
For once I couldn’t agree more with Jeremiah.
23
Devlin
“I don’t know if we can do this.” Malone looks up at Alonzo’s mansion, the front all lit up and guards everywhere.
“Get back.” Brenda yanks him behind a wide oak as a searchlight passes by.
“We’re doing this. No matter what.” I check the weapons strapped to me.
“I’ve been in shit way hairier than this.” Brenda pulls a knife from her pack as a sentry comes close, winding his way between the trees.
“We’re not all trained assassins, Brenda,” Malone hisses as she steps from behind the tree, silently opens the sentry’s throat, then returns to us without a drop of blood on her.
“Good thing you have me then.” She grins.
“Don’t make it pretty. I want it quick and dirty. The sooner I get Diamond, the better. I won’t let them hurt her.”
“We’ll get her, boss.” Malone gingerly touches his busted nose. “We’re both kind of fucked, though.” He points at the wound in my shoulder. “That hurt?”
“A scratch.” I don’t give a shit about a bullet hole, not when Diamond’s in real trouble. My injury can wait.
“Brenda, you and Malone storm the front. Draw their attention as best you can without getting killed. You don’t actually have to get inside, just make them think you’re about to bust down the door.”
“Got it.” She gives me a curt nod. The harried manager of my club is gone, and in her place is a stone-cold killer. We could all take a lesson from this woman.
“I’ll head through the back while you two make a scene up here. Once I have Diamond, we’re out.”
“I’m ready to do a clown show if that gets you in and out safely.” Malone checks his clip. “Let’s do it.”
This may well be the end of us. I know it, and so do they. But they don’t waver. They’ve been with me from the start, and I’m not going to lose them tonight. We’re going to rescue my wife, and heaven help anyone who gets in our way.
“How are you going to handle Don Calabrezi?” Brenda asks.
“With a bullet if he’s hurt a single hair on her head.” I crouch low and wait for the searchlight to move past us again. “Go,” I yell in a harsh whisper. They move forward as I dash around the side of the house. I have to maneuver past a greenhouse, kill its guard silently, then creep slowly around Alonzo’s pool.
Two more guards stand at the well-lit back door. I can kill them, but I doubt I can silence both of them in time. No. I can’t risk alerting the people inside. They might hurt Diamond.
I ease back behind a manicured set of bushes and peek over the top. Alonzo’s overdone home is three stories. Most of the upstairs rooms are dark. Save one.
A shadow passes in the window, and though I can’t see her, I know it’s Diamond. I can feel it in my marrow the same way I feel her. I’m about to move when I see another shadow. This one larger, and it’s moving quickly right after my Diamond. When the faint sound of a scream reaches me, I bolt into action.
Gunfire rips through the night, and I can tell Brenda and Malone have gone into action. Yelling and more gunfire split the night wide open as I move unseen.
Bypassing the back door, I circle around to the other side of the stone building and find a drainage pipe running all the way from the roof. Without hesitation, I holster my knives and start climbing.
The stone and metal shred my fingers, but I don’t stop. I won’t stop until I make it to the window where I saw Diamond. My injured shoulder burns with pain that radiates across my collarbone, but I ignore it and keep climbing. It’s only a matter of time before someone spots me, so I try to go as fast as I can.
Once I reach the second floor, I climb sideways to the nearest window. The room within is dark, and the window is locked. Fuck. I’m out of time. I have to get to Diamond. Rearing back, I slam my fist through the glass. It’s loud, and someone will definitely hear it. But I don’t worry about that. Instead, I climb in, throwing myself into the bedroom beyond, then getting to my feet and sprinting through the door.