Page 47 of Tainted Love

Another bullet. Another batch of screams.

They’re shooting them. One-by-one.

Looking for me.

If I don’t go out there, more of my friends will die—

“Lucy Vaughn?!”

I gasp. That voice was much closer — just outside in the hallway. Boots stomp down the corridor, growing louder and louder. I bolt into a stall and slam the door, too scared to think of what noise it makes.

The restroom door bursts open. I cower in the corner, unable to move or even think. His boots continue into the room, tapping toward my stall until they pause just outside.

He kicks the door open.

I open my mouth to scream but no sound comes out. Fear overwhelms every sense, leaving me a broken shell. I look up into his face and wince in horror at his mutilated skin.

“There you are…” He pushes his pistol into his belt. “Lucy Vaughn.”

I blink in recognition. The right side of his head is completely covered by a white bandage spotted red with his own blood, but the rest of his youthful face remains.

“M…” I push his name off my tongue with all the force I can muster. “Marty Zappia?”

Chapter 15

Dante

The Chicago skyline disappears from my rearview mirror and I breathe a little easier.

Part of me knew it would end this way. Not the part about Snake Eyes being exposed — that was a bit surprising — but rushing out of the city with my eyes glued over my shoulder? That was pretty much a guarantee from the start.

There’s only one thing every employee I’ve met working under the Zappias has in common and that’s a giant target on their back. If they aren’t taken out because of disobedience or (alleged) betrayal, it’s because Mr. Zappia had a bad fucking day and needed to shoot someone to feel better about himself. A thug until the very end, as Marty so accurately pointed out.

The kid wasn’t wrong. Too bad he didn’t live to gloat about it.

They’ll go after her.

Four little words bring my heart to a standstill.

I slam on my brakes, ignoring the flurry of car horns screaming behind me as they pass me by.

I shot Marty Zappia in the fucking face. Eventually, his body will be found, if they haven’t tracked him there already. Zappia will send his best to hunt me down and make me pay for killing his precious baby boy. They’ll never find me, but they’ll try really hard and that means interrogating the ones closest to me.

Starting with the girl I brought to dinner last night.

Little Lucy Vaughn. Daughter of Terrance Vaughn, the dancer man.

What the fuck was I thinking?

I perform a U-turn, spinning around to head back into the city. This whole time, since the moment I saw the television report, I’ve thought of nothing but retreating underground. It’s all a part of our training in Snake Eyes. Focus on the mission. No distractions. Anything less gets you and your squad killed. That was never an issue before now. Sure, I worry about my siblings, but they can take care of themselves. I never have to lay awake at night worrying about Elijah getting caught or Lilah taking a bullet.

But Lucy…

I push a little harder on the gas, weaving in and out of traffic as I race back into the city. Traffic slows me down, refusing to let me go faster than ten miles per hour between stoplights. White knuckles poke out of my fingers as I watch the minutes tick up on the digital clock on my dashboard. Her apartment isn’t far, but I could run there faster at this fucking pace. I growl in frustration and try to calm myself down by thinking about her. She’s probably there, stunned and broken, lying in her bed with bloodshot, fearful eyes and it’s all my fault. I strangled a man right in front of her. That was Stupid Shit 101. I let her in.

I should never have let her in.

I finally arrive at her building and I run up the stairs as fast as my knees can push me. She’s on the third floor. Apartment B. A one-bedroom loft with two neighbors. One’s an old lady and the other is some college kid with vast amounts of debt he’ll never pay off. I checked on both of them and they’re clean—

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