Page 9 of Cruel Love

“Last I remember, guns weren’t really your thing,” he says.

I step forward as I roll my jacket off. He eyes me as I lay it along the edge of the bed and turn out my pants pockets, removing nothing but a cell phone.

“See?” I say. “No knives, no wires.”

His trained eyes look at Lilah, as they should.

I make a half-turn in her direction and extend my hand for her gun.

“Oh, come on,” she says.

“If we want his help, he has to trust us. Give it to me.”

She scoffs and drops it into my open palm.

Fox furrows his brow. “And Elijah?” he asks.

My gut churns as I let the gun slip onto the bed. I instinctively glance at Elijah’s red medkit sitting on the floor next to my suitcase.

“He’s dead,” I say, forcing nausea down.

Fox blinks, signaling a stark change in his expression. He takes a moment, letting the words sink in, and after a slow exhale, he steps forward and places his own gun on the bed next to mine.

“This is Dani,” he says with a quick look back at the girl.

I recall the times Fox used to mention her, usually over a drink or two or three. Nothing concrete. Just a passing comment whenever something reminded him of her. For a moment, I feel a little closure. I never thought for a second he’d make it home to her. But I’m glad he did.

“I’m Dante,” I say to her. “This is my sister, Lilah, and my girlfriend, Lucy.”

Dani’s eyes shift behind her black bangs, landing on each of us. “Hey,” she says.

Lucy smiles from the corner, her face red and starstruck. “Hi,” she squeaks.

Lilah stays quiet.

The tension in Fox’s shoulders dips. “Need my help with what?” he asks.

“Finish what you started, mostly,” I say.

“What I started?”

“The end of Snake Eyes,” I say. “You weakened it. Now, we want to cut off its head.”

“You mean the Boss?” he asks.

“The Boss. Myra. All of them. Every single squad leader, if needed. None of us can really move on until we do.”

He shakes his head. “No, it’s not possible.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it’s not. If it were, I would have done it on my way out.”

“By yourself, sure,” I say. “But working together, we have a fighting chance.”

He flexes his jaw. “No.”

“You need us, Fox.” I look between him and Dani. “Tonight was just the beginning. She sent a team to track you down. They know you’re here and they won’t stop until you’re dead.”

---