Page 53 of Smoke and Mirrors

There’s a loud bang from inside my apartment just as I’m about to jump from the bottom rung of the ladder about five feet to the ground. I look up just in time to see Kace leap from my small balcony, across to his own, catching himself with the ease of a cat on the other side.

I jump off the ladder next to Kace’s bag.

“Don’t make me shoot you, Kace,” Luca’s voice warns from above me. My eyes widen as I look up at him. Axel stands next to him, the both of them with their guns aimed at Kace, who’s frozen halfway down his own fire escape.

He glares up at them in defiance. “She’s innocent,” he snaps.

Luca seems unwavering by his admittance. “That’s what they all say.”

I watch as he unclicks the safety on his gun, I can tell he’s hesitating, but I have no clue how far he will go even if right now, the enemy is his best friend.

Pulling the gun from the back of my pants, the decision to protect Kace, not one I have to think twice about. I’m not exactly a sniper, but I know how to aim and shoot a gun, so I squeeze the trigger, a loud bang filling the alley around us. The bullet lodges into the wall of the apartment building right next to Luca’s head. Both he and Axel jump back. I hold my aim even as I hear Kace leap down onto the ground, his heavy footsteps pounding toward me.

Luca looks down over the balcony, his brows furrowed together. “You missed,” he growls.

“Piss me off some more, and we’ll see how good my aim gets,” I snap back, fully prepared to defend myself.

An arm comes around my waist, lifting me off the ground as Kace rushes us the short distance to the exit and out onto the back street where his car is parked at the curb. He ushers me inside before slamming my door closed and throwing himself across the bonnet to the driver’s side like we’re in some kind of Mission Impossible movie.

The gun is still clutched tightly in my hand, my fingers starting to go numb, maybe from the cold, but more likely from fear of what I just did.

His warm palm suddenly covers mine, easing the panic coursing through my veins. “You did good, Lily.”

I chew on my lip for a minute before I allow myself to look over at him. Kace maneuvers the streets at speeds I know aren’t legal, but he handles the car with perfect precision.

“I kinda owned him, didn’t I?” I ask with a small smile and a touch of pride.

Kace doesn’t say anything for a second. Maybe he’s allowing me my moment of glory before he absolutely crushes me. “He could have killed you in a second if he’d wanted to.”

I shudder involuntarily.

I know he’s right.

If everything he tells me is actually true, then Kace’s team is the best.

The best of the best.

We are in trouble.

Chapter Sixteen

LILY

We are only driving for a few minutes before the inside of the car begins to fill with a loud beeping sound. Kace growls and slams his palm into a button next to the stereo.

A robotic voice begins to speak. “Operative gone rogue. Is now in alliance with a known offender. Orders are to seek and capture. Repeat, seek and capture.”

I sit frozen, staring at the dashboard. “That’s a good thing, right? They aren’t trying to kill us.”

He reaches an arm into the backseat, rustling around in his large bag until he draws out his cell phone.

“Kace?” I prompt again when he doesn’t answer me.

“Sure, it’s a good thing if you enjoy being tortured for information,” he says calmly as he presses on the button to roll down his window.

The cold breeze hits my skin, just what I need to shock some sense into me. “Tortured?” I scream, throwing my hands in the air.

His eyes flick to me. “I’d prefer if you didn’t wave that thing around.”

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