Page 164 of Scars Like Wings

The woman was so hypnotized staring at the jagged glass so close to stabbing her that she didn’t notice that I was awake. I decided to use that to my advantage. I softly and quietly pulled the sheets back from me. Then I kicked the fuck out of her with all my might. She flew backward. The glass shards caught on her clothes and scratched her to high heaven before she landed on the vanity across from the bed. The furniture collapsed under her weight. Considering her size, I was surprised I was able to kick her and it make any difference.

“Sweetness? Are you okay?”

I turned to see Quinn sitting up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. I didn’t have time to admire how adorable she was. My voice came out as a hiss. “There’s someone in here.”

Quinn’s drowsiness immediately disappeared, her eyes becoming alert within an instant. I watched her scan the room before landing on the woman trying to recover. Quinn threw back the covers and leapt to stand in front of me protectively in a blur.

Her voice boomed through the room as she asked. “Who thefuckare you?”

The mysterious woman looked up from the pile of broken glass and shattered pieces of the vanity around her. There were shards of glass protruding from her shredded hoodie and jeans. But her skin was healing quickly and pushing the glass pieces out in the process. When she took in the scene, she chuckled darkly.

“What’s so fucking funny?”

“You know, I didn’t think you could become even more of a dumbass than when we were together,” The woman said, standing up.

I didn’t need to see Quinn’s face to know that her eyes were as wide as mine were at the implications of what the woman had just said. Quinn stiffened. “Zaria?!”

“Ding ding! Give this girl a cookie!” The woman, Zaria, took off her hoodie and her mask. She smirked. “Did you miss me, lover?”

“You donotcall me that.” Quinn’s voice was full of venom as she spoke. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Well, you know I will never shy away from a job on an island resort. This is nice, by the way.” She walked around to survey the room. Her scroll seemed innocent enough, but her walk reminded me of something I had seen when Simone had made us watch Shark Week. Sharks swam parallel to size uptheir prey while also swimming closer to them. I got out of the bed to stand behind Quinn. “Maybe this is a good racket. Dating the assignment to get close enough to get the job done. Then enjoy the bougieness afterward. I would call it genius, but that is definitely not you.”

“Zaria—” Quinn growled.

“Honestly, when I got the call, I couldn’t believe it. The infamous Quinn Garcia, daughter of Mr. Deadly Diego ’Safari’ Garcia and the Killer Queen who’s never failed a mission, laid up with somehussy? Oh, I had to see it with my own eyes. Sure enough, here you are,” Zaria sneered. “You can practicallytastethe sex in here.”

“You calling me a hussy seems kind of rich.” I crossed my arms. “What does anything that Quinn does have to do with you?”

“I don’t understand who told you to speak, bitch.” Zaria’s eyes narrowed on me.

Quinn blocked me from her view. “Who called you? What the fuck are you doing here, Zaria? I willnotask you again.”

Turning back to Quinn, Zaria’s smirk grew slowly, like a cat caught with a mouse in its mouth. “Oh, look at Safari Junior. It’s so cute when you are just like your father.”

Quinn bristled. I put a hand on her arm reassuringly. Zaria was trying to push her buttons, and it was working. At my touch, though, Quinn relaxed ever so slightly.

“It doesn’t matter who called me,” Zaria said, bringing our attention back to her. “But you know why I’m here, lover.”

She pointed her dagger directly at me. “I’m here forher.”

I hissed. She was only two steps from us now. I shivered and gripped Quinn’s arm tightly. Here for me? What could she want with me? And what was the dagger for? How on earth was this even happening?

“What do you want with me?” I asked.

Zaria tilted her head, realization sparking in her fake blue eyes. “She doesn’t know about us, does she? Now, what is a relationship without honesty, lover?”

“Zaria, shut thefuckup.”

“Quinn? What is she talking about?”

“Not at all what you think. She’s talking about what I do for work?—”

Zaria threw her head back and laughed. “Work? Is that what you call it? How ghetto.”

“I’m going to rip your fucking throat out and watch you choke on your blood,” Quinn snarled.

“Aw, are you flirting with me, lover? It’s just like old times.” Zaria smiled devilishly. “Maybe after I take out this bitch of yours, we can take a fuck down memory lane like before?”

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