Page 68 of Ruthless Angel

I made a speedy visit to the bathroom for a brief cleanup and to tie my hair up in a clip. Daire shouted from downstairs for me to hurry up. I took the stairs two at a time, holding onto the railing so I wouldn’t take a tumble.

Daire slid his freshly cleaned knife into its sheath and crammed it into his pocket. He tucked a handgun into the back of his jeans, giving me a onceover. “Do you have a weapon?”

I nodded. “A knife.”

“What did I tell you about using a gun? If there was a time to carry one, it’s now.”

“It’s fine.” Brushing him off, I opened the front door. “You guys all have one. We won’t be short on guns.”

“What happened to your neck?” Cash asked with a frown as we strode down the front walk.

“Me.” Daire’s response was short and clipped, daring anyone to have a problem with it.

Of course they wouldn’t. They were just as chaotic as he was in their own way.

We piled into Daire’s car. He’d insisted on driving. With the way he drove, it was a miracle that we didn’t get pulled over more often. This would be a terrible time for that. Daire seemed to know that since he actually obeyed the traffic laws and didn’t lay on the gas pedal.

Blaze checked his phone, repeating the address. “Brady is at a bar on the north side. The man watching him said it looks like he’s waiting for someone. Hopefully we get to him first.”

“Probably waiting to buy a fake passport so he can skip town,” Cash muttered.

We were not letting Brady leave the city. If he managed to get out of the country, we would never find him. I needed to put my demons to rest by looking him in the eye and watching him die.

I was a lover, not a fighter. Or so I’d always believed. Witnessing the ugliness of the world firsthand had changed me. I kept expecting to feel guilty. Even though Brady and his friends were human scum, that didn’t give me the right to take justice into my own hands. I didn’t care about that. In a perfect world, the victim would be encouraged to take revenge. It was only fair.

Maybe I tried too hard to justify it to myself. Killing Brady was something I needed to be part of, whether it was wrong or not didn’t matter.

Blaze reached over to take my hand. That’s when I realized that I was shaking. “He’s not going anywhere. He doesn’t know we have the entire mob watching out for him. Obviously, since he’s gotten cocky.”

“That will be the last mistake he makes,” Daire promised, gunning the engine when the light ahead turned green. He’drinsed off his bleeding hand and hastily wrapped a bandage around it. I’d have to help him with a better wrap when we got home.

When we reached the nasty little bar where Brady was supposed to be, Daire turned to the rest of us. “Cash and I will go inside and get him. Too many people will draw too much attention. Keep the engine running.”

That made sense. Blaze and I would trigger an immediate reaction from Brady. The other two would stand a better chance at taking him by surprise.

Blaze nodded, getting out of the back to move into the driver’s seat. “We’ll be ready to go.”

I joined him in the front seat. Nerves made my mouth dry. I watched as Cash and Daire disappeared inside the rundown bar. The neighborhood itself was rundown and ramshackle. Not the kind of place one would go for a night out unless they were up to no good.

“He’s got to still be here,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“He will be,” Blaze assured me, rubbing my shoulder. “Did I ever tell you how much I love seeing you in my clothes?”

I glanced down at the t-shirt I wore and smiled. “I love that it smells like you.”

Leaning over to kiss the side of my face, he asked, “Are you ready for this? It all ends tonight.”

“I am,” I said, feeling good about it. “Are you? Brady did a real number on you too.”

“Fuck yeah I am. That bastard deserves to suffer.” Blaze studied his hand with the missing finger. “He deserves to lose a few body parts too.”

Remembering his dick in my mouth, I grimaced. “Hell yeah he does.”

“We can’t kill him in town. We’ll have to take him out far enough that nobody can hear him scream.” A vicious smile lifted Blaze’s lips. God help me, it was hot as hell.

Time seemed to crawl as we waited. Every time the door to the bar opened, my adrenaline shot up a notch. Finally, it opened and Cash strode out holding Brady in a headlock. Daire followed, rushing ahead to open the car door.

They shoved Brady inside and climbed in with him. Cash must have choked him unconscious because he was limp, his eyes rolling back in his head.

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