Page 13 of The Plunge

"Unlikely," I tell him. "No hit."

"For fuck's sake."

He growls in anger, giving me a painfully long amount of time to worry about the implications this might have for me. I thought I was done with the Covey; tonight was supposed to be my last job for them. I'm so done, ready to get out.

But I know they're not done with me. Especially now that the job I was given has not been carried out to their satisfaction.

"The others?" Boss wants to know, not wasting a single word.

"All out. But we lost Jered."

He lets out a deep and angry sigh, leaving it unclear whether he's mostly annoyed at the news or sad about losing one of his men, a henchman who has worked for him a lot longer than I have.

"I'll need to talk to my men," he says, addressing me as if I wasn't as much a part of the Covey as the men he's going to talk to. "C will be cautious from now on. We'll have to find and watch him."

He clears his throat, leaving an ominous pause for emphasis, before he adds, "And get the job done right."

The reproach is palpable in his voice, and it kicks me in the gut. I've never failed at a mission the way I did today. I've never let a target get away, and I've never had this many witnesses either.

But I've also never had a pretty girl pushed in front of my gun and used as a human shield by the scum I was paid to take out.

"Anything else I need to know?" Boss probes as if he could read my mind.

"No," I respond. "That's it."

The lie slipped out before I could stop myself. I don't know why. It just happened. I didn't share a very crucial piece of information with my boss, which would be another first. I've never withheld anything from him, let alone straight out lie to him.

But for some reason, it still feels right.

That girl in there is in danger, and as of right now, I'm the only one in charge of her fate.

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