Page 135 of Cruel Lies

"It’s not even fun this way," Nash complained an hour later as we splayed his body out on the doorstep of a rich man’s fancy house, ripping his clothes up to display the bloody mess according to the orders we’d been given for the hit.

My phone vibrated again, once, and then was still for a whole five seconds before it started vibrating off the hook.

Against my better judgment, I checked it as Angel left the provided calling card and prepared to take control of the borrowed rideshare car.

I glanced at my screen, my mind elsewhere, and a jolt ofpanic ran down my spine the likes of which I hadn’t felt since Harper’s near-brush with death.

"Shit."Shit, shit, SHIT.

Angel stopped halfway in and halfway out of the getaway car, his eyes suddenly intent and pinned to me. He knew from my voice something wasn’t right.

"Ro?"

I watched the video playback my phone sent me, and everything looked just as it should. But something about the feed had sparked a notification, so there had to be something wrong.

"Something’s off with the cameras and movement detectors I set up at Father’s estate," I muttered, checking the time.Well past the old man’s bedtime."I?—"

I spotted it out of the corner of my eye just as I was about to close the app. The video feed jerked sideways, the pixels freezing for a split second before they reset and started over again.

Fuck. It was a loop.

"Someone’s in the system at Father’s house. The video is set to loop an old feed," I shared, dread filling my heart. I only knew a few people stupid or ballsy enough to dare to enter his compound, and three of them were standing here on the bridge. That left two people, one of which was supposed to be at the Guild safe and sound, posted up in our quarters while we were busy.

The other was dead.

Fuck.

"You don’t think . . . ?" Nash started, but I was way ahead of him, rushing to the stolen car with a quickness.

"This thing isn’t going to get us there fast enough to find out. So pile in and pray that she’s not that dumb, because if we don’t get there in time?—"

I didn’t want to finish that sentence. I didn’t need to.

We all knew what would happen if Harper, injured andanxious and fresh off the near-death boat, decided to go after him for revenge.

Speaking it aloud felt like a jinx.

I put my foot on the pedal and rushed to where we stashed the Torino, hoping for light traffic as we raced across town.

Hold on, Harper. We’re coming.

FIFTY-FOUR

HARPER

This was it.The moment I’d been working toward for the last week or two.

I’d been training with Lillyin secret to up my deadly game. We threw knives and practiced hold-break techniques, and she taught me the weak points of a man’s body outside of the obvious. All this last week of training was leading up to this.

I had to thank Lilly if I survived this stupid and very reckless escapade I was on now.

Taking out guards was the easy part. Just jack into the security system and feed it a loop from the night before. Take away their advance notice system, and they’d flounder to find me using screens that were as good as blank.

Each one fell in a semi-silent gurgle of their own blood as I slit their throats one by one, moving with an efficiency that would make the boys proud.

Thirty guards later, my hand was really starting to tire out, and I regretted the choice of weapon I’d made. But that was the way of it when dealing with knives. I wanted to be symbolic. I wanted to take him out exactly how the boys had been instructed to do me in seven years ago. I wanted it to come full circle.

Especially after I discovered the secrets the elder Blackwood patriarch was hiding under his bed.

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