Page 14 of Toxic Vengeance

This time Trinity grabbed hold of Eden’s hands. Hard. “Stop. We have to go.”

Eden went rigid, forced her gaze to Trinity’s. “I can’t leave her like this.”

“You have to. The shooter might come back, and he might not be working alone. We need to go.”

She was right. Of course she was right. There would be too many questions, too many possible entanglements. Chris’s murder hadn’t been random. It had been a targeted hit. Why? Because of Eden? Because of what Chris had given her today?

But the thought of leaving Chris lying here in her own blood without anyone to stay with her ripped her heart out.

“Eden.Now.”

The steel in her voice was like a slap. Eden sucked in a painful breath, forced her hands away from Chris’s chest, and pushed to her feet.

“Come on,” Trinity said quietly, taking Eden’s arm and leading her away.

Stay sharp. Stay sharp, Eden repeated to herself as they walked away, watching for any sign of danger. She couldn’t think about Chris lying alone back there. Just couldn’t.

Trinity took them to a silver minivan parked one block over and put Eden in the front passenger seat, sliding the backpack off and placing it at Eden’s feet. “Take these and clean up as best you can,” she said, handing Eden a pack of bleach wipes. “Put everything in this plastic bag when you’re done.”

Eden took them and began wiping Chris’s blood from her hands. She had to scrub it from around the edges and beneath her nails. “My car’s parked in the driveway.”

“I’ve got someone coming to take care of it.”

Eden was too upset to bother asking more.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Trinity said as she steered down the street moments later.

Eden couldn’t answer, still trying to take it all in. Goddammit, it hurt. Chris had been caught off guard back there, oblivious of how close the threat was. They’d both been oblivious. If Eden had gone outside with her, maybe she could have prevented this.

Or you might be dead now too.“How did you find me?” she forced out.

“Been looking for you for a while now. Me and the others.”

It made no sense. “Others?”

Trinity handed her a cell phone. “Call the number on screen. Kiyomi wants to talk to you.”

The name forced the remaining air out of her lungs for a moment. She hadn’t heard it in years, and it brought sharp flashes of memory to the front of her mind. A slender Asian girl with liquid brown eyes. Learning to spar together. Learning how to read body language and intent in a target. How to approach them to seem the most non-threatening. Various means of incapacitating or killing them.

With a stiff finger she hit the call button and waited for the call to connect.

“Hello?”

“It’s me,” Trinity said from behind the wheel. “Eden’s on the line.”

“Eden? This is Kiyomi Tanaka. Do you remember me?”

This was surreal. “Yes. How…?”

“Are you all right?”

Physically? “Yes.”

“Good. Trinity’s going to explain everything once you’re secure. You’re safe with her.”

Eden wasn’t about to just accept that. This could still be an elaborate trap. She’d been trained not to lower her guard. To be suspicious of anyone who tried to get close to her. But that tat on Trinity’s hip, and being put in contact with Kiyomi directly afterward… What if this was real?

Sirens sounded in the distance. First responders on the way to help Chris. Far too late. She swallowed, not wanting to talk anymore. Not sure what to think, what to believe. “I have to go.”

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