Page 47 of War Games

“Ooop, Raven’s walking into a bad cell service area. You’re breaking up.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Siren. I checked this shit before you even got to Blue Springs. The cell service is perfect. There are no dead spots. Now quit stalling and tell me all about your night with Reaper. What happened? Did he get you on your knees?”

A stupid grin stretches across my face as I follow Raven off the main street and through a park. “Oh, he got me on my knees alright,” I laugh. “It was incredible, Mills. When I cuffed him to the refrigerator, I told him if he could catch me, he could have me any way he wanted me, and shit. When that man is determined, he doesn’t disappoint.”

“Holy shit. I can imagine. A man like that . . . fuck. He was rough, wasn’t he? He doesn’t strike me as the kind who wants to take it slow and gentle.”

“You’re damn right about that,” I murmur, remembering the night so well that everything below the belt clenches with need, desperate to do it all over again.

Mila laughs. “Shit, Siren. I’m going to need a complete run down. Start right from the beginning, and then you’re going to have to tell me how the hell you managed to even breathe around a man like that. He’s terrifying, and yet, he’s the most delicious man to ever walk the earth. Oh, what about those tattoos? They’re everywhere, aren’t they? Holy shit. Why haven’t you started talking yet? How am I supposed to live vicariously through you if you won’t open your damn mouth?”

A stupid grin stretches across my face. “Have I told you about my awkward dinner with Shadow and Reaper last night?”

“I swear to all that’s holy, Siren. TELL ME ABOUT THE FUCKFEST WITH REAPER!”

Putting my best friend out of her misery, I launch into my story, giving her every last detail, starting from the moment he barged in on my kill with Eagle, right down to the way he followed me back to the villa. I tell her about the way his fingers dug into my skin and the way his body rolled with every powerful thrust.

I give it to her straight, not daring to skip a single detail as I follow Raven through the park and down under the bridge that arches over the massive lake. My gaze shifts toward the water’s edge, looking at the very spot Reaper and I had spent almost two hours at last night, and just as I start to brag about the way he made me come on my knees, Raven appears right in front of me, her brow arched and a blade clutched tightly in her right hand.

“Ahh shit,” I mutter to Mila, making yet another mistake in these games and allowing myself to get distracted while on a hunt. “I’m gonna have to call you back.”

“Good luck,” Mila says just before the line goes quiet, and with that, I’m left to face down Raven and finally put this bullshit between us to bed.

Raven and I have competed for the same contracts for years. The issue is that she hates being second best and is a cold-hearted bitch. She tried to pin four of her kills on me back in Seattle. I guess she hoped the FBI would lock me up and throw away the key. I have no respect for someone who wants the cops to do their dirty work.

“If I wanted to spend my afternoon listening to you rave about fucking Reaper, I would have just asked.”

I feign a laugh as I take a quick look around our surrounding area, making sure we’re alone under the bridge, then I unsheathe one of Reaper’s blades from my favorite corset. Raven isn’t stupid. She’s been doing this almost as long as I have. Shewouldn’t be foolish enough to make a move on me in front of an audience, especially in broad daylight. She’s picked her scene well. Only problem is, this is going to be my scene, not hers. After all, I don’t make a habit of losing.

Reaper and Shadow though, they’re going to be a problem, one I haven’t even begun to figure out. Shadow is a no-go zone. I can’t even stomach the thought of touching her, and as for Reaper, how am I supposed to kill him now? Not that I actually think I could when it came down to it. He didn’t get as far as he’s gotten by allowing his emotions to rule his survival. He’s too good, and as it stands, I only have nineteen days to figure out how the hell I’m going to best him.

“Are you even listening to me?” Raven demands, gaping at me as though I’ve completely lost my mind. “Is your ego seriously that big?”

Ahh fuck. Now I’ve gone and gotten distracted again, and now this raging bitch is offended, probably assuming I think I don’t even need to pay attention to end her life. Just fucking great. There’s nothing worse than trying to kill someone who’s been freshly pissed off.

“I . . . uhhh. No. My ego is perfectly proportional, but that’s got nothing to do with you. I’ve had a bit of a weird night.”

“I don’t give a shit about your weird night,” Raven tells me. “Let’s just get this over and done with so I can be on my way.”

Oh wow. She actually thinks she’s going to beat me. That’s kinda sweet. I love when someone comes jam packed with that positive delusional optimism. It’s a wonderful trait, something I unfortunately haven’t had the luxury of having. I prefer to go into these things with my head screwed on properly, otherwise, you end up dead, and that’s not something I feel that I need in my life right now.

“Alright,” I tell her, adopting a fighting stance as it occurs to me that Reaper is probably here somewhere, watching from afar.And if Reaper is here, there’s also a good chance that Shadow is here too, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint them by not putting on a killer performance. “Just remember, you asked for this.”

Raven scoffs, and without a hint of hesitation, she comes for me, racing ahead with her blade clutched tightly. I simply wait, calling on every ounce of my patience as I watch her with a sharp eye, and as she takes her final step toward me and lunges with her blade, I simply step aside.

Her momentum sends her flying right past me, and I bring my blade down, slicing straight through her thigh as she goes. Raven cries out, and as I whip around to face her again, she stumbles, struggling to right herself after the blow.

“You fucking bitch!”

“I’m the bitch?” I scoff. “Were you not here just now? Did you not see the way you came at me? Have a little class. I thought we were going to do this like ladies.”

Raven clenches her jaw, anger flashing brightly in her eyes, and while I’ve made plenty of mistakes so far, she’s just made the biggest one of all. You never fight angry. It may make you dangerous and unpredictable, but it also makes you sloppy. She should know better.

She lets out a battle cry and rushes me again, only this time, I meet her with the same force she brings, throwing my arm up and blocking her lunge as my fist slams into her ribs. We trade punches, and it quickly turns into a lethal dance.

There’s no denying it, she’s good. But she’s not as good as me. She has skill, speed, and precision, but so do I, and unfortunately for her, nobody trains like I do.

Raven keeps coming at me, and when she rears back, preparing for another devastating blow, she leaves herself open. I take my shot, slamming my boot right into her chest. Her body flies back against the brickwork of the pillars holding up the massive bridge above us.

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