Page 68 of Ride with the Devil

Oklahoma.

Why would she?—

“Go on,” she says encouragingly. “Open it up.”

I do.

Whatever’s in the bag, it’s deceptively heavy. Once the bag is open, I tip it into my waiting palm.

The diamond-encrusted cross sparkles in the garage’s fluorescent lights.

Holy fucking shit.

I don’t even have to ask. I know exactly who her target was.

Jack Donovan.

KYLIE

I hold my breath.

Over the years, I’ve lost track of how many people I’ve killed. Maybe that sounds cold. Callous. It’s the job. Once I started taking payments for the lives I took, it became a game. I barely remember any of the victories, while stewing over my rare failures.

No wonder Luca suspected I might’ve taken the opportunity to close my books before I retire. Nah. I’m not worried about that.

But revenge? Fuck, yeah. I’m always up for a little revenge.

Just like how I killed Jason Villa because of how he treated my sister, when I realized that I considered Luca St. James one of the few who belonged to me, no way in hell was I going to let those people who terrorized him get away with it.

He knows. The moment he recognizes the cross I gave him, he has to know that I went all the way to Oklahoma just to take it from that Donavan dickhead.

But I’m not a thief. I wouldn’t go all the way there just to steal, but if I reappropriated it from the man I killed… that’s definitely more my style.

And while I’m pretty sure that Luca knows that, that doesn’t stop him from staring at the cross for a few seconds before he glances at me and asks, “How did you?—”

“Oh.” Maybe I have to be a little more clear. “Yeah. I killed that orange freak. Then I took it.”

I hold my breath again, waiting.

Luca’s handsome splits into a wide grin. “He was orange, wasn’t he? I always wondered if he went tanning on the congregation’s dime.”

“Spray tan, definitely.” And a shitty one, too. “The blood on his chest was a big improvement.”

Still clutching the diamond, though I have his entire attention, he says softly, “I want to hear everything. Please, baby.”

I could suggest that we go up to his apartment. I stayed there a couple of days while waiting for New Year’s so I know where it is. We’d have more privacy there, but the garage is empty, and the way he’s using a pet name on me has me melting already.He wants to hear all the bloody details on how I took down the prophet who fucked up his life.

I’m happy to oblige.

“You did it in front of Emily? And my dad?”

“I picked him out on purpose,” I admit. “The guy looked like an older version of you, only more… pinched.” I wrinkle my nose. “I figured he had to be your dad. It was just a touch of poetic justice that he was in the room when I pulled the trigger. Same as how it was that dickhead’s office where it all went down. I saw the gold altar. I knew the diamond cross would be in there. It saved me time trying to figure out where to find it, but I knew I had to give it to you.”

And that’s not all…

Luca rubs his thumb over the cut gems. “Donovan is finally dead. Good fucking riddance, though I guess I’m not surprised I didn’t hear about it. That cult is so small, so secluded, they’re probably still gathered around his body, waiting to see if he’ll rise like Jesus.”

I shrug. “Maybe. Or maybe I told them that I’d come back with my C4 and blow the whole fucking church up if they even thought about retaliating.” With a laugh, I add, “It’s a lot easier to intimidate sheep than it is to e a Hummingbird among Sinners and Dragonflies, I’ll tell you that.”

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