Page 41 of V for Vindictive

Who even says dilly-dally these days?

Covering a smile, I trailed after our guide and tried to stay focused on our mission; the entire reason we were even skulking around in enemy territory. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find what we needed.

Phillip took all the files marked with my name and then, eyes shifting from left to right, he found the corners where the security cameras were placed. After confirming we were in a blind spot, he held out a tattooed hand covered in the usual rings.

Eddie sighed loudly, then dropped a small USB into the Austrian’s hand. In the same breath, Eddie held out his own hand, probably for whatever they discussed as payment. “They’ll know it was you. Your little scienceexperiment doesn’t work on security cameras, and there’s no way to access the feed, so they’ll know soon enough.”

I kept my face expressionless, but my heart did a few extra beats. The asshole had uttered the very thing I’d tried not to worry about the entire stroll through this facility, and the unsettling feeling in my stomach was back.

Phillip’s lips lifted devilishly as he dropped another USB onto Eddie’s awaiting palm. “I think you’re better off worrying about what story you’re going to tell them when they see you lead us directly to the information.”

Groaning, Eddie brushed back his dense blonde locks, absently looking over to one of the cameras. “I’m leaving now. You know which exit to use, and remember, I’ve done my part.”

With a parting sneer, our shifty-eyed tour guide quickly escaped the archive room. We were left alone with a messenger bag full of the Organization’s secrets. Not wasting time, we exited the same way we came in. And as we made our way to the exit, the ominous sensation from earlier came crawling back into my chest.

It felt too easy.

As if manifesting trouble with my thoughts, several Hunters suddenly blocked our way out. Their outfits bore signs of high-level Hunter by the mere equipment they had, much like Phillip, but each one had outfitted a mask with only their eyes visible, which was rarely a good sign.

Shady shit, those masks.

The two men beside me stalled, already sensing dangerous intentions the same way I did.

“I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting you lot to brazenly walk intomy facility, but here you are,” a voice said from behind the line of Hunters. “Then again, I’d expect nothing less of you, Phillip.”

Shit.

Like drawing curtains away from himself, the Hunters pivoted, clearing space, and a man dressed in a chic, well-tailored suit stepped through the line of masked Hunters, his expensive shiny shoes clicking over the floor.

Startling silver eyes the color of a bright full moon immediately found me first, and something about the way this massive, over six-foot newcomer looked at me made my stomach twist into knots.

The man’s short, stylish black hair framed a handsome face, even though everything about his presence put a threat into the air I hadn’t felt with anyone outside of my enemies. He was beefed up like every dude I’d seen on the payroll, so that didn’t really set him apart. What did was how he wore it; how he walked and talked. The way the Hunters around him followed his every move with their eyes.

It didn’t take long to figure out this dude called all the shots. And if that wasn’t enough, then the way this arrogant asshole carried himself and addressed the men beside me suggested he was nothing but bad news.

If villain had a look, it would be this silver-eyed boss dude.

One glance at Phillip told me that whoever this guy was, it was someone he knew—intimately. I’d wager someone Phillip worked under at some stage by the familiarity in the new guy’s tone. If I was right, this might be the suspected guy at the top; the one we’d been looking to put a face to.

And here the bastard is, blocking our one way out of this shithole.

Most couldn’t read the Austrian with one glance, but the way he stared at the suit-wearing villain was the same way he looked at Eros. Phil’s eyesdidn’t move away, wary of the man’s every move, never letting a single action go unnoticed. But this was Phillip we were talking about, and he was nothing if not a sarcastic bastard, so he recovered quickly.

“Lux, I should’ve guessed it’d be you,” Phillip commented, lips lifted but clever eyes dangerously honed in on Lux the same way they did with any enemy. My guess was Phillip already suspected Lux long before we stepped into this facility. “If anyone was going to sell their soul to the Devil, it’d be you.”

Whoop, there it is.

The man weirdly named Lux put a hand over his suited chest in mock compliment, the massive width of his upper torso dwarfing his hand in a way that would earn its fair share of small dick jokes from me if I weren’t figuring out an escape route. “That’s awful sweet of you to say, but I’m not the traitor here. You are.”

The silver-eyed villain stole a look at me.

“I must admit, the granddaughter of Rose is much more beautiful in person than I ever expected. I can see why you, the man who’s been infamously known to be allergic to love, would fall so head over heels. Pictures don’t do you justice, my sweets.”

Ew. Gross.

I kept my chin lifted and a hand on my weapon despite the urge to physically gag. Everything about him screamed evil bastard, and right now, we were at a disadvantage.

Phillip’s eyes blazed with rage, but he clicked his tongue and flipped a small device in his hand, one I recognized shut down magic. “I did think this was a little too easy. So you were waiting for us. Guess it was you who found Eros and sent him to recover V.”

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