Page 32 of What Doesn't Kill Us

They both nod, gathering their things and heading off toward the exit to the parking garage as Tony says, “We’ll meet you there. We need to make a stop first, so don’t do anything stupid.”

Lilith goes to follow them, then stops, turning back toward me as I stand there. “You coming to rescue your man or what?”

She holds her hand out to me.

I take it.

And off we go.

Chapter Thirteen

Dare

I’mnotsurewhatI thought I was walking into, but I’m almost certain this wasn’t it.

The first thing I see is Carolina being held up by her hair and some idiot motherfucker slapping the shit out of her.

My blood boils, and Agatha punches me in the sternum to get my attention. I glare at her, and she scowls back. “Keep it together, asshole.”

I give her a curt nod, shaking the fog from my brain and refocusing my attention on our surroundings. There are only a few other people in the room, which means there are likely a lot more lurking in the shadows, waiting for a reason to show themselves.

I assume the idiot motherfucker slapping Carolina around is the Vincent who sent the yahoo out to pick me up. He’s tall, maybe a few years younger than me. He also looks oddly familiar, a feeling I’m never comfortable with.

Always know your enemies.

I turn back to Agatha. “Shall we make an appearance?”

She nods. “May as well.”

I steadily step forward, my voice ringing out through the room. “Put the lady down, dipshit.”

Agatha groans beside me, jabbing her elbow into my side as she hisses, “For fuck sake, Dare. Ever heard of subtlety?”

“I gave up on subtlety a long time ago,” I say with a shrug.

She shakes her head at me, then walks further into the room, stopping when she’s a few yards from the idiot motherfucker still holding onto a now-bleeding Carolina. “Let her go, Vincent. She did exactly what you asked her to do.”

His expression remains impassive, but he uses his grip on her hair to shake her, and she whimpers in pain, her hands gripping his wrist to ease the pull on her scalp. His voice is void of emotion as he replies, “Don’t tell me how to manage my fucking wife.”

I barely keep the surprise off my face, but Agatha turns and gives me a look. I frown at her. “Hey, you’re the one who hired her to act as my beloved, not me.”

Her frown deepens, but she doesn’t reply as she turns back to Vincent and crosses her arms over her chest. “Let her go. You got what you wanted: we’re both here. Tell us what the fuck you want so we can all go home.”

He releases his grip on Carolina, letting her fall to the ground in a heap. He motions to one of his men beside him. “Get her the fuck out of here and don’t let her out of your sight.”

The man nods, bending over and lifting her off the ground with more care than I would have expected. Vincent isn’t paying any attention to either of them. His focus is now directly on me. “Darius Hughes, you slippery fucking twatbag.”

I incline my head at him but remain silent. I’m too furious to say anything productive, anyway.

His gaze shifts to Agatha, his eyes full of rage. “And you, dear sister.”

Now, I do frown. “Sister? Agatha, what is he talking about?”

She glances back at me. “I have no idea, Dare. Why don’t you ask him?”

“I’d really rather not.”

She sighs in exasperation, then turns back to Vincent. “Where would you ever get the idea that we’re siblings? I don’t know of a fourth sibling, never mind a brother.”

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