Page 21 of Hell Hath No Fury

“It’s never too late.”

“I never took you for an optimist.”

“I’m fucking not. But I’ve waited decades to be in the position that I’m in now, and I’ll be fucking damned if I don’t snatch it up and never let go.”

She frowns slightly, her hands tucking in over her chest like she’s protecting herself. “What if I can’t love you?”

A jagged edge of pain cuts through the euphoria. I flinch slightly, and her frown deepens. Sighing deeply, I move closer, wedging an arm beneath her head as I pull her into my embrace. She comes willingly, and when her head is pillowed near my shoulder, her face pressed up against my neck, I lean my head down near her ear and whisper, “Then I’ll just have to love us enough for both of us.”

11

An Alarming Situation

Lilith

I’mstartledawakebythe piercing wail of Declan’s home alarm system.

Or I guess I should say, we are.

Antonio is off the bed and yanking his shirt on before my feet have even touched the floor. I glance at the clock, noting that only a few hours have passed, and by the time we make it out the door into the hallway, the blaring alarm is cut, and I find the silence deafening. We rush down the hallway and down the stairs, eventually coming to a stop in the entryway that leads to the garage. Matt is already there and gives me a short nod and then says, “That’s the internal alarm at the residence holding Antoinette.”

“What do you think it means?” I ask quietly.

“It’s hard to say. It could be that someone has breached the property and someone on the inside set off the alarm.”

“Or?” Agatha asks from behind me.

I glance at her over my shoulder, sure that my own expression matches her worried one. Matt shrugs in response. “Or someone inside has gone berserk, and the alarm has been tripped—“

“Regardless,” Antonio interrupts, “We’re gonna go fuckin’ find out.”

No one wastes any more time talking. We all head out into the garage, the doors already opening as we each crawl into a vehicle. Agatha and I get in the back of an SUV, and Matt climbs behind the wheel with Antonio taking shotgun.

Kaian and Camilla go with Tony in a second vehicle. Tony drives out first, and we follow along behind.

Agatha’s hand on my knee cues me to my own nervous energy. I immediately stop bouncing my leg, glancing over at her and she gives me a reassuring look. “She’s okay. This is it.”

It’s still dark, though soon, the sky will start to lighten with the beginnings of daybreak. Tony drives like a madman, and Matt easily keeps pace, all of us feeling the urgency of the moment. The floodlights on the property come into view while we’re still a good distance away. Matt is cursing under his breath, and I don’t even have to ask him what the problem is because I know nothing will change our current trajectory.

Matt reaches up, adjusts his review mirror so we’re looking at each other, and says, “You may as well grab that big bag in the back. Everyone needs to suit up.”

Agatha and I both unbuckle, working together to heft the large bag up between us on the seat. Unzipping it, I find a typical array of vests and weapons. I toss a vest up to Antonio who immediately secures it to his torso. Agatha and I do the same, and then I hand the spare one to Antonio to hold for Matt.

Tony pulls over on the side of the road. Matt pulls up behind him, putting the SUV in park and then hurriedly securing his vest to his body. I watch the shadows in the car ahead of us, knowing they’re going through the same motions we are. Mattbuckles back in, and like clockwork, we’re once again following directly behind Tony as he takes off down the road.

There’s not a lot to choose from in the bag, mostly standard Glocks and a few shotguns. This isn’t the type of situation where you want to be flashy or encumbered with large, unnecessary weaponry.

I look at the road ahead, and for a moment, I worry that Tony is going to drive right to the front fucking door, but finally, he pulls over a few hundred yards from the driveway. Matt parks behind him, killing the ignition and then tossing the keys on the floor.

We all exit the vehicle silently, and then Tony is there, handing a small black bag to Matt, who opens it and hands me a small round object. I take it from him, immediately recognizing it as an earpiece. Each of us inserts the small contraption into an ear, and Matt quickly runs through some checks to confirm everyone is online.

Tony takes us down the driveway, double-timing it down the shadows in the tree line until the house comes into view. Tony wordlessly indicates that he will take the far perimeter and then takes off, with Kaian, Camilla, and Agatha following behind him.

Matt inclines his head in the opposite direction, and Antonio and I trail after him, eyes and ears focused on the residence that is lit up like a Christmas tree but dead silent.

I know Matt has studied whatever plans he could find for the building’s layout, so I follow him along the tree line around to the opposite side, where he makes a beeline for a door.

The door handle doesn’t give, so he steps aside, and I step forward, my handy kit of tools already in my hand. I make quick work of the locks and then step aside and allow Matt to ease the door open. He glances inside, listening briefly, before entering, and I follow right behind him, knowing Antonio is right there. Antonio shuts the door behind us, and then the three of us standthere in a brightly lit entryway staring at each other. Finally, I quietly ask, “Is it just me or does this seem off?”

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