Page 59 of Rivals & Revenge

"Yes." she rasped, her voice thick as if her words had been dragged over gravel.

I pulled one of the small disposable cups from the cabinet over the small sink and filled it with water.

Her hand shook uncontrollably as she raised it to her lips.

"I got it." I said softly. Tipping the cup slightly so the cool liquid trickled between her lips.

She finished off most of the cup before her head dropped to the bed behind her. "Thank you." She whispered, folding my hand in hers. Her grip was strong, despite the muscle tremors.

"You and Ahren saved my life. I know what you probably think—actually, I don't. I would assume you think because I kill people for money, that I'm heartless—fuck, maybe I am," I rambled, not quite sure what I was trying to say. "But you know Ahren. Better than I do. Anyway, what I'm trying to get to is—I owe you my life. Probablymore than once." I laughed. "From now on, know that you have two assassins who will come for you."

"He cares for you, too."

My cheeks heated and my eyes widened as she gave voice to one of my deepest questions.

“He was beside himself that first night.” Her voice was hoarse, harsh breaths punctuating every few words. But determination lit her eyes—clearly, these words were important to her.

“It wasn't just the pure rage I saw on those rare occasions when things didn’t go his way. He was worried you wouldn't make it. He paced like a caged tiger for hours. It was the only time I ever worried about failing him.”

"He wouldn't have hurt you." I scoffed, waving off her comment.

She swallowed hard. "Any other time, I would have agreed. But that night was different. He was—feral—almost unhinged. He would not have handled your death well."

I nodded, not sure at all what to do with that information.

"I confess, I don't understand your relationship with him. Were you two—lovers?"

She laughed, wincing as the slices in her skin stretched with the movement. "No. Nothing like that. Ahren and I, we're—friends. As close as Ahren comes to having friends, anyway."

"I don't have any friends at all. Never really saw the point. Everyone betrays you eventually." I retorted, whispering the last bit. Feeling naked baring that truth to her.

"Well, now you have me—and Ahren. Neither of us will betray you. You are right, though. Before meeting Ahren, I had a pretty low opinion on people who played with guns."

"What changed your mind?" I asked.

"Ahren did!" she said, a wide smile breaking across her face. Apparently, the drugs were slowly lifting.

I returned her smile, settling on the edge of her bed. "Now this, I gotta hear."

"I used to threaten to quit all the time, complaining, telling him that what he did was vile and violent—and so was he. He just let me rage. I think I did actually quit twice."

I laughed. Shocked to imagine Ahren willingly listening to her berate him.

"The second time I quit, he told me I was a hypocrite." She smiled, shaking her head softly. "He said we both worked for people who played God, deciding who lived and who died. He just wasn't ashamed to make a profit from it. I was so fucking pissed. Until I realized he was basically right. Ahren and I were both worker bees. He was just paid better."

I snorted. "Never thought of it that way. Good argument, I guess."

She nodded. "By that time, I had gotten to know Ahren a bit. I'd seen him care for the dogs. Heard him take meetings by phone while he was recovering. Knowing hundreds of people depended on him to feed their families. I realized that it was on me to work out whether someone could be both an assassin and a good man. I never judged you, Tierney. Ahren taught me better."

My eyes watered and I nodded, "thank you."

Chapter 33

AHREN

I stood in the hall listening to Tierney and Connor discuss me. It was funny. I thought that conversation had no impact on the feisty doc, but I guess I had been wrong.

"He won't betray you either." Connor said, her voice quiet, almost motherly.

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