Page 81 of The Silencer

"Alright, let's get the women out of here.Pyro, Raptor, you take Chloe and Mallory home.Denis, get Callie and Melissa somewhere safe.Stephen, get Jess home and stay with her," Maverick says, his voice thick with anger.

Everyone’s hurting and everyone’s in pain.Ava was one of ours and now she’s lying on the pavement with a bullet wound to her chest.Someone knew what the fuck they were doing.

Something about this entire situation isn’t sitting right with me.Whoever shot her knew what the fuck they were doing, which leads me to believe that she was their intended target, but the question remains: why?Why Ava?

"I'll call Jer and let him know what’s going on," I say, my voice hoarse.

Nothing makes any fucking sense, and right now I need Clodagh to be with me.The fact she’s driving alone makes me antsy.Fuck.

I call Jer.“Emmanuel, everything okay?”

"No, everything's not okay," I say grimly."Ava's been shot.She's dead, Jer."

There's a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line."What the fuck happened?"Jer demands.

I quickly fill him in on the details—the sniper shot, our pursuit to the rooftop, the bullet casing and the Ace of Hearts card left behind.

"Jesus Christ," Jer mutters."This is bad, Emmanuel.Really fucking bad.Who the hell would target Ava, of all people?"

"I don't know," I admit."But whoever did this is a professional.The shot was clean, and they were gone before we could catch them."

"Alright, I'm calling in some favors.We need to find out who's behind this and fast.In the meantime, I want everyone on high alert.No one goes anywhere alone, you hear me?"

"Got it," I reply."I'll let the others know."

As I hang up, my mind goes to Clodagh.She's out there alone, driving to Dublin.My heart races as I call her.

No answer.Fuck.

I try again.Still nothing.

"Everything okay?"Maverick asks, noticing my agitation.

"Clodagh's not answering her phone," I say, trying to keep the panic out of my voice."She should be on her way here from Galway."

Maverick's expression darkens."Try her again.If she doesn't answer, we'll send someone to meet her on the road."

I nod, dialing Clodagh's number again.Please, baby, pick up.

This time, the call connects."Emmanuel?"Clodagh's voice comes through, sounding confused."Is everything okay?"

Relief floods through me."Clodagh, where are you?"

"I'm at a petrol station just outside of Athlone," she replies."I stopped to get some food and use the bathroom.What's wrong?You sound upset."

"Listen to me carefully," I say, my voice low and urgent."I need you to stay where you are.I'm sending someone to meet you and escort you the rest of the way to Dublin."

"Emmanuel, you're scaring me," Clodagh says, her voice trembling slightly."What's happened?"

I take a deep breath, torn between wanting to tell her everything and not wanting to frighten her more."There's been an incident," I say finally."Ava's been shot.She didn't make it."

Clodagh gasps."Oh my God.Oh no, poor Freddie.Is everyone else okay?"

"Yes, everyone else is fine," I assure her."But I need you to be safe.Please, just stay where you are until our guy gets there.Okay?"

"Okay," she agrees, her voice small.

“Jason’s on his way,” Maverick says, his cell to his own ear.“He’s in Mullingar.He was on a job for Jer.He’ll be with her within thirty minutes.”

---