Page 90 of Ruthless

Diego counted down. My hand found Vincent's arm as we prepared to move. The contact sent electricity through my palm, grounding me in the moment.

"GO!"

All four doors opened simultaneously in a choreographed explosion of movement. I hauled Vincent from the SUV, keeping his body shielded with mine. Lo exited backward, weapon trained on the entrance ramp, covering our six. Diego killed the engine and pocketed the keys smoothly, already striding toward the hearse.

Fifteen feet. Ten. Five.

Our footsteps echoed in perfect synchronization, not planned but the natural result of professionals who knew how to move together. Lo maintained his backward shuffle while I guided Vincent with a hand on his lower back. Diego was already working the hearse's locks before we reached it.

"Clear," Lo reported, pivoting smoothly to cover our new position.

Diego yanked the hearse's rear door open. I practically threw Vincent inside—no time for gentleness—and dove in after him. Lo slammed into the passenger seat just as Diego slid behind the wheel.

Total elapsed time: eleven seconds.

The hearse roared to life, Diego already shifting into reverse before my door fully closed.

We'd practiced this in the Acropolis, but the real thing was violent and efficient poetry that would make other crews weep with envy.

Diego got us moving. In the confined space, Vincent and I untangled ourselves, though the hearse's design kept us close. His shoulder pressed against mine as we settled onto the floor.

A shot cracked against the hearse's reinforced exterior. Our pursuers had reached the garage. But we were already accelerating toward the exit.

"That was..." Vincent's voice came out breathless.

"Eleven seconds," I said, allowing myself a moment of pride. "Not our best time, but decent under fire."

Through the tinted windows, our pursuers converged on our abandoned SUV. The vehicle switch had bought us moments. In our line of work, that was the difference between a clean escape and a body bag.

"Jasper, we need an exit," I called.

The digitized voice returned, an edge of exhilaration cutting through the electronic distortion: "North exit clear for twenty seconds. Creating diversion." An explosion echoed in the distance, followed by alarms. "Make that forty seconds. Their communication network just experienced... technical difficulties."

"Efficient bastard," Diego muttered, but it sounded like approval.

"Will we make it?" Vincent asked, straightening his tie with hands that barely shook.

"Twelve minutes to spare," I confirmed.

As if summoned, the Escalade reappeared in our mirrors. Persistent fuckers.

"The cemetery's neutral ground," I reminded everyone. What I didn't say: Prometheus might honor that tradition, or he might just decide scorching sacred earth was worth it to drag me back to his collection of broken toys.

Vincent shifted beside me, and I caught the slight wince. Still sore from last night. The inappropriate awareness of that knowledge that I'd marked him inside as thoroughly as any bruise threatened to break through my tactical focus.

The way he looked at me… It was like he was seeing something new, something that affected him in ways his brain couldn't quite process. His pupils were still dilated, but not just from fear.

"How are we going to get out of this?" he asked quietly. "They'll be waiting when we leave the cemetery."

"One problem at a time, doc," I said, loading a fresh magazine. My hands were perfectly steady now, all the tremors burned away by purpose. "First, we get you to Michael's funeral. Then we worry about staying alive."

The hearse blended into traffic, just another vehicle carrying grief through the city.

"I've corrupted their GPS data," Jasper's voice buzzed through comms. "Sending them to the wrong location. You have minutes before they realize."

Eight years. Hephaestus had been dismantling Prometheus's empire piece by piece for eight years. And now he was helping us. If someone that powerful could break free, maybe there was hope for all of us.

The cemetery gates appeared ahead. Sacred ground. Even in our world, some rules held. The Escalade fell back, unwilling to follow. For now.

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