Page 3 of Black Hand
I had to take a step back when he instantly obeyed, and between one breath and the next a gray wolf was pinning his ears while snarling at me where the male should’ve been. It tucked its tail when I bared my fangs at him. Keeping him in sight from the corner of my eye, I opened the latched door to the cargo area and he bolted down like his ass was on fire. I felt like my soul was in flames from the need to go down there and join him, too. Closing it, I stiffened for what I was about to do, but they left me no choice. I would not kill a creature like me just because they told me to do it. Not if I could help it.
Sticking my head out through the curtain, I crooked my finger at the first person who turned their head to see who was coming out. A human in his sixties with unassuming features, his receding hairline making the top of his head shine in the low light of the plane took the bait.
“Come.” The human got up and joined me, keeping his watery blue eyes pinned on my face.He doesn’t have that much longer to live, I convinced myself.
Acid burned the back of my throat.
“This will not hurt,” I promised him as I closed the distance between us.
My shoulders were thrown back and my head lifted high when I joined Veronica back at our seats. Sliding in, I settled into my window seat, my distant and unseeing eyes looking through the glass. She shifted slightly next to me, that small movement speaking louder than if she shouted at me.
“It’s done,” I told the window, not daring to look at her.
A scream from ahead of us pierced the silent air of the plane, and it was followed by one of the flight attendants yelling for a doctor. Not that anyone could save the human now. My hand fisted in my lap.
“It had to be done.” Veronica sighed, sinking back in her seat in relief.
“Yes.” My heart did a painful pump against my ribs once before resuming its natural slow rhythm. “Where the Syndicate is concerned … this had to be done.”
Good thing she had no idea whatthiswas.
For both of our sakes, I’d make sure the Council never found out exactly what I had done either.
2
The sound of my footsteps as the heel of my boots clicked on the tiled floor echoed around me and bounced off the high, vaulted ceilings and walls. The marble, oak wood, and extravagant accents decorating the large mansion stood in contrast to the portraits of stern, cruel faces glaring at me from the walls. The moment anyone stepped foot through the ornate double doors into the long open foyer they were transported to some eighteenth century royal house with only one thing missing: there were no butlers or maids there. What we had was soulless killers dressed in tactical pants with their torsos bare as they stood still like statues along the walls and waited for anyone to breathe wrong. They’d strike like vipers that had been starved to death.
Maybe they were.
One might say the Syndicate loved staying in the past between the interior of the place they called home and the gladiator-type goons guarding it inside and out. With great effort, I kept my body relaxed and graceful as if I didn’t have a worry in the world, the weight of my dagger on my left thigh comforting me and giving me courage not to flick my gaze to see if they were watching me. I had more worries than there were stars in the sky, but who was counting? As long as I was the only one that knew about my littleplans,all was good.
For now.
A deep belly laugh came from the slightly opened door of the chamber, as they liked to call it. Two goons were manning it while standing with their arms folded at their backs as they stared straight ahead. The one on the right had a bad burn covering half of his face that was still in the healing process, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he had done to deserve that. We didn’t have to do much around here to be punished, per se. All we had to do was be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I must’ve been staring at his face because a deep growl rumbled in his chest and he glared at me. I jerked my gaze away from him and locked it on the slightly open door just as I stopped a foot away from them. It took everything in me not to wipe my sweaty palms on the leather of my pants.
“I’m here to report.” My even, emotionless tone silenced the hum of voices coming from the other side of the damn door.
Left standing for a lot longer than necessary, I resisted the urge to turn around and leave. If I could just keep walking for days, I might go so far away that I’d never have to see any of them again. Wishful thinking, but they couldn’t stop me from dreaming. Just as I stupidly was about to do that, my name was called with an invitation to enter.
I took a step.
“Brooklyn, darling. I didn’t think I would see you back so soon.” The arrogant voice coming from right behind me made me falter.
“No need to mingle around when the job is done.” Turning slowly to face him, my fist clenched out of my control. The goons didn’t miss the move, either, but they gave me a break by raising their stares without a word. “Johnathan, I’d say it’s nice to see you again but that would be a lie.” My genuine smile made a line form between his perfectly styled eyebrows.
His pristine white shirt was perfectly molded to his upper body, the top two buttons open to reveal the blood-red pendant nestled there. With his hands tucked in the pockets of his black dress pants, he stood watching me with his head cocked to the side. Not too broad shouldered, Johnathan had a lean body that had fooled many to test his strength. He was thinner than most but deadly as a snake. The male would smile sweetly and honey would be pouring out of his mouth a second before he struck like a viper and ended someone’s life.
He was also Veronica’s lover.
“Still playing hard to get I see.” Long, graceful fingers lifted to his honey blond hair, smoothing the few longer curls back while his black eyes were pinned on my face.
“Veronica didn’t come with you?” Pretending he hadn’t spoken, I even looked around him as if searching for her. “Let me guess, she was still doing her hair and makeup. So vain that girl. Am I right?”
“For the life of me I don’t understand why she allows you to speak to her like that.” Staring down his nose at me made him look uglier than he needed to be. He was a fine looking male if it wasn’t for his personality. The moment he opened his mouth his good looks were flushed right down the toilet. I never understood what Veronica saw in him.
“She’s my friend, and that’s what friends do.” Talking slowly as if he was dumb, I leaned forward as if I was about to tell him a secret. He followed suit subconsciously, which made me grin internally. “You should try getting one of those. But no one likes a kiss ass, do they?”
Johnathan’s mouth twisted in anger as I spanned on my heel and pushed the door open. His hand flattened between my shoulder blades, making him look like he was good-naturedly guiding me inside. The strained smile plastered on his face was comical, but my own gloating one slipped when my eyes found three displeased stares glued to me from across a long table.
