Page 30 of Darling Wildfire
I guess he was right. I didn’t know the extent of what Vetticus had done to them but it was something bad and North was right—I knew revenge intimately and I knew sometimes people deserved more than just a bullet.
“How can I help?” I asked.
“I want you to join Tex and his crew on their job,” North said. “I’m having them hit a few warehouses this week.”
I nodded. “Alright—where?”
“One is here. The other two are Rome and Canada. They hit the local one tomorrow night.”
12
ATLAS
I openedthe door to the vacant apartment and deadbolted it behind me.
No one lived here—it was rented through a false name byNorTac. We had it just in case a situation like this ever came up with Kaelin—North always tried to be prepared. I shoved the kitchen table in front of the window, pulled the curtains almost all the way shut and readied my rifle.
From the backpack I carried, I pulled a few monitors and hooked them up on the floor tilted up so I could see them, then brought up thePhoxsecurity feeds West had forwarded to me. All was business as usual.
I pushed the comms unit into my ear. “Report in.”
I laid down on my stomach on the table and trained my sights on Kaelin’s office building. On top of surveillance of Kaelin’s building, I was in charge of the architect job, and the team was getting into position now. This time I wasn’t one of the snipers delivering a kill shot but I was okay with that. We were lucky that two of the architects were local. I’d sent Knox and Tex to deal with those while Sakari and Lach were abroad in London.
“Getting into position now,” Knox’s voice crackled in my ear.
“This bastard is either doing blow or taking a really long shit,” Tex grumbled. “I’m in position though.”
I chuckled and dialed in my own settings, scanning the street and entrance of the all glass atrium that made up the two-story lobby ofPhoxcorporate.
“Target locked in,” Sakari said.
“All dialed,” Lach drawled.
I looked at the time on my phone.
“Fire when ready,” I ordered.
As I waited for them to report the job done, I thought about the message Vetticus had sent—both the recording and the bloody heart. It had been jarring to hear his voice again after so long and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bring back the nightmares of being in that place. I’d nearly lost my mind whenI heard him mention Nyx’s call sign and what he planned to do to him—to us—if he ever got his hands on us again. I didn’t care about myself, I cared about Nyx and subjecting him to all of that—again.
The three of us had almost not made it out and now part of me worried at how opening up old wounds would impact us. I was ready to end it all. I was tired of looking over my shoulder, always expecting Vetticus to come jumping out of the shadows, but I wanted to end it for North and Nyx too. I wanted North to stop feeling like the responsibility always rested solely on his shoulders. He’d carried the weight of it in captivity and during the games, and I’d seen the toll it took on him. I was looking forward to the day he didn’t have to carry it anymore.
“Target eliminated,” Sakari chirped.
One down.
I saw Kaelin on the video feed talking to her receptionist. She’d been a surprise addition to our lives in the best way, even if it was the worst timing. I wanted North to be happy with her and Graham and I knew he wouldn’t be able to do that until the threat of Vetticus was gone and until he’d found—
My thoughts were interrupted by Lachlan in my ear.
“Confirmed,” he said. “Headed back to the jet.”
Two down.
My phone went off with a text from Nyx:
Nyx: Status?
Me: Hi to you too
