Page 76 of Lust
She climbed until her muscles burned and kept going. No doubt Daisy was going for Misha. Liza’s apartment was adjacent to Wyatt’s, two levels from the top. Wyatt’s faced this alley. Perfect.
Before Daisy got to Misha, she’d have to get through Mary, Flint,andWyatt. There was no way in hell she’d get past Wyatt. She’d have to kill him, and the man was invulnerable—bulletproof.
But Daisy had found a way to shut AIMI down. She’d infiltrated their home, counted on their weaknesses, and exploited them. She’d lured every other deadly Lazarus out of the building by dangling a Faithful sized carrot, and they’d fallen for it.
She had underestimated Liza’s sin sensing. Everyone did. They all assumed the lust Liza felt was sexual. Even Liza had assumed Daisy’s lust wasn’t as serious as it turned out.
She’d never make that mistake again.
Approaching Wyatt’s apartment, Liza ignored her protesting muscles and pushed past the point of pain. The drainpipe took her within arm’s reach of a window. She tried to angle herself closer to the window so she could peek inside, but a scream from the roof had her sharply looking up.Misha.
Liza edged her way higher.Only two stories to go.As her face crested the top, she took stock of the scene.
A helicopter hovered above the roof, causing the water in the pool to vibrate and splash. Dangling from the chopper’s open cabin were two black-clad mercenaries, machine guns at the ready. Neither had spotted Liza. Their eyes were on Daisy as she dragged Misha from the stairwell—they’d not taken the elevator. Made sense if the system was down. Daisy had blood on her face and arms, as though she’d fought... but they looked like knife wounds.Mary. Wyatt would have pulverized. Mary sliced.Where was he? Were they both okay?
Misha held her round belly with a pained expression as Daisy forced her to move down the decking toward the helicopter dropping a rope ladder. Blond curly hair caught in the wind, whipping into her eyes. They were coming from the right, the helicopter was to the left, and Liza was in the middle.
Misha cried in pain and doubled over. Good God, was she having contractions? Was she in labor?
Adrenaline surged through Liza. If she didn’t get to them before they reached the ladder, there would be no hope. Knowing the suit would protect her from bullet spray, Liza vaulted over the ledge and ran to the decking, blocking their escape.
Daisy saw Liza the moment she vaulted. Violet eyes widened in shock, and she lifted her palm to the soldiers in the chopper.Stop.
Liza was too close. The bullets might catch Daisy, or worse, Misha and her precious cargo. Long silver hair floated from the helicopter’s wind. Daisy looked right, left, and knew her only escape was back down the stairwell, or straight through Liza.
Liza’s grip on her karambits tightened.Try.
An almighty crash sounded from the rooftop lobby. Liza refused to take her eyes from Daisy but caught movement in her periphery, and when the bellow of an avenging mate cut through the din of the rotor blades, Liza knew Wyatt had arrived. A glance and she caught him stalking like the devil himself from a punched and dented out elevator door. Black clothes, black hair, black eyes. He was darkness coming to reclaim his light.
He must have been locked inside when AIMI went down.
Clever Daisy. She’d lured Wyatt to the ground floor with the police, then shut the systems while he was in the elevator. And if she’d known there were police coming, then it was entirely possible she’d caused it.
“Let her go!” Liza shouted to be heard over the helicopter uproar. “You’re out of options.”
But Daisy did something Liza never expected. She dragged Misha by the hair and crossed to the edge of the roof. She kicked the glass pane, shattering the fence. Wind coursed up from the ground, buffeting their hair.
She’s going to jump. She’s going to kill them both.
“Stop!” Liza shouted at the same time Wyatt roared, “No!”
Liza tugged her mask and hood down. The clatter of metal barely registered as she dropped her knives.
A furious demon glared out from Wyatt’s face. Veins pumped in his neck and forehead. His fists were ready to decimate. “I’ll kill you, Daisy. You fucking lay a hand on her, and I swear to God I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth.”
That threat might have worked for someone who cared. Liza inched closer to Daisy.
“Take me!” Liza shouted, holding her palms out in surrender, approaching cautiously as one would to a wounded animal. “Daisy, listen to me. You don’t want to do this.”
Daisy’s face hardened. She gripped Misha around the neck and stepped closer to the edge. “You have no idea what I want,” she shouted. “You’ve never known. Never cared.”
Tears burned Liza’s eyes. “That’s not true. Give us a chance.”
The cold hard resignation in Daisy’s posture was a stake to the heart. The lust Liza sensed fizzled, signaling Daisy’s resolve dying. She was giving up, and not in the way they wanted.
“I’ll catch you!” Liza shouted, taking another step. “If you fall, I’ll jump after you and catch you.”
Another step.
