Page 67 of Mine to Keep
Olivia shakes her head. “No. You’re Viper. He knows that would only mean you’d come after him. And if he killed you, I’d kill him. He might be an ass, but he’s not stupid. They’ll be as safe as they can be.”
“I’m getting out, Liv. They…they’re my light. I can’t have my darkness marring them. I have enough money to live a good life without contracts.”
She smiles and bumps my shoulder. “Yeah, you’re in love.” I roll my eyes, but don’t disagree. “That’s how I feel about my Mommy. She knows what I used to do, but she still stuck by me. They in it for the long run?”
“Yeah. Crazy as it sounds, they love me too.”
“It’s not crazy, Knox. We may not have worked out in the long run, but you’re a good guy. Deadly as fuck, but still good. They think so too, I can tell.”
I lean on her shoulder, blowing out a long breath. I smile as her hair tickles my skin, reminding me of the good ol’ days when we hung out when we were in the same area. It wasn’t always about sex when we met up. Sometimes, it was nice to be with someone that I didn’t have to hide my life from. I could be my full, authentic self with Olivia. No hiding. No secrets.
I feel myself sliding into sleep, but I force myself to sit up and pull my phone out. “Gotta call Pegs. She told me to call when I was inside.” I dial her number quickly.
She answers on the first ring. “You safe? Liv with you?”
“She’s right here,” I say, glancing at Olivia.
Peggy sighs. “I’m sorry I had to keep that a secret, Knox. It was?—”
“I get it,” I say, though I kinda don’t. I could have kept that information to myself. But it was Olivia’s wish, so I let it go. “What did you find out?”
“Put me on speaker.” I do, and she continues, “The file I sent to your email is regarding the couple assigned to your jacket.”
“So they’re really a couple? Not just hit partners?” I ask, signing into my email and opening the file.
“Yep, a full-fledged couple. Skylar and Martha Chaplin. Married for six years, worked for The Void for eight. They met on a job. Skylar’s weapon of choice is a rifle, long range with a scope. He can hit a dime from about half a mile away. I’m surprised you made it out alive.”
Fear skitters down my spine. Maybe I got lucky.
Peggy continues as if she didn’t just turn my world upside down. “Martha’s weapons of choice was knives, as you know. She was also skilled in hand-to-hand—MMA, Kav Magra, Jiu Jitsu.”
I touch my injured face. “Yeah, I saw that too.”
After a pause, Peggy says, “It was a five million dollar contract, Knox. I don’t know who called it in, it was an alias, paid via crypto, so it’ll take me a little longer to find out who it was. I’m working on it now.”
“Thanks.” Then something pops into my head. “Pegs, the girl who dropped off the package to me earlier this week? She was the target tonight. She was killed.”
“Ah,” Peggy says sadly. “That fucking sucks. She was a sweet girl. All alone in the world. She only fell in with The Void because she needed money for school.”
“Sorry.”
“All good.” Her voice tells me the complete opposite. “Let me keep digging to see who called the jacket and I’ll get back to you.”
“Do me a favor and find Skylar. Martha has her knife in her chest, so she’s no longer a threat, but I left him alive on the highway so he wouldn’t kill my boys. Get me his location and phone number if he has it. We need to talk.”
“Airport boys?” she asks with a smile in her voice, though it’s still tinged with sadness.
“Yeah. They’re mine.”
“Give me twenty minutes. I’ll have everything you need.”
twenty-two
the others
Skylar cursedas the physician his handler sent over prodded at his wound. “It’s a through-and-through,” the doctor said nervously, glancing up at Skylar when he growled in pain again. “From what I can tell, it didn’t hit anything vital and you don’t have bleeding in the belly.”
“Just sew me up, doc,” Skylar said through gritted teeth, closing his eyes against another wave of pain.
