Page 66 of Twisted Revelations

30

Laura

My body had run hot to the point that lifting my head was a chore. We’d taken out the ass-face killers and now, we had to find a way to go back in to take out the intended target who was a walking identity thief if I’d ever seen one.

I needed my ass whipped for allowing myself to come up to the penthouse in the first place. This disaster was my fault. We all could have died, still could, and I was going to punish myself harder than anyone else if we made it out of this alive.

D had laid out the plan numerous times: mark the target when he entered the party and exit the building. If need be, D or Dax would go to a plan B I wasn’t supposed to know about. It involved a more extensive plan of taking control of Santino’s helicopter.

What none of us could have known was the Santino who’d shown up at that party was likely going to be a decoy. My mistake had gotten us face to face with the real Santino, but it could also cost us our lives. It had become clear that anyone who entered that penthouse who wasn’t a Dominquez or employed by Santino, didn’t leave alive.

“Why didn’t the rest of them come out when we started fighting and shooting?” I questioned, glancing at the door.

“The door seals shut, and the wind sweeps most of the sound away from the building,” Dax answered.

When the rusted scent of blood crept into my nose, I spun to take a better look at Dax, whose skin had gone pale. Blood had soaked through his shirt and jacket. The hard floor drove pain into my knees when I climbed out of his lap to check his wound.

My efforts were stopped when his firm hand grasped mine. His back remained propped against the glass portion of the balcony, holding us up as I sat atop his legs. He repositioned me so that my back was to his chest before he placed his mouth next to my ear.

I glanced back at him before my eyes followed his deadly gaze. The man who had tossed me over the balcony was propped against the wall that faced us. He’d have to pass us to get back into the penthouse, but with two shot legs, he was stuck.

His hand clutched his wounded legs as he glared at us, the waving blue currents around the bend from where he sat acting as his dim spotlight.

Dax placed the gun in my working hand, leaving my hurt arm alone. He used his free hand to cup the underside of the gun for me, keeping it steady. With the gun aimed at the man who had shot Dax and attempted to kill me, my anger flared.

“Eliminate the target,” were the words that wound into my ear before Dax’s lips brushed my cheek. My finger flexed against the trigger with ease followed by the view of the monstrous dark red splatter that painted the wall behind the man.

Giving the appearance of being electrocuted, his body jolted about with stiff dancing movements. Neither of us moved until the last of his life escaped, being swept away by the same dark wind that had attempted to take me.

“We have to go in there and kill Santino,” I suggested to Dax.

“I tagged him,” Dax confirmed. “When he stood eyeballing us like we were trash and ordered these men to get rid of us. I clipped the tracker to his gun holster.”

The strain in Dax’s voice indicated how badly he was wounded. We needed to wake Beverly and find a way out of this penthouse. In our physical condition, the task would be hard considering the protection detail posted outside the front door and at the elevators, not to mention the rest of the group inside the apartment.

The hard plastic of the cell phone poked me in the chest, calling my attention in that direction. I’d shoved it down the front of my dress after I’d swiped it from Oliver. He’d tossed it on the coffee table as soon as we entered the suite, confirming that it didn’t work inside the penthouse.

“Think you can use this to contact D? Oliver spilled that it works out here on the balcony when he tried to get me into the hot tub,” I informed.

Dax’s smile was answer enough. He shook his head and released a weak laugh before taking it. We hadn’t bothered to bring phones into the building because we knew they’d be collected at the entrance. Although I wasn’t sure it would work, my earpiece had been knocked out, and I hadn’t seen Dax’s either.

I stood with my hurt arm limp and heavy. With my good arm and teeth, I ripped a portion of the nearest dead man’s shirt so that I could tie the gun I’d taken to the inside of my thigh. I continued ripping the shirt to make a tourniquet for Dax’s wound. He was ignoring it because he’d likely been trained to, but the shot was more serious than he was letting on.

Dax stood, despite his pain. It appeared Jack the Ripper had gotten a hold of him and shredded his side. With the phone to his ear, he gave D the short version of what we’d been through. I tied the ripped shirt together before I approached and tied it around Dax’s waist like a cummerbund.

Hopefully, D was giving Dax a roadmap to a way out of the building. Dax ducked low, using the glass portion of the balcony to block the wind before he placed the phone on speaker.

“I can’t explain right now, but we have extra help,” came D’s words. “Two rings will mean the pathway to the elevator outside the penthouse doors will be clear. An armed woman wearing a Yale-blue dress will meet you at the elevator. As I have no clear view inside the penthouse, once you enter the living room, be ready to shoot.”

Dax and I locked gazes as D’s words sank in.

“Since he has the special tag on him, it allows me to track Santino inside one of the upstairs bedrooms. Confirmed intel says there is another of his guard crews on the way. I’m controlling the elevator. It will take you to the second floor. Once there, you will meet a second woman in a turquoise dress. The ladies will help you exit the building.”

Bits and pieces of D’s voice broke up, but I understood enough to know that he’d enlisted two women to help us.

Leaving Dax to finish with D, I clumped toward Beverly. I was missing a shoe, so I tossed the other over the balcony to find its mate. After I shook her from her stupor, Beverly groaned as her head lifted. I brushed away dirt particles from the balcony stuck to the side of her cheek.

A small blood stain coated her hair on the top left side of her head, but there weren’t any signs of major damage. Her hand lifted to the hurt area of her head as she groaned against the pain that emanated there. Her neck swiveled left and right, her gaze searching. Her eyes widened when she grasped where she was, and her anger flared to life at the sight of Eduardo.

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