Page 34 of Chaos & Carnage

My finger taps absently against my thigh. My eyes close as I take steady breaths, sorting through everything important to me and storing it away for later. Everything that doesn’t have anything to do with what we’re about to do gets safely stowed away—my concern about leaving Luc alone at the house, my love for the men in this car and the one behind us, the new hopes for my future that have only recently started to bloom… all of it gets shut down until an icy chill rushes over my skin and the only thing on my mind is ensuring all of us get out alive—and that no Bastard sees the light of day tomorrow.

My eyes snap open as the car slows to a stop, and I stare out the window. We’re on a residential street, but if I thought I had it rough where my apartment is based, it’s nothing compared to this part of town. From what I can see, most of the windows in the neighboring buildings have been smashed in, more doors hanging off their hinges than not, and as I scan the street, noting how empty it is—not even a hooker or homeless person in sight—I begin to realize most people must know to avoid this area.

An ominous cloud hangs in the air as I push open my door and step out of the car, Dante and Enzo doing the same. “The perimeter of Grim’s compound is two blocks that way,” Enzo says, keeping his voice low as he points in the direction, and we all take off on foot.

The entire time, the three of us scan our surroundings, keeping our eyes and ears open as we remain vigilant. It’s eerily quiet for a city, especially one that doesn’t sleep at night, and a chill races down my spine the farther we walk. This part of the city almost feels… dead. Like it’s been abandoned and long forgotten, left to the elements to rot and wither away. Only the outskirts of the city are like this, and that’s because most people there fled when things started to go south. But here in the city center? It shouldn’t be this quiet.

We walk briskly, quickly reaching the tall, brick wall that runs along the perimeter of Grim’s compound. Unsure if there is anywhere we can enter unnoticed, we have no choice but to inauspiciously work our way along the wall until we find somewhere we can get through.

Keeping tight to the wall, we walk in single file, occasionally stopping to assess a potential entry point before dismissing it and moving on. It’s only when we hear voices up ahead that we pause, all three of us coming to a stop so we can listen.

“I fucking hate gate duty,” someone grumbles. “I’d rather stick needles in my eyes.”

A snort. “Let Grim hear you say that, and you’ll soon find out which you’d prefer.”

The first guard responds with something too low for me to hear, and when I turn my head to silently ask Dante and Enzo what they think we should do, I spot Dante sliding a gun out of a holster under his arm.

Flicking the safety, he makes to move toward the guard, but I put my hand on his arm, stopping him. Shooting a gun is risky. Even with a silencer, it doesn’t make it completely silent. Plus, we have no idea if either of these men have radios or some way of communicating with anyone else before he could take both of them out from this range—there’s no way we’d get within six feet of them unnoticed. The second they see all three of us lurking out here in the dark, they’ll be raising the alarm… but a single girl? Well, they might not be so quick to call for backup then.

“Trust me,” I mouth, holding his gaze until he nods his head and relaxes his arm, although I notice that he doesn’t stow the gun away.

I flick a quick glance in Enzo’s direction as I hurriedly strip out of my bulletproof vest, shuck off my weapons, and knot the Henley at one side of my waist, showing off a good portion of my flat stomach. Pulling off the beanie, I fluff out my hair, ignoring the death glowers I’m receiving from both men before I stride toward the two guards, swaying my hips as I go.

One of them notices my approach, tensing as he strains to see through the dark, and the other guard, noticing the change in his buddy, turns around.

“Well, hello, little lady,” he purrs when I get closer, neither of them making any effort to hide their perusal of my body. “You probably shouldn’t be out here all alone.” He accentuates by looking around the street before tacking on, “You never know who could be hiding in the dark, waiting to take advantage of a pretty thing like you.”

“Yeah,” his buddy quickly agrees, his eyes practically burning a hole through my tits from where he’s staring at them so damn hard. “You’re welcome to wait with us. We’ll be off the clock in an hour, then the three of us could get to know each other a little better.” He smirks, a look that’s filled with overinflated male ego. “... if you know what I mean.”

I make a point of looking both of them up and down while they circle me like prey. Both of them are fairly average looking. One has darker hair, and the other appears lighter, although it’s hard to tell in the dark. They look a little unkempt with their scruffy beards and shaggy hair. Still, putting those acting skills to use, I pretend to like what I see by biting on my lower lip and fluttering my lashes, acting coy. In a tone that’s perfected from too many years seducing assholes and playing nice at Strip Tease, I purr, “Why wait?”

I feel the lighter-haired guy close in behind me, his heat at my back, and when he chuckles, the sound is far too close to my ear for my liking. “Is it true that redheads fuck like rabbits?”

Instead of punching him in the face, I paste on an alluring smile and glance back at him over my shoulder. “I guess you’ll find out.”

His hands come to rest low on my hips as his chest brushes my back.Jeez, ever heard of foreplay?I internally grumble as his hands move around to the front of my jeans and pop the button. When the other guard steps into me, effectively pinning me between the two of them as he begins to paw at my chest, I know I have mere seconds to do what I need to before Dante blows a gasket and storms over, guns blazing.

The guy behind me chuckles. “Your throat’s going to be raw and you’re not going to be able to walk straight for days by the time we’re finished with you.” Gone is the hint of seduction intended to reel me in; instead, his tone is a harsh promise. In his mind, I’ve officially become their plaything to be used and abused until they’re spent.

Tilting my head so I can look over my shoulder, I let my coy mask disappear, a smug smirk replacing it. “I highly doubt that.” Spinning, I bring my hand up, slashing it across his throat. The asshole’s eyes go wide a split second before blood starts racing down his neck. Not hanging around to watch him drown in his own blood, I turn back to face the guard in front of me. His mouth is agape, his horrified gaze on the man behind me, so he doesn’t even notice when I stab him in the gut before slicing his neck too.

“You couldn’t have done thatbeforethey put their hands on you?” Enzo drawls, stepping out of the shadows.

“Where would be the fun in that?” I quip, earning an irritated snarl from Dante as he prowls toward me. When he’s standing directly in front of me, he pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket. Pinching my chin with his forefinger and thumb, he holds me steady while he does his best to wipe the blood from my face before doing the same with my forearms.

When he’s finished, he tosses it on the dead men lying beside us, all without removing his gaze from mine, and with gentle fingers, he redoes the button on my jeans before slamming his lips against mine in a harsh, angry kiss. “I’m both furious and turned on,” he growls, only making me laugh.

“That’s great,” Enzo snaps sarcastically. “Well, you can work on talking down your boner while you help me hidethem.” He jerks his head toward the two bodies before grabbing the arms of the closest one and beginning to drag him across the ground.

Muttering something under his breath, Dante steps away to help Enzo, and the two of them make quick work of disarming and hiding the dead bodies in the shadows. If anyone notices the two guards missing and comes to investigate, they shouldn’t immediately spot them slumped against the wall where Enzo and Dante had been hiding.

While they tidy up, I quickly pull the bulletproof vest back on and replace my weapons. “They said they’re off duty in an hour so we need to hurry,” I tell them as I open the small gate—clearly a back entrance or something—and scan our surroundings, making sure no one else is around before hurrying into the compound.

Chapter 13

We slip through the darkness like shadows prowling through the night, swiftly removing everyone we come across. Sawyer and Lor seem to have made some sort of game out of it, keeping tally and trying to see who can get the most kills. The grin she throws him every time she taunts him is one I recognize from that night in the alley, when the Reaper came out to play. It’s both deranged and eerily beautiful, and has me remembering precisely what we did in that alley after killing that scumbag. Damn, I hope we get to re-enact that again later tonight. I loved seeing this… unhinged side of her. It’s sexy as fuck. I love that she can shed her inhibitions and do what needs to be done, no matter how violent or gory it is, and I also love that when she locks that part of herself away, I getmySawyer back.Mia vita.

I refuse to indulge in their antics, though. Not while we’re working, so while they are playing games, I’m on constant alert. We initially stuck to the perimeter, removing guards and anyone stationed outside, but tension bleeds into my body as we circle around to the fire station. Under the cover of darkness, we’ve been able to move unnoticed across the compound, but that won’t continue for long once we’re inside with brighter lights and more people around. While Sawyer might be able to use her feminine wiles to distract the men, the second one of them spots Lor or me, they’re going to start yelling—assuming one of the other teams isn’t spotted first.

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