Page 56 of Vengeance

I nod at her. There were three ways she could have answered that, and she answered the way that signals to me that Pray is still under the impression that she’s just Addy. At the very least, he hasn’t given any indication to otherwise.

“Now that that’s out the way,” Pray’s eyes harden to steel and gives even me pause, “Let’s have a discussion.”

There’s nothing to discuss. It’s clear what’s happened and what part I have in it. So when Pray stands in one moment and the next moment I feel his fist connect into my face, I’m not surprised.

I laugh. “Bastard. It’s going to take more than that to—”

He doesn’t let me finish and hits me again. Not one to simply take a beating, I prepare to fight back, but Pray says, “Let’s not be so hasty.”

Then one of his men yanks Delilah out her seat and tosses her onto the floor with a gun to her head. She’s supposed to be Addy. I’m supposed to care about her. PrayknowsI care about the real her. If I suddenly act like I don’t after risking everything to get her away from him, he’ll know something’s up, and I won’t be able to buy Dele the time she needs.

I meet Delilah’s eyes and while she’s trying to pretend to be scared, I can tell she’s actually annoyed at this game. Still, we need to stall for Dele. Because while I’m confident in my abilities to deal with whatever Pray has in store, he’s not a stupid man. There’s a reason he brough a woman he thinks I care about as bait to stage this execution. Because that’s what this is supposed to be. An execution.

Well, I always did tell Dele that sometimes she had to learn to take a few hits if she wanted to win a fight. Time to take that advice.

I don’t hit back, and the next time Pray strikes, the force is so hard that I fall out the chair. Fucking bastard. For an old man, he sure hits hard. But I can take it. I have to take it. I take every kick. Every punch. And when his men drag me off the floor when they think I’m down so Pray can continue, I take that too.

If this was just a simply punishment for failure, he would have been done a long time ago. But his plans today were to bait me into this trap so he can kill me. He’s just making it personal instead of treating it with his usual pragmatism.

There’s no way he can think it’s this easy. There’s no way he thinks I would just kneel over and go down without a fight. He can’t be that arrogant.

But he is. He is that arrogant, teetering on his pedestal because he knows how powerful he is without anyone to keep him supported and grounded and remind him of his blind spots. That’s why he’s going to die a violent death by my hands with his empire in my grasps, and I’m going to die an old man in my bed passing my gains to my children.

“Is that all you’ve got?” I spat when his men drop me onto the ground again

“No, my old friend. It’s not. But I rather save that for Addy, dear, after you’re dead.”

I have to give it to Delilah, she’s been one hell of an actor this whole time, screaming and yelling for Pray to stop as she watched him beat me. And she continues to. Attempting to lunge for Pray only to have a guard hold her back. She is having way too much fun with this.

Pray reaches for his gun, and I get ready to actually fight him because Dele is taking too long and the plan isnotfor me to die here today.

He takes out his gun, only for a bullet to hit his wrist, causing him to curse and drop it.

“Handsoffmy husband.”

26

Dele

Itry to calm my nerves as I watch my husband go through the metal detectors and then be escorted onto an elevator up to Pray while I’m forced to stay behind. But that was the plan all along. Adrian goes up to meet Pray. I stay down here and deal with his men.

They’re not all his men of course. Just his elite. Then men who rotate being with Stephen Pray at all times. Only second to Adrian in terms of prowess.

That’s what they think anyway. Because no one outdoes me in keeping up with Adrian Blake.

Four went up with Adrian. Four more are down here. Two on the nearest exit to outside. One at the detectors and one standing behind me to make sure I make no sudden moves. No wonder Pray was building a child army if this is his elite. They should have checked me for weapons.

They’re fast. But I’m faster.

I press a button to cause static in their earpieces so they can’t alert their teammates. By the time they realize something is wrong, I’ve drawn and aimed both my guns. As they’re hands are reaching for their guns, I pull the triggers to shoot the one near the metal detector and one near the door. I want to stop and marvel at how responsive the triggers of my new guns are, but I make a mental note to fawn over it with Adrian later. Instead, I reach back to grab the guard behind me and use the height leverage to pull him down by the neck and flip him over my shoulder while in the process I miss the bullet from the remaining man at the door.

The one I flipped over my shoulder slams onto the ground lifeless with his neck twisted strangely. I give no mind to it as two of the four who escorted Adrian upstairs come down the elevator and the one still at the door is fixing his aim. The one at the door already has his gun out, so I shoot him first before he can shoot me. Then I make a run to duck behind the reception desk as the other two begin to shoot at me.

They’re smart, though. They know not to waste their bullets shooting while I have cover, putting us at a temporary stalemate. They can’t call for help because they’ve stepped into the field of the device on me that disrupts their radios and phones. I can’t risk getting up to take a shot without getting shot myself. Not yet, anyway. I listen for their footsteps and breathing. Notice the chair next to me. Kicks it a distraction. Just as I planned, a bullet in the direction I pushed the chair giving me the chance I need to stand and shoot the shooters clean through bother their heads.

I jump from behind the desk and say, “His most elite. Sure.”

Or maybe they are, and that’s just how good Adrian trained me to be.

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