Page 80 of F*ck Steal Kill

“You’re really good at the emotional stuff. Way better than me,” I admitted, cupping his cheek.

“I had to be growing up, and now I can use it for something good. It’s my main role on the team. Grady leads us, and I’m attuned to everyone’s emotional state. It’s why I tend to work alone. It’s distracting when I’m with someone else, and I need that time to recharge.”

“So why did you want to partner with me?” I asked, feeling guilty.

“Because I realized yesterday that being apart from you was way worse. I thought about you constantly and wished you were there.”

I smiled, lightness lifting in my chest, flower petals feeling like they were floating around me. Wait, what?

“You did?” My cheeks reddened as I tried to get the romantic feeling out of my body.

“Yeah.” Q smiled, kissing me softly before pulling back. “Let’s go rescue someone, and then I’ll show just how much I think about you back in the motel.”

“Yes, sir!” I saluted him, his cocky smirk growing as he turned me around and patted my butt to go up the ladder. “You just want to stare at my ass,” I teased.

“And?”

Snorting, I took one more deep breath and went to that place in my head where I turned everything off and only focused on the mission ahead. By the time I’d climbed the ladder, I was ready to get my unaliving on.

Yeah, it might be a rescue mission. But sometimes, you just had to get a little stabby. Them’s the rules.

“On my go,” Q whispered, both of us hanging onto the rungs as we watched the countdown clock.

The second it hit zero, I flew into action and lifted the lid, peering out into the dead space. When I didn’t encounter any movement, I pulled myself out of the hole and scanned the area as I waited for Quentin to join me. Once we were both out, I nodded in the direction we needed to head.

We were in an old barn a short distance from the back of the house. It gave us the best cover and position for Ava’s room. Sticking to the shadows, our black outfits hid us as we made our way to the house. Hopefully, if anyone spotted us, we looked similar enough to the Savages that we should pass a first glance.

That was until they realized I was a woman. But hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

“Almost there,” I whispered, nodding to the window Ava said was hers.

She was going to hang an angel in it so we’d know for certain. Waiting for a guard to pass, Quentin and I crouched down low as we hurried the last few steps to the spot. Under the window, I glanced up and spotted the marker, sighing in relief that we’d made it to the correct one.

Quentin stared at his watch, waiting for Max’s signal that the alarm had been disabled, giving us a few seconds to open it and slip into her room.

“Go,” he hissed, and I popped up and pushed it open, happy it didn’t make a sound. Quentin followed, closing it just as the timer went off. We both sighed in relief just as a gasp caught our attention.

“You’re here!” a young girl in a wedding dress said, rising from the bed she’d been sitting on. “XOXO?” she asked, and I nodded, pulling my hood off so she could see I was a female. She immediately relaxed, just as I knew she would.

“You ready?” I asked, just as a loud commotion broke out in the hallway.

Ava jumped but ran and grabbed a bag she’d hidden behind some stuffed animals and hurried over to us. I wrapped my arm around her as the noise grew closer. Quentin tensed, his anxiety ramping up the longer we waited here with no word from Max that the alarm was off again.

The door burst open, and a man in all black, similar to us, appeared. On instinct, Q and I raised our guns at him. He didn’t seem surprised to see us, dismissing our weapons as he addressed the girl shaking in my arms.

“You have to go now, Princess. Your father knows they’re coming and plans to make an example. There’s no more time.”

“We’re waiting for the alarm to be off,” I said, hoping this was the personal guard and our ally.

“You’ll have to go a different way. Come,” he said, motioning for us to follow.

I glanced at Q, his jaw tight as he debated. It wasn’t part of our plan, but we didn’t have time to argue. If the alarm wasn’t off, we’d be giving them our location immediately.

“You can trust him. He’s been more of a father to me than Viper,” Ava whispered, unzipping the dress and letting it puddle at her feet. Underneath she had on leggings and a tank top, and thankfully, tennis shoes. She pulled on a hoodie next, pushing her hair back and helping to slightly disguise herself.

Once she was ready, we followed the guard, and Q trailed behind. His fists were clenched, and his jaw clicked as he ground his teeth, but he didn’t argue. I tried not to think about why we couldn’t get out the window or the fact Viper knew we were here and instead focused on our part of the plan.

They’re all trained and experienced. They’ll be safe. I won’t lose anyone else I love.

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