Page 24 of Vengeful

Another crunch. A hint of movement. Something was definitely up ahead. It might be nothing more terrifying than a kangaroo. My instincts told me otherwise.

Up until now, those instincts had kept me alive. I wasn't going to ignore them now.

Someone was there and it wasn't the twins or Lila.

I moved forward slowly, centimetre by centimetre, looking for patches of bare dirt or rock that would mask my footsteps. At the same time, I searched for signs of whoever it was, having passed here. Bent grass, snapped twigs. They didn't tell me much until…

The imprint of a shoe in a patch of dirt. The side of a shoe and part of the heel, to be precise. I almost missed it. If I wasn't looking carefully, I would have.

Definitely a person then. Male, judging by the size and depth of the imprint. Someone at least as big as me.

I crouched again. Where there was one, there may be several. Chances were, they weren't out here alone. If they were after Lila, they definitely weren't. If they'd split up, they'd die alone. Excuse me if I didn't spare any pity for them.

A voice came from up ahead. I froze. Listened.

I caught a word or two before the wind blew any further conversation away. Either they weren't alone or they were speaking to someone on the phone. Since we were out in the bush, it seemed unlikely they got a decent signal unless they were using a satellite phone.

I decided to proceed on the assumption I was dealing with at least two people. Possibly more.

I caught a couple more words, this time from a different voice. Definitely at least two then. Sloppy enough to let themselves be overheard.

They may not die alone, but if they were after Lila, their deaths were imminent.

I took a couple of breaths, suppressing the surge of adrenaline at the thought of killing. I didn't need that right now. I needed a clear head.

I pulled back any emotion and tied it tight before tucking it away in the back of my mind. This was one of the first things my assassin training taught me. Something I'd always been good at. I had to be cold-blooded and ruthless right now.

When I was operating, I was one of the most feared assassins in Australia. Second only to the Sparrow, when they were operational. They'd disappeared some five years ago. No one was ever able to explain why or where they'd gone. I alwayspresumed they'd made enough money to retire to some nice island in the Whitsundays, where they lived their days drinking cocktails on the beach.

Why not? Even now, their codename sent a shiver of fear through most sensible people.

"Won't be long now." That was definitely a male voice, only a handful of metres in front of me. Seemingly totally unaware of my presence. Exactly how I liked it.

"Hope so, this place gives me the fucking creeps." A second voice, also male. The click of a lighter was followed by the smell of cigarette smoke.

Fucking idiots. The bush was so dry, they'd be lucky if they didn't start a fire with the butt.

"Me too," the first voice agreed. "Give me a dark alley any day."

I frowned. Did I recognise either of those voices? They sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place them. They weren't the twins. They weren't Zachary or Dane either. Chances were, they were just some random assholes hired to fuck around with us.

"Are we in the right place?" That was a third voice. Male as well. "They said the trial area was pretty big."

"Yeah, but the other teams are—"

I couldn't make out the rest of the comment. He must have turned away from me, or lowered his voice. Whatever, I had confirmation they weren't working alone. That meant I had to hurry. If I didn't deal with them, then another team might deal with Lila.

My emotions threatened to escape from the corner of my mind. I shoved them back and started forward.

I slid a knife out the side of my boot and held it while I approached the approximate location of those voices. I stayed down low, keeping the underbrush between me and them. Theyknew we were here somewhere. That limited the amount of surprise I had on my side. I'd have to make it count.

I ducked behind a thick trunk at the first sight of one of the men. He was dressed in black jeans and a T-shirt, dark hair tied back at the nape of his neck. He turned towards a tree and unzipped his jeans. He was about to pull out his cock and take a piss when I gripped the back of his shirt from behind and sliced his throat without a sound.

I grabbed him before he could fall too loud and lowered him to the forest floor.

I took a moment to get a good look at his face. He was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place him. He looked like one of many street thugs I'd met in my day. Nothing about him was extraordinary. If I saw him in the street, I wouldn't look twice. Which was why he was hired for this in the first place. Forgettable faces were highly desirable in our world. They got away with a shit load of things the rest of us couldn't.

I listened for the other two men. It wouldn't take them long to realise their companion hadn't come back from relieving himself. When they did, they'd come looking for him.

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