my mental walls and slammed them tight. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Making sure Bosch’s commands weren’t still active.”
His answer sucked the fight right out of me. “I thought we broke his hold.”
“Until your latest little rant, so did I,” he drawled.
Damn him for making me wonder. I poked and prodded, examining my response, looking for things that didn’t fit.
Yes, the need to hurt Ellery for what he did to Kelsey throbbed under my anger and guilt, but it wasn’t all-consuming. I ran scenarios in my head, checking my thinking. There were no more whispers, no black-edged thoughts of revenge, nor were there any strange doubts about Delacourt or the team.
“Ellery killed my sister,” my voice was low, but level. I held Wolf’s gaze with no problem. “I want him to pay for it, but not at the risk of the team or the
mission. I know the score, Wolf, personal feelings have no place in the field.
Doesn’t mean I don’t want to wipe him out.”
For a moment he didn’t say anything, just studied me. Finally, he must have
spotted something that reassured him. “Just checking.”
“You know,” Bishop broke through the moment. “We could use Bosch’s
orders against him.”
“How?” Kayden asked.
“He wants Ellery dead, and anyone else that’s around. What if we set Cyn up
to give him what he wants? If he thinks he has control of her, he’s going to be
watching us. Once Ellery is out of the picture, he’ll expect her to take out the team.”
I was shaking my head before he finished. “No way in hell could I take out
an entire team on my own.”
“Aww, sugar, don’t worry,” Rabbit said. “You can’t hurt us.”
I ignored him and pressed my point. “How could he expect me to survive?
One person against five? Six? He’s stupid to think it would work.”
“He doesn’t need to you to survive, just cause enough havoc so he can get the drive.” Kayden crossed his arms over his chest. “It might work, Bishop.”
“What will work?” The two men’s behavior made me nervous. “Hello, care
to clue me in?”
“Wolf,” Bishop turned to the other man, excitement and caffeine visibly
chasing away his earlier exhaustion. “Do you have enough time to work with her?”
Now all three were watching me. It wasn’t cool, it was more like being a rabbit at a hawk convention. “What the hell are you guys up to?”
Kayden’s grin was all teeth. “Hunting.”
CHAPTER 25
Hours later, I was traipsing through Fashion Square with Jinx, just another
shopper trolling the racks. Kill me now.
Hordes of teenagers who couldn’t be bothered to look up from their phones
moved en masse like the old centipede arcade games. They clearly expected everyone else to move out of their way or be assimilated. Even in the stores, smaller groups made walking a maze of navigation. Like the two chirping
chickees who just stopped without warning in front of us.
“Stop growling,” Jinx muttered, as she continued to work her way through a
sale’s rack. “You’ll scare the children.”
“They don’t even know anyone else exists.” Sure enough, the chickees did it
again. This time, they almost caused a pileup of strollers. The two young moms
glared at them but didn’t say anything. They simply readjusted their kid carriers
and huffed their way past. “How much longer?”
“I thought women loved to shop.” Rabbit, the sexist pig, chimed in.
“Then why aren’t you in here?” I tucked my hands into the pockets of my cargos.
Next to me, Jinx smiled. It amazed me how deceptive looks could be.
Dressed in jeans and a V-neck, fitted T-shirt in light lavender, Jinx was just another young, good-looking twenty-something, out doing a little shopping.
There was nothing to hint at the lethal woman who lurked underneath. I wasn’t
fooled, she wasn’t part of this team because of her sweetness and light.
“Target’s en route, ETA fifteen minutes.” The new voice held the tinge of an
exotic accent, Spanish maybe? It belonged to Ricochet.
“Any shadows?” Kayden asked.
