Blaze (Virtues & Lies 3)

I don’t even have to take the time to aim.

“Pssst…” I call from his side.

He looks up at me. Our eyes meet.

Bang!

Stupid, stupid prick.

Putting my weapon away, I make sure I’m still clear before I dump the bodies in one of the bins, making note of the number so I can get this cleaned up. There’s nothing on them to indicate who they are, but one thing’s certain—Freddie and Christopher weren’t behind this. They know better than to send old meat. I won’t bite. I won’t engage. I’ll discard it and move on.

Grabbing the bottle of red that’s in one of the shopping bags, I drop it over the puddle of blood before I get the fuck out of here. The smell of the wine and the alcohol will disguise the stench and stain of rotting blood.

My awareness is in overdrive as I head towards the car park. I’m pretty sure I’m still being watched. I can feel it, and I need to take stock of my surroundings to assess the situation.

Stopping by the florist stall, I rake my eyes over the offerings, then look around as though I’m trying to see if I have any other options, before I settle on a bunch of white daisies. Fleur is always doodling them, so it’s safe to assume she likes them. They’ll be a good distraction to stop her from noticing anything is off.

“Is that all?” the florist asks when I glance around once more. She sounds a bit sour that I’m not giving her shit more attention, but I have bigger things to observe right now.

“Yeah.” I pay for the daisies, and as she wraps them in a newspaper cone, I take a good look around me.

I can’t spot anything or anyone else, but that ominous feeling from earlier is hanging over me while I head for the car. It’s an older Discovery model, but it’s in good condition and it goes under the radar.

The minute I’m on the road, I call for backup.

“Shit,” Ryan barks down the phone when I brief him on what’s happened. “They weren’t sent from here.”

“I know, they were useless fucks.” I keep my eyes peeled on the rear-view mirror to check for any possible problems. The road is straight for long enough that anyone following would be visible by now.

“Russians?”

“Maybe.” The reality is that I didn’t take the time to find out. At this point it’s kill or be killed. “I wasn’t exactly going to interrogate them while outnumbered. I need to get it cleaned up. I had to dump the fuckers in a bin.”

“I’ll take care of it.” He clears his throat in that way that says he’s got something to say that I won’t like. “You need backup closer.”

We’ve had this argument before. Ryan and I were deployed together. We saw a lot of shit together. Fought together. Kept each other alive. He’s as loyal as they come, which is why I need him to stay put where he is. He’s my eyes and ears where it matters.

“I need you there. You’re the only one that can keep me up to date on what’s happening.” And I feel like enough of a cunt for abandoning my sister when she was kidnapped by Fleur’s father. But feeling bad doesn’t change the fact that she had every possible person looking out for her, unlike Fleur. “Arabella needs you there.”

Fuck! I’m turning onto open country road when I notice the Jeep. I could speed up and get away without any more blood, but what’s a little more?

Slowing down, I cruise the wide road bordered by interspersed forest. Sure enough, the Jeep follows as I hum to whatever Ryan is saying.

“You’re being followed?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you get away?”

I scoff at his question—he knows me well enough to know that I won’t shrug this off.

“Fuck, how many?”

“Two. Driver and passenger.”

“This is why you need backup.”

I put him on mute as I slow to a crawling pace over the stony road. His commentary will distract me, and I need to make sure that my plan works.