Eleanor sways.
I smile.
Isobel gasps and spins, “What the fuck did you do!?”
The girl starts to topple, skin turning pale. Of course, she doesn’t hit the floor, King catches her before she can.
“Eleanor,” King shakes her.
“She won’t wake,” I advise.
He turns feral. I’d chosen this day and time for a reason. Eleanor had established a kind of routine since moving in with Kingston a few weeks back, on a Saturday morning she would head down to the market, buy some fresh fruit and a coffee and head back with some new books. Catching her at the right time was paramount to this plan and slipping the drug into her coffee was easy, especially since the girl had barely any sense of danger. You’d think after what happened with Tobias and Garrett, she’d be a little more vigilant. Old habits die hard, I suppose.
The drug isn’t fatal. I wouldn’t do that, not because I cared but because she was innocent, and Isobel would never forgive me.
They didn’t need to know that though.
“What have you done?” Isobel begs.
“Precautions,” I shrug, “She’ll be asleep for a while, this goes to plan, there’s a medicine she can take to undo what I’ve done. She doesn’t take it, she doesn’t wake,” I lie.
Kingston sinks to the floor with his girl, cradling her in his lap. She remains peacefully asleep. His eyes burn with a hatred so pure I’d be dead if looks could kill, but he won’t let her go, leaving the only threat as Micha. I’d heard him already take out his gun and flick off the safety.
“I wouldn’t, I’m the only one who knows where the medicine is.”
“Micha,” King orders him to stand down. “Get it over with then.” He looks at his sister coldly.
“Kingston,” She tries, stepping forward. I grab her. He was too unpredictable to be deemed safe.
“The Syndicate want you, Kingston.”
“No.” Isobel breathes.
“That’s my latest mission, bring you in, dead or alive didn’t really matter as long as they saw the body.”
“You used me!” Isobel shrieks.
“Now, now, Snow,” I soothe.
“Then wake Eleanor, and kill me!” He snaps.
I roll my eyes, “Such dramatics. I don’t work for the Syndicate.”
He scoffs.
“Everything I have done is for your sister, just like everything you had done with Tobias was for her. We have been working together this entire time.”
“You’re nothing more than the Syndicates dog.” Micha spits.
“Wake her up,” Isobel demands, “Now.”
I look down at her, curling my finger beneath her chin, “Just let me deal with this.”
“No, Hunter, stop it now.”
“No.”
She grits her teeth, “Hunter!”
“I want us to work together for this final part of my plan.” I continue.
“And what plan might that be?” Kingston growls.
“End the Syndicate, fully. No one left alive, no more sex trafficking, no more scheming. We kill them all.”
He shakes his head, “And how do you suppose we do that?” King says, holding Eleanor, “Clayton and Derek disappeared the moment I stuffed Tobias full of bullets.”
“You’re right they did, and I know where they are.”
“And you expect us to trust you?” Micha asks, “You just drugged Eleanor!”
I shrug, “Trust doesn’t matter, we both have a common goal. I don’t care how I get there or what I have to do.”
“Wake her up,” Kingston demands, “And I’ll think about it.”
“I don’t think that’s a fair deal, I want your word.”
“My word?”
“Yes, I want your word that you won’t try to kill me before we end this. After, well I don’t care what you do then.”
King smirks, “Fine.”
I slide a syringe out of my pocket, handing it over to Isobel. “Inject it into her arm. She’ll wake after a few minutes.”
She snatches it from me, storming over to where King and Eleanor are on the ground. Gently she rolls up the sleeve of her sweater, sliding the needle into the flesh on the top of her arm.
“I’m sorry,” I hear her whisper.
“Get out.” Kingston demands quietly, “Get out now. I’ll find you.”
“Come,” I order.
Isobel glares at me, “If he doesn’t kill you, Hunter, I swear I fucking will.” She storms passed me, beelining for the door, shoulders tight with anger and tension.
I lay a card on the table with the address of the hotel I’d booked for Isobel and me about ten minutes from here. “Dinner tonight. Eight PM. Just you and Eleanor.”
I don’t give him a chance to decline, I follow Isobel out, feeling eyes on me the entire time. Showing my back was a ballsy move, he could have easily killed me there and then with a bullet in the back of the skull, but he was a man of his word and his itch to end the Syndicate would keep his hand still.
I find Isobel stomping down the road, through the icy sludge leftover from the recent snowfall. She bypasses the car.
“Get in.”
“Fuck you.”
“Get in the fucking car, Snow.”
“How could you!?” She screams, spinning and then she shakes her head, scoffing, “I shouldn’t be surprised Hunter, should I? You only fucking do shit for yourself! You could have killed her!”
I lean on the car, crossing my arms.
“I hope he fucking puts a bullet between your eyes,” she hisses.
“Are you done?”
She shakes her head but doesn’t say anything more before she starts to walk away from me again.
I let her get a few more yards before I follow.
“Get the hell away from me.”
“Why don’t you do it then,” I bait, “You want me dead, kill me yourself.”
She crosses the street, heading for the woods that’ll lead to the main road on the other side. Branches snap under her weight, and she knocks leaves and branches out the way as she walks, huffing when they catch in her hair.
I follow. Like I always have.
“You’re like a damn dog,” she seethes, “Always fucking following.”
I catch up to her, gripping her arms to force her to stop. I press her back against my chest. She doesn’t bother fighting.
“You’re so adamant that you want me dead and yet you can’t do it yourself, can you? You hate me for what I’ve done and what I just did. It was necessary.”
She shakes her head.
“Accept it, Snow,” I breathe, pressing my lips to her temple, “Accept that I will continue to do questionable things for you. If I had to sacrifice your brother, or even Eleanor, I would.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“Tough.”
“I can’t do this, Hunter.”
“You can,” My hands slide down her arms.
“No!” She yells, spinning on me and shoving me, pushing all her weight into it.
“That’s it, fight me, Snow.”
She screams before throwing a punch, one I dodge before capturing her wrist, tugging her back to me. My mouth crashes onto hers.
She bites me.
“Mm,” I growl against her, tasting blood on my tongue.
“Get off me!”
I pin her to the nearest tree instead. She bit me hard enough to cut my lip, the blood tickles as it rolls down my chin. “I love it when you play, Snow.” I purr.
She shakes her head.
“You feel what this does to me?” I whisper, dragging my lips up the side of her face, smearing my blood into her skin.
“I trusted you!” She hisses, struggling against me.