“How long have you been working with Taylor?” I ask. When he doesn’t answer straightaway, I kick him in the balls again. Galen covers his mouth this time, trapping his howls of agony. “How long?” I hiss.
“She came to me a week ago, suggesting we team up to take you all out.”
“Does anyone else know you’re here?” Galen inquires, exerting additional pressure on his broken wrist.
“No,” he whimpers. “Archer is out for my blood.” He stares up at Bry. “He thinks I was working with you because I didn’t show up at the warehouse last night.” Course, he didn’t. Dar doesn’t like to get his hands dirty, and he always gets someone else to pick up his slack. This little nugget of information is interesting though. Perhaps, it can come in handy.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Taylor wriggling in Saint’s grip. He looks to me, and I nod. We can’t deal with them right now, and we need to get them off this roof ASAP because we can’t have any loose ends hanging around when this goes down.
Taylor crumples like a sack of potatoes when Saint slams the butt of the gun into her head. Caz punches Dar a couple times in the face, and he’s out cold in a flash.
“Tie them up in the trunk and stay with them,” I instruct Caz. “We’ll deal with them back at the house after we get this over and done with.”
“Galen, help Caz get them downstairs, and then I want you out on the street,” Saint commands. “Stay in the alleyway beside the main entrance to this building. We don’t want any more surprises.”
Galen salutes Saint before heaving Taylor over his shoulder. Caz does the same with Dar, and they leave while I reposition myself on the cushion, taking deep breaths to get my head back in the game.
“Here.” Bry picks up a bottle of water off the ground, handing it to me.
Saint crouches on my other side. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just give me a minute to get my bearings.”
By the time the cavalcade arrives with the commissioner, I’m primed and ready to go. Diesel just called, confirming everything is all set from their side, and that helps to settle any last-minute nerves.
Thankfully, it’s only the head librarian and a couple of her staff waiting outside to greet their honored guest. Most of the crowd is cloistered in the new wing. A couple of reporters linger outside the building, but the event wasn’t large enough to draw attention from any of the TV stations. It also helps the library isn’t in the main thoroughfare, and there’s only a couple of bystanders walking the sidewalk.
I wait until the commissioner gets into position, and then I pull the special goggles down over my eyes, point the rifle at the infrared X marked on his chest, and take my shot.
Bull’s-eye. I hit my mark dead on.
Screams ring out as the commissioner drops to the asphalt, blood pooling around him from the pouches tied to the front of his bulletproof vest.
As much as I’d love to stay and admire my handiwork, we can’t hang around. Saint and Bry work efficiently together to dismantle the stand, placing it and the rifle into the black carryall while I race around the roof, snatching up bottles of water and checking for any trace evidence we may have unwittingly left behind. Droplets of blood are drying where Taylor bled out, and I’m on my knees, ready to clean them up, when Saint calls out to me. “Leave them. We can use it to our advantage.”
We exit the roof with the sounds of sirens blaring in the background. Taking the staff elevator to the parking lot, we slide the gun case into the bed of Bry’s truck, securing a few boxes and a blanket over it. Caz revs the engine of the Chevy, and Bry jumps in the passenger seat while Saint and I climb into the back of the Land Rover. Galen is behind the wheel, and Theo has his head stuck to his tablet from the passenger seat.
Brakes screech as both vehicles peel out of there, using the rear entrance, and we encounter no problems as we journey the side roads back to Prestwick.
CHAPTER 40
“HOLY FUCK. THAT was nuts.” Bry grins like a madman as we enter the barn.
“That’s one way of putting it,” I deadpan, jerking my head at Theo. “Put the news on. I want to hear what they’re saying.”
Saint hands out beers as we watch a man with salt-and-pepper hair reporting from outside Lowell Public Library. The headline flashes COMMISSIONER LEYDON ASSASSINATED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, and we listen for a few minutes as they spout theories before nauseating eulogies to the commissioner start rolling in. Galen clicks it off because no one wants to hear that crap.
“That went smooth despite the unexpected interruption,” Theo says, swallowing a mouthful of beer. “I almost had a fucking coronary when I heard Darrow’s voice.”
“Speaking of.” Saint drains his beer, uncapping another one. “What are we going to do with dumb and dumber?”
“I’ve had an idea.” I heave myself up onto the edge of the table, sipping my beer.
“Thought you might.” Saint grins, and I blow him a kiss.
“Taylor has to die, because she won’t stop coming after us.” I was charitable after she tried to kill me, and look where that got us.
Everyone nods in agreement.
“I say we use Darrow’s gun to kill her. Then we dump her on her father’s doorstep with the weapon and let him connect the dots.”
Bry’s face scrunches up. “My fingerprints are on the gun.”
I grin, waggling my brows. “I have two other guns belonging to Darrow with his fingerprints on them. We’ll use one of those.”
“Damn, he’s a total moron.”
“Yep,” I agree, popping the P.
Saint traces his finger around the top of his beer bottle as he speaks. “I suggest we pin the commissioner’s murder on Taylor and kill two birds with one stone.”
Although the commissioner isn’t actually dead, to the outside world and his police colleagues, he is. The cops won’t rest until they make an arrest, so handing Taylor over is a smart suggestion.
“We can anonymously tip off the media,” Saint continues. “Explain how she’s been targeting gangs in the area in some kind of vigilante justice, because she blames local crews for her sister’s murder. When that failed, she set out to eliminate the commissioner, the man responsible for failing to keep crime from the streets of Lowell and Prestwick.” A smug grin appears on his lips. “With Diesel’s police contacts, and her blood on that roof, we can make that stick. Open and shut case. So even if her father or The Bulls try to hang us for this, no one will believe them.”
“Damn, your devious mind never fails to get me horny,” I admit, sucking one finger into my mouth while I drill him with a heated look.
Saint’s eyes darken with lust, and the urge to climb him like a spider monkey is riding me hard. “Trust me, queenie. It’s mutual.” Saint winks, and I sigh, realizing I’m stuck with the queenie nickname for life.
Bry clears his throat, reminding us he’s in the room.
“What about the moron?” Galen asks. “Do we kill him too?”
“Keeping him alive is more advantageous,” I propose. “He told us earlier that Archer Quinn thinks he and Bry were Sainthood spies. I suggest we cut out his tongue and cut off his fingers, then send him back with a note that says he ratted them out and he’s the one who’s been spying for us. We can say he double-crossed us so he’s their problem to deal with.”