“You hate him,” Theo reminds me, looking up from his tablet to join the land of the living for a change.
I shrug. “I don’t have to like him to have sex with him.”
Saint whips his head to mine. “If you didn’t have a great rack and a sweet ass, I’d almost mistake you for a dude.”
I scoff. “Don’t be sexist. If I was a guy and I made that statement, you’d all be whooping and hollering and patting me on the back. Why can’t I enjoy sex and speak my mind, no matter how salacious my thoughts might be?”
“Because it’s not very ladylike,” Theo replies, becoming more invested in this conversation.
“I’ve zero interest in being a lady.”
“I don’t think your mom would be pleased,” he adds, inciting my rage.
“Like I give a fuck what that backstabbing bitch says.” I spin around in my seat, folding my arms across my chest, annoyed at Theo’s comments and the fact I’ve just shared a part of myself with the dickheads.
“Lo—”
“I’m done talking about her, Theo,” I say, interrupting him before he can probe any further. I stare at the side of Saint’s head as he drives us toward the rougher part of Lowell. “Where are we going, and what are we doing?”
“An answer for an answer,” he says, eyeballing me.
I sigh, pursing my lips for show. “Fine. I was at a hotel in Channing. The Regent.”
Disbelief is etched across his face as he shoots me some serious side-eye.
I pull the papers Sariah gave me from my jeans pocket. “Here. Check the receipts if you don’t believe me.” Thank God, I made a reservation for Sariah and Sean at the hotel last night. I had a feeling I might need proof.
He glances at them briefly. “A suite? You better have been alone.” He narrows his eyes, and a chill tiptoes up my spine.
I was savvy enough to book it in my name alone, and Sariah snuck Sean in for some sexy time. I glare back at him. “I was alone. Plotting ways to murder you all in your sleep.”
His lips tug up. “Come up with anything creative?”
“I’m all about the art, baby,” I purr, licking my lips.
“You can get creative while I sleep anytime, princess.” Caz holds the back of my chair as he leans forward. “My blue balls would thank you.”
I might be imagining it, but I swear I see Saint shivering.
I reach around and pat Caz’s hand. “I’d take care of that for you if it wasn’t for the moody cockblocker in the driver’s seat.”
“You’ll take care of it when I tell you you can take care of it,” Saint says. “Right now, we need to focus because we’re only five minutes away.”
I sit up straighter. “I answered your question, so now it’s your turn. Where are we going?”
He turns to me, grinning. “To blow some shit up.”
CHAPTER 22
“WHAT ARE YOU blowing up?” I ask as we slow down across from a row of houses. A couple of them are boarded up, a few are in obvious need of a paint job, and others have neglected gardens, giving the entire area a run-down feel.
“That place,” Saint says, stopping across from the house at the very end of the street.
The exterior is painted in a duck-egg blue, the paint flaking away, revealing rotten panels of wood underneath. Several tiles are missing from the roof, and the garden at the front is so overgrown it could pass for a jungle. The forest runs along the far side of the property, stretching across the other side of the street and beyond, farther than the eye can see. The blinds are down on all the windows, and if it wasn’t for the trickle of smoke fleeing the chimney, I’d put money on the house being abandoned.
“And it’s we,” Saint adds. “You’re a part of this too.”
“I’ll sit this one out. Thanks.” I offer him a tight smile.
“Who said you had a choice?” We face off for a few minutes, and I give up first on purpose.
“Fine.”
“You’re so much prettier when you agree.”
I flip him the bird, grabbing my gun from my purse and stuffing it in the back waistband of my jeans. I feel heated eyes on me, and I look up. All four guys are watching me intently—even grumpy-ass Galen. “What?”
“You sucking that gun is permanently etched into our retinas,” Caz says, earning a sharp look from his leader. “That was so fucking hot.” He adjusts himself in his jeans. “And now, I’m hard as a rock. Great.”
“Maybe Saintly will be nice and let me blow you later.”
“Be a good girl and do what you’re told, and I just might,” Saint says.
“Are we getting out or what?” I ask after a couple minutes of silence.
“Not yet. We’re scoping out the place.” Saint looks over his shoulder. “Well?” he asks Theo.
“Four heat signatures. One of them is McKenzie.”
Saint rubs his hands together. “This night just got even better.”
“Who’s McKenzie?” I inquire.
“A lowlife scumbag who deserves to die a slow and bloody death.”
“I’m sorry I asked,” I murmur, wondering what the fuck I’ve gotten myself involved in.
We sit in the car for another half hour, all quietly observing the house, and not talking per the domineering asshole’s instruction. Just when I’ve decided I’ll probably die from boredom, Theo speaks up. “They’re in the back room now. I say we make our move.”
“Agreed.” Saint gets out of the car and opens the trunk.
I climb out at the same time as the others, watching them distribute some serious hardcore weapons. Caz hands me a rifle, but I back away. “Yeah, no.” I pat my waistband. “I’m good.”
Like hell I will carry one of their weapons. I’ve no gloves with me, and I’m not giving them my fingerprints on one of those things.
Caz shrugs, swinging a duffel bag over his shoulders and sauntering across the road with Galen, both of them making zero effort to conceal their movements. It’s dark out now, but it’s still brazen as fuck. I watch with reluctant admiration as they stick blocks of explosive to the exterior walls of the house.
Saint closes the trunk. “Let’s move out.” He grabs my hand. “You stay with me, princess.”
Adrenaline flows through my veins as we creep around the side of the house and around to the back. The guys line up at the rear right-hand-side window, standing a good distance back. The wooden blinds are closed, obscuring our view of the room inside, but Theo confirmed there were four people inside, and things are about to get real.
An ominous sense of foreboding washes over me, and I’ve a real bad feeling about this.
“Get ready for mayhem, baby.” Saint winks, releasing my hand and steadying his finger on the trigger of his rifle before nodding at the others.
The four of them open fire in sync, sending a barrage of bullets flying through the window. The glass shatters explosively, scattering broken shards all over the patio. The noise is deafening until Saint raises his hand and the shooting stops. Shouts emerge from inside, followed by the sound of running footsteps and the slamming of the front door. The guys grin at one another, looking pumped up and ready to shoot more rounds, while Theo pulls his cell out of his jeans. “It’s clear.” I guess he has the same tech on his phone as his tablet.