The road ahead ended in a parking lot, so I took the next left, counting on Cass being close enough behind that he'd see me turn. I’d barely rounded the corner, though, when I had to screech to a halt that almost saw me flying over the handlebars. As it was, my back wheel lifted off the ground, and only my riding experience and light weight saved me from becoming mincemeat on the concrete.
"What the fuck?" I cursed, glaring in outrage at the two SUVs that had just pulled up from the other direction and stopped, blocking the road entirely.
I barely got a second to process the oddity of the situation before Cass's bike skidded around mine in a perfect arc as he pulled a gun from inside his jacket and fired a round of bullets at the SUVs.
On reflex, I reached for my own gun before realizing I hadn't put it on. I’d been in such a hurry to get out of the house with Cass I hadn't grabbed it from the nightstand where Cass had laid it out with my clothes. Shit.
"Go!" Cass boomed at me, and I didn't hesitate. I jammed my foot down on the ignition and jerked my handlebars to turn in a tight circle. More shots rang out behind me as I fled, but I didn't stop. I was severely underdressed for that sort of party and had no desire to sign my own death certificate so soon. So I did the only sensible thing possible and tore through the night.
Only when I felt sure the SUVs weren't following did I risk a glance over my shoulder and let out a long sigh of relief when I spotted Cass only a half block behind me. His gun was still out as he drove one-handed, but from what I could see, he was still in one piece. Shit, the last thing he needed was more bullet holes less than two weeks after I'd shot him myself.
Dammit, that stubborn fool wasn't wearing his sling anymore. I should have known he'd ditch it the second he was out of my sight. But I could also understand why. Never let enemies see you're hurt.
I kept glancing back at him, though, worried that he'd done some damage. So I almost didn't notice when someone casually strolled out into the street ahead. Luckily, my reflexes were sharper than Japanese steel after the SUV attack, and I slowed to a stop just a couple of feet away from the man.
His face remained neutral, totally unconcerned that I could have run him over. He just stood there with his feet shoulder-width apart, looking casual as all hell.
I tugged off my helmet and glared daggers. "I suppose that ambush was your doing?"
The model-handsome man met my gaze with his ice-blue eyes, tilting his head to the side like my question was too stupid to warrant a response.
"The Guild appreciates you having returned their property, Hades," he said in a low, calm voice. Cass had pulled up a few yards behind me, hanging back and keeping his disguise in place but there as backup if I needed him.
I grunted, assuming he meant the gun stash. "Nice of the Guild to let us know they'd be stopping by." Sarcasm edged my voice, and I mentally slapped myself for losing my cool. "What's this charade for, Leon?"
The Guild mercenary ran his eyes over me. It wasn't a sexual gaze; it was a calculating one. He was one of the mercs who'd come to Shadow Grove to assist Archer when his girl was being stalked, but I'd crossed paths with him before that. He mostly played the role of tech-geek, but I knew better. We monsters recognized one another.
"No charade, Hades. Just delivering a message from the Circle." His sharp, intelligent gaze shifted past me to Cass, his eyes narrowing slightly as he visually inspected my backup.
I swallowed, steeling my spine. "The fuck does the Circle want in Shadow Grove?"
The Circle... the governing body of the Guild, made up of nine scary-ass motherfuckers. The Guild said they didn't recruit psychopaths or serial killers, but that was only because they were owned by the worst kind of nightmares in the world. It took a real sick fuck to run an organization like the mercenary guild, after all.
"Nothing," Leon replied, clasping his tattooed hands in front of him. For all appearances, he looked totally unarmed. I knew better. "That's what I came to tell you. The Circle has investigated Jack Wildeboer's death and declared it from natural causes. We have no further interest in Shadow Grove... unless you keep trying to hack our servers. Then? Well, then we have a problem, Hades."
Shit. They knew we'd been digging. Did they know why?
"Tell Lucas to stop fucking looking," Leon continued, his jaw ticking with anger. "Take this as a professional courtesy warning. Stop drawing attention, or my next visit will be considerably less polite."
I jerked a nod, quietly horrified that Leon even knew Lucas's name. The casual way he used it, too... it sent a chill of understanding through me. He'd been watching us longer than I'd known.
Leon stared at me for an extended, tense moment like he was weighing whether I was taking his warning seriously or not. Then he inclined his head in a small nod himself and shifted his eyes back over my shoulder.
"De Rosa. I'm going to assume I have some bodies to clean up." Leon didn't look even slightly upset by this prospect, like it was just a normal Tuesday night. Like I’d said, Leon was far from the chilled-out hacker he liked to play on jobs.
Cass said nothing, not betraying his disguise, and Leon didn't seem to require an answer. The mercenary just touched his fingers to his forehead in a mocking salute to me, then strolled back into the shadows at the side of the street.
I didn't go after him, knowing full damn well he'd have disappeared already. Those upper-level Guild bastards were slippery as shit.
Taking a second to calm my racing pulse, I glanced over my shoulder to Cass. Then I pulled my helmet back on and started my bike once more. Suddenly, I wasn't so interested in being out on the streets. I just wanted to get home... to debrief with Cass, Zed, and Lucas.
Cass followed close as we returned to Zed's fortress at almost double the speed limit the entire way, but no words were exchanged until we got safely back into the garage.
I pulled my helmet off, hooked it over the handlebars of the Ducati, then strode over to Cass. He'd just taken his own helmet off and knew exactly what I was doing when I unzipped his borrowed jacket and pushed it off his shoulders.
"I'm fine, Red," he told me in a gruff voice. "Not even a scratch on me."
I released my breath. "Good. How's your shoulder?"
"Stiff, but fine." His response was clipped, his fingers dragging my own zipper open. "What did that bastard mean about the Circle?"
I wrinkled my nose. "The Circle. They run the Guild, and I'd seriously rather not be on their radar. The fact that he ambushed us so easily—"
"I swear to you, Red, that wasn't a set up." Cass's growl was low and threaded with concern, his eyes blazing as he met my gaze.
I frowned. "That never even crossed my mind, Saint. I trust you. Those fuckers are good enough that he could have had my bike chipped or had eyes on the gate or anything." I rose up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "We're in this together, Grumpy Cat. You’re way past the point of suspicion."
His strong arms banded around my waist, pulling me into his body as his lips closed over mine in a hard, domineering kiss that left me shaking and flushed with heat.
"Good," he muttered when he released me. "I have to get back."
I let my lips tug down in a small pout, and my hands went to the waistband of his borrowed pants. "Right now?"