“Fuck you, whore,” he hisses as Galen and Caz dutifully flip him over.
Galen kicks him in the head. “Watch what you say to my wife, dipshit.”
Caz presses down on his foot, and Dar screams like a pussy. The sound of more bones breaking is music to my ears. How dare that asshole think he could show up here and thwart our carefully laid plans. And with that murdering bitch too?
Idiots. The pair of them.
Placing my booted foot on his crotch, I lean over him. “How did you know we would be here?”
He grins, because He. Is. A. Fucking. Brain-dead. Idiot. “Screw you. I’ll never tell.”
I kick him swiftly in the nut sack, and he cries out, trying to curl into a ball, unable to move his body properly with Galen standing on his wrist, Caz standing on his foot, and my boot pressed to his groin.
“Eleven minutes,” Theo says in my ear.
As much as I’d love to take my time, we’re all out of it. Whipping my knife out, I yank Dar’s head back, placing the sharp blade to his neck. “You have three seconds to tell me the truth before I slit your throat.”
Spittle flies into my face, for the second time in minutes, and I’m so done. I ram my knife into his thigh, in a similar place to the last time, reminding him of who he’s dealing with. Tears flow from his eyes, and his face contorts in pain, but I’m not finished with him yet. Sticking the knife in the side of his neck, I clamp my other hand over his mouth to smother his screams. His eyes widen in panic, as reality finally dawns, and he realizes he could die here. The smell of urine filters into the air, and my nostrils revolt, scrunching up to ward off the stink.
“Dude, did you just piss yourself?” Caz asks, gagging.
How the hell did I put up with this pathetic prick for so long? Ugh. My previous choice of boyfriend was piss-poor—pun intended.
Bry smirks. “You’re a mess, Knight.” He grabs his face, losing all hint of humor. “Tell us now, or we’ll let the lovely Lo gut you like the rodent you are.”
I remove my hand from his disgusting mouth. “Don’t kill me!” Dar pleads. “I’ll tell you, and I’ve other shit I can tell you too.”
“Now. Dar,” I bark, losing my patience.
“I’ve had my suspicions about you for a while,” he tells Bry, in between pained pants. “I followed you this week. Knew you were spying for the Saints, so I put a tracker on you.”
“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?”