Page 56 of Devil's Game

What?

I glanced down, searching for what might have tipped them off when the red splatter of bloody shoe prints caught my eye.

Dammit.

With my gun at the ready, I took a steadying breath as footsteps slowly, softly, echoed on the pavement. Was the idiot trying to sneak up on me when I’d clearly just heard him? I rolled my eyes.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” His singsong tone had me swallowing back bile as he crept forward.

Seriously?

I timed the footsteps, waiting as they got closer and closer. “Don’t be scared, little bunny. We’re here to protect you.”

I nearly lost my concentration as I fought hard not to laugh. Was he fucking serious?

By the time he turned the corner of the red bricked building—his black coat flashing before me as he lunged forward, his sinister grin lifting his lips, as though he was the cat who just caught the canary—my gun was already aimed for his head.

I didn’t hesitate. I pulled the trigger, and the bullet pierced his skull. His features quickly shifted from twisted enjoyment to shock and horror as his life slipped away. He took a few steps closer, hands outstretched like his brain hadn’t caught up, like it was still sending messages to the rest of his body before his legs gave out and he slumped to the ground with a thud.

“What the fuck!” his friends shouted, footsteps clamoring toward me, but judging by the crack of gunshots that followed, they were too late.

A grin curled on my lips as I strode from the alley and surveyed the carnage my guys had left in their wake. The five other men that had rushed to check on their buddy were strewn across the sidewalk, blood pooling around their lifeless bodies as my guys stood there like avenging angels under the streetlights.

“Sugar.” Spade beamed, his eyes roving over me as he took in my blood-splattered clothes.

I tucked my gun back into my purse as I surveyed the sidewalk, confident now that all of the Barones’ men had been taken care of.

A cool wave of relief washed over me at the sight of my guys and the heat that coursed through my veins at having their gazeson me, instead of the lecherous one of the man missing his tongue.

“You got creative with this one.” Spade crouched by the man in question, marveling at the blood coating most of his face before poking at the severed stump where his tongue used to be.

“I almost wish I’d gotten to cut off a different part of him.” I sighed. That would’ve been the perfect punishment for what he’d wanted to do to me, and what he’d undoubtedly done to countless others. “But time constraints.” I shrugged.

“My ruthless little devil.” Merrick grinned, yet I didn’t miss the way he winced at the thought.

Kellan’s phone was pressed to his ear, and he was nodding along to whatever the person on the other end was saying. “Let’s dispatch clean-up crews to all the locations, and once we’re clear, we’ll meet at the bar. This was a huge win, but let’s not let our guard down too soon.”

Excitement buzzed from me like an electric current from the snippet of the conversation I’d heard. “We did it?”

“We did it.” He smiled as I launched myself into his arms, uncaring of the blood that was now coating him too as he spun me around. His lips found mine, the two of us colliding in a scorching kiss that sent a current of heat straight through me.

“My turn,” Merrick grumbled as he tugged me from Kellan’s grip, my legs automatically wrapping around his waist as he pressed me into his hard muscled chest like he needed to feel my heartbeat against his. His mouth was on mine in the next second, devouring me completely as that heat built up to an inferno.

The adrenaline that had been coursing through my veins quickly turned to lust, my body realizing the perfect outlet to expel all the pent-up energy accumulated inside me.

Spade pressed his chest against my back, wrapping one arm around my waist to hold me steady while the other curled undermy chin, pulling my lips from Merrick to steal them away, replacing them with his own so swiftly, I wouldn’t have noticed the switch if I didn’t have every detail of them memorized.

Where Kellan’s sent a warm, comforting wave through me, Merrick’s scorched a blinding light to my soul, and Spade, his kiss was like a drug, leaving me craving more.

Merrick cursed under his breath, and I could tell by the bulge pressing against me that it wasn’t because he was angry.

The screech of tires pulled me from my lust-filled thoughts before we could get any further. The three of us untangled.

“It’s the crew,” Kellan said, clearing his throat. He was beside us now, clearly having closed the distance, ready to join in.

Merrick grumbled something under his breath, turning away from the white van to compose himself while Spade and I watched with amusement.

“You’re a troublemaker.” I giggled, leaning into Spade as he clutched my hand.

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