Page 77 of Scar

Turning to face the women, Scar saw a shadow fall over the doorway. Quick as lightning, he flung a scalpel across the room. But his aim was off. Silver glinted as it made contact with the white frame, missing the person standing in the doorway.

Good thing too.

Possibly.

Ivy Benson, former SWAT officer and royal pain in Scar’s ass, turned to face the weapon embedded in the wood directly to her left. “You’re aim’s off, Scarface.” She flung a duffel bag into the room. “Not that I mind the sight of your nakedness, becausewow, but there are ladies present.”

Scar glanced down at himself and noticed for the first time that he was naked. Not down to his skivvies naked, but birthday suit naked.

Her cheeks blazing red, Tessa rushed forward to grab the duffel. “There’s no time to argue, Scar. Let me help get you dressed.” To the other women, Tessa snapped, “And not a word of this to Bear. Do you hear me? We just got him back alive. I do not need my husband killing him again!”

Scissors actually chuckled.

Angel didn’t look away. She nodded appraisingly and even winked at Scar. “Never claimed to be a lady.”

Scar sent Angel a reproachful look, not embarrassed by his nudity. He was more concerned with keeping his shit together while Tessa helped him dress. To her credit, she worked to keep from touching him unnecessarily while hurrying.

Ivy and Angel stood guard at the door. Sissy gave Scar her back, leaning into Scissors. “Let’s just get out of here and then you can tell us how you’re still alive, asshole! I cried at your fucking funeral, Scar!”

Guilt seized him at her words, but he couldn’t let it slow him down. Scar’s mind worked frantically to try to figure out how they were here and what it meant. Where was everyone? Primis employed some twenty-five thousand men. Not all were stationed in Washington, D.C.. They had multiple locations throughout the world, but even their headquarters had several hundred guards.

Where was everyone?

As Tessa bent to tie his boots, grumbling about not being able to treat his wounds, he noticed she had a wireless earwig in her right ear. Looking over at the others, he saw earwigs in Scissors’ and Sissy’s ears too. Likely Angel and Ivy had the same.

Grabbing the scalpels and pliers up again, Scar stumbled towards the door. Everything ached, but he needed to get the women out of here. What the fuck was Steel thinking sending the women in? That wasn’t misogyny, either. It was a fucking need to see they got out of this building they should have never been inside of in the first place.

As he approached the door, his left leg dragging more than he cared to admit, Ivy pulled the scalpel he’d thrown at her from the doorframe. She held it out to him, handle-first. He accepted it, noting that her hair really was dyed red as Keys’ chat message had informed him over a month ago.

“Glad you’re not dead,” she told him shortly. “Now, can we get the fuck out of here?”

It went against the grain, letting Angel and Ivy take the lead. The two women worked well together, leading them through the halls and taking out any guards who approached them from the front. Scissors took up the rear, watching their six. Tessa and Sissy walked hurriedly beside Scar, and he couldn’t help but feel like they were guarding him too.

Even with the encounters they had, it was nowhere near the amount of guards Scar knew Primis kept on hand in Washington, D.C.. The building was practically a maze, but it looked like there were certain doors closed that wouldn’t normally be. Either Primis had changed procedures since Scar had been employed here, or something else was going on.

He noted the security camera in the corner of the hall. The women weren’t even trying to hide their faces.

Keys must be on property. It was the only explanation. But Scar also knew that Primis wouldn’t be so lazy as to allow any ole hacker into their system. They hired a lot of tech guys to keep their files secure. None were Keys, but that didn’t mean they were slackers either.

There was a reason Navy Intelligence had recruited him when he was only a teenager. It was too bad for them that he had a straighter moral compass than they did or he might still be working for them. Who knew what the kid would be capable of then? The same could also be said if Ghost hadn’t tracked Keys down, knowing of the Other Than Honorable discharge he’d received after refusing an order that would have ended a number of civilian lives. Where would the kid be now? Some underground hacker organization?

No doubt Keys was leading them through the maze of hallways and stairwells to get them down to the ground floor. Scar was in no condition to be jumping from any windows during this escape.

Twice Tessa made their group halt so that she could bind one wound or another when she noticed Scar was leaving a blood trail behind them. He knew it wasn’t so that their path couldn’t be tracked. They were leaving a trail of bodies behind them like goddamn breadcrumbs. From her murmurings, she was only concerned about his wellbeing.

How the fuck did she think he felt abouthers?

The further down they made it, the more guards they encountered. Multiple times Angel and Ivy engaged in hand-to-hand combat when their opponents were too many or too close. Scar’s aim improved with each throw, but unfortunately, he was down to his last scalpel. The pliers were now in the eyeball and brain of a guard who had tried to grab for Sissy.

The close quarters of the halls made the fighting quick but loud. On several occasions, Scar heard the sounds of mechanical doors slamming closed in the distance. Certain doors banged with men trying to break them down from the other side. But Primis did not skimp on building materials. The fire suppression and armored doors that had been put in place to protect Primis employees now trapped them like mice in a maze.

Scar was very grateful that Keys silenced any alarms that might have gone off otherwise. The further they went, the weaker Scar felt. His head was pounding something fierce, but he pushed beyond it. He would not fall and endanger the women further when they tried to forcibly drag his ass out of here.

Because they would. Born to stubbornness, the lot of them.

When they were five floors up, Keys was able to call an elevator for them. Scar owed the kid, because he was more likely to roll down the stairs than walk down at this point. Something clattered to the elevator floor as he stumbled inside, reaching for the rail to steady himself.

“How’s he doing?” Angel asked as they all crowded into the small mechanical box.

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