Page 112 of Coup De Grâce
He snorted in amusement. “They always talk. That’s why I always use acid. If there’s anything to give up, they’ll shout it if it means ending the pain faster. But this guy…” He snorted, nearly choking on his Funyuns dust. “This guy held out longer than anyone before. I really thought he wouldn’t give me a thing, but for some reason, when I started singing, that seemed to push him over the edge.”
“Funny,” I murmured, though it was far from funny.
“I got all his account numbers and passed them on to Rae.” He grinned widely at me. “You’ll be happy to know that all accounts have been drained, so whatever they were planning, the Shadow Government no longer has any funds to work with.”
That was a huge step in the right direction. But it would also make them more lethal than ever. Men always did stupid shit when they had nothing to lose. They would come at us hard, determined to make us pay for stealing from them.
“Is everyone on alert?”
“Boss, seriously,” he scoffed. “It’s like you think we just rolled out of bed one morning and decided to be secret agents.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Everyone is aware of the threat. They’re all safe. Blah, blah, blah. Oh, and the building was attacked, the silo is destroyed, and the elevator to the panic room is on the fritz. But other than that, we’re golden.”
The way he glossed over that nearly made my blood boil, but then I remembered this was Fox, and glossing over shit was his specialty. If someone was hurt, I would know about it. In fact, he wouldn’t even be here right now. He would have whoever attacked us dangling over a vat of acid, so in reality, there probably wasn’t anything to worry about.
“What about the men who broke in?”
“Dead. Rae was on it. Oh, and Reed Security showed up.”
That gave me pause. “Why the hell was Reed Security there?”
He shrugged. “You know how it is.There’s danger. We’re in trouble. Come save us,” he screeched in a high-pitched girly voice. “Someone called, and they answered.”
Vague as fuck, but again, not that Fox would give me a different answer.
“So, basically, the Shadow Government is pissed as hell. They’re going to retaliate, and any chance we have of taking them down has just increased or decreased, depending on how you look at it.
He nodded, resuming his bouncing as he turned up the TV. “Basically. Not that I don’t enjoy talking to you, but this is my favorite part.”
“God forbid I interrupt your musical.”
He snorted. “Right?”
That was fine. I’d learned all I was going to from Fox, and frankly, the smell of Funyuns and shawarma was getting to me. I scooted to the end of the bed, my body aching even more than it had yesterday. But the good news was I didn’t feel the same warmth coating my insides.
Then there was the burning desire to pee. I slowly pushed myself up, feeling like an old man about to keel over. My legs wobbled as I stood there, and for a moment, I wondered if I was going to actually make it to the bathroom.
Thankfully, I found my feet and headed for the connecting door with no assistance from my yellow-fingered friend. But when I shut the door and looked in the mirror, the bruising under my eyes was just a little disturbing.
Fuck, I looked like I’d been in a wreck. Which I had, but I didn’t remember looking quite so shitty when I’d been injured in the past. Then again, I wasn’t in my early thirties anymore. Time was catching up with me, reminding me that I wouldn’t live forever.
I took a piss and then decided the shower was the best way to go. I desperately needed to wipe the stink off me and get a shave. After gingerly stripping, I turned on the hot water and stepped under the warm stream, groaning at how fucking good it felt.
“You’d better not be groaning because a woman is in there with you,” Eva’s voice filtered from just inside the bathroom.
“Kitten,” I mumbled, ducking my head under the spray.
I heard the curtain pull back and then her hands were sliding around my waist, and her cheek rested against my back. “How are you?”
“Fantastic. I feel like a million bucks.”
She huffed out a laugh against my back, and then her hands disappeared, leaving me feeling cold and alone. But they quickly returned with a soapy rag that she gently ran over my back.
Fuck, that felt good. After laying on my back for so long, I was sore and felt disgusting. In fact, there was hardly a part of me that felt intact.
“How’s the side?”
