Page 48 of Dark Things
He motions for one of his goons to come and get Michael. Reb and I stand side by side and wait to see if any of this fuckery is going to be on us to do.
“Did you get rid of Gino?” Stan asks. I hold my tongue for a moment and don’t reply. Before I can open my mouth, Reb steps in.
“I tranqued him. Without Gino, Mario will get too suspicious, and we’ll lose the leverage we’ve gained. Gino is the one player we know; if he appoints a new guy it will be harder to get the information we need before we take him down,” she says.
Stan’s fists clench and he takes a step toward Reb, but I hold position. It will be so much worse if I get in the middle of them.
“You don’t think eliminating his number two wouldn’t throw him off his game enough to make our big move? You decided this without contacting me,” he snarls.
Reb doesn’t move, but just stares at Stan with a blank look. If serial killers had a look before they strike, it would be the one marked all over Reb’s face. It’s as if she’s left the building, and nothing is behind her moss green eyes except the need to inflict pain and kill.
“Gino is still a valuable resource. He doesn’t know his car is being tracked. We have intel on his personal phone, as well. We’ve been here less than a month and know more about where he goes than we ever did from Kentucky. Let us work this how you taught us so that we can take down the Russos and be done with it,” I say.
He flicks his gaze from both of usto the plastic sheeting in the corner. I hope Stella is still alive behind there. He lets out a sigh and then nods. “Fine, but the next time there’s an opportunity, I expect you both to take it. I want them all gone.”
He stalks away, but before he leaves he waves his hand in the direction of the plastic sheeting. “Handle that. I don’t need her anymore.”
Reb glances at me before moving forward. I’m right on her ass, crossing my fingers we’re going to get Stella home to her kids.
Stella isn’tconscious when we get her into the SUV, but she is breathing so that’s a positive. It’s going to take a lot to get her to the hospital to see her daughter, but there’s nothing to be done for it.
“Call the on-call doctor. Tell him to meet us at the house on Featherington,” I tell Reb as she’s settling into the front seat.
She pulls out her phone and dials. I glance back at Stella lying on the backseat and send up a short prayer to the universe she makes it so she can get back to her children.
“This is Pitch, security code 0630. We need medical assistance for an ally. Full work up and then delivery after she’s well enough to travel,” Reb says, glancing over at me. I place my hand on her thigh and rub small circles, trying to settle us both.
She hangs up the phone before letting out a low breath. “This is so fucked. Why in the fuck is Stan resorting to beating women? He really needs to be stopped, Haunt. None of this is okay. He’s escalating, and if we’re not careful we’ll all crumble by his side.”
I give her a squeeze. “I know. We’re going to have to up our timeline and figure out how to get Mario sooner than we planned. If we can keep Stan happy a little longer we can do everything we need to do.”
A moan sounds from the back seat and Reb whips her head around, releasing her seatbelt and squeezing between the seats toward Stella.
“Hey, Stella, I’m Pitch. We’re taking you to a doctor. Then someone will take you to the hospital to see Patty. We just need to go over our story before that all happens. Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah, as long as I get to see my babies, I’ll do whatever you say,” she whispers. Her voice is all hoarse and scratchy.
“It’s simple, we stick closest to the truth so it’s easy to remember. You were in a car accident, and a Good Samaritan saved you from the wreck. He didn’t give you a name, but said he had medic training in the military. He patched you up enough to get you to the hospital. You can’t remember much else, and aren’t sure where you crashed. You were just looking for your husband and a deer ran out into the road. Sound simple enough?”
“You’re pretty good at this. Do it a lot?” Her chuckle turns into a slight cough, but I can hear Reb’s smile.
“I’m not usually the one saving people, but I’m great with making up stories. Rest; we’ll be there soon,” she says before moving back into the front seat and clicking her belt back on.
I place my hand on her thigh again, and we drive in silence the rest of the way to the safe house. This could have been so much worse, but we were able to save Stella and get some valuable intel on the guys.
It wasn’t smooth but still a win.
20
Rebelle
By the time we get Stella to the safe house and get back home, the sun is starting to come up over the horizon. While Stella wasn’t dead, she was in pretty bad shape. The poor woman was so fucking bruised and swollen. I didn’t think my hatred for Stan could grow at this point, but apparently the asshole is full of surprises.
“Where the fuck have you two been?” Cat says, from the shadows in the living room. I snap my eyes to Haunt and grimace. We look like we spent the night in the woods and then ran around a slaughterhouse, which, granted, is what happened, but she doesn’t need to know that.
“Hey, Cat. We were just out. Why are you awake?” Haunt asks. I roll my eyes and take my boots off before walking past the pair and heading for the stairs. I’m in a shitty mood so I don’t have it in me to placate Cat.He’s her twin, so he can deal with how much he wants to tell her.
“I’m awake because I came home and your SUV wasn’t here, and then when I got up to pee it still wasn’t. Why haven’t you answered my texts? And you, don’t think you’re off the hook, either!” she yells toward where I’ve just placed my foot on the first step.
