Page 78 of Mercenary
“Madelyn. Did he . . .”
“He never hurt me,” I cut her off. “But I can’t say that’s true for the five men I watched him gun down,” I add, reinforcing in my mind who he truly is.
“Four.”
“What?” She comes to a halt before me and I stare at her in confusion.
“I took out the fifth guy. It’s unlikely Declan would have gotten off a fifth shot before taking a bullet.”
“You were there?” And she shot a man? I blink, then blink again. Who is this person?
“I doubt Declan’s figured it out yet. Probably thinks it was another one of us.”
“Us. Someone from your former organization?” My head is spinning. So many secrets. So many lies.
“But that Prick Novák wasn’t with them.”
“Novák?”
“From the compound outside of town? The leader of the Pricks that gunned down our father.”
“I thought the mob did that?”
“He did. I’m going to find that asshole if it’s the last thing I do and finish what’s been started. I owe Jaxson this much.”
Oh my God. What has she gotten herself involved in? I always understood she had a preoccupation with the compound outside of town, but she never confided in me why. I blink, trying to comprehend what she’s told me, all the while watching the desperate flash of pain cross her face.
“How can I help you, Kylie? What can I do?”
“Stay alive.”
“Uh . . . I plan to.” I swallow hard. “By avoiding Franco. Evading Declan. Anyone else I should be concerned about?”
“My boss. Former boss . . . that Bastard.”
“Hayden?”
She nods. “He’s ruthless, a master manipulator, answers to no one. Clever and cunning. I’m struggling to keep one step ahead of him. Then Declan shows up with you . . .” Her tone is ripe with fear.
“I’ve shared too much.” She snorts. “And I’ve already been accused of being a tattletale.” She grabs me by the arms and shakes me hard. “Keep quiet about what I’ve shared with you. My confiding in you puts you in even more danger, Madelyn. Understand?”
Understand? That’s what she’s asking me? Everything I believed, everyone I knew—my own blood, my best friend, my knight in twisted armor—is a lie.
“Let’s get out of here.”
I place my hands on my hips, to stop them from shaking more so than to give my sister the impression that I’m squaring off with her. “Can’t you sit down with your boss and reason with him? Tell him the truth?”
She sighs. “You never change despite the clusterfuck you’ve been exposed to. It breaks my heart how you’re so defiantly optimistic.”
“Running is a form of avoidance.”
“Damn right it is.” She rolls her eyes at me. “Next you’ll have me on the phone with Dr. Phil.”
“You can’t run forever. You’ll have to stop sometime.”
“I’ll stop after I find Novák. For now, running is all I can do.” She snatches hold of me and tugs me into a fierce hug.
“I’m a traitor on the run.” She sucks in a breath. “And now, so are you.”
