Page 107 of Bleed the Shadows
A lump rose in my throat.I love you too.
My hand hurt, but not as much as it had hurt to let the Butchers go, and I was glad I’d bled for them before they did the thing for me that no one else in the world would have done.
Once my hand was bandaged, I got in the shower. I’d have to put a fresh bandage on afterwards, but it was better than bleeding all over the shower floor.
A half hour later, my hand was freshly bandaged and dry, and I’d put on a green velour track suit and combed out my wet hair.
I headed for the living room with Ray on my heels.
I thought about catching up on Ethan Todd videos or even touching base with the girls in our encrypted chat — I hadn’tbeen in touch for forever — but decide to try and watch a mindless TV show instead.
In a few more hours, Ethan Todd’s videos wouldn’t matter. He'd be out of our lives for good.
67
REMY
Rafe,Nolan, and Jude were waiting when we got to the meetup spot half a mile from Ethan Todd’s compound. It was dark, and their car was nowhere in sight, the three men practically disappearing into the surrounding woods thanks to their black tactical gear.
We’d worn black too, although nothing as fancy as tactical gear. We were used to taking care of business our way, which in a word, was sometimes messy. But this wasn’t a place or time for messy and I was glad to have the expertise of the three men who greeted us by the side of the road.
We pulled up in the Hummer and Poe rolled down his window on the passenger side. “Did you fucking walk here?”
Rafe shook his head. He looked menacing in the darkness, his body covered in the armored tactical gear, his expression stony. “You can pull off the road into the trees about a hundred yards ahead. No one will be able to spot your vehicle from the road.”
Bram pulled forward and we eased down the road, looking for the spot he’d mentioned. Bram rolled past it, then reversed a little.
“That it?” he asked, his gaze on a spot in the trees.
“I think so,” Poe said. “Maybe.”
Bram sighed and pointed the car toward a path in the woods barely big enough for the Hummer. He winced as branches squeaked against the side of the Hummer’s custom paint job.
We’d gone about twenty-five yards when we spotted Rafe’s Jeep in the brush.
“How the fuck did they find this place?” I asked as Bram turned off the car.
“It’s what they do,” Bram grumbled. “Better them than us.”
I knew what he meant. This shit was too meticulous for us. Our methods were quick and dirty, and if that meant cleanup later, so be it. Maeve probably would have called us bulls in a china shop and I would probably agree with her.
My heart got tight just thinking about the way she’d looked when we left: scared but trying not to show it, which was basically Maeve’s M.O. Her blood was dry on my cheek, but I had no intention of wiping it off and Poe and Bram apparently felt the same way because we were all wearing her blood like the brand we wanted it to be.
She owned us now.
We put on the Kevlar Bram had bought for the occasion — to be honest, we’d never worried much about getting shot before — and grabbed the rest of our gear before hoofing it back to where Rafe, Nolan, and Jude were waiting.
Rafe was crouched close to the ground while Jude leaned against one of the trees, his blond hair the only spot of light in the shadows.
Nolan was rifling through a small bag strapped to his side, and I caught sight of gauze, a roll of surgical tape, and a couple syringes. I had a vague memory of someone telling me Nolan had been a medic when they’d been in the SEALs, whichwas helpful I guess, but I had no intention of needing medical attention courtesy of Ethan Todd.
Rafe stepped toward me without a word and grabbed my vest, tugged on it to make sure it was secure, then patted me down to check out my weapons.
I didn’t say anything — Rafe knew what the fuck he was doing so I was fine letting him take the lead because my ego wasn’t bigger than my will to live — but when he stepped toward Bram to do the same thing, Bram stared him down.
“Try that with me and you won’t be conscious to help us do this job.”
Rafe looked at Poe. “Same.”
