Page 52 of Rise of the King (Checkmate 5)

“I don’t know. I always deliver at night. He wears a ski mask every time.”

“Where do you meet him?”

“Wherever the fuck he tells me to meet him!” His voice rises octaves when I dig my blade in. “It’s a different place every time!” he squeals. “Different place! Sometimes it’s in this club.”

“He’s been in this club?” Jay demands. “Your top dog has been inside this club?”

“Yes. He came here last month to run inventory and make sure I was maintaining… quality.”

“Where else have you met?” I slap his face and bring his eyes away from a prowling Jay. There’s gonna be hell to pay when we get out of here. “Where? Give me locations.”

“We meet outside town, sometimes. At truck stops. I met him a few states over the month before Christmas. It depends on his job and whatever mood he’s in.”

“What’s his job?”

“Military. Dunno. Some dude who has an actual army to command. He doesn’t share his personal details with me like we’re pals.”

Military. High-ranking. Different drop points.

“You don’t know what he looks like? How old is he?”

“I dunno. I honestly don’t know. He could be thirty; he could be fifty. His voice is deep and his body solid. That’s all I notice.”

“Okay.” Jay stops prowling and stops by my shoulder. “You done, Soph?”

“Yeah, I–” I yelp when he picks me up and places me away from Trenton’s body. Dropping down in my spot, he spins his knife in his hand until he brings it down and stabs the blade straight through Neal’s jugular so the tip hits the floor on the underside. “Jay! Fuck.”

“You said I’d get my turn.” He twists the blade and tears Neal’s flesh as his body convulses on the floor. His feet, still bound by his pants, slam against the floor and make low thuds, and his hands grip Jay’s shirt like he thinks his murderer will be his savior. “He doesn’t get to sell anyone else, Soph. He’s done.” Blood bubbles up around the blade. Trenton’s body jolts beneath Jay’s; his head slams back against the floor once, then his eyes become unseeing, his hands unclenching.

“You just killed him.” Now I might be in shock. “You fucking killed him.”

“Boss?”

I spin at the knock on the door and jump when Jay grabs my hand and tugs me back. I stand in a bra and thong and sparkling high heels. I have a blade but nothing else. I came in here with intentions to be fast, to be quiet, to get information and walk out like my client is resting up after the dance of his life, but we’ve been in here too long, we’ve been too loud. My nose is bleeding; my thighs are covered in Trenton’s blood. I can’t walk out of this room and remain invisible.

“Here.” Reading my mind, Jay tugs his coat off and throws it over my shoulders. With fast hands and a bloody knife clasped in his left, he feeds the zipper together and yanks it up until I’m covered from mid-thigh to chin. “Stay with me, Sophia. Do not get ahead of me.”

“You weren’t supposed to come here.” I tug him back when he moves away from Trenton’s dead body and approaches the door.

“Boss?”

“Jay!” I hiss. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”

“I could say the same about you,Ace. Stay behind me. We’ll talk soon. You step out one single time, and I’ll beat your ass till you can’t sit for a week.”

“Wait.” I pull him back when the knocking on the door becomes more demanding. “Up there. The ducts pass straight over this room. I already scanned the layout before coming here.”

“Coulda shared that knowledge before we got in here, Sophia. Fuck.” He tugs me forward. “Vents are dangerous. And ridiculously cliché. We won’t get up before the door gives in. Left or right?”

“Huh?”

“Left or right? Out this door, left or right?”

“Left!” My heart races when I realize instead of running away, we’re running straight through our enemy. “Go out to the alley out back. Circle around to the right, a thousand yards, because the old city train lines are under construction for maintenance. Run straight into the tunnels.”

“Okay.” He clutches my hand and switches his blade for his gun. “Stay back. Don’t be dumb.”

“Give me your spare piece.”

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