I let the arrow fly. He deserves this a thousand times over. The tip of the weapon grazes over his shoulder, just slicing through the skin enough for the toxic poison to be delivered straight into his bloodstream.
I watch as he looks down at the wound right before his eyes meet with mine. He aims his gun at me, but I don’t move. I will never let him see my fear again. I am the manipulator, not him. So, instead of cowering like he’s used to while I bide my time in his clutches, I smile.
It’s enough to have him pause right as the drugs hit his system, and Havoc steps out from where he was hiding just behind him.
Chapter 57
“Your job will be to keep him distracted while Lizz takes out his army. We need him alive until Lev and Mac can fully hack into his system and delete the hits.”
Evie stands tall, looking every bit the leader she is today.
“Got it, boss.” A sense of pride rushes through me, having watched this woman grow into someone so powerful while earning her place in this world.
Even when she was eleven years old, she had a fight inside of her. She has always been a force with her strength and determination. However, I never realized she was missing avital piece of her soul that would help her grow into such a revered leader.
Love is an interesting bit in this game of life. It can be used against us, for us, and with us. But with Evie, she found a way to harness it to not only destroy her enemies, but to bring together more forces in the underworld than have ever been rallied under a single cause.
Seeing her as the new leader of The Mafie Society has been incredible. She was made for this, all of it. While I hate so many parts of the path that brought her here, she has used each one to grow.
It’s been an honor to watch her become the queen she was always meant to be, and in the process, I’ve found my own love too. Or loves, rather.
Arrow sits by my side while Laney helps move pieces on the table for everyone to see. Damien and I have been hard at work training so many of these kids in combat.
Usually when I train, it is to take on a single target, not for an all-out war, so learning new techniques to use on a battlefield has been thrilling. You never can learn too many ways to kill a man. Or woman.
I take Arrow's hand in mine and he squeezes. Something about him being here with us calms all of the normal rage and indifference I would normally feel before going out on a job. Harnessing rage is vital in removing a target because it keeps you from the worst sort of emotion in our world. Fear.
Then slap on a pretty mask of indifference to all the bad shit you’ve done just to stay alive, and you have yourself one badass assassin. Except, that’s not who I am anymore. I am not a man of indifference who does a job just because it was handed to me. Now, I help make the decisions, and my opinion is validated by the men and women I work with.
It is strange how much can change in your life over the course of a year. I went from being a foot soldier who was always looking for the next mark to slaughter, to a man with two people to fight for, an organization that respects me, and a weird ass family who accepts me.
After showing the group where she needs their focus in order to take out as many Shades as possible, Evie turns to me with a question in her eyes.
“How do you plan to keep him distracted?” Evie asks.
I look at Laney with a cruel smirk and wink. “My girl will have my back while I get up close and personal with my old friend.”
Evie sighs, tilting her head back. “Havoc.”
“What?” I sit forward and toss the knife in my hand so that it flips in the air a few times before I snatch it.
“Don’t let him die before I can get my hands on him.”
I gasp and grab at my chest. “I would never.”
Evie shakes her head, a grin pulling at her lips that she attempts to hide from the rest of the room, but I see it clear as day.
My arm bands around my dear old friend's throat just as he starts to sway from the effects of the drugs. As much as it would be nice to have his clear eyes looking up at me while I take him down, he deserves to suffer in his mind just like he forced Evie to do.
“Did it make you feel good to cause that little girl pain?” I ask as he starts to turn blue.
Releasing him before he passes out, he falls to his knees, gasping for breath while I loom over him. He looks up at me with an evil as fuck sneer.
“Not as good as it felt to send those men after your wife.”
I freeze.
“What did you just say?”