Chapter 7 #2
Because protecting abusive assholes was more important to him than supporting innocent women who were simply fighting for their basic human right to justice.
What a fucking dickhead.
He should be fucking thanking us for essentially doing his job. But he was too busy chasing the wrong people.
I slammed into the doors of the HQ, Shadow bouncing along right at my feet. Since it was the middle of the night, Hazel, our receptionist, and the other recruits were absent. We walked past the empty training area, all the way down the hallway to the tech zone, a.k.a my office.
Right as I was about to step into my office to my right, Shadow barked and veered to the left, rushing toward the kitchen. A sudden fright took over my entire being, and I shouted, “Shadow.” I held my spare knife from my ankle holster within a second as I ran after him.
“It’s just us, Tara.” Lena’s voice came from the kitchen area.
My breath escaped me in a whoosh as I walked the remaining distance, putting the knife back, and turned the corner to where Lena was on the floor giving Shadow kisses, while Dominic stood near the countertop pouring water into a kettle.
Naomi was busy eating chips from a bowl on the other side of the countertop. “You all still here?”
Dominic simply looked at me and shrugged. “I can’t sleep without Maira. And when I heard that fucking Lieutenant Knox Steele intercepted your mission, I had to come downstairs.”
Lena looked up at me and gave me her look. “You know I can’t sleep until all of my girls are done with the mission and safely tucked in their beds. You okay?”
I was sans mask, and like always, I felt naked. But my girls—and Dominic—never looked at me with anything but normalcy. I was getting used to their eyes on me. I looked at their three concerned faces and hated what I had to say. “Knox saw my face.”
Naomi breathed sharply as Lena stood.
Before they could bombard me with questions, I rubbed my palm across the shaved side—the scarred side—of my scalp.
“More like half my face. He jumped on us after we’d already subdued four of the five men.
I kinda killed the last man to protect the fucking cop, and instead of thanking me, he turned on me.
Sami and the girls got all the men carried out of the apartment while I kept the cop engaged. ”
A soft click on the side had me turning to the countertop.
Dominic grabbed the hot kettle and poured water into four cups.
He put tea bags—chamomile—in each of them and handed them to us.
“Thank you.” I smiled at him and continued, “We got into a fight. He tore up my mask.” I pointed at the non-scarred side.
“He could get a sketch artist and run my face through their database. Pretty sure he could find me if he really wants to. And he really fucking wants to.”
Dominic took a sip of the tea and looked at the three of us. “How the fuck did he find out about the mission? He’s already seen mine and Samaira’s faces. Now, he’s got yours. He’s becoming a problem.”
Naomi bit her lip. “You think we have a mole?”
I shrugged and turned around to walk to my office, knowing that everyone—including my Shadow baby—was right on my tail.
As soon as we were all seated around the large desk, Lena looked at Naomi and then all of us. “I’ve personally vetted every single woman. I’m not saying I can’t make a mistake, but each woman has a very solid reason to be a part of the Wildcats.”
I took a sip of the tea while Dominic tried to sneak a treat to Shadow.
Shadow has finally befriended Dominic, one treat at a time.
A small smile came over my face despite the clusterfuck of the evening.
I turned on the computer, and all six screens on the wall came to life. I then dialed Sami’s phone.
She picked up on the first ring. “You alright, Tara? Back home?”
“Back home. And back to the HQ. We’re all here. Say hi to Lena, Naomi, Dominic, and Shadow.”
“Hey, all. Hey, baby. What are you doing up so late?”
Dominic’s eyes instantly softened, and I could literally see hearts flying out of his eyes as he looked at the speaker. “Maira, baby. You good?”
“Awww.” Sloane’s voice popped on the speaker.
We heard some scuffling, and Sami said, “I’m good. We’re all good. The men are taken care of. We’re waiting for the cleanup crew to arrive.”
“That’s great,” Lena said. “But we do have a problem.”
“Shoot,” Sami said, her voice taking up a serious tone that resembled a mama tiger.
Lena met my eyes and said, “The cop has seen Tara’s face.”
“Fucking hell.”
“Shit.”
That was Sami and Sloane. I nodded even though they couldn't see me. “Yep.”
It was Sami who broke the silence. “Tara, girl. Maybe you need to lie low for a while. Let the cop look for you and come up empty-handed.”
Sloane was quick to add, “Yes. And even if he figures out who you are, he would never be able to find you if you’re lying low.”
Lena bit her lip and ran her hands through her short hair. “Fuck,” she muttered and trained her eyes on me. “Sami isn’t wrong.”
Naomi was gentle when she added, “It could work.”
Knox Steele’s hard face came to my mind. His blazing steel-blue eyes, that square fucking jaw, and the fiery challenge burning in his gaze. The asshole enjoyed fighting me. He looked at me as if he’d fucking won. He chased me. He made me run. He made me feel like fucking prey.
Even now, after I’d won our fight, after I’d defeated the fucking cop, I was being made a prey. Someone who needed to run, to hide, to fucking cower.
No.
No. No. No.
I refused to be fucking prey.
I refused to run.
Refused to hide.
Refused to cower in the face of injustice.
Red haze clouded my vision, and fury so sharp churned in my gut. My fingers coiled into a fist and slammed hard on the desk. A loud, resounding “No” reverberated in the room, and I realized it came from me.
I looked at Lena, at Naomi, and shook my head.
“I’m not fucking lying low. We knew this could happen to any of us, any day.
So he saw my face. He let it slip that he was looking for vigilantes.
So he already knows that the vigilantes killing off men from the streets are women.
We’re already as screwed as we could be. ”
“Fucking hell,” Lena groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “All the more fucking reason for you to lie low. We need to deal with Knox Steele quickly. Before he actually finds out about us.”
I nodded. “It would take him some time to figure out who I am and even more time to find my location, if he even can. I’m not going to live my life being afraid.
I will deal with the fucking cop. But I will not do it hiding.
” My lower lip trembled, and I quickly bit down on it.
“I’ve barely learned to live my life without hiding from you guys.
Every day, I scream at myself not to hide.
Not to cower. Not to run from others. It’s so hard to be strong. Don’t ask me to go hide again.”
A loud, agonizing groan came over the speaker. Samaira’s voice boomed in the room. “Taraaa. My sweet girl. No hiding. No running. I’ll protect you. And I know you’ll fucking protect yourself, just like you did today. I only suggested this because I love you and can’t bear to see you hurt.”
This time, my eyes met Dominic’s, and a shared feeling of that adoration you can feel only for Samaira had us both smiling and shaking our heads. Sami was the most protective softy ever to exist. “Thank you, Sami. I love you too.”
I sniffled, collecting myself, and turned to Naomi and Lena. “I’m going to find out how the hell Knox Steele found us.”
“Damn fucking right you are.” Naomi banged on the table, making Shadow bark out loud and run around the room.
The four of us broke into laughter as I called my little baby back.
Lena got up from the chair and grabbed her tea. “We’ll leave you to it, then. Let’s reconvene in the morning after Sami and Sloane are back and have had time to rest. And Tara, don’t stay here the whole night.”
I gave her a quick salute. “Yes, boss.”
Sami dropped the call, and everyone filed out of the room.
I turned my head to Shadow and offered him my fist. “Let’s get to work, shall we?”
He gave a loud woof and bumped his nose against my fist.
My gaze returned to the computer, and I opened the street camera near our mission location. The only way to find out how Knox Steele ended up at our mission was to track him back to his origin.
I needed to know whether he was following us or had already arrived at the location before us, which would help me determine whether we had a mole in the house.
As I went back to the time stamp of our arrival, I noticed movement in the shadow of the building's main entrance. I zoomed in and played the recording again. Bingo.