#2
Devi glanced up at the clock and wondered if she was going to survive the experience.
“Do you have to breathe that way?”
Lucy asked, staring with a frown on her face.
“Yup.”
Kala was laid out over the comfiest chair in the living area, scrolling on her phone.
“It’s how I receive oxygen. I know demons don’t understand human physiology, but we require oxygen to live.”
Lucy’s eyes rolled.
“I mean with all the sighs and obvious disdain. You know if you don’t like it here, you can go join your father at the station. I assure you I can keep Devi safe. I don’t understand why we can’t go out into the city. It’s not like Huisman is going to blow up Liverpool.”
Devi sat up from her place on the couch where she sat kind of halfway watching telly and halfway waiting for the real show to begin.
Spy v Spy
Overly aggressive alpha female v overly aggressive alpha female
Kala v Lucy
Two spies enter, one survives with her hair intact.
Yeah, it was going down if the team didn’t hurry up.
“I can see The Phil later. I also want to go to Strawberry Fields. It looks pretty in the guide. Is there a reason the only juice we have here is beet juice?”
She’d kind of hoped for orange. Maybe some cranberry.
Both women turned her way and said in stereo, “Aliens.”
No explanation. Nothing more. She searched her memory.
“Is this a Bliss thing?”
“Yes,”
Lucy replied.
“It’s a Bliss thing, and Kala is a tourist.”
Kala sat up, putting her phone down.
“I spent almost every summer there, and a lot of Christmases and spring breaks, too. I know those mountains as well as you do. I’m sorry your sister likes me more than you. You made a mistake with Poppy. You let her meet you. If you wanted her to like you, you should have stayed away from her.”
“Does anyone want to tell me why you two hate each other?”
She was so curious. Zach didn’t know. Cooper claimed he didn’t know. Tristan had made a bunch of shit up and Tasha, Kenz, and Lou weren’t talking. It was frustrating.
“I don’t hate her,”
Lucy replied, arms crossed over her chest.
“I simply don’t want to hang around with a reckless asshole who will one day almost certainly get someone killed in the field.”
“I do hate her,”
Kala countered.
“She’s an asshole who tried to ruin me when I was a teen.”
Oh, they were getting somewhere now.
Lucy sighed.
“Sure. It was all me. You did nothing.”
“I responded to your taunts. I responded to your tricks.”
Kala looked Devi’s way.
“Do you know why Kenz and I went pink the first time?”
“No.”
Devi was so intrigued it almost made up for being left behind.
“I thought you liked the color.”
“I was fourteen and my mom told me I couldn’t dye my hair until I was at least sixteen, and then we would talk. But then some asshole put bleach in my shampoo while my family was on vacation.”
“I’m not proud of that, but I will say I was young and you told me I couldn’t come with you and Poppy.”
Lucy’s mouth tightened with the memory.
“You told me Poppy needed older friends and I should find some kids my own age, but there weren’t many kids my own age. I only had her. Everyone else thought I was weird. What would you have done if someone told you they were taking your sister away?”
“I didn’t mean it like that, and I would punch them. I wouldn’t put bleach in their shampoo. It could have gotten into my eyes,”
Kala replied.
“I didn’t think about that at the time. I was freaking nine, and all I knew was my sister talked about how pretty your hair was, how much she liked the color. Do you think I haven’t thought about what could have happened?”
Lucy breathed deeply, as though she needed some strength to get through this conversation.
“My mom talked about how lucky you were. And then she protested the shampoo company because you never told her you thought it was me. Why?”
“Snitches get stitches, baby.”
Kala sent her a peace sign that felt more like war.
“I knew that even at fourteen. Besides, I didn’t get it in my eyes. I only had it on part of my hair when I realized something was wrong.”
Devi frowned her way. There were a few things off with this scenario. It wasn’t like the shampoo would cover the scent. Not even Lucy’s evil genius would have manifested so clearly at the age of nine.
“Lucy might not have really known what could happen, but you did know what bleach would do. You would have smelled it. You at fourteen were practically a PI. You had already started hacking, and Kenzie was excellent at manipulating…”
She pointed a finger her cousin’s way because she did remember a couple of things that happened before that summer.
“You said you were going to find a way to not wait two years. You complete sneaky bitch. You smelled it and put it on anyway.”
Kala’s lips curled up.
“Kenz and I flipped for who had to do it. I lost, but Mom came through. I bravely offered to cut my hair and Kenz cried because then she would have to cut her hair, too. Mom was so upset with Kenzie’s tears that we got to go pink. So…suck it.”
Her cousin was so immature sometimes. Only sometimes. Or this was all part of Kala who often didn’t get the nuances or know how to let go of a grudge.
“So she’s a kid who you left out and she’s kind of mean like you and she tries to get some revenge. Again, she’s nine. And her revenge leads to you getting something you’ve always wanted and you call her Lucifer.”
“Only because her mom didn’t properly name her,”
Kala quipped.
“I’m sorry. I was sorry when I did it,”
Lucy said, her tone rigid.
“I felt bad and I tried to stop you, but you already figured it out. I loved my sister. I didn’t want to lose her, and I never found a Lou. So there. Call me whatever you want. I’ll be in the study waiting for word.”
Kala turned Devi’s way.
“Seriously? You suck.”
Devi’s hands came up.
“I suck? You bullied a kid.”
“I didn’t bully her.”
Kala groaned.
“I didn’t. Poppy wanted to hang with kids her age and not have to deal with her little sister. That doesn’t mean she didn’t love Lucy. It meant that during the summers she wanted some space, but she didn’t know how to ask for it. So I did it for her.”
“You told a kid her sister didn’t want to be around her?”
“Of course I didn’t. I told her to hit the road and go play with kids her own age,”
Kala replied.
“We were teens and we wanted to hang out and not worry about baby sister getting in trouble. And now I can maybe see how she would have taken it wrong, but she was mean as shit.”
“I’m trying to imagine you without your sisters,”
Devi pointed out because she thought Kala was being short sighted here.
“You without Kenz to balance you. You have always been excellent at finding people who see you. What if Lucy didn’t have that? What if Lucy’s only real friend was her sister and you tried to take her away?”
“I didn’t try to take her,”
Kala insisted.
“Poppy is a person. I can’t take her away.”
“And how did you feel about it at nine? This is Kala after therapy. What did nine-year-old Kala do when someone threatened her family?”
Kala’s head fell back and she groaned.
“Do not do this to me, Dev.”
She brought her head back up, a stubborn look in her eyes.
“We have a good thing going, Lucifer and I. We hate each other and we’re good with that. The universe accepts it. Why would we change things now?”
“Because you’re very, very similar but you’re older and have seen more and could potentially help her. She’s right. She doesn’t have a Lou or a Kenz. She doesn’t have a Tash or your brothers and cousins. Was she the weirdo in the weirdest town in the world?”
A long-suffering sigh came from her cousin’s chest.
“She was the kid who liked to play with matches and take things apart to see how they worked except sometimes she broke important things and maybe accidently blew up a shed or two. It was funny. She was always possessive. Not with things, but definitely with people and animals. She had this cat that she didn’t want anyone else to pet.”
“So smart, awkward socially, curious in a way most people would find annoying. Weirdly possessive.”
She was going to have to lead her cousin to the truth. By force.
“Sound like anyone we know?”
“You think she’s like Tash?”
Kala asked.
Devi stared her stariest stare.
Kala growled a little.
“Fine. There are some similarities, and I will admit when it comes to the job she’s not entirely useless. But she’s mean to me now. She named a cranky donkey after me.”
“You call her Lucifer. I think The Fabulous Miss K is a way better nickname. Also, you would have liked the donkey. She would have been your spirit animal after you got over the name and you would have called her your best animal friend.”
She knew her cousin so well. Kala would love to hang around an animal sanctuary. It would calm and soothe her and give her purpose.
“What do you want me to do, Dev?”
Kala asked.
“We’re never going to be besties.”
“Just be nicer. Maybe don’t hiss when she walks in a room,”
Devi suggested.
“It’s a conditioned response to the addition of awfulness to my space,”
Kala replied.
“Maybe don’t refer to her as awfulness.”
They had so much work to do.
“But she is,”
Kala insisted.
“Only when you’re around,”
Devi shot back.
“Because I see through her…”
Kala’s face went a nice shade of pink.
“I fucking hate therapy. It sucks and it sucks that I’m so good at it. Fine. Just fine. I’ll refrain from calling out the terrible shit she does. I will try to be nice.”
Devi rewarded her with a brilliant smile.
“I know you can do it. And think about how proud Coop and Lou are going to be when they get back and you two are not at each other’s throats. I still can’t believe they left you two here together.”
Devi sat back again, looking at the clock. Time was moving at a snail’s pace, and she wished she could have at least sat with Lou and Tash and watched over him. But no. She had to stay put and not climb out a window.
“They don’t want to further kill Lucy’s cover. She can’t go back to Disrupt because there’s zero way Huisman doesn’t know she’s a plant, but she might be able to work it from another angle. I do feel bad about that,”
Kala admitted.
“She worked her way in. She’s been working at it for years.”
Progress.
“And Kenz wanted to be as alone with Ben as possible. Do you think she’ll tell him?”
Kala’s head shook.
“With Tristan there? And I’m pretty sure that Tim guy was going. I doubt it. She’ll wait for some weirdly dramatic time and announce her love for him and then we’ll have to deal with that asshole for the rest of our lives.”
Marriage had not made her cousin more romantic.
“It’s called happily ever after.”
“I call it shit I put up with,”
Kala returned.
“So what was all that spanking and moaning about this morning? You and Zach decide to make my dad want to die? Don’t get me wrong. I approve thoroughly, but I didn’t think Zach would feel the need to spank you after all the moaning from last night. Dude, you are not quiet. Kenzie cried because she said it was so beautiful, but I just wanted to sleep, man. You need to be quieter with your emotional connections.”
She shrugged because she didn’t care that everyone heard them. That way the group would know they were serious.
“He was still upset that I didn’t tell him about the whole ‘a dude tried to roofie me and oops, it turned out to be his dad.’ Personally, I don’t think I should be held accountable for that. They don’t look alike. How was I supposed to know it was his dad? No one gave me one of those file thingees, and you know they really should have.”
Kala’s lips turned up, an amused expression that Devi had seen on her uncle’s face.
“We call it a dossier.”
“Well, I did not get one.”
And that was a real oversight on the part of the team. She might not be getting an Agency paycheck, but she was definitely Agency adjacent. Shouldn’t that come with privileges?
“I think he would have been upset about anyone who tried to roofie you. He’s your Dom. You didn’t let him know you needed protection,”
Kala pointed out.
“Well, he wasn’t at the time. We were kind of broken up.”
“Were you?”
It had felt like a breakup.
“I mean he didn’t bother to tell me he was leaving. Not Dom-like behavior. But also, I didn’t mind the spanking. It’s kind of my thing, so I’m not going to complain, and honestly, when he goes into all the things he’ll do to me if I put myself in danger again… It doesn’t throw me off. He should think of worse things than taking a violet wand to my pink parts. That’s sounds like a fun Saturday night to me.”
Kala pointed her way.
“You pull some shady shit again and it won’t be your boyfriend you answer to.”
The last thing she wanted was a throwdown with her cousin. Lucky for her, she knew how to distract a Taggart.
“Please refer to him properly. He’s my fiancé.”
Kala shook her head.
“You really doing this?”
“Yeah. I love him.”
Kala stood and moved to hug her cousin.
“I’m happy for you.”
Devi reveled in the affection. Kala could be standoffish, so Devi appreciated every hug.
“I’m happy for me, too. But now I have to tell my dad. My mom will be thrilled. She loves Zach. Dad, not so much.”
“He’ll come around when he sees how happy Zach makes you,”
Kala promised and moved back.
“Well, if he’s not in prison.”
“You are horrible. Don’t say that.”
Lucy walked in, frowning fiercely.
“She does not need to hear that.”
“It’s the freaking truth,”
Kala shot back and then visibly calmed.
“Sorry, Devi. I shouldn’t have mentioned that Zach might go to jail.”
She turned back to Lucy.
“Now what put that constipated look…that worried expression on your face?”
She was trying. Not hard, but trying.
“Very good, cousin.”
Lucy’s nose wrinkled.
“What’s wrong… Never mind. I know the answer. You’re Kala. Anyway, I think we have a van that’s circled the block four times now. I went to the safe room to chill out and watched the security cams for a couple of minutes. It could be a work van looking for an address or someone killing time.”
“Or it could be trouble,”
Kala announced.
“I’ll go take a look. You make sure we’re locked down.”
“The security system is good. The doors are all locked, but we’re not a fortress,”
Lucy admitted.
“Well, except for the safe room. It’s solid. It should survive a bomb if they dropped one on us.”
“Then maybe we should get in there.”
Kala’s head moved, gesturing for Devi to join her.
In a small room with the two of them sniping at each other? No thanks.
“Come on. Can’t you make sure it’s a bad guy before we lock ourselves in?”
She’d seen the safe room, and it locked down hard and fast and was meant for one or two people who liked each other a lot. It was kind of a panic room that locked and stayed locked for four hours after the button was pushed. Four hours of intense therapy with Kala and her Bliss twin did not seem like how she wanted to spend her day.
“Please. If you lock it, we’re stuck inside, and what happens if your dad wants us to move? What if Zach needs to take his mom somewhere else? He won’t go without me. He’ll wait and put himself in danger for what might be a dude who’s lost.”
Kala sighed.
“Fine. Lucy, did you run the plate?”
One of Lucy’s shoulders shrugged.
“It’s registered to a man without a record. It looks like he’s a contractor of some kind, so he could be looking for a house. I don’t know. I don’t like it.”
“All right.”
Kala started for the front of the townhouse.
“I’ll take a look. Have you informed your father?”
Lucy winced.
“I don’t want to worry him until I’m sure. He’s got enough to deal with. He’s always nervous when my mom is involved.”
Kala pointed Devi’s way.
“You stay here.”
Devi sat down and tried giving her cousin her best I-will-cause-no-trouble smile.
“I’m right here.”
Kala walked to the front door and stared out.
Lucy brought her laptop out.
“I lost him. He turned at the end of the block, but I don’t see him on the next traffic cam.”
That felt like good news.
“He probably found the house he’s supposed to be at. So there’s nothing to worry about.”
Lucy didn’t look sure. She was staring at her laptop.
“Hey, Kala, you get that text?”
Kala walked back in, staring at her phone.
“Did you run the pictures Lou sent?”
“She already has facial recognition.”
Lucy whistled.
“I don’t like that Interpol is at the train station. We should have brought her in by car, but my mother insisted on public transit.”
“Hey, Shannon Reed insisted on it,”
Kala corrected.
“Don’t blame your mom. She’s doing everything she can to help us. Okay. Lou and Tash are handling this. There are tunnels they can get Zach out of. Cooper will try to distract them and our dads will get Shannon out, but we have to consider the fact that Huisman is either at the station or close by monitoring. Put his picture through Tris’s program.”
From what she’d heard this morning, Tristan’s program was some kind of upgraded facial recognition with superfast results.
“On it.”
Lucy’s hands moved across the keys.
Kala was staring down at her phone, obviously waiting for something.
Interpol. The European police force that had a notice out on Zach was at the train station. Her gut twisted. It was too much of a coincidence. They had to be there for Zach. Who could have tipped them off? They’d been careful on the train. They were certain the cameras hadn’t caught Zach, but what if they’d caught her at some point and Huisman had told the police that Zach was traveling with her? What if she was the reason Zach was about to get hauled to prison.
“Where will they take him?”
“Don’t worry about that now,”
Kala replied, her thumbs working the screen of her phone.
“The team will get him out. We need to prep to move. I’m waiting for the bug-out call. Devi, go and pack what you need. We’re moving out of here in ten minutes tops.”
“You don’t want to hole up?”
Lucy asked.
“If they know we’re here, all they have to do is sit outside the panic room and wait for the doors to open,”
Kala pointed out.
“It would be one thing if the team was coming back, but we all need to move and give them a bunch of targets to try to follow. We’re going to London.”
“We?”
Lucy asked, challenging her.
“Yes, fucking we. I’m not leaving you here. I’m the senior officer and you’re going with me. I’m not going to let you fall into Huisman’s hands. He would absolutely turn you and you would be a chaotic goddess who would kill us all. So get the fuck ready to move out.”
Kala strode away, putting the phone to her ear.
Devi stood, adrenaline starting to pour through her. Zach was out there. People were after him.
“What if they try to kill him at the station?”
“They won’t. They’ll take him in.”
Lucy sounded so reasonable.
“Your uncle and his team will get him out.”
“But this guy, Huisman, he’s known for blowing crap up, and he doesn’t care who he hurts. I should know. I was in the last place he set on fire.”
Lucy looked up.
“First, the facial rec doesn’t show him here in Liverpool or anywhere in England. Now I do have a couple of known Disrupt members entering the train station about five minutes ago, so we have two problems. I think Huisman is going to use Interpol to distract the team, and while they’re worried about Zach and trying to deal with that, the mercenaries will pick off Shannon Reed or one of our people who they will offer to trade her for.”
“You mean they’ll try to get Lou or Tash?”
Lucy nodded.
“Yes, but I assure you they’re already on the move. Tash and Lou know how to handle themselves. My question is who tipped them off? Mom and Shannon are traveling on excellent faked passports. I checked as they moved through security. It should have worked. I wouldn’t have allowed my mother to get on that train if I wasn’t sure I had protected her. She and Shannon are wearing some tech that tricks facial recognition.”
“We can’t let Huisman get hold of any of us. Kala nearly died.”
The idea of her cousin being in that madman’s hands again made her want to throw up.
“I’m surprised to hear that. All the stories around the Agency are that Miss Magenta is immortal.”
“She’s not. Lucy, I’m not joking. What Huisman did to her nearly killed her. It still might because we’re not sure how much long-term damage he did to her heart. If he gets her again, he’ll use a paralytic on her, and then he has drugs that inflict unbelievable amounts of pain on the body. I heard her cry. I heard it. If she has to go through that again, her heart won’t be able to take it.”
“It hurt her heart? I didn’t know she had one of those,”
Lucy replied.
Devi needed to make something clear.
“I’m not joking, Lucy. Her heart stopped both times Huisman got his hands on her. The second time she walked into it knowing what he would do because his lackey was threatening me and Cooper’s mom. She knew she was going to likely die and did it anyway. I can’t allow it to happen again.”
“Well, then it’s good she didn’t go to the station.”
Lucy’s eyes were back on the screen.
“You should do what she told you and grab your bags. Pick up mine if you can. It’s got everything except makeup, and I’ll buy more. We need to get to London. If our fathers can’t help Zach, then perhaps Damon Knight can.”
Kala walked back into the room, her phone against her ear.
“What are you saying, babe? You’re cutting out. Damn it.”
She sent Devi a glare.
“Hey, I was not kidding. I know you’re scared but grab the bags.”
She nodded and turned to the back, rushing to grab the bags. She got Kala’s backpack and the canvas pack Lucy used. It was slightly open, and she could see guns and knives and some cash. She settled the cover and hefted it over her shoulder and moved to her own room. The one she’d shared with Zach.
Her heart ached. They hadn’t made the bed yet. It hadn’t seemed important since she’d spent as much time as she could wrapped around him. Before they’d been called to breakfast and his briefing concerning the day’s mission, she’d been on her back with Zach on top of her, fucking her like a man possessed. Then he’d flipped her over, played with her ass and fucked her again. Then he’d fucked her in the shower before spending time washing every inch of her skin and shampooing her hair. She could still feel his strong fingers rubbing over her scalp. For a man who hadn’t known a lot of tenderness, he reveled in it.
He couldn’t go to jail.
He could die in jail. He could get hurt. Anything could happen, and she wouldn’t allow it. He was hers.
She took a long breath. It was going to be okay. Her uncle had this, and Zach was a professional. He would get out and meet them in London. He would want her to follow Kala’s orders now. He would not want her to rush down to the train station to try to save him. No. That would result in a not-fun spanking, and despite the fact that he’d called what happened this morning disciplinary, she suspected the next one would be a doozy.
Calm. She was a spy’s fiancé, and this was the gig. Like how he would have to learn to ignore the multitudinous bolts of fabric that would sit around their apartment because she couldn’t resist and someday might need that lilac-colored jersey knit she found for half off.
The floor beneath her shook, and she heard a booming sound in the distance.
What the hell? She pulled her pack over her shoulders and grabbed the other two and rushed back into the living room. Kala and Lucy were in the kitchen, and Lucy suddenly looked like she gave a damn.
“That came from the north,”
Lucy said.
Kala nodded.
“The train station is a couple of miles north. I think we can safely say Huisman is no longer playing. That’s a declaration of war. We have to move. I’ll run a magnet over the computer in the office and send out a text to let Tris and Kenz know to run. Shit.”
It took a moment for Devi’s eyes to register the small hole in Kala’s torso. It was on her left side, right above her hip, and blood bloomed.
She hadn’t even heard the window above shattering. When she’d first walked in, Lucy had explained the lower windows were all bullet resistant, but the picture windows that let light in were normal in case they needed a way out. Someone found a sniper position and took advantage.
Lucy cursed as Kala stumbled and fell, her head striking the island. She slumped to the floor, still bleeding.
“Damn it. Throw me my bag,”
Lucy shouted.
“Do not walk across the floor. He’s got a shot at anyone in the living room. Stay where you are.”
Devi nodded and tossed the bag across the room. It landed near her cousin’s body.
“Is she okay?”
“I don’t know.”
Lucy grabbed her bag.
“I need to get you out of here.”
She felt another shaking and one more boom from several blocks north. It could be something else.
But deep down she knew they were caught and someone was about to come through that door.
“Can you stabilize her?”
“She’s unconscious because she hit her head. The bullet is pretty much in the best possible place. Lower left quad is where you want to get shot if you have to. Yes, I could stabilize her, but I have to get you out.”
She heard a pinging sound and realized it was coming from the door.
“They’re here.”
They stood on opposite sides. The living room with its comfy chairs and sofas and coffee table was a chasm between Devi and Lucy and her cousin.
“They’re coming through the door, and they will take me.”
Devi had heard this scenario a million times.
“They will want to use me to bring in Zach.”
Another ping and then someone was banging on the door. Kicking it, probably.
“They’ll bring Kala in and she will die. They will kill you. Please. You can get to the safe room.”
She couldn’t because it would mean running across the space, and she could see more than one red dot prowling around, looking for a target. How many guns did they have on three women?
Lucy glanced at the door and frowned at whatever she saw there.
“You honestly believe she’ll die?”
Devi nodded.
“She will die. Please save her, Lucy. They won’t kill me, and Zach will find me. Take her to the safe room and lock it down. Stabilize her. Cooper will come for her. Let me give you the distraction. If they have me, they don’t need her.”
“She’s going to kill me.”
But Lucy wrapped her hands around Kala’s wrists and started pulling her toward the safe room.
“Try to get out if you can. The windows above the beds can be broken. They’re safety glass, meant for quick escapes. Be careful and call someone. Kenzie, if you can. Tell her where we are. This should be you doing this. You should be in that fucking safe room with her.”
The door finally gave way, and she heard the sound of men rushing in as Lucy disappeared with Kala.
She recognized that man. Zach’s father stood in the living room. His mask was off, his predator unleashed. Two men showed up behind him, both with guns in hand.
Devi stood there, trying to give her cousin a chance.
“I already called the police.”
Ray White’s lips curled up in a smirk.
“They have better things to do. Trust me. When my boss decides to distract, he does it well. They’re all down at the train station trying to find the terrorists. And he made sure there’s an Interpol team there so everyone is trying to save their fucking brothers. Gotta love cops,”
he said with a chuckle. He glanced around, his eyes stopping on Kala’s backpack near Devi’s feet.
“So where is Kala Taggart?”
Devi shrugged.
“She went out for breakfast.”
“She got shot. Tell me they didn’t kill her.”
Ray walked in, acting like this was a normal visit between friends.
“They were specifically told to not kill Miss Magenta. The boss likes her. I think he’s got a little crush.”
He nodded to the others, and one of them took off the way Lucy had gone.
Please let her be in the safe room. Please. Please let her sacrifice mean something.
“What do you want with me?”
He looked her up and down, the way a man does before he makes his move. It was gross.
“Well, honey, I think I want to find out why my son is willing to risk the world for you. Right before the bombs started exploding, my boss might have implied to Zach that I was at the station and after his mom. So that probably threw him off and he won’t see the real men ready to take her into custody. She’s got a soft spot when it comes to Zach.”
“He’s her son.”
Her heart was pounding in her chest. Panic threatened, but she remembered all the training her mom had given her. Her parents hadn’t let her go off into the world without learning some self-defense. The biggest part was to not panic.
“Yeah, that’s been helpful over the years. I shoulda knocked her up more,”
Ray said.
“I think when she knows how our son feels about you, she’ll do what we need. Of course if we catch Zach, then it’ll just be fun to watch him squirm. Thinks he’s better than his father. I’ll show him.”
The sound of gunfire blasted through the townhouse, and Devi took the chance. Lucy was fighting and she was smart. If she only had to deal with one…
Devi took off for the back rooms. The doors were heavy and they locked. She slammed the bedroom door closed and locked it, reaching for the only chair in the room and propping it against the door. Immediately it started shaking.
Devi ignored it and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her hand and climbing on the bed. Thank the universe she had some of her father’s height. She pulled the thin lamp, turning it over and using the heavy base to break the window.
She was halfway out when she felt hands around her ankles, pulling her back.
She hit the bed as her hands were gripped behind her.
“Don’t you dare kill her,”
Ray was saying.
“She’s all we got since that bitch killed Greg and locked herself in. We have to go. Now. Knock her out, but don’t you fucking kill her.”
Devi kicked and fought, but when the man brought the hilt of his gun down on her head, she slid into darkness.