Chapter 27
Tink
Iknow something’s wrong the second Nigel appears at my side. I don’t get a single word out before he’s hauling me down a side street, his grip firm but not hurting my arm. He barely checks his stride so I can keep up with his longer legs. “There was an attack.”
“What?” I look around, but the handful of people on the street are very pointedly not paying attention to us. “What are you talking about?” Understanding dawns, and I almost trip over my feet. “Is he okay?”
“Hook can handle some asshole with a baton.” Nigel doesn’t look convinced, though. He glances at me. “He sent me to make sure it wasn’t a diversion so they could go after you.”
I look around. Peter doesn’t burst out of anywhere. “It wasn’t a trap for me. It was a trap for him.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” He types on his phone while barely looking at it. “We have backup closing in. Both teams shadowing you will be here.”
“And the third?”
“I sent them to Hook as soon as he sent me to you.” Nigel’s jaw goes tight. “They aren’t checking in.”
I thought I was afraid before. It’s nothing to the feeling that washes over me when we arrive at the spot where Nigel says he left Hook, only to find a spatter of blood and nothing else. I speak through numb lips. “Where is he, Nigel?”
“Fuck.” He drops his hand and stares at the blood as if he can divine Hook’s direction if he just concentrates hard enough. “Fuck.”
The truth crashes over me hard enough to make me stagger.
This wasn’t about me. It may have started that way, but Peter is too savvy to blow his chance to take out the true threat—Hook. “Where is he, Nigel?” I repeat, louder this time. “Where the hell is he? Where is the team?”
“If I knew where Peter was, we wouldn’t be in this fucking mess to start with.” He turns away from me, typing furiously on his phone. No doubt trying to find the missing team. My gaze lands on the blood again. Peter took Hook. If he got the drop on him, he could have killed Hook, but he took him.
He’ll have gone back to his secret base, back to the spot where he feels safest. My breath stills in my lungs. “I know where he is.”
Nigel stops typing and gives me his full attention. “How the hell do you know where he is?”
“I … I don’t know if I know where he is.
But I know where his new woman is.” I found her once before, after all.
She didn’t want to be saved, and I got a black eye for my efforts, but it was more than worth it if I can keep Hook alive.
“Peter won’t be far from her. He won’t want to let her out of his sight longer than necessary.
” That I know for truth. For four years, my survival depended on anticipating his every whim and need and desire, on watching him closely to judge his mood and course-correct as needed to ensure I stayed ahead of it.
I never once thought I’d be grateful for that knowledge.
I draw myself up. “We can’t go in with force. He’ll kill Hook.”
Nigel shakes his head. “You’re not wrong, but we need more backup than just me.”
“More than just us.” I start walking before he can argue.
The lack of time will work on my side for this debate.
Nigel can’t force me back to the safety of Hook’s building, and he can’t spare anyone to haul me there.
“It’s on this block.” I rattle off the address where I found the woman before.
It’s possible they’ve moved, but the set up seemed pretty permanent when I snuck in.
I still can’t believe I had the courage to do that. Or that I’m about to do it again.
Nigel falls into step beside me. His phone buzzes nearly constantly, and his expression is a mask of concentration. “You are not going into that building. I’ve rerouted the two remaining teams to set up a perimeter. Colin and I will go in after him.”
I don’t bother arguing. I’ll agree to anything that ups Hook’s chances of survival, including being sidelined—as long as I’m in the vicinity. Inside that building, I’m a liability. I won’t get anyone killed for my pride.
It takes us a mere ten minutes to reach the location I found before.
Nigel glances at his phone one last time and hauls me down an alley and through a back door into what appears to be an abandoned laundromat.
He moves to the taped-over window and carefully peels back a section of it.
The glass is grimy, but I can clearly see the apartments where I found the woman. “Yes, that’s it.”
“Good.”
Fewer than five minutes later, seven people pile into this building.
I don’t know what I expected when Hook said he’d have three teams on me.
Maybe pseudo soldiers? The five men and two women are all dressed in street clothes and are completely indistinguishable from the normal foot traffic in this territory.
They must have been spread out around me the entire time, and I had no idea.
“Tell them what you know, Tink.”
My heart beats too fast I as clear my throat.
“The third-floor apartment overlooking the street.” I jerk my thumb to indicate the one behind us.
“My information is a couple months old. I didn’t see any of Peter’s people in the building when I was there last, but we have to assume they’re inside now, and—”
My phone rings, cutting me off.
I almost ignore it, but something has me pulling it out of my purse. Unknown number. I go cold and swipe my thumb over the screen. “Hello?”
“Hey, baby.”
I swing around to look at Nigel. He motions for me to put it on speaker.
Part of me doesn’t want to obey, doesn’t want to give Peter that power, but it’ll be easier for everyone if they can hear both sides of the conversation.
I carefully hold my phone away from my face and put it on speaker. “Give him back.”
“Come and get him.” He sounds happy. Too happy. He’s riding high now, but anything going wrong will send him crashing down in an instant. I’ve seen how that pseudo-joy can flip on a switch. “Don’t take too long, though. You know how I get bored.”
“Peter.” His name tastes like the ash of broken promises. “This won’t end the way you want it to.”
“Yes, baby, it will. I have Hook. You’re too soft to let him hang for you, so you’ll be arriving shortly. You know the place; you tried to take something of mine a few months back. Don’t make me wait.” He hangs up before I can form a response.
Nigel’s already shaking his head. “Absolutely not.”
“We don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, we do. And the choice is to not walk into Peter’s blatantly stated trap.”
I shove my phone into my pocket and glare. “If we don’t go, Hook will die.” Hook will die. I just found him, just allowed myself to hope we might have future and a life together. A family, whatever that looks like for us.
Now Peter wants to take it from me. From us.
Just like he’s taken everything I’ve ever valued. My pride. My strength. My self-confidence. My freedom. I fought and clawed and reclaimed those things for myself, day after day, year after year.
I’ll take back Hook, too.
“You have ten minutes to come up with a plan. After that, I’m walking in there.” I hold Nigel’s gaze, letting him know that this is no bluff. We need to move, and we need to move now. Every minute Hook spends with him is a minute Peter might lose his temper and snap.
Nigel curses and turns to the men standing around. I step back, letting them handle this part. I’ve never infiltrated a building, have never orchestrated a coordinated attack on an enemy. This isn’t my wheelhouse.
I might not survive what’s coming.
The realization has me pulling out my phone again and firing out a quick group text to Meg, Allecto, and Aurora. My fingers shake as I type.
Me: You guys are the best friends I never realized I had. Thanks for that. Kind of wish I’d been less of an asshole so we could have hung out more.
I send it before I can talk myself out of it. It takes all of three seconds before a flurry of responses appear.
Aurora: We’ve been friends for years. It’s okay that you never noticed!
Meg: Tink … Why the hell does that text sound like a last letter to your loved ones before you make your last stand?
Allecto: Who do I need to kill? Peter or Hook?
Meg: There’s no way it’s Hook, so it must be Peter.
Allecto: I’ll get the car ready.
I blink. That escalated quickly.
Me: This is territory business, ladies.
Allecto: That’s bullshit. Meg, tell her it’s bullshit.
Meg: Unfortunately, we can’t interfere without a formal invitation.
Aurora: Screw that. Tink, where are you?
Meg: Aurora, no.
Aurora: I can help, so I’m going to help. Tell me where you are, Tink. I can be out of here in five.
Apparently I misjudged the depth of our relationship on a fundamental level.
I’ve barely come to terms with the idea that these women are friends with me, and now they’re willing to ride into battle without explanation or hesitation.
My throat goes a bit tight, and I have to blink rapidly a few times.
Me: Stand down, ladies. I’ll text you tomorrow, when everything’s over.
Me: Thank you, though. I really appreciate it.
There’s no point in saying that I might not survive the night. That will just panic them. Hell, I’ve probably already panicked them without intending to. I pocket my phone again, this time ignoring the series of vibrations that signal incoming texts.
Nigel motions me back over. “You’re with me. You walk where I walk and obey my every order.”
I don’t have the wherewithal to make a joke, so I just nod. “Okay.”
“Let’s go.”
We file out the back door and half the men split off. I don’t ask where they’re going. Nigel has a plan, and my only role is to not get anyone killed while we save Hook. I wish I were more confident that we’ll come out of this conflict victorious.
Our group circles the building, and all the men except Nigel melt into the deep shadows caused by broken streetlights. Nigel moves to the main door, and I shadow his steps.