CHAPTER 35 #3
The saw whirred to life as I stepped back, and Carl’s last sound was a gurgle and a sob before Cruz sliced his throat. Blood sprayed in a wide arc, splattering the concrete in dark ropes. The body slumped forward, head lolling, the chair creaking under the sudden dead weight.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Cruz and I both looked up and saw Gage walking toward us, slow--clapping dramatically as he moved. He stopped a few feet away, still clapping, his eyes bright with something that looked almost like admiration.
“Fucking hell, Jagger,” he said, sounding impressed. “That was . . . thorough.”
“Yes, and I’m sure you’ll get off thinking about it tonight, you sick bastard,” Cruz drawled.
Gage scoffed and rolled his eyes . . . but didn’t say he wouldn’t. That wasn’t comforting.
“While I don’t want to talk about that,” I said, glancing pointedly at Gage, “I do want to talk about how I became a face on the FBI’s list of suspected criminals instead of you, Cruz.”
Cruz’s mouth twitched. “I think we’ve talked about this. A good leader . . . delegates. You’re welcome.”
I snorted. “Yes. A promotion to Vegas FBI’s public enemy number one was just what I needed. How about next time maybe let me take the fall for something that doesn’t come with a lifetime in a federal penitentiary.”
He shrugged. “We’ll be fine. I’d never let anything happen to you.”
“Aw. That may have been the sweetest moment I’ve ever seen between the two of you,” mused Gage.
“Yes, it’s much sweeter than his stalking,” I agreed.
Before I could say anything else, the acrid smell of urine hit the air as Carl’s corpse released its bladder in a slow, wet rush—piss pooling under the chair, running in thin streams across the stained concrete, and mixing with the blood already there.
I stared at the spreading puddle in disgust.
“If he can be turned, any of them can be,” said Gage, sounding a little excited about the prospect and all the people he’d be able to torture in that case.
Cruz nodded. “I think it’s time we have a new mantra for everyone outside the five of us,” he said coldly.
“And Eden,” I said automatically, ignoring both of their incredulous stares.
“And that is?” Gage asked.
Cruz’s lips curled in anger as he glanced once more at Carl’s body. “We trust no one.”
When I walked back into the penthouse, Eden was asleep on the couch.
She had a blanket wrapped loosely around her legs, and her head tilted against the cushion like she’d tried to wait up and lost the fight halfway through.
The soft light from the lamp beside her painted her in warm gold, making the whole scene look peaceful enough that for a second it almost erased the smell of blood still lingering in my memory.
Almost.
The elevator door slid shut behind me, and her eyes flew open instantly.
She shot upright. “Jagger?”
Her gaze swept over me quickly, moving from my face to my hands to my clothes, the way someone checks for damage after an explosion.
“I’m fine,” I said easily, stepping into the room.
Thank fuck I’d remembered the plastic suit.
I’d almost forgotten when Cruz tossed it to me before we dealt with Carl. If I’d come back wearing different clothes, or worse, smelling like bleach and copper, Eden would have noticed immediately. She noticed everything.
Instead, I looked exactly like I had when I’d left.
She stood and crossed the room quickly. “You were gone a long time.”
“Yeah.” I shrugged as if it were no big deal. “My phone died halfway through. Apparently, when a judge dies in the middle of your casino, they have a lot of questions.”
Her steps slowed. “He died in the casino?” She glanced behind me uneasily as if his ghost were about to come through the elevator doors.
“Mm-hmm.” I tossed my keys onto the counter. “Yes, it’s unfortunate. And made for a very dramatic night.”
She studied my face. “You told them we were in Tennessee all weekend, though, didn’t you?” she asked.
“I did,” I confirmed. “But sometimes these detectives are not the brightest bulbs in the box.”
Her brows pulled together slightly, something about the explanation not quite sitting right for her.
“And they . . . questioned you for hours?”
“It’s my building,” I reminded her gently. “When a body shows up on your carpet, they tend to want more than a few words.”
The crease between her brows didn’t disappear, so I did the smart thing and closed the distance before she could think any harder.
My hand slid into her hair as I pulled her into me and kissed her slowly.
The question in her eyes melted almost immediately into surprise, then heat.
Her fingers grabbed the front of my shirt as she leaned into me without thinking.
When I finally pulled back, her lips were parted slightly, and her focus had shifted completely.
“Everything’s handled,” I murmured.
It definitely wasn’t.
But she didn’t need to know that.
“You look exhausted,” I added, brushing my thumb over her cheek. “We should go to bed.”
She studied my face one more time, like she was trying to decide if she believed me, and then she nodded. Her hand slipped into mine as we walked toward the bedroom.
And for a brief moment, I wondered how long I could keep the monster I’d just been from bleeding into the life I’d just walked back into.
Long enough, I decided.
I didn’t plan on losing her.