24. HUNTER
HUNTER
W e sit in silence on the drive back home, my fingers drumming against the steering wheel as my gaze shifts back and forth from the road, and then right back to the little she-devil sitting beside me.
I didn’t even wait to see if she had driven there, just grabbed that sweet ass and packed her into the front of my car.
I’d been suspicious of her for a while, and every chance encounter with this red-haired assassin only made it worse.
The night I’d first met her at Black Velvet and had that job in the alley, she was on her break.
And when she was heading back in, she didn’t go in through the back door the same way the other bar staff had.
Then during the DeLuca compound hit, she was sleeping on the couch and could have easily slipped out after we left and made it back in time.
Not to mention how casually she accepted me and Maddox and the constant string of murdery comments that slip from her mouth.
She’s too okay with this world. And it’s suspicious as all hell.
She’s the red-haired assassin. I knew it in my gut, but I had to prove it.
Sure, these things aren’t usually something that should automatically make someone a suspect, but I felt it in my gut. Every occasion this redhead has shown up, Lyra has been “busy” with something that gives a perfect excuse to be away from me and Maddox.
Coincidence? I think not.
I’ve been watching Lyra carefully, and when the job for Nathaniel Moretti came through, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to test my theory. I’d given Lyra just enough information for her to figure out who the target was. With that, I left it in her hands, and just as expected, she took the bait.
The second Moretti walked into the private room, he was as good as dead. The woman was sent away while Maddox disposed of the body, and by the time Lyra was pushing through the door, I was already wearing the target’s jacket, just waiting for my girl to show up, and she didn’t disappoint.
Maddox had no idea.
He knew I was setting up the redhead, but he didn’t know I suspected Lyra.
If she were anybody else, I would have let him in on the secret, but truth be told, the asshole is too fucking obvious.
He wouldn’t have been able to follow through without accidentally giving it away, and then my perfect plan would have gone to waste.
The car ride seems to drag on, every second of agonizing silence only making the tension thicker around us.
It’s a competition of who’s going to break first, but I’ll be damned if it’s me.
It’s between Maddox and Lyra, and honestly, I’ve got no fucking clue how this is about to play out.
Lyra fidgets with her hands, folding and unfolding them before twisting her fingers, while Maddox just stares straight ahead, completely dumbfounded, as though replaying it over and over again.
Ten minutes turn into twenty when Lyra finally cracks. “Okay, fuck,” she says, twisting in her seat to look at me straight on. “This is killing me. I was too careful. How the hell did you figure it out?”
I shrug my shoulders as I drive, as though realizing that Lyra was the redheaded assassin didn’t completely blow my mind. “You don’t react like other people.”
She scoffs. “That’s because other people are overly dramatic.”
“It’s more than that,” I say, trying to put my finger on it. “At the car dealership, for example, your comments about lining the trunk. Normal people don’t think like that.”
“I was trying to be a supportive girlfriend,” she says, having the audacity to pretend to look offended. “That’s what we’re supposed to do, right? Show interest in our man’s hobbies.”
I roll my eyes, a smirk lingering on my lips. “You’ve followed me to every hit I’ve taken over the past few weeks.”
Maddox finally snaps into gear, his head swiveling toward me from the back. “Huh?” he grunts, his gaze then snapping right back to Lyra. “That true?”
She cringes but doesn’t respond, and so I clarify for her. “Every hit, Savage,” I say, beginning to rattle them off. “That first night after I saw you outside Black Velvet. That guy in the alley was shot barely two seconds before I could get to him. Then there was—”
“Woah, hold up. That could have been anybody.”
I scoff. “Don’t try to cover your tracks now. You just happened to be on your break at the time. And besides, there was no mistaking that vanilla scent in the air. It’s the same one I’m smelling now,” I tell her, glancing at her in my passenger seat.
“It’s a popular scent. Many women have it.”
“You can’t fool me, Savage. I’ve been onto you for a while,” I say.
“You had absolutely no issue knocking me out cold after we fucked for the first time. People can’t get the drop on me like that, but you did,” I say.
“Not to mention, you had no issues trying to beat the shit out of Maddox at Black Velvet. You swing like you’re going for the knockout.
You don’t respond to violence the way a normal person would.
And you casually drop jokes about killing people. ”
She studiously stares out the window, her lip pouting as though not liking that she’s finally been caught. “Like I said, supportive girlfriend.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Nah, nah, nah,” Maddox says, perking up as though finally starting to put the pieces together.
“When I spilled that shit in your dark room, you knew there would be an explosion before we did. You moved first. You told us to run. Normal people don’t just know that shit, nor do they respond that quickly. ”
Lyra whips around to stare at Maddox. “Oh, so it’s a crime to know a thing or two about the chemicals I need for my own dark room? That just sounds like common sense to me.”
Maddox shakes his head. “Those chemicals in there. They’re not just the shit you need to develop your photos. You had other shit in there. Hidden in plain sight.”
Lyra glances away, guilt flashing in those bright green eyes for just a moment, and Maddox grins wide. “Gotcha, baby.”
“You ain’t got nothing.”
I laugh as I continue down the road, never so fucking thrilled with myself for having put that all together. She was clever. Careful. But nobody out-fucks me.
“Holy fuck,” Maddox says, leaning back against his seat and pushing his hands through his hair. “All this fucking time. You’re just as messed up as we are.”
Lyra sighs, her shoulders slumped when a slow grin creeps across her lips. “Okay, fine. You got me. I’m the Red Widow, and I’ve been stealing your hits out from under you because honestly, it’s the best fun I’ve ever had.”
Maddox just laughs, looking as though he’s about to come in his pants with excitement. “I’ve never been so fucking turned on in my life,” he says, letting out a heavy breath as he just stares at Lyra as though only just seeing her for the first time. “So, we’ve all just been lying?”
Lyra scoffs and smirks, folding her arms over her chest. “You assholes started it.”
I glance at her. “What was I supposed to do? Hi, my name is Hunter Cole, and apart from wanting to spread those thighs and fuck you until you scream, my hobbies include the dark web, stalking, and bloody murder. What about you?”
Maddox huffs, ignoring my comment. “You gave me shit for not speaking up when you found out about Hunter, and here you were, holding out on us. I’m wounded, Savage. How am I supposed to recover from this?”
“I, uhhh . . . guess we’ve evened the score now.”
I side-eye the little she-devil. “Not even close.”
“I came clean, Savage,” Maddox says. “You got caught. There’s a big difference.”
She cringes and glances back at Maddox. “I’m sorry,” she tells him.
“I wasn’t meaning to intentionally keep it from you, I just .
. . I’ve held on to this secret for so long that the thought of it getting out there terrifies me.
And while I know that you guys would never tell a soul, it still makes me uneasy. ”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about, Lyra,” Maddox tells her. “Besides, now knowing that you’re the redhead who was at that compound last week, I’m almost certain you could beat the shit out of both of us at the same time.”
“And win,” she mutters with a wild smirk.
I roll my eyes and look at her again, trying to work out if she truly believes that, and seeing the silent confidence in her eyes, a laugh rumbles from the back of my throat. “Come on, Savage. Be serious. You honestly think you could take us at the same time?”
She holds my stare, that confidence unwavering. “Blindfolded.”
Maddox leans forward between the seats and steals her attention. “You saw me in action, right? I’m not trying to piss in your Cheerios, and I’m sure you have some wicked skills, but babe, I’m a fucking beast.”
She just grins. “You’re right. You are a beast. I was thoroughly impressed by the way you slaughtered those guards. Buuuuuut, you’re not better than me.”
I laugh, and she glances back at me. “That goes for you too, Hunter Cole.”
I shake my head. There’s no fucking way, but I’m not about to burst her little bubble.
If believing that she’s untouchable is what puts that smug little smile on her face, then so be it.
I’ll let her believe it. But not for long.
When the time comes, I’ll be sure to let her know who’s really on top around here.
Our conversation falls away as I pull up into Maddox’s driveway, and after cutting the engine and making my way to the door, I find myself pausing on the front porch, my gaze locked on Lyra.
“What?” she mutters, not missing a thing.
“There’s one thing I don’t get,” I muse as Maddox pauses, wanting to know what’s on my mind. “If you were in the back alley that first night, why put on such an act afterward?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you saw me in the street and followed me to that apartment complex. You already knew, but acted like you were only just finding out.”
She shakes her head. “I didn’t know,” she says as we hear Smooch inside, desperate for someone to open the door so he can barrel into Lyra’s legs.
“That night in the back alley, I was there for barely a second. In and out. I took my shot and took off. I knew there was a contract, but at that point, I didn’t know who it belonged to, just that there was another killer in the area.
I got off on the idea of stealing your hit, but I didn’t care to wait and see who you were.
That didn’t matter. Not until I’d worked out who you were.
But I gotta give it to the both of you, I had no idea you were working as a team. You cover your tracks well.”
Maddox grins. “Well, we are professionals after all.”
I roll my eyes and brace myself against the porch pillar. “So, are we done lying to each other?” I ask, holding her stare. “No more stealing my hits.”
She grins. “I mean, if you can’t take the shot before I do, then that’s on you.”
“Oh, so it’s gonna be like that?”
“It’s already been like that, and I have no intention of stopping.”
Maddox laughs. “Fuck, this is going to be fun.”
Lyra grins and leans into his chest, and he presses a kiss to her temple. He really is falling in love with her. But honestly, I think I am too.
“Come on,” I say, stepping past them and reaching for the door. “Let’s get your ass inside before Maddox tries to fuck you here on the porch.”
“I have no problems with that,” she laughs.
They follow me through the door, and as Smooch lets loose and races toward Lyra, desperate for her attention, Maddox laughs. “Fuck, so when you invited the killer to target that woman next . . .”
“Oh, that was all for me.”