Chapter 48 Scarlett
Scarlett
We parked on the side of a city street and stripped down to our normal clothes.
Havoc loaded his gun, stuffing it into the back of his pants, before grabbing mine and handing it to me.
I felt the weight of it carefully before loading it and looking down, only to realize that I didn’t have pants.
I frowned, finding his eyes. This was why I preferred knives.
Only amusement dusted his eyes. “I got you something, doll.”
A smile immediately broke out across my face, my eyes widening, my body shaking in sudden excitement. A present? For me?
I heard him chuckle as he got into one of the secret compartments in his bike and pulled out two dark sweaters and a thigh holster. He draped the sweaters over the bike seat and got on his knees before finding my eyes and holding out the gun holster. “May I?”
I beamed and nodded, but as I reached for my dress, I hesitated.
I watched my hands shake a little, those horrible memories coming to the forefront of my mind.
No clothes, full access. But this was my choice.
Mine. I worked my jaw and grabbed the hem of my dress, lifting it up so he could have access to my legging’s covered thigh.
If he saw my trembling hand and hesitation, he didn’t pay it any mind. Instead, he crouched down and easily unbuckled my knife holster, exchanging it for the one fit for a gun. “And,” he went on, standing.
I stepped back, shoving my gun into the new holster on my thigh, admiring the way it looked. Very cute. I couldn’t help but wonder if I looked as dangerous as I felt.
One of the black sweaters appeared in front of me.
I looked up, seeing that he was holding one for himself too. “We already have jackets.”
“These ones have hoods. We need the hoods, it’s part of the fun.”
I liked having fun.
I immediately took off my leather jacket, tossing it over the seat of the bike, and grabbed the black sweater from him, that I quickly learned was actually a nice wool jacket. I pulled it on, struggling to button it up, but when I finally did, I looked down and gasped.
It was perfect! It fit my breasts and waist perfectly, flaring out from my hips and falling almost to the bottom of my dress. It was a deep black and sparkled every time I moved, and the hood was huge.
I beamed, finding his eyes, only to see that his sweater was just a plain black hoodie.
I immediately frowned, gesturing to my sweater and then to his.
“You look like a diamond, doll,” he complimented. “I know how much you like to show off when you threaten. Me? I just like to threaten.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line. “Showing off is part of the fun. They should know that it’s a breathtakingly beautiful yet dangerous woman that’s about to kill them, not just some brute.”
He chuckled. “Awe, I like being a brute.”
I gave him a stern look, but at the light in his eyes, I couldn’t hold it.
When he realized that I wasn’t going to respond, he turned towards the line of tall buildings down the street.
“Now, they’re not going to be home for thirty minutes,” he explained, checking his watch.
“We are going to go in, sit on their couch, and give them a big warm welcome home, okay? I know you like to lead but follow me on this one.”
I hesitated. I did like to lead…
He glanced back. “If you follow my rules this time, I’ll let you have the biggest of the three,” he hummed softly.
My smile returned and I nodded. “The bigger ones bleed the most. I like that.” But the moment Havoc went to turn, I stopped him. “What about the noise of the gun? Knives are better because they’re silent, won’t the gun attract attention?”
“Not in this building, I promise.”
Still, I hesitated for a second before dancing after him, shaking the fear away.
This was Havoc and this was Blackheart brother business, I would not let anything interfere with how I handled this.
I would follow his steps, I would not make a mistake, even if I thought something was better.
He was doing this as a favor to me, so I would be good.
And if I was good, I would get the biggest person. I didn’t think this would cure what I felt deep in my bones, but it was a fun distraction on our way to the finish line.
I couldn’t wait to tell Azrael all about it.
~~~
Sitting on the couch in the dark was boring, but Havoc promised that it would be worth it. So, we sat on the couch, our hoods shadowing our faces, his version of a mask, and we waited.
We didn’t even have our guns in our hands, which surprised me. I had so many questions about how they worked. Who they worked with, if they had as many connections as Azrael seemed to have.
There were so many differences between Azrael and them that a part of me wondered if they ever would have worked together had they not met in that asylum.
Had their world ever crossed with Malachi’s before now?
Who were their enemies? What was their work outside of the bike shop?
All of the people they had brought in while I was at home seemed so different than the people Azrael had brought in.
Was that because we were working on one mission and not out there, scouring the world for tar-filled people?
The door opened and Havoc relaxed back into his seat, one arm slung lazily across the back of the couch, the other slung over the arm.
The people were talking and laughing. Two men and a woman, it sounded like. They had no idea what waited for them in the comfort of their own home. Not a single clue.
I couldn’t help but smile, far too excited to see how this would all play out.
The light flicked on and I looked up just as the woman gasped.
They all dropped their groceries, one of the men cursing under his breath as fruit rolled out of their bags and some sort of liquid leaked out of another bag.
I quickly looked between the three, noting how big the man on the right was. Blue eyes, brown hair, maybe the same size as Bishop.
He was mine.
“You weren’t answering your phone, Connelly,” Havoc began, his voice deep and chilling, a clear threat lingering on every word. “Figured it would be a good time to pay you a visit.”
He made no move for his gun, which I appreciated.
The best way—I learned from Azrael—to intimidate someone, was to show them that you weren’t afraid.
A weapon in hand means you perceive the other person as a threat.
No weapon meant you knew they weren’t. That no matter what happened, you still had all the control.
The shorter man stepped around the other two. “That’s because my phone died. How did you get in here?”
“That’s not my problem. Lianne, J.J., go stand by the television.”
“Don’t do what he says,” Connelly told them, grabbing his phone off the counter. “I’m calling the police—”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Havoc sang quietly.
I watched Connelly angrily, irritated that he wasn’t listening to what Havoc was instructing him to do. Very disrespectful.
He put the phone to his ear.
“Doll, pick a leg.”
I beamed, a buzz rushing through me. I pulled my loaded gun out of the holster and pulled the trigger on the girls leg less than a second after he requested it. That’s how you respect your family.
The shot rang out.
The girl screamed, dropping to the floor, blood instantly soaking her jeans.
“What the fuck, Havoc?” Connelly snarled, setting the phone down as J.J. knelt down beside Lianne to comfort her.
“You’re lucky I even warned you,” Havoc said and pushed himself to a stand.
I followed, ready for more.
“Get over there,” he pointed to the television before turning to Connelly. “I got some pretty interesting news from Larken the other day,” he told him.
His eyes widened. “He lied, Havoc, I swear. He’s lying.”
I turned to J.J. and Lianne, watching him help her over to the television. I wondered if he could fight. Neither of them seemed very feisty, then again, I got Thomas to run, maybe I could get them to run too.
J.J. looked on in worry. “Why are you smiling?”
I angled my head to one side. Why wasn’t he? We were having fun, weren’t we?
“She likes to smile when she’s having fun,” Havoc said behind me. “Doesn’t she look pretty in that coat?”
I looked between the two of them, waiting.
“Uh…yes?” J.J. said, unsure of the answer.
“Yes,” Lianne said quietly sobbing, snot and tears running down her cheeks. “Yes, you do. Very pretty.”
“Larken wasn’t happy with what you did, Connelly,” Havoc continued as I stepped closer to the two others. “In fact, he’s pretty upset that you dragged these two down with you, and I don’t like it when my friends are upset.”
Larken.
I cataloged the name away for no other reason than curiosity as I danced closer to the two prisoners I now had.
It’s been nine days since they found me in the woods. Nine days of drugs and nightmares. Nine days of screaming, of willing my body to heal, of sleepless nights and sprinting down long, endless hallways.
My fingers were still tender but most of my stitches were out. The bruises had faded to yellow, and my bathroom time was finally getting back to normal. Still, it had only been 16 days since Malachi—
My smile sharpened and I laughed, forcing that thought away. It was the only one I couldn’t let fill me. All of the other memories? They fueled my bloodlust. They fueled everything. The giggles, the games, the fun, but Malachi’s memory? No. I did not want to ever linger on that. Not ever.
My body, however, would still not be completely ready on Sunday, but my mind? I controlled that. It was going to be ready. If I had to put on as many masks as Rae, I would make it be ready. I would not allow myself to fail this mission. I would not allow myself to make a mistake.
I ran a finger gently down the side of Lianne’s face, her skin warm, erupting in goosebumps at the trail I left.
Her bottom lip was quivering. “Please,” she whispered to me, tears falling down her cheeks. “Connelly didn’t mean to hurt Larken. Please,” her voice cracked.