The gangster glanced at the picture and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Where?”
He hesitated, and I shoved away my bullshit feelings, concentrating on nothing but the rage and fear I needed to survive – the one that had been keeping me going since the crash and everything that had gone wrong.
With a hiss between my teeth, I bent down, pushing my gun against the piece of shit’s forehead. “She said, where?”
His tongue darted out, licking his lips as he took far too long to respond to me. My impatience burned once more, and I cocked my gun back, smacking him in the face with it, before I pushed it against his skull again, desperate for his response. I knew being whipped with a pistol hurt and I figured he wasn’t as used to it as me; he would talk before I had to do it again and if he didn’t, he would regret it.
I needed to know where to go in this hell hole more than I needed to breathe.
I needed to know where to find our girl so I could bring her home.
“She’s in the basement in one of the rooms for clients.” He said, and just like that, the world went quiet.
The music stopped, the world ceased moving, and everything inside me went deadly still.
In a room for clients.
Clients for a whorehouse.
“Lilah. Kill him.” I barely forced the words out of my lips as the gangster sucked in a breath, no doubt going to spew more bullshit, as he realized I had no intentions of letting him go anywhere.
He’d been dumb to think it – dumb to presume I wouldn’t kill every member of the Jackals in retaliation for what they had taken part in. For what they had done tomy family. To the innocent stolen women who had been entirely defenceless when they had been sprayed with bullets and left to rot.
Considering she’d never killed before, Delilah did a great job. I didn’t know if it was the anger in her heart or the frustration that burned beneath her skin, but it worked. She dropped the gangster with a single bullet to his brain like she hadn’t only been using a gun for a matter of weeks, or part of a gang for even less. I was proud of her for it – proud she was getting back against the kind of men who had harmed her. She was a cool fucking girl and though I hated how we had met; I was really glad we had. She was far more fun than Tanner had ever described her.
Far better than I could have imagined.
“Why are you looking at me that way?” She frowned as she straightened herself up and glanced my way. “I’m worried you’re having a brain meltdown or something. Henley said you had them all the time.”
“I’m just glad we’re friends.” I explained, pretending that hearing my cousin’s name didn’t feel like razor blades dancing along my skin. “And I was just thinking that you were pretty cool and circumstances aside, I’m glad I met you.”
“Me too,przystojniaku.” Delilah wiped her cheeks with a paper towel and pulled her gun back into her hand, holding it steady. Far steadier than me.
“What does that mean? I’m hoping it means hottest man alive.” I stepped over the body, not a care for leaving it behind as I tried to force myself to be nonchalant and not on the verge of a meltdown.
We weren’t being secretive – once we’d killed Jackals, we didn’t care what happened next. Beau was already making an example of Kalvin Mercer that nobody for miles would miss and the Red Diamonds who had joined us were doing similar things.
“Close.” Delilah winked as she headed for the door and opened it up for me, the music from outside finally breaking through the numb in my mind. “I don’t know if we’re good enough friends for me to tell you all my secret little nicknames. Maybe you need to make me a sandwich or something when we get home to solidify it.” She teased, trying to lighten the anger on my face.
Playing along for a moment, I said, “Don’t even. Me and you are tight now. We just killed together, so that makes us, like legit friends. Ride or die ones that are gonna go on a shootout and rescue mission.”
She grinned at me, and I almost fucking melted, despite everything going on.
“True. So come on bestie, let’s go do some murdering so I can earn this tattoo and my new surname for real.” She waved her Red Diamond ink as she referred to how the paperwork for all the girls had come in days earlier, most of which wasn’t needed now.
Delilah Montana.
Yeva Montana.
Diamond Montana.
Those were the only forged documents required. Not a single other Persephone woman had need for one.
They had no need for anything anymore. The same way my family didn’t.
Fuck.
