Andy’s garage came into view, and I pressed down on the gas, making my Corvette fly forward. I didn’t usually drive this car during daylight, but I couldn’t resist. The four-hour drive to Andy’s was mostly desert road, meaning I could go as fast as I wanted. Plus, I was in a hurry to get this done. It had been a few days since Kade and Gray had locked me in their study, and I decided they’d sweated enough. I wanted to get even. And tonight was perfect.
I pulled into the garage yard, parking next to a few motorcycles. I studied them, wondering if these were the bikes he was going to show me. Motorcycles were needed for the Panther job, and I trusted Andy to give me ones that were in great condition.
I climbed out, the desert heat already making me sweat. The large roll-down garage doors were shut, but the small side door was open. Reaching back inside my car, I grabbed my gun, putting it in the elastic holder I had under my shirt. I could feel it on my back as I walked toward the door, and it calmed me. There was no reason for me to use it on Andy, but taking a weapon everywhere had become a habit.
I knocked loudly on the door before stepping inside. Cool air greeted me, and I scanned the large garage. A couple of cars were in here being worked on. One was on a lift, about six feet in the air. I walked around it, searching for Andy.
“Andy?” I called, spotting a counter in the back. Someone was sitting behind the counter, facing away from me.
Tingles pricked at my spine, a feeling of unease hitting me. I’d learned long ago to trust my instincts, and I pulled my gun out, slowly walking forward.
“Andy?” I said again.
The chair suddenly spun around, and I gasped when I saw Andy. His face was beaten, and blood was seeping through his shirt.
“I’m sorry,” he choked out, regret shining in his eyes.
Before I could make the choice between helping him or getting the fuck out of there, something hard pressed against my spine. My breath caught in my chest, ice flowing in my veins as someone pushed me forward, keeping the gun to my back. A man stepped in front of me, and I didn’t move a muscle when he took the gun from my hand.
“Who are you?” I let my voice tremble, deciding fear was my best defense until I figured out who I was dealing with.
The guy didn’t answer right away, and I studied him closely, trying to see if I knew who he was. But I was coming up blank. His bleach-blond hair was slicked back, and tattoos covered his arms. I guessed he was a few years older than me. Bringing up his hand, he rested his knuckles under my chin, and I froze from his touch.
“It’s been five years, but there’s no denying who you are,” he murmured, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “You look even better than I remember, Milina.”
Panic swarmed me as he spoke the name only a handful of people in this world knew. He was from my past. That name was supposed to have died five years ago. There was no point in pretending now. I tilted my head to the side, letting my gaze wander down his body.
“I wish I could say the same about you,” I said in a bored voice. “But you must not have been important because I don’t know who the fuck you are.”
He scowled, his fingers grabbing my chin roughly. “I’ll be important once I tell them that you’re still alive.”
“You haven’t told them yet?” I asked, my small hope of leaving here growing larger.
“We wanted to make sure Andy was talking about the right girl,” the guy answered.
I looked past him at Andy, who shook his head. “I didn’t know, Mili. I never would have called Mike if—”
The guy in front of me laughed, cutting Andy off. “Andy called me to offer his sympathy. Said Mili came by the races and said her boyfriend died years ago. I couldn’t believe my ears. Everyone thought you were dead.”
I ground my teeth, kicking myself at my mistake. I didn’t think Andy had any connection with people from my past. I never should have gone to that damn race. I shifted, and the gun was jammed into my back harder.
“Now why don’t you be the good girl I remember and come with us quietly?” Mike withdrew his hand from my face and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a thick zip tie. I breathed in deeply, trying to shake my fear so I could think clearly. There was no way in fuck I was letting him tie my hands. If I left here with them, I’d be wishing I were dead.
I wondered if they knew I’d taken on the Sapphire name. By the way he was acting, I doubted it. He wasn’t wary or scared of me—he was looking at me as if expecting me to obey his every word. Six years ago, I would have. Back when I was a shell of nothing. Letting my body shake, I widened my eyes while raising my arms, as if letting him put the zip tie on. He smiled smugly, wrapping the plastic around my wrists.
“But the thing is,” my tone started off sweet, getting colder with each word, “that good girl you remember? She doesn’t fucking exist anymore.”
Mike’s gaze cut to mine, trying to tighten the zip tie faster, but I was already pulling my arms away. I threw a punch, hitting him across the jaw, causing him to stagger back. The gun that had been on my spine was now pressed to the back of my head.
“Stop,” a deep voice ordered from behind me.
“You won’t shoot me,” I said, confidence radiating through my voice. “I’m no good to you dead, and we all know it.”
“Knock her out,” Mike bellowed.
The metal barrel left my head, and I spun around quickly, going for the weapon. He wasn’t letting it go, so I wrapped my fingers around his, pulling the trigger as I tried keeping the gun steady. I managed to shoot Mike in the arm, which was a surprise since the guy was attempting to yank the gun from my hold. The pistol Mike had taken from me was on the floor, and he lunged for it. I let go of his partner’s hand and stepped forward, bringing my knee up to meet his face before he reached it. He cried out in pain, and I leaped forward, snatching the gun up.
Without a second thought, I shot Mike in the head, not even waiting to see him hit the floor before I spun around, raising the weapon to the other guy. We locked eyes, and my heart stuttered. My aim faltered before I tightened my grip.
“Hey, Mili,” he said softly, keeping his gun on me.
“Liam,” I choked out, shocked that out of everyone who wanted to come after me, he was the one who’d found me.
“You need to come with me,” he said curtly, his bright blue eyes showing none of the empathy he used to have for me.
My mind swirled, memories and present-day colliding as I stared at him. Liam was one of the few who showed me kindness in the years I was trapped in my own personal hell. He was one of the few I had trusted back then. Just like it was all those years ago, his light brown hair was buzzed short. My eyes trailed down to his forearm, dread claiming me as I stared at the tattoo I still had nightmares about.
“I would have thought everyone would have split ways after he went away,” I said, trying to stall. I never hesitated to kill when my life depended on it, but with him, I couldn’t make myself pull the trigger. His kindness was one of the only reasons I survived as long as I did.
“Don’t act like that wasn’t your fault,” he said bitterly. “Do you know how many people you fucked over when you faked your death?”
“Not you,” I said quickly. “I made sure—”
“You disappeared,” he snapped, anger clouding his eyes. “You have no idea what happened to me. Now I’m taking you back. I might not be able to bring you to him, but there are others running things now.”
I laughed humorlessly. “Better put a bullet in me then, Liam. Because I will never fucking go back.”
I nearly flinched when he raised the gun and moved to the side before firing off a shot. I didn’t dare take my eyes off him, even when I heard Andy let out a pained scream.
“I know who you are, Mili,” he said in a low voice. “You might have started killing, but I can guarantee you still don’t take lives of innocents. Not after what happened to you.”
I willed myself to fucking shoot him, but I needed to know who else he’d told about finding me first. I hated how he was bringing up my life like he knew everything about me. But he was right. I’d lost count of how many I’d killed over the years, but they were always people who deserved it.
“That shot won’t kill him, but the next one will,” Liam said, aiming his gun back at me. “Unless you come with me.”
There was no way I was willingly going with him, but a tug of guilt pulled at my heart at the thought of Andy. I’d only met him a few times, and he had always been nice to me. Even offering me a way out during one of his races when he saw my ex backhand me across the face because I didn’t answer how he wanted. Andy was a good guy. And now he was probably going to die because of me.
“You weren’t going to let him live anyway,” I accused. “I remember how it works. Can’t have witnesses.”
“Let’s go, Mili,” he said, losing patience. “Or I’ll shoot you in the leg.”
“Why are you doing this?” I screamed, losing it. “You were going to help me get out—”
“I was,” he cut me off, “and they found out about it. You know what they did? They fucking killed her.”
My stomach plummeted, remembering his wife. He loved her more than anything in this world and would have left the life for her if he was able to. But once someone was in with that crowd, there was no getting away.
“I’m sorry,” I said hoarsely. “But I’m not going back.”
“They’ll let me walk,” he said quietly. “If I bring you back, I’ll have my freedom again. The price for your head is larger than I’ve ever seen.”
My chest constricted, and I fought my guilt as I kept the gun on him. “You chose that life, Liam. You wanted it. I never did. I didn’t have a fucking choice. But I make my own decisions now. And I promise you, I won’t go with you unless it’s in a body bag.”
“Everyone heard the rumor that you were alive.” He took a step forward, making my gut knot as I held my ground. “But they’re searching in South America. What’s so important in California that you’re hiding here? I’m guessing Caleb is the reason behind that? You never were good with computers.”
I didn’t answer, not liking that he’d made the connection between Caleb and me. I debated just shooting him in the knee and running, but I couldn’t. He couldn’t leave here alive if I wanted to complete the Panther job.
“Who else knows?” I asked. “That I’m here?”
His slight hesitation was all I needed to know that his next words were going to be lies.
“I called someone before coming here.”
I chuckled. “Liar. You wanted to make sure it was actually me. Because if it was a false lead and you came back empty-handed, then you’d pay for it.”
A vein twitched above his eye, and he frowned as he crept forward. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
“You couldn’t even if you tried,” I snapped. “I’ve been numb for years.”
He was nearly within arm’s reach, and I squeezed the trigger, aiming at his shoulder. He must have anticipated my move because he ducked out of the way, lunging at me. I swung my gun toward him, and he easily blocked my hit with his forearm. Panic seized me, knowing my chance at beating him in hand-to-hand combat was slim. He used to be the eliminator—someone who was called when someone needed to die. He was one of the best fighters I knew.
I saw his hit coming too late, and blood filled my mouth when his gun collided with my cheek. Luckily, my arm had been up, deflecting the worst of it, or that would have knocked me out. Blinking through the pain, I fell to the floor, scrambling back so I could get a clear shot.
“I never should have taught you to fight,” he said tightly, almost getting a hold of my ankle when I ducked behind a car. “You wouldn’t have lasted this long if you were still the same girl I met when you were sixteen.”
“Back then, you cared if I survived,” I told him. I took a deep breath and glanced around the car to shoot. I frowned, not seeing him anywhere. Jumping to my feet, I peered over the car, seeing him racing for the door. My heart lurched as I chased after him.
“I believe that you won’t be taken alive,” he yelled without looking behind him. “So, I’ll just tell them where you are. They’ll bring enough people back to collect you. See you soon, Mili.”
He disappeared out the door, and I was seconds behind him. The sound of an engine cut through the air, and I saw him just in time for him to rev his motorcycle before racing away. I ripped open my car door and jumped in, glad I had driven one of my faster cars today. I shifted gears, my pedal to the floor as I raced to catch up. The car fishtailed as I shot onto the road.
I waited for him to veer off the road into the desert, but he was smarter than that. The odds of him crashing on sand were higher than on the concrete. Reaching over and ripping open my glove box, I grabbed a burner phone and flipped it open, keeping my eyes on Liam’s bike.
“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”
“There was a shooting,” I said in a high-pitched voice. “Andy’s Garage. Off Breen Road. Hurry, he’s bleeding out.”
I snapped the phone shut, making sure to power it off before tossing it into the passenger seat. I was slowly gaining on Liam, and I pushed my car harder, my RPMs higher than I was comfortable with, but I didn’t slow down. If he told anyone I was here, I was fucked. I couldn’t let that happen.
The road suddenly curved, and I knew he was going to crash before his wheels left the road. He was taking it too fast. My emotions were mixed as the bike slid, and he was flipped off. He had been going over a hundred miles an hour. I slammed on my brakes, my relief slightly overpowering my guilt.
He wasn’t moving as I came to a stop. I took a couple of deep breaths and dug into the glove box again, pulling out a pair of gloves before I hopped out. My shoes crunched on the sand as I moved toward him, slipping the gloves on. I raised my gun, waiting for him to jump up. It didn’t even look like he was breathing. He was on his side, facing away from me, but blood was staining the sand around him. Crouching down, my head snapped up when I heard something.
“Fuck,” I muttered, seeing a car far down the road.
I quickly reached over and pressed my gloved hand to his throat. I stilled for a few moments, waiting for a pulse. But there wasn’t one. He was gone. A wave of sadness hit me as I stood back up. Liam had been an anchor for me in the past. Even if he was going to betray me, I didn’t want to see him dead.
Glancing at the car again, I ran to the road and dragged the bike off. I wanted it to take as long as possible to find Liam’s body. Because when they did, more people I didn’t want here would come investigating. I was glad I was four hours from Ridgewood, or I’d flee right now.
I rushed to my Corvette and drove onto the sand to turn around and drive back toward Andy’s. His garage came into view, and I hesitated, wanting to check on him, but I could already hear sirens. He lived just outside a small town, and they’d be here in minutes. I hoped he survived. Fear slid through me, wondering if he knew who Liam and Mike were. If he survived, what if he told others about it? I doubted Liam had told Andy why they wanted me. But I still didn’t like anyone knowing anything about my past. An ambulance raced past me, heading toward the garage. If he did live, I’d have to visit him and convince him to keep it all to himself.
For once, I stayed under the speed limit as I headed back to Ridgewood. The sun was setting, and I kept my eyes on the empty road, letting my mind wander. I brushed my fingers across my lips, feeling the drying blood. My lip was split, and I winced when I pressed on it. My heart was still pumping on straight adrenaline. That was the closest I’d gotten to my past since leaving it five years ago. And now that they knew I was alive, it made this Panther job even more important.
If I was able to pull it off, I’d be free.
