Page 63 of Retaliation
“Do I?” Her voice shook with emotion. Tibby wasn’t much more emotional than I was, and this display was unnerving. I was failing my only friend.
“Yes,” I growled. “Fuck the guys, Zenith. I’m coming over.”
Tibby’s laugh was hollow. “How?”
I started stripping, shoving the dress in the backpack and pulling on a pair of leggings and a black sweater. I tucked my hair up into a long, brown wig.
“Your lack of confidence in me is offensive. The guys might be monsters, but I’m a mother fucking assassin.”
Tibby snorted. “What do you need from me?”
“Just get to the apartment. I’ll meet you there.”
“Already gone. Peace out, Nova.”
I shrugged into the extra pair of army boots I had tucked under my vanity. I strapped on the backpack and checked the peephole. There was no one in the hall. No sign of the guys.
Tibby was right. I was getting sucked into their mind games and forgetting about what really mattered. Tibby lost her only family, and mine could still be alive. It was time for the next phase of our plan. I slipped into the hall. There was a fire alarm just outside my door, and the chaos would give me enough time to run. I flung myself out of the exit that led to the alley and ran like hell, staying in the shadows of other buildings.
The closest train station was only a block away, and the crowds would provide more coverage. I moved swiftly down the stairs and slipped onto a redline train just before the doors closed. Ty had found me so quickly before, and I still wasn’t entirely sure what happened before he knocked me out and I woke up tied to the bed. I kept my eyes peeled for a hulking monster man covered in tattoos, but none appeared as the train shoved off.
The train was quiet, since it was so late on a weeknight, and I paced the car, keeping my eyes and ears alert. My earpiece was quiet, and Tibby hadn’t checked in yet. I tried to remain calm, she could be offline for any number of reasons. The train stopped at Andrew Square, and I bolted out, running full speed to our apartment. My lungs burned as an awful feeling crept into my chest. I pulled my keycard from the backpack and slammed it into the front door, ripping it open and taking the stairs two at a time.
I typed in our code and shoved open the apartment door. “Tibby?”
My chest heaved, sucking down oxygen as my brain whirled. The apartment was dark. She wasn’t here. No. She was fine, she was not hurt. I crossed the room, wondering if I should go back out there and look for her. The door opened and within moments I had a gun pointed at the intruder.
Tibby walked in, her eyes wide. “Holy shit,” she breathed. “You scared the fuck out of me.”
I dropped the gun and ran to her, wrapping my arms around her middle. “Me? Are you freaking kidding? I thought something happened to you. How did I beat you here?”
She hugged me back awkwardly before letting go and shutting the door. She shrugged and made a beeline for the kitchen, grabbing two water bottles. She tossed one to me and I caught it.
“Well, the way you look, I’m surprised you didn’t sprout wings and fly here.”
I laughed, taking a long drink of the icy cold water. “Yeah well, Ty caught me so easily last time. Figured I’d do better.”
“Well, you made it.” She smiled, drinking down her water. “Now what?”
I made the right choice coming here. Getting away from the Princes was the right decision. The lust-filled fog was lifting.
“Now we dig deeper to find your stepdad. You’re smarter than him ten times over, Tibby. I know you can find him.” I turned to her, needing her to see the truth of that on my face.
She nodded but said nothing.
“Then we will get back to my hit list and we’ll find my father and sister together. Any updates or movements at Vespertine Hall?”
Tibby shook her head. “Not that I can tell. A few lackeys coming and going, but no sign of the founders. And no weird stuff being transported out.”
I nodded. “That’s good news, I guess. I say we hit it this weekend. I’m ready to see it burn.”
“What about the Princes?” Tibby asked, cocking her head and assessing me.
She had every right, considering I spent the last twenty-four hours getting very intimate with the four Obscuritas royals.
I sighed. “I won’t let them get in the way of our plans. The last two days have been…strange. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t feel some kind of connection to them.”
I wanted to tell her more but I was scared of the things I felt and I didn’t want her to be disappointed. Falling for your mark was an amateur move. But even when I was their prisoner, things shifted. Watching the four of them together in their home, I noticed a bond. No amount of digging up dirt could tell me what I witnessed. The Princes weren’t just bound together by this cult, it was something on a deeper level. The buzz of adrenaline running through my blood made me shiver. I took another swig from my water bottle.
