Page 53 of Raze
Thorne shrugs and smiles. “Only if you want it to be. I need someinsurance that you and your so-called brothers aren’t hatching a plan to kill me again. The only reason I haven’t killed them yet is because I haven’t seen you around them lately, and I’m curious. Trouble at home?”
Unfortunately, his intentions are exactly what I suspected they would be. The others won’t be safe until Thorne’s handled. “I don’t have anything to do with the others anymore, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“Oh? Did you get kicked out? So, you’d be fine if I killed them all?”
“Not while they’re watching Raegan. And Dane’s more useful to you alive than dead.”
He crosses his arms over his chest as he considers that. “You have a point. He’d be a good bargaining chip.” A dark van pulls up in front of the butcher shop and three men get out. They unload large black bags into the store. “The other two can live until they’re no longer needed to babysit, then. Fair?”
I shrug with indifference. “Sure.” I pull one foot up against the building and push off into the air. My gift controls my fall until I land at the glass doors to the shop. I crack the door open enough to buffer the air and sound around the bell above the door, then slip inside.
The storefront is dark and empty, but there’s heated voices and crying coming from the back. Knives in hand, I creep to the next doorway. The room is vacant, but the freezer door is open.
“You text him?”
“I’m doing it now. Let’s grab the cash and go.”
The phone in my pocket vibrates softly as the three men exit the freezer and close it.
One. Two. Three blades sink into their throats at once and they drop to the floor. This one was quick and easy. I’m sure it won’t be so simple after GE catches on to their transfer locations being attacked.
Stalking over to the bodies, I slash each blade through the rest of their throats. There will be no miraculous survivors. I grab a nearby towel and wipe the blood from my knives before stowing them away.
The thick scent of copper spreads through the room with the mess on the floor worsening by the second, but I can still smell Thorne when he arrives.
He takes one look at the three men on the ground and scoffs. Thorne kicks one of them. “Pathetic. At least hire people who aren’t completely useless.”
I ignore his childish behavior and scan the room. Ah. That’ll do.
“What’s your end goal with this?” He waves at the bodies.
Grabbing the black tarp in the corner, I shake and snap it until it’s fully spread. “Remove any enemies in the city and get GE’s attention.”
“And then what?”
“Hopefully, earn an audience that’ll get me closer to the ones in charge.”
“I can help you with that now. There’s no need to go around murdering half the city.”
If GE makes up half the city, then that’s exactly how many I’ll go after. The entire city could be GE goons and I’d still eliminate every last one to know Raegan is that much safer.
I place the tarp over the bodies. “If you’re here to help, leave a message with those three after I’m gone.”
Thorne frowns. Probably displeased that we’ll be separated so soon after our alliance. “And where will you be?”
I nod toward the freezer door and open it until I can see the two children inside. “Taking care of them.”
“A waste, if you ask me.” He bends down to lift the tarp, and I shoot a knife at it, pinning it to the linoleum floor. Thorne hisses and rubs his finger that I’d grazed.
“Not until we leave.”
The girl sobs when she sees me. It’s a good thing I’m wearing black to hide the blood, but seeing any stranger dressed as I am isn’t comforting either. The boy sniffles and shifts himself protectively in front of her.
They’re both shivering from the cold, even though I’d been quick. I can feel the chill on my exposed fingertips, but I’ve always been more resilient to cold than heat.
I hold up my lock picking tools so they can see what I have before I squat in front of the boy first. There are dried tracks of tears on his cheeks, but he’s putting on a brave face for the girl.
“What was that noise out there? Who are you? What do you want with us?” His teeth chatter as he talks.
