Page 152 of Dirty Deadly & Mine
“Get some rest. I’ll pop in and check on you later.”
Tugging my hand free, I give Asher my back as I leave the room, going back down to hide in my bedroom.
I stay there for hours. Well past midnight. I don’t even go back and check on Asher, which is a shitty thing to do, but I’m just so scared of hurting him or anyone else that locking myself away feels like my only option right now.
It’s after three in the morning when my phone lights up with a message, casting the room in a blue glow. I don’t check it at first, thinking it’s probably Asher checking if I’m okay, but aftera few minutes I cave and check the screen to find a notification from the app I use for my jobs.
Opening it, I find a message for the Crimson Angel.
Heard you were looking for the MacKenzie brothers. One of them is currently at the old church on the corner of Shepard and Dayble Streets.
That’s all the message says.
I consider it may be a trap. That perhaps this is another person attempting to kill me. But the hit is for Lily Bennett, and this message is for the Crimson Angel, and since I know Barrett put feelers out through this network for information on the brothers, I have to assume it’s real.
I’m also feeling a little reckless, and the idea of killing someone deserving sends a rush of anticipation through me, igniting the blood in my veins. The flat mood that’s been smothering me for hours falls away as I let myself feel this rush. My need for bloodshed nothing but primal at this point.
I quietly get changed into my gym pants, joggers, and a t-shirt before sneaking upstairs to check on Asher. The floor creaks as I approach his room, but he’s sound asleep, not stirring from the noise, and I take a moment to stare at his peaceful expression before I turn and leave.
As usual, I go to the warehouse to get changed before taking my second car to the location given to me. I park down the street in the shadows, making sure I have my knife, gun, and tool bag before creeping up the path towards the church.
It’s mostly dark inside, with a faint glow coming through the windows at the far end. I stand back for about ten minutes to try to spot anything that hints that this is a trap, and when nothing changes, I head to the closest door, surprised to find it open.
Well, that was easy.
Ducking inside quickly, I scan the old, dilapidated building, my eyes falling on the silhouette of a man sitting in the front pew. He’s unmoving, and warning bells sound in my head that perhaps this really is a trap. This all seems too easy.
The hairs stand up on the back of my neck, so I raise my gun, preparing to shoot anything that moves.
“I’ve been waiting for you.” The male voice echoes through the nearly empty building, and he stands from the pew, slowly turning to face me.
There’s not a lot of light in here, but there’s enough to show me this man isnotone of the MacKenzie brothers.
“Who are you?” I snap and I stiffen when my ears pick up movement behind me.
Spinning, I find three others approaching, dressed in all black, their faces covered to hide their identities.
“What is this?” I ask, my gun raised, darting between each of them.
They don’t speak, but the guy at the front of the church does.
“This is us getting a payday.” He chuckles, and the other three do the same.
Well shit. I’m fucked.
I was right about this being a trap, but wrong about the sender of the message only knowing me as the Crimson Angel.
It looks like my secret is out.
Usually, I’m the predator in the room. I’m the one who takes people by surprise. I’m the one with the upper hand.
Right now, I’m not.
Very far from it.
I could take on two guys. But four? Even I’m not dumb enough to think I can walk out of here alive going up against four of them.
I take stock of who I’m dealing with. Definitely three men. Maybe one woman or a very small, framed man.
