Chapter Twelve

Erik waited in the dark car parked across from the house Gregory was staying in. He’d yet to catch sight of the man himself—Ashley had given him a general description—but the movement of figures across his lines of sight signaled guards.

It all said the man was connected, though he doubted it was much past a trust fund kid. Everything he’d heard thus far had screamed of a man who had never learned the meaning of the word no, someone who had been denied nothing. That sort of egotistical asshole had caused Erik plenty of problems, but nothing a sharp blade couldn’t fix.

The door to the car opened, the light remaining off, as his backup slid into the seat beside him.

“We should kill people more often.” Kara spoke in the same voice he suspected children used about going to a carnival.

“I’m surprised your mates let you out.” He didn’t bother to hide his distaste for the three she’d chosen to settle down with. Kara was vicious—Erik, Liam and Torrin had taught her to be—and she’d somehow decided to bond with three goody-two-shoes private detectives.

However, he’d long since learned he couldn’t control her. If the alphas she’d picked annoyed her too much, she would bury them herself.

“I snuck out. I’ve gotten six text messages since I left.”

He shook his head and remembered that as much pity as he had for her, he should probably have more for her mates.

Still, she kept up that dreamy tone of voice, as though talking about a future romantic date. “Maybe they’ll spank me later.”

“I do not need to hear that,” Erik assured her.

She only laughed, the pleased reaction she gave whenever she managed to annoy someone enough. “Okay, fine, so you were vague on details here. What are we doing?”

“You don’t normally care why you’re hired.”

“And I don’t especially now, except you smell like an omega and your arm is in a sling and I heard there’s a female staying with you all. That’s the only real reason I came out tonight. I need details.”

Kara was a consummate liar. Few words left her mouth that weren’t at least partly untrue. She’d have come out no matter what, because, despite her flippant attitude, she cared for Erik and the others as much as they cared for her. However, the tiny blue-haired girl also wouldn’t let it go until she had answers.

“Her name is Ashley.”

She waved her hands to get him to keep going.

Frustrating woman. I should have let her bleed out the first night we met instead of saving her. He chose to keep the subject on the task at hand. “She’s been stalked for years by the man who lives here. She’s had to move from place to place since she turned eighteen to avoid him. When he knew we were involved, he had someone take a shot.”

“You let your guard down and got shot? Are you getting old, or is it love?”

He gritted his teeth against the invasive and unwelcome question. “The easiest way to handle the situation is to remove Gregory. Do you have a problem with that?”

“With offing some stalking asshole who is preying on young omegas? You know that’s like Christmas for me.” She rubbed her palms together, excitement seeming to thrum through her.

Which again reminded him how different Ashley was from Kara.

The only two omegas who had been in his life for any amount of time and they were nothing alike. Of course, his only other attempt at a relationship had been a disaster, and it had been with a beta female whose personality was like Ashley’s.

The truth was, women like Kara did better in his world. They survived it, were tough enough to handle it.

But that was the thing—Erik had never wanted a woman like Kara. She was strong, capable, but drenched in as much blood as he was.

Maybe it was stupid, desiring someone unlike him, but that was what he’d always wanted. He craved a woman who would ease him, who would make him feel like something other than a killer.

“That’s a pretty sour look,” Kara said, her voice surprisingly soft. “What’s rattling around in your thick skull?”

“You settled down with men who were nothing like you.”

She nodded, sitting back in her seat as if content to let the talk take as long as it took. Perhaps her time with her mates had done her some good, because never before had she been able to actually communicate. “I’ve spent enough time with myself. Let me guess, your little female you’re doing all this for…she’s a sweetheart, isn’t she? She must be, if you’re here playing hero while she’s home safe and sound.”

Erik cut a sharp look her way. Her digging under layers of his secrets had always been an annoying habit of hers.

She only kept speaking. “I’ve learned something that took me a long time. People, for the most part, hate themselves. We tend to want something totally different. Soft people want tough ones, bitches want gentle people, dominants want submissive. We always want what we don’t have because that’s how things fit. If we wanted to spend our lives with ourselves, why try at all?”

It all sounded good, but none of it soothed his worries. “How can someone like that accept—”

“Someone like you?” Was that pity in her voice? “Look, I’ll deny it if you ever repeat this, but you’re not so bad.”

“I’m a killer.”

“Everyone is a killer if given a good enough reason. Even your little wallflower. If she’s still there, willingly, then she must not mind you too much, especially if her scent all over you says a thing.”

He shook his head. “You don’t understand. She doesn’t know about us. She thinks we’re simple businessmen.”

Kara snorted softly. “There’s never been anything simple about any of you. How about you take some advice from me, huh?”

“Because you’re an expert at relationships?”

“I’ve done better than you, asshole.”

Erik had to concede that point, so he gestured for her to continue.

“Don’t lie to her. We females take that personal, and we always find out the truth eventually. Then you have to deal with not only the problem—which might not have been such a big problem to start with—but with the fact you’re also now a lying douchebag. So come clean, deal with the fallout then move on and have little crotch fruit or whatever it is you do.”

He went to open his mouth, to argue, but she pointed a finger at him. “One had better be named after me, but I will not babysit.”

Before they could go further with the conversation, the lights on the upper floor went out, signaling that Gregory had gone to sleep.

It put the conversation on hold, which Erik was thrilled with. He hadn’t really considered children, considered that life.

It made his chest tight. If having a mate was a risk, he couldn’t imagine the danger to his offspring.

Thankfully, Kara didn’t dwell on things. She was already sliding from the car.

They made their way easily through the dark house, entering through the back door when one of the guards went out for a smoke break. They didn’t kill any of the guards, since he preferred not to leave bodies when it wasn’t necessary. Silence and quickness let them put down the four people inside the house. Because of Erik’s arm, Kara did a lot of the heavy lifting. Still, it was amazing how willing to be gagged and zip-tied a man was when faced with Erik’s blade.

It put them on the top floor in only about fifteen minutes, with no one the wiser. They crept into the last room, the large master at the end of the hallway, the place Gregory had to be.

Once in place, Erik flipped the lights on.

The bed lay empty.

Erik searched the room, unease pricking him at.

Sure enough, in the far corner, leaning against a desk, stood a man who matched the description Ashley had given him.

Late-thirties with short, neatly styled black hair. Blue-eyed and impeccably dressed.

Gregory.

Kara kept her gun trained on him, but his lack of reaction didn’t bode well.

“So, it seems you were right. I didn’t know who I was dealing with,” he said. “I had expected Ashley found some simple alphas, too dumb to be a true problem. Who would have expected she’d have found you?”

Erik narrowed his gaze, wanting to rip her name from his mouth so the man could never utter it again. “You made a mistake by targeting her. At least it will be your last.”

Gregory crossed his arms, appearing as if the threat meant nothing to him. “I don’t make mistakes. I’m impressed you not only found me but made it up here. Did you kill the guards?”

“They’re fine,” Kara said.

“Pity. They were useless, and I’ll kill them anyway. I can’t abide useless people.” Gregory’s eyes found Erik’s shoulder. “The man who took that shot did not make it another night. He should have killed you, not merely wounded you. I guarantee, the next person I send will not miss again.”

“You won’t get the chance for another.”

Gregory’s smile lacked warmth when it slithered across his lips. “You truly think I wouldn’t be prepared for this? Nothing escapes me, nothing goes without my planning it. Ashley should have explained that.”

“To me, it looks like you’re unarmed, and we have you in our sights.”

“Yes, but if I die, Ashley will never be safe. I’ve already set up a contract on her.”

“So much for loving her,” Erik snarled.

“Oh, I love her dearly, but if I am dead, she ought to join me. In the event of my death, I have people who will be paid handsomely to ensure she doesn’t survive the night.”

Erik bared his teeth, a sense of impotence surrounding him.

A bang down the stairs caught his attention. Reinforcements.

Gregory chuckled. “The moment you breached the back door, I had more men on the way. You didn’t really believe I would be so easily caught unaware? I recognized your friend there immediately. How did you get pulled into this, Kara?”

Kara had lost her smile, a rare event. “I didn’t realize it was you we were coming to kill.”

“And if you had?”

“I’d have set the building on fire and roasted marshmallows.”

Heavy feet on the first story stairs told Erik where the reinforcements were, and Erik doubted they’d come in friendly.

Kara shrugged. “Well, this was a clusterfuck. Until next time.” She offered a mock salute then brought her elbow back, shattering the window.

Erik growled softly. Kara was the type to act first and think never, but she wasn’t wrong in their limited options.

She ducked through the window onto the short ledge outside. Erik followed, though his shoulder made his balance substandard.

They shifted to the left, moving as quickly as the thin space would allow. At the corner sat the narrow space between buildings, along with a balcony attached to the next-door apartment.

Kara went first, leaping over the short expanse, and landed on the balcony. Erik went next, though his useless arm made it more difficult. He hit the ground of the balcony hard and toppled forward a few steps. Kara steadied him.

Kara pulled that slider, rewarded by it opening. Then again, the owner probably thought the second-floor balcony to be a fairly safe entry point.

Amateur.

The place was dark, but Erik followed Kara through the room—an office, it seemed—then down the stairs. In the living room, a man sat in front of a television that ran infomercials. He jumped up, face masked with fear, wearing nothing but boxer shorts.

“Sorry, just passing through,” Kara said as though it were the most normal thing. Still, the man didn’t seem up for tangling with them, because he lifted his hands as if threatened and let them pass.

Erik and Kara went out through the back door, into the small back yard. The slam of a door from the next yard said the reinforcements were trying to play catch up.

However, Erik and Kara had spent enough time together over the years to be faster than most.

At the back fence, Kara laced her hands together. The need for help chafed but Erik used the boost to help him over. She hopped the thing without a problem, and they went through that front gate to the street.

A block over gave them some space, and before long, Erik and Kara had disappeared into the night.

The car had been stolen, so there was no worry about it.

“We need to talk,” Kara said, her voice more serious than usual for her.

Erik stopped short, the words less chilling than her tone. “Who is he?”

“Let’s get back to your place before I explain how fucked you are.”