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“This is far from okay,” my voice was thick with tears I struggled to hold back. “What did they do to you?”

“Nothing I wouldn’t have done if I were in their shoes.” He shrugged, wincing.

“You are far too patient with people, Craig.” I said softly, pulling back and tracing my fingers over his face like I was trying to convince myself that he was real. “I don’t know what I’d have done if I lost you too.”

“You’d have survived, Bunny. And then you would have found the others so they could enact your vengeance.” He smirked. “But don’t go thinking I was going to make it easy for them to take me from you, Bunny.”

Before I could stop myself, I slipped my arms around his waist to hug him. Craig hissed in pain before his arms settled around me.

“I am going to murder Tiffany the next time I see her and I don’t mean that as a turn of phrase. I mean I am literally going to gut that vapid bitch alive.”

Craig's eyes widened in shock for a moment before a grin split his face, and pained laughter bubbled out from him.“Don't… don't make me laugh, Bunny. It hurts to laugh. I know you're not being funny; I was just surprised.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but the sound of Helen clearing her throat behind me pulled our attention to her.

“Mr. Dougherty, I would like to apologize for the misunderstanding that has led us here. It is clear from this little display that you are very much in love with Victoria, and from the way she reacted that she is with you, and the intel we had that led us to believe otherwise was pure misdirection.”

I helped move Craig over to sit in a chair, even though every part of my body was loathe to let him out of my arms. I settled for standing behind him. I fought the urge to fuss over his injuries while waiting for him to address Helen.

“Ms. Arnoult, while your apology is acknowledged, I think I can speak for everyone when I say it's far from accepted. Your hastiness in not seeking us out cost Rich his life, nearly cost me mine, and our organization suffers from the losses you've caused.” Craig said, his voice still pained as he sat up straighter in his chair.

“To be fair, Mr. Doughtery, the attack from the Jackals against your organization was in motion already. Our mole simply capitalized on it to extract Victoria from what we thought was a dangerous situation. She was not authorized to eliminate any of your men, only to show as much force as required to retrieve Victoria, and one of you for questioning, while maintaining her cover.”

“Well then you need to get a leash on your little psycho–” I snapped, reeling as Helen offered us technicalities to answer for what had happened because of her people.

“Bunny. I know,” Craig said, patting my hand on his shoulder. His eyebrow twitched, and I could see the tightening in his jaw. “Ms. Arnoult, I respect that you weren't the orchestrator of the entire situation. However, that doesn'tchange the fact that your involvement led to losses that we wouldn't have otherwise taken. Your mole murdered Rich in cold blood in what seemed to be a game for her. This, I'm going to hope, was well beyond anything you would have been aware of when it happened.” His voice was steel as he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. I cringed internally at the pain he was putting himself in to look strong. “YouknewRichard Innocenti, Helen. You should have gone to him directly about this before acting on information so inconsistent with the way we do things that it should have given you pause.”

“I will not deny that Candy wildly overstepped the bounds of her orders. For that, we will make amends. But it has been a long time since we worked with your crew. You and I both know how doing the things to make it in this world can change you. I am willing to hand over my best hitwoman and intelligencer by giving you Candy in reparation for her overstep.”

“I want Tiffany.” I spat out before Craig could respond. “She deserves to pay for this too.” Craig looked at me briefly, his brows furrowed as he searched my face.

“Bunny… You can be angry with me for this later. But no, we’re not going to take Tiffany as reparations. That’s a road you don’t want to go down. And besides, the reparations are owed to the Horsemen, which you are not.”

I bit my tongue to avoid arguing with him. As much as I wanted to rail against his assertions and demand my due, I knew it wasn't the place for that. Instead, I swung sharply between relief that he was alive and stewing in silent anger as I tuned out the rest of his negotiations with Helen.

Chapter Two

Az

Victoria’s screams rent the air as Rich crumpled backward. Time seemed to speed up around me as my body moved without thought to pin Joey beneath me. His anguished bellows mingled with Victoria’s screams to form a sickening crescendo as he fought against my hold.

“Stay down.” I barked, struggling to maintain my grip as his elbows slammed into my gut.

My legs wound around Joey’s in a desperate bid to stop his flailing attempts to free himself and reach Rich’s lifeless body. I barely noted the gunshots ringing in my ears, too focused on subduing the wild thing my friend had become. From the corner of my eye, I saw Leighton’s hand fist on the ground in front of him before he twisted to face the man holding him at gunpoint, nearly too fast for me to track. My attention was snapped back to Joey as his elbow connected with my ribs.

“Damn it, Joey. Stop fighting me.” I snarled, balling one hand into a fist before slamming it into the side of his head. “You’re going to get us all fucking killed.”

“Az, let me go! Rich!” Joey screamed again, still struggling even as I pulled his arms behind his back. “Rich!”

“He’s gone, Little Brother! And I’m not letting you get shot trying to do something fucking stupid!”

“I could use a little help here!” Leighton called out. “Fuck. Az, they’re taking them!”

I risked a glance away from Joey to see Leighton struggling to keep our attackers at bay. The feral grin he gave them revealed his bloody teeth, and I had to fight back a gag as I noted the body by his feet, neck torn away in a macabre display.

“I can’t keep ripping necks with my teeth here, fellas,” Leighton cackled before turning serious. “And I can’t go after our girl and Craig while managing these fuckers.”

It was then I noticed the stark absence of Victoria's screams. My entire body tensed the need to find and protect thrumming through every cell of my being as my eyes scanned the area. Joey seemed to sense the shift in me, breaking free of my hold and scrambling to Rich's body.