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“Okay, so you know when we met?” Jynx starts surprisingly.
“You mean when we were kidnapped?”
Jynx nods, “Yeah, well, when I left, I was taken to Shadow.”
Rylie winces, “Shit, I’m so sorry. What does that have to do with Ever, though.”
I frown slightly as I tilt my head questioningly, “You don’t know?”
Rylie looks confused, and it’s clear she has no idea what I’m talking about.
Riot chuckles, “Oh, this is going to be a good shock.”
Jynx points at me, “Rylie, I’d like to introduce you to Shadow.”
Rylie’s eyes go wide, “No fucking way? Does Mr R know?”
“Yeah, I use my skills as Shadow occasionally for him,” I reply.
“Well fucking hell, how did I miss that one?” she mutters and then grins, “You’re fucking badass, like mom was looking to try and hire you, she still is if I’m honest. You are still very much a hot commodity in the criminal world despite the fact that you’ve disappeared the last few years, and now I know why.”
Relief fills me. I was genuinely worried that she would react badly, but I shouldn’t have been. She’s just impressed.
“Obviously, no one is to know who she is,” Trick says firmly.
“Of course, I wouldn’t put Ever at risk,” Rylie replies. “So, what happened?”
Jynx goes on to explain what happened and how I saved her instead of doing what my father wanted and took her back to D. We then spend the rest of the time eating our food and explaining a bit more about our shared history, we also tell Rylie about Quinn’s link to the others who are also one of our teams. She knows about them thanks to learning what she could about us when she realised we had joined the organisation but had no idea about the link between Quinn and them, which makes sense because even Mr R didn’t know.
Quinn kept everything separate.
We’re starting our desserts, and the conversation has thoroughly moved on to more laidback topics when my eyes catch on someone approaching the table, their face completely obscured by a hood and scarf.
I tense, putting my hand on my weapon as everyone, being as highly trained as they are, tenses and does the same, quickly realising that something is going on and locating the figure.
“Ever?”
My eyebrows hit my hairline, I don’t recognise the voice, and I can’t see the face. I can tell it’s a woman, but that’s it, “Who are you?”
“He says this is just the beginning, and he doesn’t take kindly to losing. Butterfly, help me,” she pleads.
Lead hits my stomach, and I feel myself go pale as the guys all start to stand. Butterfly? There’s no fucking way.
Before the guys can fully get out of their chairs, in one smooth move, she takes off her hood, removes her scarf, and opens her jacket.
“Mom,” I reply, slightly in disbelief.
“Mom?” Jynx and Rylie exclaim at the same time.
“Oh shit,” Ace mutters, and it takes me mere moments to see that she has been strapped with a bomb.
“Fuck,” Trick mutters.
It’s at that moment the restaurant seems to realise what is going on, and we’re seconds away from chaos breaking out. As I stare at the woman who birthed me, my guys move around the room, showing their badges and telling people to make their way to the exits calmly. Trick is on the phone, and I know that he’s calling it into Mr R. We’ll have backup in minutes.
Fortunately, we have the best explosive expert in the country with us right now, and he’s frowning at the bomb as he stays back and examines it.
Amelia’s eyes are wild with fear, and I know that I need to snap out of this right now and do my job. I will not be useless, and we’re very much in danger.
“Who said that Amelia?” I ask her gently, as I would anyone in this situation. That’s how I’m treating her as a stranger.
“Careful Ever,” Rylie warns me, her voice low.
We’re all watching her carefully for any move that she makes. She doesn’t appear to have a Deadman’s switch, which means if we have to, we can take her out. Hopefully, it won’t come to that though, and the bomb could still be set off even if she’s dead.
“Hunt,” she exclaims, the name we all expected, but this is not the situation I thought I’d find myself in. She takes a step toward me, her eyes darting everywhere as she opens her mouth to explain more.
Suddenly, she stops, I feel warmth splatter my face, hear a thud in the wall behind me, and see blood bloom on the front of her forehead as her eyes become lifeless.
“Fuck, someone catch her before she hits the fucking floor. It could set off the bomb!”