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Before Blake can answer, I step in front of him, blocking Khoui's direct line to Blake's body.
"Good evening, Jahari. You should walk away now," I say sweetly as Vlad steps up to my other side. Together the three of us make a wall between the Taurus members and Blake.
"Just the woman I want to see. I expected to find you in Mr. Mason's arms, Agent, but I see he's moved on." Khoui gives me a condescending sneer.
I unbutton my jacket, letting him see my guns and long black whip hooked inside it. "Walk away."
"Ah, I guess you've finally figured out who I am?"
"Yes, I have. Moreover, I guess by now, your organization has told you what I'm capable of. Last chance to walk away," I hiss taking a step forward. "Take Mr. Mason and his date away from the area, please, Agent Scholl."
"Lily," Blake slurs from behind me, his hand lightly touching my back.
"Mr. Mason," I say through gritted teeth. "Go, now."
"Come on, Mr. Mason," Vlad says.
I glance over Khoui's shoulder as Blake and Miranda make their way from the room. Khoui turns his head to watch them, and Miranda glances at him. My stomach knots, my intuition telling me something isn't right. I swear, Khoui's head nods, just a fraction.
Turning back, he pierces me with a steely gaze. "You know you're only prolonging the inevitable."
"The only thing I know is that before this is all over, I'm going to kill you," I say in an even tone.
"I look forward to the day you try. You have no idea how deep you're in, Agent. Once you know the truth, you may feel differently."
"Lily, it’s Boa," Sammi says in my earpiece. "We got a problem. I've been monitoring Miranda and Caleb's accounts and phones. She had a wire transfer to her account this afternoon from an Anderson Kettleburn. That's a known alias of Jahari's."
I freeze, my blood turning cold. Dresden and I glance at each other. Quickly, I move around Khoui, scanning the room for Blake. He and Vlad are gone. Dresden’s still having a standoff with Khoui and it hits me . . . he knew I'd remove Blake from the situation.
"Khoui's a diversion. Where the fuck is Blake?"
"Second floor, private room with the she-beast," Vlad says with his voice full of venom.
I run, taking the stairs two at a time. To the right, Vlad stands outside a private room. Blake's voice resounds through the closed door.
"Miranda, I thought I made this clear to you. I'm with her."
"Oh, come on, Blake. She's so below your standards."
"The only woman below my standards is you. All the years we've been friends and I finally see you for what you are," he hisses.
I smile to myself. I should barge in, but he's safe as long as they’re talking, and this is too good to miss.
"She's nothing but a crazy, murderous bitch," Miranda yells.
"And you're nothing but an uppity, gold-digging whore. I'll take a murderer over that any day."
"You don't mean that, and you know it. We've had some real fun together," she says trying to lay on the seduction.
My smile disappears.
"Miranda, stop. I'm drunk, not stupid," he says irritated.
Without a word, I turn toward the door and slam my boot into the area directly next to the handle. The wood cracks and it flies open.
Barging into the room, Vlad on my heels, everything is in slow motion. Miranda has her back against the wall to my right, trying to pull Blake against her as he pushes her shoulder in an attempt to move back. Behind Blake is a man, dressed all in black, pointing a 9mm at his head.
I pull the whip from my side, lashing it out, encircling the hitman's wrist. His head snaps up, meeting my gaze as I pull hard, jerking his arm to the right. He fires a bullet, hitting the wall less than a foot from Blake and Miranda, who both jump and spin to face us.