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As he moves past us, the tattoo on his neck catches my eye— a solid black Taurus sign surrounded by blue flames.
Oh, fuck me . . ."Blake," I say as the shakes move through me. "Get me the fuck out of here,now."
"Where?"
"Take me to Sammi, Com HQ." The tightening in my throat hardly lets the air pass to my lungs.
This is impossible. This can't be happening. Blake keeps my hand firmly in his, as he leads us through the ballroom toward the backdoor. Stopping in the hallway before the doors leading outside, to pull off the stupid heels I’m wearing, a million images of my youth flash through my mind— each one withthattattoo in the forefront.
Blake throws the backdoors open. I let go of his hand and storm across the lawn, making a beeline for the boathouse at the property line. The door opens with a bang, startling them. Whipping around, I tear the ear bud out and throw it at Jax, as he slams the doors closed.
I knew they'd follow us.
"You asshole!"
"Lily, keep your voice down," Blake says quietly.
"Shut the fuck up Blake, or I will punch you in the mouth," I snap, turning my narrowed eyes on him.
"You knew all along who was after him, didn't you?" I take a step toward Jax.
He stares at me, eyes steeled against my wrath. "Of course, I knew."
"And you didn't think to fucking mention it?"
"Why would I? It doesn't matter. Your job's to protect him, which you're failing at."
My eyes widen.You’re not going to turn this on me, Jax."Fuck you, Jax. Ten years, and I've never failed an assignment. You should've told me The Taurus was the group after him. It changes the fucking stakes and you know it.”
"Who's the Taurus?" Dresden asks.
"The Taurus is the biggest human trafficking ring in the world. They capture and sell eighty-five percent of all slaves in the sex trade," Jax says coolly. “Which you all would know if anyone bothered to research anything, as opposed to just waiting for me to give you the information.”
"What does that mean for us?" Vlad says, stepping from behind Dresden.
"What that means, is we're in deep shit. The Taurus is a hundred times more deadly than anything we've gone up against in the last ten years," I say.
My eyes dart to Blake, standing open mouthed, a shocked expression pasted on his face.
"That just means you'll have to stop locking lips with the assignment, spend less time eye fucking each other, and do your god-damned job," Jax says condescendingly.
I tilt my head to the side, my insides hardening. No one speaks to me like that. I take a step forward, but someone grabs my arm, jolting my body into a round of shakes. I glare down at the pink-fingernailed hand clamped around my forearm. Raising my eyes, I stare into the face of a pissed off Sammi. She slowly removes her hand, and turns her gaze on Jax.
"You listen here, Jax Unnami," she says in a menacing tone. "That girl deserves any bit of happiness she can get, and if you speak to her like that again, or make her feel wrong for whatever feelings she has for that young man, I promise you, I’ll squeeze the life out of your career at Interpol, and then you'll really know why they call me Boa."
My mouth drops open. Sammi's never been cross with anyone, let alone Jax.
"And furthermore, she's too young to stay hidden from the world anymore, no matter how much you want to keep her on a leash. Your misplaced concern for her well-being, has done nothing but ruin her chances at a normal life. At twenty-seven, she should be out living life and having fun, not hunting sadists and murders through the rings."
"Twenty-what?" Dresden says in shock.
"Oh, Sammi," I moan. "How do you know that?"
"What the fuck do you mean twenty-seven?" Dresden says in a growl.
"Did you think you could hide things from me, Lily? You've no idea the things I can find with a computer."
"How much do you know?" I close my eyes, waiting.