Page 29

CIRCE

“ H ow did she know where we were?”

A scrub-topped sand dune launches us through the air.

“I’ve checked my body for microchips,” Ero shouts.

“Me too.” I adjust my goggles.

“Yours or mine?”

“Both!”

“So that’s what you were doing with the tweezers in Shanghai. I thought that was a dream.” He checks the GPS, swerving to correct our course. “I mean, she is well connected, but I don’t know. Seems like a coincidence.”

“Any way you look at it, I don’t like it.”

Remembering back to when we arrived at the scrapyard and I let Ananke’s call roll to voicemail, the two of us scrambled. Not knowing if she recorded a code phrase or order, we couldn’t risk listening to it.

We were almost shouting at each other when Gumbo sauntered up, snatched the smartphone, and flicked a few buttons.

“Visual voicemail. If she dun sed anythin’ it don’t understen’, it’ll show what it thinks it sed. Should be safe enough to read.”

“Would you mind?”

“If’n you still truss me. No reezun not to, but I’d git it.”

“I may not remember everything, but I’ll always trust you, Gum.”

“Shore ’nuf. Wouldn’t turn in the only remainin’ cousin.”

“You two are…cousins,” Ero forced out the words.

“He alright?”

“As safe as me.” I shrugged.

“Few times removed. I wuz born in Tarpon Springs, Flor’da. Big Greek community. Grew up in Nawlins. Creole chapter o’ the Lyras. Speshalize in traps and gear. They yoosta call me Hephaestus on accounts mah smarts.”

“How’d you wind up out here?” Ero muscled through, only his eyes twitching with barely contained laughter.

“Retirement. Look here. It sez: ‘I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you’re actually too busy to answer.

Clearly New York led you where you needed to go.

That said, I also discovered the news that the serpent is being moved.

Stock up on what you need in Vegas. I’ll encode the coordinates for the caravan.

Should save you the trouble of scouring the desert.

Intercept. Eliminate at your discretion.

We’ll discuss your liquidation packages when you return,’” Gumbo prattled off the communique in clear, unaccented English.

Ero scowled.

So we did part of what she said. We stocked up. Headed into the desert the next day. And now we’re following the coordinates.

“So how do you want to go about this?” Ero takes another dune, testing the limits of the side-by-side. Gumbo really souped this thing up.

“Incapacitate the caravan. Extract. Immobilize.”

“Tranqs?”

“We have enough to get him all the way to Canada before he wakes up.”

“Or at least to a safe location for questioning. Then we finish up and…”

“Yeah. No matter what, we can’t leave him alive.”

“Agreed. Still too easy.”

“Don’t be so cynical. We’re almost home free. We’ll get answers, we’ll get out from under Ananke’s thumb.”

“You really think she’s gonna let us go? She’s having us kill the only thing she kept dangling in front of us. That and our memories. If she can even restore them.”

I ride in silence for a few moments.

“You know, she told me this was a reward,” Ero muses and I nod in agreement. “She’s playing us again. Waiting for an excuse to punish us for stepping out of line. Carrot and stick, like she said. Except it’s only ever the stick.”

“You can give me the stick later.”

He’s right, but dwelling on it doesn’t help us now.

“You know I will,” Ero rumbles, making my tummy flip. Nearing our target, I ready my pistols, my rifle. Tighten my vest.

“Not to jinx it, but you know this is probably a trap.”

“It’s definitely a trap. Whose, I don’t know. I mean, why would Ananke double-cross us?”

“Plans within plans. It’s not her I’m worried about. If Weller knows something, that means someone else could too. And no way Dom isn’t worth a pretty penny to someone willing to pay.

“Always with the mind games. You’re right. There’s likely going to be some competition.”

“Good thing we are the best players in the game.”

The bleak haze of the midmorning desert warbles in the distance, zipping by. Ero doesn’t let off the gas, roaring ahead. I watch the dot on the screen approaching, pointing to a slope in the distance.

Good cover.

He kills the engine. We army crawl up the incline and crest the hill in time to see three men running for their lives as the lead vehicle explodes into flames, flipping through the air, landing in a smoldering heap.

All three are gunned down before they can find cover.

“What. The. Fuck. Who are these clowns?”

“Bounty hunters. You called it.”

“On the left, yeah. What about them?” I point.

“Mercenaries for sure. Ex-special forces from the looks of things.”

The two groups close in from opposite sides, attacking each other and the agents rushing from the Hummers. In moments, most of all three groups are down.

Leaving one of the last mercs to rush the middle car, a black SUV. As soon as he reaches for the door, it whips open, a boot flies out, taking him square in the face. A U.S. Marshal blurs out of the car followed by another figure, sprinting away at the sound of a thunk and a whistle.

The concussion of the grenade shreds the SUV, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Both men hit the ground covering their heads. Only one gets up.

Dom.

Ero and I dash from cover, staying low. The longer it takes for anyone to notice we’re here the better. The roar of engines in the distance says there’s more baddies on the way. That or backup for the cops.

We’re almost to the struggling form of our mark when another group of gunmen round the remains of the lead vehicle. I take out the first, double tap. The second dives out of sight.

To the west, more gunfire announces company. Ero slides low, laying down cover from the other direction.

Whipping my other pistol around, I pop off four more, right over Ero’s head. We both turn back at the same time, watching helplessly as one of the mercs in black takes aim from atop the rear vehicle.

We flinch.

The merc’s head whips back at the crack of a gun. He crumples.

“Fucking assholes…” a raspy, sneering voice grumbles to my right. He’s wearing simple clothing, looks like it just came off the rack. And he’s got handcuffs around his wrists.

“Thanks,” I mutter as he stumbles, dropping the pistol.

“Come on!” Ero hollers, rattling off a spray of cover as more men in body armor swarm around to flank us. He diverts, drawing some of their attention and eliminating a couple in the process.

Taking the break, I loop my arm under Dom’s arm, shove against him and drag us both between two of the vehicles.

Hunkering down, I scan our exits.

Not good. Another off-road four-wheeler roars past in the distance.

“Who the fuck are you?” Dom snarls, gripping at his leg. He’s wounded, a bullet straight through the meat of his thigh. Probably not fatal.

“Roadside assistance.”

“Gonna need a whole lot more than a tow to get out of this mess, Triple A.” He reaches for a fallen rifle.

“Don’t even think about it,” I bark, flicking my barrel for him to let it go.

“If you want me out of here alive , I need to participate.”

“Who says I want you alive?”

“The lack of a hole through my head right now, smart ass.”

“It turns out that the answers we need outweigh our desire to kill you,” Ero drolls, limping around the corner. He’s spattered in blood, soaked in sweat. “For now.”

“The fuck…? Ero?!” Dom’s face goes slack. He looks more shaken by the sight of my companion than the chaos around us.

“You must be Dom.”

“No shit. We’ve met .”

“Sorry if it doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Kid, I helped raise you. I’ve known you your entire life.”

“You knew my brother all of his life too. Right up until you had him killed.” Ero leans out, ducking as sparks fly off the back of our cover. Three shots in return earns a scream a few dozen yards away.

“Oh Jesus,” Dom growls. “There’s so much to unpack in that cluster fuck of a statement. How about we do it some other time?”

“Our ride is just over that hill if we can make it.”

“I’ll manage.”

Ero reaches back as I pass him a smoke bomb. The tink-tink of the live munition clattering across the asphalt has us rising into a crouch. We bolt the minute it goes off. Shouts ring out right before gunfire zips through the air right behind us.

Three bodies drop and slide down the far side of the slope. We’re almost there. Except our buggy is burning. Two shots take out the culprits, one from me, one from Dom.

“So much for your getaway.”

“We’re pretty good at improvising,” Ero snarks, rolling up to his feet and backpedaling into a run. He veers off toward the growl of an engine coming closer.

“Don’t blow it up! We need it!” I shout, swiveling my head around for any movement.

A sharp yell whips my head around through the smoke. “Ero?!”

Making sure Dom is hidden, I strafe out to get a peek…

A row of gun barrels greets me. The rest of the mercs and the bounty hunters squirm on the ground, struggling against restraints.

“FBI, put down the gun, show us your hands.” What the hell? Where did they come from?

My main pistol drops to the sand, my arms raising.

“Identify yourself.”

“I’m a civilian consultant for the U.S. Marshals. I was in one of the vehicles, please. I just?—”

I see the narrowing gaze at my lie. Worth a shot.

The squad leader raises his gun. Just as Ero rises up behind the two men on the left, Don pops out to the right. A shower of bullets clears me a path through.

The remaining feds bolt for cover, firing in all directions.

Leaving the last vehicle wide open.

Ero’s closing in, staggering. Automatic weapon fire peppers the side of the vehicle as I dive over the seat, dragging Ero into the back seat behind me. He’s woozy, blood all over him.

Dom throws himself into the passenger seat alongside me as I slam the driver’s side door and gun the engine. Wheels peel out, spraying dirt.

“Here!” I toss Dom my belt. “Tie it off, stop the bleeding.”

“I know how a tourniquet works. What are we going to do about him?” He nods toward the back seat.

Blood trickles into one of my eyes as I try to look over my shoulder. Swiping it away in frustration, I slam my palm on the steering wheel. “He’s tough. He’ll make it until we can stop. Right, E?”

“Yup,” Ero mumbles, slumping back down and into unconsciousness.

In the mayhem, no one appears to be following us. We ditch the car in the next town. Steal another. By nightfall, we’re in the clear.

We’re headed north, driving straight up into Montana and heading towards Canada.

Fatigue drags at my eyes.

“Let me take over.”

“Maybe after we get supplies.”

“Fine. While we’re at it, we need to get some things straight. Like why you saved me.”

“We have reasons.”

“I’m guessing one of them has to do with why Ero doesn’t recognize me.”

“Among others. Why do I get the impression you were expecting us?”

“Not you, exactly. And not the free for all fuck fest between two different departments and a handful of hired guns.”

“So someone was supposed to extract you.”

Dom tilts his head, staring out the window. “That was the plan. Not sure what went wrong. The guys that were supposed to bust me out tried to kill me. My own people.”

“ Your people?”

He side-eyes me.

“Look, Dom. If you want us to keep playing bodyguard, you’re going to need to be honest with us. You owe us that much.”

“You want honesty? I only came because of Ero. Convenience and curiosity. Plus, now I want to make sure my nephew doesn’t die.

Especially after he went to the trouble of saving my life.

” The older man stares at Ero’s sleeping form.

“You, on the other hand, look like you want me dead worse than any of those other mooks.”

“I haven’t made up my mind on that one yet.” A driving force wars against my will, begging me to blow his devious head out the window.

A few stops get us patched up, water and food. Ero is still unconscious but stable. I get us cleaned up and disguised enough to cross the border, hiding Ero under a blanket in the back.

The first motel we come across is a dive. A perfect hideout for the night.

Ero wakes enough to treat his wounds before he blacks out again. I’m worried about blood loss and a concussion. But I have to remain cautious.

Several hours pass in silence, Dom sitting at the small table across from me.

“You should sleep.”

“Not until we have a little conversation.” He grins, wincing slightly as he adjusts himself in the seat.

“Careful, you’ll tear your stitches.”

“I’ve had worse.”

“You deserve worse. For what you did to my family. What you took.”

“I’ve taken a lot of things from a lot of people. What makes you special?”

“That I am the last of my kind. Turning state’s evidence cost every member of my family their lives, or freedom.”

“You’re Lyra.”

“And you know what happens to Lyra in prison.”

“Tough shit. I got burned, so I burned everybody else in turn. But I didn’t single out your people. I fucked everyone equally. Just doing what I was told.”

“You tricked the Lyra council into siding with you. Set us all up.”

“So here you are. Dead set on revenge?” Dom opens his hands wide.

“I was. Now … it’s complicated.”

“So’s chess. What’s your next move, girl?”

“You tell me. Who were you working for on the outside?”

“The organization who sheltered me all those years ago when I left the Diamantes. Who gave me the resources and strategy to take it back from Alessandro. The ’Ndrangheta.”

“Who was your contact?”

“A woman. Scary bitch. Called herself Daciana Dalca.”