Page 2 of Her Vengeance

“Dollface, are you okay over there?” I ask her while I frisk him, searching for any indication of who sent him. Finally, I find the phone in his back pocket and power it down before placing it in my bag.

“That depends on who you are?” she quips back as she stands up, dislodging her heel and holding it as a weapon. Good fucking girl. Just because you cannot carry weapons through security doesn’t mean you are helpless.

“Let’s just say I was hired to keep you alive,” I respond to her inquiry. There will be more questions, most of which I won’t be able to answer due to how I received this contract. Taking a deep breath, I drag his limp body to the shadows out of sight. Stepping back into the light, I see her standing next to her bag with her phone in hand.

“My brother would like a word,” she says, holding out the device in my direction. I sigh and look around.

“Put it on speaker, I need to get us out of here in one piece,” I instruct her, expecting some push back or attitude. She shrugs as she presses the speaker button.

“Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?” a masculine voice asks. Ew. Men.

“You may call me Eva,” I respond, signaling her to walk toward where I parked my car.

“Why did you rescue my sister Eva?” he asks, sounding mildly annoyed.

“It’s part of my contract,” I respond as we reach the car and I unlock the doors. Opening the trunk, I pull out a secondary pistol by the barrel and extend it to Claire. She just stares at me.

“Tell me you know how to shoot a gun,” I utter, almost afraid of what the answer could be. There is very little that is worse than a useless princess.

“Of course, she knows how to shoot; she just doesn’t know how to react to a stranger handing her a gun,” his voice barks over the speaker. She takes the gun and looks up at me as I throw her luggage in the back of the car.

“Buck up, buttercup. I need you to be alert and ready in the front seat. I don’t know how long we have until his buddies realize that he is missing.” I instruct her as we hurry to the front seat. As soon as I shut the driver’s door, I turn on the car and wait for the click of her seat belt. Checking the surroundingsevery three seconds for any movement, I maintain vigilance. My incompetence will not cost this princess her life.

“His friends are taking the stairs now,” he fills me in as I back out of the spot and head toward the exit casually. Monitoring my speed, I find my way into the flow of other traffic of people leaving the airport, watching for any suspicious movement.

“Why are you driving so slow?” she asks, trepidation evident in her voice as one hand grips the gun and the other is ready to unbuckle her seat belt.

“Because they don’t know who I am or what I drive. It’s better not to rouse suspicion. I can speed once we hit the freeway.” I respond to her softly, keeping my head on a swivel as we navigate the garage.

“You do know what you’re doing,” he says almost condescendingly as we make it out of the garage and converge with the rest of the traffic.

“People hired on the dark web are typically hired for their skills, not their incompetence,” I retort, his denigration rubbing me the wrong way.

“Who hired you?” he asks me point-blank. I enter the freeway and head in the direction of the city and her apartment. Checking the review mirror, I sigh at his inquiry.

“Clearly, you have never hired someone from the dark web,” I chide and tisk my tongue. She looks at me, gun in her hand, and fear flickering on her face.

“No, I typically handle things locally,” he chides back, and even though he has a penis, I can feel my respect for him growing.

“How did that work today?” I taunt him, pushing his button to see how he reacts. Claire sucks in a breath, her whole body reaching a new level of rigidity.

“I tried to be respectful of my sister’s wishes, and it bit me in the ass,” he admits, defeat bleeding into his voice. I can feel hereyes boring into me as I keep my focus darting for any sign of trouble.

“I’m sorry,” her voice comes out small but devoid of emotion. No. She doesn’t get to apologize for his mistake.

“Did you properly vet the company before you put your sister’s life in their hands, or did you read a couple of reviews and assume it would be fine?” I question his decision, placing the blame from her to him. He is the mafia Don and the one in charge of her safety, and his ignorance almost cost us her life.

“I ran a baseline check, but as far away from our turf as she is, I thought she would be safe,” he says through gritted teeth. I struck a nerve. Good. Fuck his arrogance. There are no second chances when it costs the life of someone you love.

“That didn’t save your mom on another continent, what makes you think anywhere in the world is out of reach of your enemies?” I retort, having none of his poor me, pity party.

“If you know so much about my family structure, then you understand that there was a recent change in leadership and we lost some of our key players,” he spits back at me for my jab. He seems to have some fire beneath the suits and calm demeanor he is known for. His alter ego is not so calm, but those who meet theAngel of Deathtypically do not survive the encounter to tell the tale.

“I do, let me get her home safe. We can coordinate once the area is secure,” I end the conversation and let him end the call. He is going to have to learn in time that he isn’t the big boss out here in the world, but instead a chess piece in a much larger criminal game.

3

Chapter 3