Page 109 of Mercenary

It’s my turn to shrug. “We’ll never know.”

She surprises me by crouching over, her hands on her knees as she breathes deeply.

I almost feel sorry for her.

“Jaxson,” I hear her say. “I was late.”

“And you’ll pay for it. Setting him up. Getting him killed.”

“I didn’t . . .” She sucks in another breath. “I was late.”

“Late?”

“You heard me.”

“Because of Madelyn…”

“Yeah. That night, Franco sent his men to our trailer.”

“I know.”

Kylie straightens. “You . . . know?”

“I was there when they arrived. I terminated them and dragged their bodies into the woods. Hayden ordered me to watch you.”

“And to kill Franco’s men?”

“No. I did that all on my own.”

“Then you returned the following night and did what? Watched over our trailer?”

“Yes.”

“You killed two more of Franco’s men.”

“Yes,” I snap, not liking where this conversation is headed.

“And the next night you went in search of Madelyn, didn’t you?” She frowns, trying to put the pieces together on my twisted psyche. Good luck with that.

Enough. I change the topic. “The plan is to take out thirteen men.”

“Seven for me. Six for you.”

I glared at her. “Six for you.”

“No. Seven. I want Franco.”

Fuck, why argue with her? “Fine.”

She moves slowly to go sit on the bed.

I pull a chair over next to the door. When Franco opens it, I’ll be behind it. My favorite place for a surprise ambush.

We wait. I can feel her eyes on me but I ignore her. Ignore the way she sits, so primly on the bed, her shoulders square and her hands clasped across her lap. So freakin’ familiar to the way Madelyn holds herself.

Madelyn. Who’ll be crushed when this is all over.

Crushed . . . and long gone.