Page 25 of Silent Schemes

She looks down at the wound, then at me, like I’m the one who should be apologizing.

“Nice throw,” I say.

She blinks, once, twice.

Then she laughs, a little wild, a little broken. “You owe me a dress,” she says.

I check the bodies, but it’s formality.

Rosetti’s men never come alone, so we’ve got maybe two minutes before more arrive.

“Why’d you do it?” I ask, voice dead calm.

She shrugs, then winces at the pain. “No one gets to kill you but me.”

The answer is so honest it stings.

I grab her by the good shoulder, drag her into the storeroom behind the bar.

We move like a unit.

The adrenaline still hasn’t worn off.

She rips off a strip of tablecloth, ties it around her wound, teeth bared in a silent scream.

I’m already dialing Will.

“Trouble found us,” I say, when he picks up.

“How bad?” he asks.

I look at Sienna, at the way her hand shakes as she tightens the knot. “Code Black.”

There’s a pause. “I’ll have the car out back in sixty seconds.”

I hang up, pack the phone in my pocket, and spare a glance for my lady in red.

Sienna’s gone pale, but her eyes are still sharp.

“Let’s go,” I tell her.

She follows, almost limp now.

I let her lean on me as we move through the kitchen.

The bartender is gone, doors locked. Smart.

We make it out to the alley just as the getaway car screeches up.

Will is driving.

He pops the trunk, tosses me a med kit.

“Get in,” I tell Sienna.

She tries to resist, prideful to the end, but her legs give out.

I catch her, load her into the back seat.