Iris hadn’t known what to expect when Winter told her the story of how she and Synek met—maybe some sob story about what a great guy he was despite the killer he had been—but she had never expected that.

He might have done exactly what Rosalie accused him of—attacking his own brothers—but it hadn’t been without good reason.

A reason even Iris would be willing to kill for.

Synek was supposed to be some sort of monster—ready to rob a child of her only family. Yet he hadn’t. No matter how Rosalie had tried to turn him into that very thing, he had sacrificed for someone even to his own detriment.

And the idea that Rosalie had tried to turn herself into the girl in front of her only made her obsession with him that much crazier.

No wonder she had always been careful never to go after Synek herself and sent others. Iris could only imagine what he would have done to her if she had—especially looking the way she did.

“If I could help you …” Iris started without even giving herself a chance to think about what the outcome could mean for her. “I would, but I couldn’t get you in even if I wanted to.”

She didn’t have that sort of clearance. Even if she had been one of Rosalie’s favorite contractors and worked with her specifically, Iris still wasn’t officially a Wraith. If she tried to bring someone in, they would never be able to get close to Synek.

Rosalie wouldn’t let that happen.

“We don’t need you to get us inside,” the one with the X tattooed on his neck said, tapping his thumb against his thigh in a cadence only he knew. “We can handle that on our own.”

Iris couldn’t help but laugh disbelievingly. “The Wraith Compound is on lockdown. There’s no way you’re getting in. Consider that place Fort Knox.”

“Don’t worry about that,” the blond one said. “We rob banks for a living.”

With the expression on his face, she couldn’t be sure whether this was a joke or not.

“The only thing we need from you is a location,” Winter said, reclaiming her attention. “We’ve got the rest.”

As her thoughts turned over, Iris knew she should get involved, that it would be better for her to just give them an approximate location and wish them luck. But knowing the fool Rosalie had made of her, she didn’t. “And the information you promised?”

“You’ll get it as soon as he’s free.”

There was a chance she was lying—that she wouldn’t send her anything once they got what they wanted—but Iris didn’t have much of a choice.

What she had to do was too important.

* * *

If Iris had ever been inclined to smoke, this would be the moment she would.

She’d hardly slept at all the night before after she had sent the text to Winter with the address once she was home. She had been sure they would want to keep an eye on her, or at least ensure that she would do what Winter asked.

But no one had stuck around after they dropped her at her apartment.

Then again, she doubted it would be much trouble for them to come after her again, and next time, she doubted they would be as friendly.

As she’d gotten dressed, Iris thought about the years she’d spent with the Wraiths, and how she had desperately tried to find a family where there wasn’t one. She’d been so blinded that she hadn’t been able to see the cracks in the veneer until she was too far gone.

The line of morality she always saw in the back of her mind had grown grayer by the day until now, it was merely a shadow.

Helping Synek escape wouldn’t atone for everything she had ever done in the Wraiths’ name, but at least he would be one less.

“What’s got you in a mood?”

Iris blinked up at Bear, surprised to find him in the hallway off the side of the bar. Today was his day off—the one day of the week when he didn’t come in. And when he wasn’t around, Wren made herself more scarce than usual. She’d been counting on that.

“What are you doing here?”

His brow crept up as he came closer. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly. Too quickly.

“You on coke? Why are you so twitchy?”

Was she that obvious?

If he noticed it, others might as well, and she couldn’t afford anyone to suspect something was wrong—not with what was at stake.

But as three other Wraiths she didn’t recognize walked past them down toward the room where Synek was being held, she forgot all about that.

“What’s happening?” Iris asked.

Bear looked after them, his expression unreadable. “Johnny gave the order.”

Judging from the expression on his face, she could guess what that order was. Synek’s death.

Shit.

“That can’t happen,” Iris whispered without thinking.

He glanced down at her, asking, “Why not?”

“He was your friend, wasn’t he?” Iris asked. “Why aren’t you doing more to help him?”

She suddenly understood why they called him Bear when he merely took a step forward and it felt as if he was looming over her, annoyance pulsing out of him. “Why do you think I’m here?”

It seemed Bear had a plan of his own, and if he did, maybe she could get his help. “Do you know who he works for?”

“What does that matter? Far as I know, he’s freelance.”

“Have you ever heard of the Kingmaker?”

He had. It was written all over his face.

Now, she had his attention. “Bullshit.”

“He’s one of the Kingmaker’s mercenaries.” The words might have meant nothing to her when Winter had first shared them, but it had the right effect on Bear.

“Of course, he fucking is,” Bear grumbled in disbelief. “Shit knows what’ll happen if you fuck with him—now the Kingmaker is on this?” He scratched at his beard for a moment. “Rosalie ain’t gonna give a shit, and Johnny’s too old to recognize what a big ass mistake that would be if he let it happen.”

Iris said the first thing that came to her mind. “We can just let him go.”

“In a roomful of these motherfuckers? How do you think you can manage that?”

“They’re already coming for him,” she confessed.

Bear blinked twice at her. “Then we need to make sure he leaves here alive because where there’s one of his mercenaries, a dozen more are usually behind. Take this.”

He reached behind him and pulled out a .22 and a small key, pressing them both into her hand before she even agreed to take them.

“The key goes to the cuffs,” he explained.

“Why do you have them?”

He shrugged. “I have a similar set.”

She wasn’t gonna ask. “And the gun?”

“You might have to make a tough decision in there. It’s better to be prepared.”

Because there was a chance this would fail.

And if it did, she would die right along with Synek.

* * *

“I’ve been mourning this day for a long time, puppy,” Rosalie said with faux sadness, the twisted smile on her face a little too genuine despite her words.

She might have been mourning it, but Synek hadn’t thought much of what he expected this day to be. A spray of bullets, maybe, or defending Winter in some way.

That was how he pictured his last day on earth—not chained to a bloody wall, standing across from a woman he’d imagined killing in unsavory ways.

Worse, she’d beat him.

Even now, he could still remember her obsession with one-upping him, thinking that if she bested him in something, that would make him want her more. Instead, it had the opposite effect on them.

He’d grown tired of the games as she’d become more obsessed with power.

“You know what you have to say,” she told him, running her nails down his chest, the pain making his fingers twitch. “Just tell me what I want to hear, and I’ll make sure this stops.”

He stepped as close to her as the chains would allow. “Go fuck yourself.”

She shook her head in disappointment as if she truly believed he would change his mind. “We would have been good together, but you got soft.”

No, he just had never been as conscienceless as she had wanted to believe.

Their names, their memories, the faces—all of it had stuck with him. Even now, he didn’t have to concentrate to remember those whose lives he’d taken—the people he’d hurt.

Maybe this day would finally offer him some relief.

“And your father, yeah,” he said, loud enough for the others to hear, using the last bit of strength he had before he grew slack in the chains, “he can go fuck himself too, and that goes for the whole fucking lot of you.”

He was done fighting. There was nothing left to fight for.

He would die in this room.

As he should have long before now.

“Then you shouldn’t have betrayed the Wraiths.”

Synek’s gaze jerked to the right, spotting a face he hadn’t expected to see again. She’d been shaken the last time she snuck in here, but this time, something else was on her face—something he was too tired to decipher.

Some of the others mumbled in agreement, the sentiment rising in the room as the words echoed around them all.

You never betray the Wraiths.

You never betray the Wraiths.

You never betray the Wraiths!

Iris tried to covertly check her watch, but Synek saw the moment she did. Something wasn’t right.

“This isn’t your time,” Rosalie said between gritted teeth, and the cheer died down. “Step back.”

“I was the one who found him and brought him in. I deserve my moment to gloat.”

“You—”

“Rosalie, enough,” Johnny said from his vantage across the room. “He’s gonna die soon enough.”

Iris came closer, her throat working as she swallowed. “You killed them,” she said, “Digger and the others with a pencil.”

Synek … frowned. How the hell would she know that? The man’s name was easy enough, any one of the Wraiths could have told her, but no one knew about the pencil—he’d taken that along with him afterward.

“You gave up your life for someone you didn’t know.”

Her voice wasn’t filled with scorn the way Rosalie’s had been—she sounded the opposite.

“If you’re done,” Rosalie called, stepping forward.

“I’m sorry,” Iris said to him, her gaze steady before she turned and faced Rosalie. “I can’t let him die.”

“And why do you think I care?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Iris answered before pulling out a familiar pearl-plated gun with a grizzly paw wrought into the handle.

Bear.

“Move, or I’ll—”

Rosalie didn’t get a chance to finish before Iris aimed and shot, but instead of going in her chest, it clipped her arm.

Surprise filled him as Rosalie stumbled backward, her hand going up to cup the now bleeding wound on her shoulder. The bullet hadn’t penetrated, but flesh wounds still bled quite a bit.

What the hell was she doing?

“Kill her.”

The order was harsh and loud, but it didn’t matter in the next moment because the wall to their right blew inward. Cement rained, smoke billowed out in clouds, and standing within the carnage was a set of four masks Synek had never been happier to see.

He should have been used to the sight of them by now—the way they moved, taking on a room full of men with guns without faltering a step. The Wild Bunch would be impressive if he didn’t despise them.

But at the moment, his hatred was forgotten.

Unlike the rest of the room who were all now focused on Tăcut and the others, Iris hadn’t flinched when the wall came down. She merely spun, a key suddenly in her hands as she quickly unbound the cuffs on his wrists.

“What—” He knew what he wanted to say, could even form the sentence in his muddled brain, but no matter how he thought it, the question still didn’t leave his mouth.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, the words making him seek her face through the cloud of dust.

He didn’t have a response before the last cuff came free and he collapsed onto the floor. More pain shot up his knees, but it didn’t matter. He was finally free.

Booted feet were suddenly in front of him helping to his feet—Tăcut, he was sure.

Iris was backing away, her brown eyes wide and … apologetic.

“Wait!”

He didn’t want her to disappear. He wasn’t finished with her yet, and he was afraid if she disappeared into the smoke, he wouldn’t ever see her again.

But he was too weak to stop her himself, and Tăcut wasn’t budging.

Screams sounded, bullets flew, but Synek was oblivious to it all except for her.

Iris was gone a moment later, and he was left staring after her.