The air was dry and gritty, wrapping around me like sandpaper as I crouched behind an abandoned minivan, listening to the bullets ping against the metal. This was the third night in a row that we’d been trying to encroach on the damn bar and so far, this was the closest we’d gotten.

Out in the desert near El Paso, a biker bar with a few modified trailers around it housed about two dozen men and women who’d supplied Cyrus and the other elite monsters with their youngest victims. The gang had avoided detection for a long time, kidnapping children from different cities and covering their tracks well, but one of the girls the hunters had saved was able to give us directions to where she’d been held for weeks.

Taking them down shouldn’t have been difficult. Except the hunters had sent me with their most inexperienced recruits. The gang hadn’t been deemed worthy of a true show of force. It was almost as though the hunters who’d been chosen were expected to either succeed or die. A cruel way to weed out the weak.

Screw them. Even though I didn’t know the people I was working with, I wasn’t about to watch them go down without a fight. We were outnumbered, four to one, but the baby hunters were eager. And reckless. I’d had to stop a few from rushing the building the first night, pointing out where the snipers were hiding and trying to formulate an efficient plan of attack. Which had gotten me promoted to unofficial leader of the group.

Not a position I wanted, but there was no one else.

I waved over our best shot, a young woman with flawless black skin, who had one green eye and one blue, named CJ. She had the sweetest Texan accent, a sharp mind, and managed to ace all her training. Which made it hard to understand why she’d been sent with me at all, but I was grateful to have her.

She nodded to me from where she crouched behind a dark green pickup, waiting for the gunshots ripping through the air to pause as the gang reloaded from their seemingly endless supply. Then she dashed over.

“We’re not getting anywhere like this. Someone needs to take out the guys on the roof.” I pointed to the barrels stacked up beside the bar. “Cover me. There’s two shooters on that side, which I can handle, but I’ll be in the open when I make a run for it.”

She inclined her head. “Got it. But this would be a lot easier if we could just blow the whole thing up.”

Laughing, I nodded. “It would. Got any grenades that I don’t know about? We’re running out of bullets and your wonderful teachers aren’t sending any more.”

CJ’s lips slanted. “Because this is a test. And we’re failing.”

“You’re still alive and this isn’t over.” I squeezed her shoulder. “We’ve got this.”

Inhaling roughly, CJ positioned herself at the edge of the van. I waited until she engaged the snipers. The other hunters followed her lead. Shouts came from the bar and bullets rained down in response.

I sprinted across the lot. Sharp pain tore through my side. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to keep moving. A man with a thick beard rushed out, gun raised. I threw myself on the ground while taking a shot and he cried out. Before I could rise, the second man fired. The bullet pierced my forearm.

Closer to him now, I lunged forward, catching him off guard. I cracked him in the side of the head with the butt of my gun. Pulled out my dagger and drove it up under his chin, into his skull.

Blood slicked my hands. I dried them in the sand, brushing my hands off on my leather pants before climbing onto the barrels. Rising up I could see six men and women on the roof. I might be able to take out one or two once I got up there, but CJ and the others weren’t in a good position to eliminate the others. They had to focus on the targets spread out around the building.

It was up to me to give us the advantage of the elevated vantage point. I tightened my grip on the gun, keeping low. They still didn’t know I was here. If I could slow them down before climbing up on the roof I might have a chance to finish them off.

Feeling ridiculous, I aimed for their feet.

I hit three before they figured out where the shots were coming from.

Then vaulted up to take them head-on.

One took a bullet to the head. Another to the chest. The third still standing shot me in the shoulder. The blow knocked me backward, off the roof. I landed on my back, groaning as I rolled against the side of the building, out of sight.

Footsteps came toward me. I jumped as a shot was fired above my head.

A body fell.

I frowned, seeing the biker who’d knocked me off the roof laying beside me with a bullet hole in his head.

Then I looked up.

Daederich smirked as he held out his hand. “You’re a mess, my love.”

“Ya think?” I frowned at him. “What are you doing here?”

“The one thing I’m good at.” He helped me lean against the building, stepping out to shoot one of the bikers who ran at us from the back. “We promised to kill together. Or had you forgotten?”

Damn him, how did he manage to make that sound so fucking sweet? If everything didn’t hurt I would hug him. I hated the idea of him showing up to save the day—night, whatever—but at this point my main focus was making sure the baby hunters survived this stupid test. With me alone, they might not.

With me and Daederich?

Hell, they’d graduate with honors. Become perfect little assassins.

“I haven’t forgotten.” I gave him a tight smile. “So what’s the plan?”

He arched a brow. “I was told you’re in charge.”

“Because there was no one better.”

“There still isn’t. You can do this, Lydia. Just tell me where you want me.”

Licking my bottom lip, I looked him over, my mind in the gutter. What could I say, killing people got me all worked up.

Chuckling, he tapped my chin with his knuckles. “Focus. God, I’ve never known a woman to get turned on while being shot at.”

“You’re distracting.” I smirked as he shook his head, backing against the wall as more shots came at us. “Get on the roof, I’ll deal with the fuckers behind the bar. Then we can regroup and figure out how to get inside.”

He inclined his head, his jaw tightening a bit as he watched the blood drip down the back of my hand. Then he heaved himself up on the barrel and onto the roof.

CJ joined me as I snuck around the back of the bar, where we found three bikers reloading. Once they were dead, the night went quiet. I sent CJ to gather the others and sank down against the side of a rusty old car, wincing as I pulled off my jacket. The rush of the attack had dulled the pain, but now that things had calmed down, my muscles were seizing up in my arm and my side throbbed. I’d heal quickly with a bit of blood once the bullets were out, but we didn’t have time for that yet.

Ripping the bottom of my t-shirt, I used my teeth to tie the material tight around the wound on my forearm. Daederich jumped off the roof, landing at my side, and ditched his jacket before removing his own shirt.

Without a word, he bound the wounds on my shoulder and my side. The young hunters came over. Only five of them.

I frowned and looked at CJ.

She lowered her gaze. “Mark’s dead.”

Damn it. I took a deep breath. “He was a good kid. We’ll mourn him once this is over. Tend to your wounds and let’s get this over with.”

One of the boys, who looked like he’d spent a lot of time at the gym while he’d been alive, plunked down on the ground, a finger plugging a bullet hole in his neck. “If they sent him we’ve already proved we’re not good enough.”

“They didn’t send me.” Daederich folded his arms over his chest. “But you’re right, they don’t think you’re good enough. I came expecting the very worst, but I’m pleasantly surprised.”

“Because your woman managed to keep some of us alive?” Gym boy’s tone was bitter.

“No, because you were smart enough to listen to her.” Daederich frowned at the boy. “She has more experience than any of you. The hunters don’t give a damn if any of you make it out of here. This was a suicide mission. Which means they were looking for an easy way to get rid of you.”

CJ’s lips parted. “Jase told me I’m the best shooter they’ve had in a long time.”

Daederich glanced over at her. “What else did he tell you?”

Her expression darkened. “That I have to cut off my old life completely. I never asked for this. My parents have already lost one child. I won’t have them think I’m dead to keep some secret when I can spare them pain by just hiding how I’ve changed.”

The only other woman in the group, Bao, a small Chinese girl who had some wicked skills with blades, nodded in agreement. “I was told the same thing. I’d already sent my daughter to live with her father when I got sick, but now they don’t even want me to call her.”

My brow furrowed. I looked over at the guys. “Do you all have family you’re close to?”

They nodded, their faces grim as they suddenly realized why they’d been sent here together. The hunters had decided they were expendable. No matter how successfully they trained or how valuable their skills, they all shared a flaw and would never truly belong. This wouldn’t be the last mission meant to eliminate them.

Or me.

Lovely.

“If they want us dead, what’s the point?” Gym boy raked his fingers through his wavy blond hair. “I could think of better things to do then spend the rest of this fucked up life being shot at.”

“Then why did you want to be a hunter in the first place?” I already knew the answer. They’d all give me the same one. But they needed to remind themselves their goals were more important than getting the damn hunters’ stamp of approval.

I wasn’t surprised when CJ spoke up first. “The bastard that killed me… I had to make sure he couldn’t do this to anyone else. Once he was dead, I knew there were more out there, just as bad. I need my life to mean something now that the future I’d dreamed of is gone.”

The others nodded again.

“Good. You can still do that.” I rubbed my hands on my leather pants and picked up my gun. “With or without the hunters.”

A couple of the guys looked uncertain. Once this was over, they’d likely return to the compound. Try to prove they belonged among the ranks of heartless assassins. Maybe they’d even give up enough to satisfy the fuckers. Or maybe they’d just die.

The girls looked determined. I had a feeling they’d make it out all right.

Gym boy seemed a bit lost.

I was pretty heartless myself, because I didn’t care.

Splitting the group in two, three following Daederich around the front, CJ and gym boy sticking with me, we rushed into the building, hoping the delay in our attack would catch the remaining members of the gang by surprise. They scrambled to return fire, spread out around the bar, hiding behind overturned tables and the flimsy wood counters.

It was almost too easy.

Pressing my hand to my side, I searched the bar once the bullets stopped flying. There were supposed to be kids here. The hunters might not really care if they survived, but saving them was important to my team. They needed to see they could actually do some good.

Behind the bar I found a trapdoor. The silence had tiny shards of ice creeping down my spine. I dropped into the hole, swallowing hard when I spotted a doll, its pink face smeared with dirt, abandoned in the corner.

“Anything?” CJ popped her head into the hole above me. “Shit… They’ve taken them. Those kids… They could be anywhere.”

I walked deeper into the room. Those poor kids had been stuck down here, for who knows how long. I found juice boxes and granola bar wrappers. A tiny shoe. Further and there were scuff marks in the dirt. One of the kids had been struggling.

At the end of the room, I found pieces of wood scattered on the floor. Beyond was a dirt tunnel, too wide for the kids to have dug it in a desperate attempt to escape.

“Fuck! CJ, get everyone outside!” I darted for the trapdoor. “They had another way out!”

By the time I was up and out, the sound of wheels screeching on the dirt road surrounded us. Four vans careened toward the highway.

CJ chased them, Bao on her heels. Bao stopped abruptly, throwing two knives in rapid succession. The wheels of one of the cars burst.

Running, gun raised, I kept an eye on the front of the van as CJ and Bao opened the back. They started pulling the kids out, but I still couldn’t see the drivers. They’d gone around the other side.

“Move!” I snarled as the girls tried to calm the children. There were seven of them, all under the age of ten. Terrified, but I couldn’t keep them safe and be all sweet at the same time.

Gym boy rushed over, picking up two of the kids as CJ and Bao got the others to run toward the bar, avoiding the SUV Daederich had jumped in with the two remaining recruits. They took off after the vans driving out of sight. I returned my focus to the threat in front of me.

One man came out, arms raised. “I’m not armed and the money’s not worth fucking dying for. Take the kids, let me go, and I won’t give you no trouble.”

He was still moving toward me. I could hear his partner shuffling through the dirt. Lame trick, and it wasn’t going to work. With only two of them here, I wasn’t worried.

Holding my gun steady, I eyed the skinny redneck. “How much?”

“Huh?” He frowned at me. “You mean for the kids? ‘Bout a thousand bucks a head.”

I shot him in the neck, kicking him backward once he dropped to his knees. “You’re getting screwed, pal.”

“You stupid cunt!” The second man came at me. “I’ll—”

Before I could even react a bullet took out the top of his head. My lips parted as I glanced over at CJ.

She grinned at me, holding a huge shotgun braced against her shoulder. “Found some new toys!”

Snickering, I shook my head. Bao had brought all the kids inside with gym boy—I really needed to get his name—while CJ had stayed outside, ransacking the remaining vehicles. There were enough weapons to stock a small army.

“Let’s move these to the bigger vans.” I grabbed one of the rucksacks she’d pulled out of a dingy old Volkswagen. “Bao and the guy can bring the kids to safety while we try to catch up with Daederich.”

“Works for me.” She quickly helped me load up the vehicles, then went to deliver my message to Bao.

When she returned, I was already in the first van. We sped down the highway, slowing only at the flash of blue and red lights ahead of us. I slowed to take in the wreck at the side of the road. Half a dozen cop cars and three ambulances blocked the road.

They had all the kids. In one piece.

I kept driving as one cop directing traffic motioned me on.

“Shouldn’t we pick up the guys?” CJ frowned at me, confused.

Shaking my head, I continued until I couldn’t see the lights in my rearview mirror. “Daederich wouldn’t have stuck around. Looks like he drove them off the road. He probably killed the kidnappers, then called the cops.”

“So where did he go?”

“Probably to get the boys a beer.” I grinned at her, relaxed now that all the kids were accounted for. My team deserved to celebrate. “Want one?”

“Yes!” CJ grinned back at me. “I’ll text Bao and tell her where to meet us.”

“With gym boy.”

CJ’s brow furrowed. “You mean Todd?”

“Todd? Really?” I didn’t see him as a Todd. But he was a good kid, so I guessed I’d start using his name. “Anyway, you guys did awesome out there.”

“Good enough for you to keep working with us?”

The question surprised me. I’d figured CJ wouldn’t go back to the hunters, but I hadn’t planned to stick around. Doing a few missions to kill some time until I could see Alrik was one thing, but I didn’t like those assholes any more than they liked me. That I’d ended up leading these wonderful rejects made tonight a success, but could I really keep doing this long-term?

Pulling up into a small truck stop off the highway, I got out of the van, gritting my teeth as my arm hit the door. Then I laughed. Getting shot fucking sucked, but this kind of pain I could deal with. I’d damn well earned it. This pain meant I’d been stronger than the bastards who wanted to kill me. While their bodies lay bloody and broken in the dirt, I was ready to go out there and find some more bad guys to take down.

I could do that on my own, but I could accomplish so much more with a few trained killers. CJ was on the top of my list. Bao too, if she was interested. Even Todd would be useful.

And if he played nice, I might keep a spot open for Daederich.

My life was my own again, and retreating from the world to recover until I stopped having nightmares while I was awake might be smart, but I wasn’t built that way. Even without my memories, the training that had ruled my life was bone deep. Being still long enough to heal left me feeling restless.

This was what I was born to do.

But not alone.

“There will be rules.” I opened the door to the resto-bar, holding it as CJ walked in, glancing back at me. “I’ll train you and help set you up somewhere close to anyone else we trust enough to join us. You don’t take a mission without clearing it with me first. We don’t feed off the innocent, but if you want to take out some local scum for a snack, feel free.” I spotted Daederich at a booth with the two young men, swigging beer and looking bored as they chatted excitedly. I bit back a smile as we approached the table. “The rest of the details I’ll work out with Daederich, but feel free to ask him any questions you might have.” I rolled my shoulder and winced. “I’ll be in the bathroom, digging the bullets out.”

“I’ll help you.” Daederich got up so fast, he knocked over his beer. He followed me into the women’s bathroom without hesitating, then locked the door behind him. “I am not babysitting.”

“They’re not babies.” I dropped my jacket on the sink, carefully peeling off my shirt. My skin had healed over the bullet wounds. This was going to suck. Pulling a switchblade from my pocket, I positioned myself to get the best light. “And if you want to work with me, you better get used to them.”

Daederich let out a heavy sigh, grabbing my wrist before I could make the first cut. “Let me do that. And how will you train them, Lydia. You don’t have enough experience yourself.”

“This isn’t up for negotiation. Besides, I figured since you have nothing better to do, you’d help me turn them into ruthless mercenaries.” I held still as he carefully slit open the skin covering the hole in my side. Bloody sweat broke out over my flesh as he worked the blade under the bullet. “But the good kind.”

“There’s no ‘good’ kind of mercenary.” Daederich pried the bullet out, dropping it in the sink, then grabbing a handful of napkins to press against the hole. A smile crept across his lips. “I’ve never seen you this driven to do anything that didn’t involve killing Cyrus.”

“I don’t remember a life where there was any other option.” I leaned against the wall by the sink, bracing myself as he went to work on my shoulder. “This still doesn’t feel real. He’s always been a threat. Part of me believed I’d never be free of him. Now that I am it’s…it’s as though freedom was an abstract idea I didn’t really understand. I don’t know what to do with it.”

“So your solution is to collect the hunters’ throwaways?”

“Why not? You saw them out there. They’re not in this to prove they’re the best. They won’t mindlessly follow orders.”

“Which will make them difficult to lead.”

I smiled through my teeth as he sliced into my forearm, removing the last bullet. “Good. I’m up for the challenge.” Inhaling slowly, I met his eyes. The distance between us seemed less, but I was afraid to let him too close. To trust him too much. I’d lost him again and again. Mostly because of Cyrus, but Daederich’s need to decide what was ‘best’ for me repeatedly pushed us apart.

That he wasn’t doing so now was progress. We were having an actual conversation. Debating like equals. I’d expected him to hate the idea of taking on new recruits for a job we’d once done with only random support from the hunters. Instead, he was arguing with me out of habit. And trying very hard to pretend that he didn’t like the idea.

After patching me up with more napkins, Daederich stepped back, a slanted smile on his lips. “I came as fast as I could, expecting to find you outnumbered, surrounded by a ‘team’ that would stand back and watch you fight for your life. But I never doubted you would keep fighting. That you would win. I just figured I could spare you a few bullet holes.” He shook his head. “Instead, I found you taking the lead like it was what you were born to do. Those kids believe in you. They deserve better than the hunters will give them.”

“So you’ll help me train them?” My heart skipped a few beats at his nod. I tried to contain myself, but I hadn’t had a reason to be happy in so long. My eyes teared as I threw myself into his arms. “Thank you, so fucking much. I needed this. Needed something good for once.”

“This is just the beginning.” He brushed a kiss across my lips. “I didn’t know what to do with my freedom either, but I do now.”

“Oh yeah?” I laced my fingers behind his neck, tipping my head back. “Does it have something to do with me?”

He let out a light laugh. “Yes. Everything.”

“Smart man.” I drew him down for another kiss. “I might let you stay with me tonight.”

“I’d like that.”

“But first, we’ll see how nice you are to your new students. I find teachers very sexy.”

His brow furrowed. “You do?”

“Not a damn clue.” I grinned when he chuckled and tugged him back into the resto-bar, where our misfits were gathered, all dirty, a little beat up, and ready to save the world. “But we’re about to find out.”