* * *

“I want you guys to be on your game here. That nut is sneaky as fuck and I don’t trust her for shit. Now you fuck-ups are oh for a fucking thousand so far, so try to keep the fuck up. Anything happens to her and my kid everybody’s shit is fucked.” I figured now was the only time I would get to have a briefing with the twins while Mouth took her nap.

It was the only time I knew I was going to get any peace and quiet while we’re here and even then I have to be on alert because she might pull a fast one. For all I know she could have eyes and ears all over this bitch. Sneaky fuck!

My two sisters in law were busy checking the weapons to make sure all was in working order. If they only knew! I wasn’t saying shit because the mouthy one might take offense to me sharing her secrets.

“You have her tagged right and the two old guys told you enough about this place that we know the ins and outs. We have the perimeter secured. I don’t think she can slip by us that easily this time but who knows. Your woman seems quite innovative.” Innovative my ass; she’s a pain in the ass plain and simple.

“It doesn’t matter what precautions you’ve taken you should know by now, that shit doesn’t work where she’s concerned. I want eyes on her at all times. And please, if she starts baking and shit again don’t let your greedy asses overtake your common sense.”

It was going to be a long time before they got over her little escape while she was supposed to be in the bath and had them watching pies in the oven, or the one from last night. I’m tired of having to reassure two grown ass men that they weren’t shitty at their jobs. It had only taken Mouth a few days to have them questioning their sanity.

“And don’t talk about that tag shit too loud.” Mouth doesn’t know that I tagged her ass and I was keeping it that way. If she tried to pull a fast one on me I’ll know where she is before she even got off the property. I hated to do it behind her back but it had to be done. Her ass isn’t good at listening and this was the only way I can be sure that she stays safe.

“Any word on what he’s been up to today?”

“Yeah, the guys called in a while ago. He seems to be going about his day as usual and they haven’t seen any strange faces visiting the place in the last few days.” Mikey gave me the report.

“Yeah and the phone traffic has been light, no mention of anything that should worry us. Looks like we’re set to go whenever you’re ready.” Tony finished it off.

Her team sat in on the rest of the conversation but didn’t have any input because they didn’t know what the fuck we were talking about. This was Mouth’s deal and it was up to her who she wanted in on her shit. So far she wasn’t talking, in fact she’s been talking about everything else but what it was we were here for.

“We’ll wait for nightfall. It’s a forty-minute flight so we leave around nine and then take a straight shoot back home. I don’t want to hang around this bitch any longer than absolutely necessary; place gives me the creeps.”

I sat alone after leaving them and looked out the window onto the vast lawn, my mind a million miles away. I didn’t know what she planned to do once we got to this guy’s place. I’d just taken it for granted that she was going to shoot him in the head with her shit and be done with it, but I was more worried about after.

I kept going back and forth on the decision I’d made to bring her here. I knew she needed it, but it wasn’t something I was one hundred percent comfortable with. I just had to keep reminding myself that this was for her and remembering those fucking screams the night she lost her shit, and by the time she woke up a little later I was feeling better about the coming night. There was one thing I was sure of, and that was that she’d be okay no matter what, because I would make damn sure of it. Once I convinced myself of that, the worry dissolved completely.

“Hey baby, how was your nap?” I opened my arms for her to fall into my lap. She was still sleep soft as she cuddled into me like a kitten and my heart swelled in my chest. “You doing okay Mouth?” It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if she wanted to talk about her mom knowing what she was about to face in the next few hours, but I decided it might be best to let her be the one to bring it up when she was ready.

“I’m starved, this kid is a beast.” Huh, she mentioned the prince while she was wide-awake and my dick wasn’t buried inside her. Progress! “What does he feel like eating?” She worked her neck around in circles to work out the kinks and sat up on my lap. “I’m not sure. I don’t know if she wants ice cream or pizza.” She gave me a look, which I read to mean she didn’t appreciate me calling the kid a ‘he’.

“Why don’t we have both?” She smiled at me like a kid who’d been granted her greatest wish. I patted her hip and stood us both up, heading for someone to make a pizza run. Mouth claimed that Rossi had called ahead and had the fridge stocked but fuck if I was trusting that shit. Not that I don’t trust him, but I don’t know these people. No can do!

The boys came back with a mountain of pizza boxes and a couple tubs of ice cream. The noise around the table was settling. No one was talking about anything, just throwing around insults and keeping the mood light; Mouth was the ringleader. That shit started to change when the light dimmed outside and the evening turned to darkness.

“It’s time.” I said the words to Mouth who was sitting on my lap and she nodded, as the others got serious. I let her go to the room alone while I hung back to give the crew their final orders. I called ahead to speak directly to the men I had staked out around Tommy’s place to get one last update before we headed out. I couldn’t shake the feeling that some shit was off, but I chalked it up to going on a hit with my woman. Something I never thought I’d be doing in this lifetime.

When I hung up the phone, I went back to Mikey and Tony and the twins and gave them pretty much the same orders I’d just given them half an hour ago. “Shane we’re cool, we’ll all watch her back, nothing will go wrong.” I nodded as I left the room, back to not being sure that this was a good idea.

Mouth was blasting some fuck when I walked into the bedroom. The sound was so incongruous it knocked me out of my funk. “Mouth what the fuck are you listening to?” She was getting dressed and strapping shit on under her clothes. What the fuck? Was she taking out a whole platoon? She didn’t miss a beat as she turned to look at me.

“It’s Jamaican reggae.” What the fuck, she fucks with the yardies too? I walked over and picked up the iPod. Somebody named Bounty Killer was ranting about war; probably another murdering fuck like her. That song ended and another guy was now ranting about shooting people in front of police stations. I guess this was her getting ready routine.

She did some stretches and shit with her hands clasped above her head and I stood there watching her like what the fuck. She did a little boogie to the music when she was done and my ass was flabbergasted. I had no idea she did this shit. “Is that what you’re wearing?” She rolled her eyes at my suit and I looked down at myself.

She was wearing jeans, a loose fitting top and a light jacket with boots. Fuck if I was going to tell her it was too warm for that shit. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nothing, you’re such a girl. Don’t you ever get messy?” I ignored her ass and told her to get a move on. If she needs to snipe at me over trivial bullshit to get her through, I’m good with that.

I rounded up the others and we headed out to the waiting cars. I helped her into the back seat and climbed in next to her while Mikey and Tony got in the front. Her team was in the car behind us and there was another car in front of us. With the men already at the farm we had a ten-man team.

She had headphones on and I could hear that racket she was listening to. She was pumped as fuck and her energy had everyone else on their toes. The boys looked ready for anything and for once their conversation didn’t make me want to put one in the both of them. It was the weirdest lead up to a hit I’d ever seen. I listened to their light conversation as I let my mind go through every scenario that could play out tonight.

Once we were on the jet I saw the change come over her. It was in her eyes. The girl was gone and in her place was a calm cool, stone cold killer. I don’t even think she saw me when I called her name and she turned to look at me. I studied her without saying a word and that shit never changed. She was in the zone, the kill zone. Fuck!

I took her hand in mine and rested my head back against the seat. I noticed the din in the cabin as the others spoke in hushed tones. My guts knotted as the plane’s wheels touched down less than an hour later. I moved to pick up her bag but she beat me to it and hefted it onto her shoulder.

There was no doubt who, was in charge. She fell into the role so effortlessly, like she could do this shit all day everyday. I fell in beside her as the others pulled up the rear. “Where the fuck is this place?” We didn’t land at the international airport for obvious reasons, but this shit looked like a cornfield or some fuck.

I opened her door and let her in the car feeling eyes on me; fucking cows. The deal was to get to the outskirts of Tommy’s place and walk in on foot. The only men on his place were the local workers he’d hired who had no idea who he really was and weren’t trained. Intel was that they usually cleared out no later than seven. Dumb fucking move, but then again, a man in his line of work can’t trust anyone.

There was a distinct chill in the air as we stepped out of the car in the middle of no-fucking- where. My phone shook on my hip and I pulled it ready to blast whoever was on the other end. “Shit.” She looked at me like she knew something was up.

“Where is he?”

“He’s on the run…maybe.” She twisted her neck from side to side and looked dead straight ahead.

“I don’t care if he crawls back into his mother. He’s not gonna live to see tomorrow.”

She kept going into the dark while I ordered my men to keep me updated. Would she freak the fuck out if he escaped? If he went to ground again how long would it take me to find him? We were almost on the house when the phone vibrated again.

“Where?” I whispered the word into the phone as I kept my eyes peeled until they adjusted to the dark.

“He didn’t go far. He’s in a cabin on the other side of the property, still no visitors though and he doesn’t look spooked. I’m sending you the location now.” Fucking digital hits. He sent me a map of the place after assuring me that they had eyes on the mark. I didn’t have time to wonder what had tipped him off. It could just be a sixth sense or some shit for all I know.

This added another half an hour and since we didn’t know where the fuck we were I kept a tight grip on her arm as he picked our way through the rutted terrain. The cabin was visible up ahead in the distance in a little clearing. “Wait. Tony.”

“On it.” He moved into the dark going towards the back of the building while Mikey broke off in the opposite direction.

The twins stayed on her while the rest of my crew disappeared into the dark. I made her wait until the others came back and gave the all clear. Her body was relaxed as she started ahead, her legs moving with purpose her eyes straight ahead. Once we got close enough to the house to see in through the windows it was obvious to see that Tommy wasn’t on the run. Whatever his reasons for coming here, it wasn’t because he was expecting company.

He was sitting in front of the tube in a wife beater and dingy boxers. That’s some shit I could’ve gone my whole life without seeing. She watched him through the window while the others joined us before taking up position around the perimeter.

Mikey and Tony stayed with me and the twins took up position on either side of the door. I felt her hand in mine and had forgotten taking it the moment we saw the other man through the window. It was the first time she’d seen him since that night that had changed her life so much as a young child. I turned her face to mine and studied her eyes. If I saw anything off I was taking her the fuck outta here.