The echo of the young girl’s words reverberated through Ruin, overriding his simmering frustration as he waited for Charity. Standing on Mandy’s porch, shoulder against one of the railing posts, arms crossed against his chest, he stared unseeing at the star-studded sky, trying to fit Tabitha’s revelation into the puzzle of the Raiders’ attack.
Lilith’s daughter. He hadn’t seen that coming. The girl’s parentage, or at least the maternal half of it, explained why Charity was so damn tight-lipped about who initially hired her. Not only was Charity the damn Rocky Mountain queen’s ‘Hound, but if his ears weren’t playing tricks on him, there was the added joy of a family connection, despite Charity’s earlier evasive denials. Son of a bitch, could things get any more convoluted? Scratch that, better he not put that out in the universe to be answered.
Hard as it was to believe it seemed the indomitable Lilith managed to bury her biggest weakness deep. His limited interactions with her left him convinced such things as mercy or a mothering nature were foreign concepts. Absently he wondered if the father figure was around somewhere. Although he wouldn’t put it passed Lilith to have ensured the DNA supplier never surfaced.
He couldn’t help but imagine that once the existence of Lilith’s daughter became public knowledge—because it was a question of when, not if—shockwaves would curl through the constantly shifting tides of power. Guaranteed it wouldn’t take long for treacherous webs to crawl through the shock. Hell, they already existed. Didn’t matter why Reznik hired the Raiders, only that they knew to target Tabitha. The more disturbing question was how? How had they known, especially if Charity was to be believed, and Reznik was so low on the power totem pole?
An image of the girl’s tear-stained face haunted him, and pity welled. This fiasco marked the beginning of an unending nightmare for Tabitha. Those who lusted after Lilith’s power would fight to use the one tool guaranteed to bring the most ruthless woman on the west coast to her knees. And no doubt it would, because if Tabitha didn’t matter to her mother, her existence wouldn’t have been such a well-guarded secret or require the protection of a ‘Hound.
Think of the devil. He didn’t turn at the sound of the door opening and closing behind him, but his spine stiffened. Logically he got why Charity kept her connection to Lilith and Tabby quiet, but it didn’t soothe his mounting frustration. He could feel her behind him, that uncanny sixth sense he suddenly developed whenever she was close kicking in with a vengeance. She moved to the other side of the steps and stayed silent. He let the quiet stand because he wasn’t sure what would come out of his mouth first—an accusation or questions he probably shouldn’t ask. He was glad she spoke first.
‘Go ahead, Ruin.’ There was resignation underlain with steel, as if her time with Tabitha had worn away her earlier optimistic sheen, stripping her to grim practicality.
He tried not to think about how much the girl’s tears and brutal retelling managed to scrape his hidden emotional spots raw, because that led to wondering how much damage it had done to Charity. And why that should concern him remained a mystery. Not turning from his observance of the starry panoramic, he asked, ‘With what?’
He caught her sigh, soft though it was. ‘Fine. We’ll do it your way. Yes, she really is Lilith’s daughter. No, she’s not my actual niece, but I’ve known her since she was born. Yes, I lied to you about who sent me. No, I’m not apologising for keeping quiet about who hired me. Yes, I was really coming here for Crane’s help. No, I didn’t expect to walk into a blood bath. No, I didn’t know you’d show up, any more than I knew the Raiders would take Simon, kill Crane, or be the ones behind Tabby’s kidnapping.’ She took a breath. ‘That cover it?’
Stunned by getting some straight answers, it took him a moment to answer. ‘Nope.’ Finally, he turned to her. ‘But it’s a good start.’ He studied her. She leant against the opposite support post, arms folded across her chest, ankles crossed, not looking at him but staring over the front yard. Despite the soft porch light, she was difficult to read, whatever was going on in her tricky head was well hidden. With who she was he expected this emotionless mask was more natural than anything she’d shown so far. Since she seemed to be in a talkative mood, he pushed for more. ‘You didn’t wait for your phone call before sharing. Why?’
‘What?’ She shifted her gaze to his, lines creasing her forehead as she tried to decipher his hidden intent. Since there wasn’t one, she was bound for disappointment.
Her question was a knee jerk reaction, belied by her dawning comprehension, so he didn’t repeat himself, simply waited for her answer.
Finally, she sighed and answered. ‘Secrets have their place, but right now someone’s playing a dangerous game. If it’s Reznik, we’re better off pooling resources to figure out his end game than trying to defend a solitary position from multiple sides. Even Lilith can follow that logic.’ The last was muttered as if she was answering some unseen naysayer.
‘Multiple sides, uh? Thought you believed Reznik didn’t have the resources to pull off a power grab. You changing your mind?’
She shrugged. ‘Hard to argue with the evidence.’
He arched an eyebrow.
‘Crane’s death and the kidnappings.’ She cocked her head, a tell he was beginning to recognise. ‘Unless you think that was a coincidence?’
‘Not any more than Tabitha being targeted,’ he shot back. When she winced, he narrowed his gaze and snapped, ‘What?’
Her shoulders lifted, and regret shimmered behind her stubborn resolved.
He braced for the hit.
‘Tabby wasn’t the only one targeted.’
He kept a tight hold on his temper through sheer force of will. ‘Explain.’
‘The boy, back at Mandy’s? His name is Katori.’ She dropped her bombshell by adding, ‘He belongs to Istaqa, the Southwest leader of the Free People.’
‘Oh, for fuck’s sake, Charity!’ What other potentially explosive secrets was the woman keeping? Every time she gave him another piece, worry twisted his gut. Each one added another layer of shit guaranteed to put the Vultures’ smack dab in the middle of the emerging political cesspool, potentially making their lives hell. As if holding Pebble Creek together until Simon was back on his feet, wasn’t rough enough. It was time to take this mess to Reaper. He closed his eyes in resignation. Dammit, Reaper was going to have a fucking field day with Charity. ‘You need to tell Reaper everything.’ He opened his eyes, pinning her in place with a glare. ‘And I mean fucking everything, Charity.’
At his reprimand she narrowed her eyes, temper crawling under her cheeks.
Before she could say a word, he cut her off with a warning, ‘You said it yourself, someone is playing a dangerous game. He’s going to be plenty pissed as is, don’t add fuel to the fire by hiding shit.’
‘Unlike you, I’m not fond of games when lives of those I care about are at stake.’
Justified or not, he stiffened as her barb found its mark.
She winced, her hand lifting only to drop back to her side and curl into a fist. ‘Dammit, that was bitchy of me, Ruin. I’m sorry.’
He didn’t think she used that word often. That she chose to do so now, left him offering his own form of apology. ‘The Raiders have a meet set in Kennewick.’
She barely blinked before stating, ‘I’m going with you.’
Still illogically pissed at her, he couldn’t help but poke. ‘Plan on carving your way through the Raiders until one of them squeals?’
She barely batted an eyelash before answering. ‘I have no intentions of letting you have all the fun. Don’t think for a moment you’re heading out by your lonesome. I’ll be right next to you, knife in hand, taking my pound, or five, of flesh.’
God that ruthless streak was a turn-on. He never realised what a glutton for punishment he was, or maybe it was who was handing out the punishment that got to him. Not that it mattered in the end, because only one person would make that call, and it wasn’t either one of them. ‘Only if Reaper allows it.’
That got a low laugh. ‘Allows it?’ She shook her head, her lips curved even though her bright eyes were hard, giving a glimpse of the real woman underneath. ‘Reaper might hold your leash, but he doesn’t hold mine.’
He arched an eyebrow. ‘No, but I’m guessing Lilith’s grip is just as tight.’
She shrugged. ‘Considering the damage done to her daughter, do you really think anyone is going to convince Lilith to pull me off this hunt?’
No, he was certain even Reaper wouldn’t be able to keep Charity away from this now. He pushed off the post and made his way down the stairs, leaving her to follow. ‘Lilith’s a long damn ways away, so it doesn’t matter what you or I think. Only matters what Reaper thinks.’
After her short and decidedly private call to Lilith, Ruin brought her back to Grave’s Hall where Walt sent the Vultures and Charity to the isolated back room for their impromptu meeting. There wasn’t much to the room, a handful of mismatched chairs and a couple of tables. Reaper paced along the end of the room while the others watched as Charity filled everyone in on Tabitha and Katori. Off to the side, Vex was stretched out between two chairs, her boots on one, her ass on another. Havoc took his customary post by the door, probably to ensure a quick escape if things got messy.
‘A daughter?’ Reaper’s question fell into stunned silence following Charity’s big reveal.
In a silent show of support, Ruin stood at Charity’s side as she faced the Vultures’ leader. Ruin gave her credit when Reaper got like this most people would be knocking knees. The man was damn scary. Not Charity. She stood there, chin raised, hands on her hips and held her tongue.
Reaper’s long stride made quick work of the room’s width. He turned on his heel, his glare zeroing in on the undaunted blonde. ‘What the hell are we supposed to do with Lilith’s damn daughter?’
Funny, Ruin expected a different question. Say, like how the hell Reznik knew about Tabitha.
‘The only thing Lilith asked was that you let Tabitha stay with Mandy until someone comes to pick the girl up.’ Charity’s response was all cool and crisp, as if she wasn’t staring down the biggest predator in the room. It was impressive how steady her voice stayed. It was difficult to string two words together when Reaper got pissy. And his leader was definitely pissy.
Reaper prowled the floor and stopped directly in front of Charity, so close she was forced to crane her neck to hold his gaze. He leant in and snarled, ‘Which ‘someone’ is her frickin’ majesty sending?’
With her head craned back Ruin caught the movement of her throat as she swallowed before answering. ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’
‘How come you’re not taking the kid back?’ The question came from Vex. Despite her casual pose, Ruin could pick out the tiny indicators of tension—the barely-there lines around her eyes, the hint of white around her lips, the constant flexing of her fingers. His sister was strung tighter than a bow, and his gut said it was more than the current situation winding the pressure. But that was a problem for later. Right now, he had all he could handle, thank you very much.
Charity shifted her weight to the side and peered around Ruin. ‘Because my talents are better used to go after the one who set the Raiders after the kids, than providing protection for the journey home.’
‘She wants you to hunt Reznik.’ Havoc’s voice rumbled through the room.
Charity looked over her shoulder and gave the big man a nod. ‘Yes, sir, she wants me to hunt.’
Ruin wondered if he was the only one who picked up that she didn’t use Reznik’s name. A deliberate amendment or simple agreement?
‘And you follow her orders without question.’ Reaper’s comment cut through Ruin’s musings and brought Charity’s attention back around.
For the briefest moment Ruin felt for her, trying to wade through the firing squad of questions.
‘Not always.’ Charity surprised them all with her answer, but she wasn’t done. ‘However in this particular instance, yeah, I’m going to follow orders.’
Vex straightened in her chair, an expectant vibe coming to life. ‘Got an appetite for revenge, Blondie?’
Turning from Reaper, she met Vex’s gaze. ‘This isn’t about revenge. This is all about vengeance.’
Vex smiled, more a bearing of teeth. ‘There’s a difference?’
Charity held up two fingers barely separated by the tiniest of distances. ‘It’s small, very small.’
‘Revenge is to exact punishment for a wrong done to another.’ Ruin decided to join the conversation.
Charity’s gaze went to his and held. ‘Vengeance is to inflict hurt and humiliation on one who has harmed another. Which do you think I prefer for Tabby?’
‘Ohh, ohh, I know,’ Vex interrupted as she got to her feet, her arm darting up in the air with an impatient dance as she came up to Charity’s other side. She threw an arm around Charity’s shoulders. ‘Sweet, bloody vengeance.’
Meeting Vex’s crazed grin, Charity bumped her hip against Vex’s even as her face shifted to match his sister’s manic smile. ‘Sweet, bloody, everlasting vengeance actually.’
Reaper watched them both, arms folded across his chest. ‘You two done with your girly bonding moment?’
Ruin dropped his gaze to the floor trying to hide his wince at the bigger man’s massive misstep. You’d think after all these years, Reaper would know better.
Sure enough, Vex’s voice turned syrup sweet, and Ruin didn’t have to raise his head to know what was happening. Her scuffed boots left Charity’s side and moved to stop toe to toe to Reaper’s. ‘Aww, Reapy-baby, are you mad that we’re not properly cowed by your manly display of temper and alphaholeness?’
‘Shit, Vex,’ Ruin muttered, not all surprised when she ignored his muttered warning and continued needling Reaper.
‘Don’t worry, we promise to clasp our hands in proper feminine amazement once you pull your head ou—’
Not wanting to become an only child, Ruin wrapped one arm around his sister’s waist and slapped his other hand over her mouth, cutting off the rest of her sentence. ‘Enough, Vex,’ he hissed next to her ear as he dragged her back to her chair and forcibly put her in it. Pointing a finger at her, almost touching her nose, he snapped, ‘Stay put.’
Familiar amber eyes fired, and her mouth opened.
‘Shut it, sis.’ God, her constant need to push drove him nuts. Didn’t matter that he understood the whys, she was a grown-ass woman who knew better. ‘Not the right place. Not the right time.’ He held her furious gaze, waiting her out. It didn’t take long. Her mouth closed, her lips pressed into a mutinous line. Then her attention went behind him to Reaper. Ruin caught the flicker of remorse as her gaze met their leader’s, then dropped away. Convinced Vex would zip it, he turned back to Reaper and Charity aware of the uncomfortable quiet settling in.
‘Vex, girl, your mouth is going to get you killed.’ The low whip of Reaper’s voice snapped the tense quiet.
‘Likes to tempt death.’ Havoc added his pithy wisdom.
Vex turned and stuck her tongue out, but stayed silent.
Reaper ignored the byplay and focused once more on Charity, resetting the conversation. ‘Lilith trusts you enough to send you out after her kid. Says something, since she doesn’t trust anyone.’
That got a genuine smile from Charity, who raised her right hand, palm up. ‘I swear on all that’s holy, I am not any blood relation to Lilith.’
‘Thank god,’ Reaper growled. ‘Sit.’ He waved her to a chair as he turned away, and ran a hand through his hair. He crossed to one of the cushioned chairs and dropped into it as Charity found her way to another chair.
Ruin moved back and sat on one of the tables, keeping his spot between the two. He knew what it silently stated, but he didn’t give a damn. Reaper had his damn loyalty, but whether she admitted it or not, Charity needed someone on her side. Since she saved Simon, he owed her. Hell, all the Vultures owed her for that.
Reaper laid his arms along the armrests, the fingers on one hand drumming absently. The tick of a battered clock filled the quiet. Wasn’t long before he broke the quiet with a growled, ‘You ready to put your cards on the table, ‘Hound?’
Warily, Charity nodded. Ruin didn’t blame her cautious attitude, Reaper wasn’t one to step softly and he didn’t waste time. ‘Good.’ The big man curled his hand into a fist and dropped it to his knee. ‘First, did Lilith send you to take out Crane?’
‘No.’ Her answer was granite, but based on the tiny frown lines in her forehead and the stutter tap of a finger against her knee, her brain was spinning with something.
Ever observant, Reaper didn’t miss the signs either. ‘Give me a reason to believe you.’
The finger stilled and she drew in a deep breath. ‘Lilith wouldn’t want to lose Crane because he was feeding her information on the recent goings on in Michael’s territory.’
‘Doesn’t mean much,’ Reaper said. ‘Crane could just as easily been feeding Michael the same on her.’
Charity was shaking her head before he finished. ‘Not this time.’ She leant forward, bracing her arms on her knees. ‘You know about the argument Crane and Michael got into about a year back?’
From his position at the table, Ruin braced. How the hell did she know about that?
Reaper’s expression remained studiously blank.
Charity smirked, not fooled one bit by their deliberate non-reaction. ‘Right. While the details remain sketchy, whatever went down put a chink in their friendship.’
‘Working relationship,’ Reaper clarified.
‘Working relationship,’ Charity repeated without breaking eye contact. ‘When Lilith caught wind, she decided to see if Crane was amenable to a new working relationship.’
‘And he agreed.’ It was hard to tell if Reaper, the cagey bastard, was asking or telling.
Charity nodded. ‘Yeah, so when Lilith got screwed in a weapons transaction six months ago after a seller tried to pass off junk as the real deal, she reached out to Crane with questions. Him being a new partner and all.’
Sounded legit. Crane oversaw the majority of the major trade arrangements. A transaction with Lilith definitely counted as major. A screw-up in that type of deal would garner some serious questions.
‘Unfortunately, Crane was unaware of the sale. Nor had he heard of anyone interested in acquiring those weapons. After a little judicious questioning, the seller admitted another unknown party contacted him, offered double and left with the weapons meant for Lilith.’
‘Bet that pissed her off,’ Ruin said.
Charity grimaced. ‘Just a bit. Wasn’t much left of the seller when she was done. Kind of a waste though, because a couple months later it happened again. This time with a medical shipment.’
Reaper shrugged. ‘Shit happens.’
‘Maybe, but Lilith’s not one to wait for coincidence to make an appearance.’
‘So she sent you out to find out if this was just bad timing or something altogether else?’ Reaper pressed.
She nodded.
His gaze narrowed. ‘You went looking at Crane.’
‘He was the newest factor in the whole situation.’ She rubbed her chin. ‘So yeah, initially I took a serious look. But when I found a string of similar situations ranging from the Rockies all the way down to Houston, I went to him to see if he was encountering the same problem.’ She held Reaper’s gaze. ‘He was.’
‘The raids on the routes,’ Vex chimed in, sharing a look with Ruin. ‘The same thing that drew Simon and Crane out.’
Ruin considered the string of botched deliveries that sent the Vultures out on the road in the first place. ‘Bet that was the first move.’
Reaper ignored them and stayed focused on Charity. ‘When you realised Crane was dealing with the same shit as Lilith, you crossed him off your list?’
She sat back, squirming a bit. ‘Actually I crossed him off fairly early on when I realised the targeted shipments shared a common trait.’
It didn’t take long for Reaper to put the pieces together. ‘They were coming from Michael’s territory,’ he drawled, scorn edging his words. ‘Let me guess, Lilith blamed Michael for her troubles.’ The surety behind his words made Ruin wonder about Reaper’s experiences with Lilith.
‘Right.’ A pained expression twisted Charity’s face. ‘There’s no love lossed between Lilith and Michael.’
That brought a harsh bark of laughter from Reaper. ‘There is no-one on this earth that Lilith hates more than Michael.’
Charity winced at his brutal honesty, then gallantly ploughed on. ‘She asked me to reach out to Crane to figure out if the one behind the trouble was Michael or if he was facing the same thing.’
Obviously catching something in her expression that Ruin missed, Reaper pushed. ‘Was he?’
She shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Before I could hit the road, two things happened.’ She shot Ruin a quick glance before continuing. ‘Lilith got an urgent message from Istaqa. He sent a picture of Katori with a request to send word if he was spotted. Then Tabby was taken.’ Ruin almost missed his spark of relief when she obviously heeded his advice to give Reaper everything.
‘Istaqa prefers keeping his business within his borders.’ Havoc’s distinctive rumble filled the spaces left behind Charity’s answer. ‘Why is he reaching out to Lilith?’
‘A parent with a missing child?’ She rubbed her arm, just below the bandage, a small frown furrowed on her forehead. ‘I think he was desperate.’
A pensive shadow crossed Havoc’s harsh features, but he stayed silent.
Charity took it as a cue to keep going. ‘I wasn’t expecting to find him here. Hell, I wasn’t expecting to find a trail of missing kids, either. But Lilith felt that Tabby’s disappearance hitting so close on the heels of the delivery mess was too big to be a coincidence. She just couldn’t figure out why. But her biggest concern was Tabby, and that became my primary focus. When Tabby’s trail went north, it seemed best to combine both hunts. I was hoping to touch base with Crane, see if he heard anything about Tabby’s kidnapping, but we all know how that turned out.’
Recalling her initial dismissive take on Reznik’s ability to marshal the necessary resources to pull off a coup, Ruin decided to re-test her conviction. ‘The kids’ kidnappings, the Raiders’ attack on Crane and the shipments. You’re thinking they’re all part of the same grand plan?’
Colour rode high along her cheeks, but she kept her voice level. ‘Either Reznik is working on his own, or he’s being played by someone we don’t even know about. His aren’t the only greedy hands looking to take what isn’t theirs.’
Hearing her say it out loud loosened something coiled tight in Ruin’s chest.
Reaper didn’t take his eyes off Charity, but there was no doubt his mental wheels were spinning. Eventually, he spoke. ‘If I send you after the Raiders with Ruin, you going to be focused on vengeance or power games?’
‘Vengeance.’
He shook his head with obvious disbelief. ‘You admit to being Lilith’s ‘Hound. A dog can’t serve two masters.’
As close as he was to Charity, Ruin didn’t miss her minuscule jerk as Reaper’s scorn hit her head on. Was Reaper trying to provoke Charity to go for his throat? Granted he had no concept of tact, but that was harsher than his normal approach. Ruin went to say something, only to stop at Vex’s sharp shake of her head. Holding his tongue wasn’t easy.
Instead of snarling back, Charity gave an inelegant snort. ‘Seriously? That’s the best you can do? Like I haven’t heard that one before.’ She tilted her head to the side. ‘Guess I should be grateful you refrained from calling me a bitch.’
Ruin silently applauded her response.
Reaper’s lips curled up. Hard to tell if it was a smile or a sneer. ‘Give it time, I’m sure I’ll get to it.’
‘Probably,’ she muttered.
All faint traces of humour disappeared. ‘What guarantee do I have you won’t stab my man in the back or sell his ass out if it got you closer to the information Lilith wants?’
‘You don’t, but if I had plans to go after you or yours, there were plenty of opportunities to cut his—’ she jerked a thumb in Ruin’s direction, ‘—throat or ensure Simon never made it back down the mountain.’
Slightly affronted, Ruin muttered, ‘As if you could.’
It earned him a sidelong glare before Charity went back to Reaper. ‘My focus is making the bastards who hurt Tabby pay. Whatever political or power games are being played can wait.’
Reaper rubbed his jaw. ‘And if I decided you weren’t going with Ruin, you’d just go out on your own.’
‘Not to brag, but tracking is my specialty.’ She waited a heartbeat, then two. ‘Look, I’m not sure how I prove I’m not trying to pick you off. Honestly, that’s not my type of thing anyway. If Lilith wanted any of you out of the picture, she has other, better options than me for the job.’
Reaper’s dark gaze sharpened. ‘Is that job on her roster?’
Charity frowned. ‘Not as far as I know, but I’m no mind reader.’