I hit the speaker, then placed Nathem’s gun in the cupholder.
“Where are you?” I questioned when the other line picked up.
“Still driving!” Jessie growled. “They haven’t stopped tailing us.”
“Any fire?” I asked, glancing in the rearview mirror to see if anyone was following in the dark.
“No. But I saw their jackets. It’s Karsten’s men. Threx, you are not going to like this,” he muttered low into the phone, and I froze when Blade’s voice sliced through the background.
“Don’t tell him this shit right now,” Blade whispered.
“What?” I stopped.
“Intel sent the newest hit lists over about ten minutes ago. Did you check your cell?”
“Why? Am I on it?” I laughed through my nose. Just what I needed, to become Karsten’s little fuckboy.
“Not you,” Jessie swallowed.
“Where are you?” Wolfe asked again.
“Just passed the arena.”
“Head into the industrial line, near the loading docks,” Wolfe directed. “This way, when we sideswipe these motherfuckers, no one will hear.”
“See you in ten.” Jessie paused, took a breath, then hung up.
“Threx, pull up the list,” Wolfe ordered. “Let’s see who Karsten chose to pay for all our sins.”
Nathem laughed, taking the back road to avoid the bar traffic clogging the walkways.
I scrolled, punching in a thousand passwords until I reached the Underworld kill list. At first, there was nothing. Faceless humans who would soon be dead for crimes they probably didn’t commit.
I kept thumbing down until I felt it in my stomach. Then, in my chest. When it finally came together in my head, the world slipped out of view.
“Who is it?” Wolfe asked, grabbing my shoulder to get a closer look. “Holy fuck. No. FUCK!”
He hit the back of the seat, but I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t move.
“What?” Nathem snapped, swatting behind him. “Goddammit, who is it?”
He wrenched the phone from my hand before it slipped past his fingers and landed at his feet.
“This is a shit pic, and no one has her name,” he said in a shouting panic, yanking at my shoulder, but I was already dead. “That means they don’t know who she is yet. We have time.”
“Nathem,” Wolfe’s voice cracked behind me. “It’s Daphne. Karsten’s men have her listed.”
twelve
Threx: Worst-Case Scenario
The burn in my knuckles broke across the rocky surface of Wolfe’s cheek.
“This is all your fucking fault!” I pounded, crawling into the backseat to break everything inside of him. His face. His nose. His fucking soul!
The picture they snapped was of her in the alley behind the club, and though you could barely see her face, I could tell by the flush in her eyes why she was there. This wasn’t about her ties to me, but tohim. A clear warning that when we fuck with someone Karsten cares about, he’s all too happy to return the favor.
“Threx!” Nathem shouted, but he might as well have been on the other side of the goddamn universe because I didn’t give two shits about his pleas. “Neither of you can save her if you’re dead.”