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“To slaughter the occupants of the house and extract the prisoners. The client was particularly interested in saving Deputy Chief Hunter.”
“Where were they supposed to deposit the prisoners?”
“The coordinates given were for a house ten miles away from Braye Airport. I’ve already sent out operatives to investigate.”
“Be careful,” I reply. “Delta is likely to set a trap.”
“That’s why we’re sending the police to go in to perform a wellness check,” he replies with a snicker. “I’ve told them their missing deputy chief went there with a young girl.”
“Good thinking.” Whoever’s working with the corrupt bastard will go there personally to protect Hunter’s reputation.
The sound of flesh hitting flesh turns my attention back to Amethyst and Camila, who are now fully engaged in a sparring match. Camila swipes out a leg, but Amethyst side steps. This is an improvement from her last training session.
I expect this prowess is muscle memory from the summer camp from hell. Father, that slimy bastard, didn’t even disguise the name of his facility. In Greek mythology, the Moirai is another name for the three fates. Strangely, none of the girls from Three Fates ever made it to the Moirai Academy.
Amethyst ducks Camila’s right hook. She’s getting faster, more adept. She spins on her heel, blocking another punch, and counterattacks with a direct jab that forces Camila to retreat.
“What do you want me to do with the injured personnel?” Jynxson asks.
“Put them in separate holding cells until we’ve handled Delta. The Moirai won’t take on any more assignments from a client who’s caused them mass losses.”
Camila dodges a punch and jogs back. Amethyst lunges forward, falling into Camila’s right hook. The force of the blow sends Amethyst crashing to the ground, her body splayed out like a broken doll.
Shit.
SIXTY-TWO
FOURTEEN YEARS AGO
AMETHYST
Why must I be stuck with an evil twin? I hate her.
She’s staring at me from the other side of the back seat, breathing so hard I want to slam my fist into her nose. But that would get me into even more trouble.
Dolly got us expelled from school, even though it wasn’t my fault. Mom can’t cope with Dolly’s antics, so we’re both being banished to summer camp.
That’s why I’m glaring out into the countryside. It’s a nice day, with sunlight shining through the tall trees, but I can’t appreciate it because Dolly’s laser eyes keep burning through the back of my head.
Can’t we just stop the car and release her into the forest like a wild animal? She’d be happier there, living like a female Mowgli among the wolves. Just as I’m picturing her picking ants out of honey, her foot lands on my thigh, leaving a dirty print on my khaki shorts.
“Are we nearly there yet?” she whines.
I twist around in my seat and kick her shin, wishing I could break the bone.
She shrieks, “Dad, Amy just kicked me!”
“Cut it out, both of you!” Dad snarls from the front seat. “Your mother is struggling enough. It’s this behavior that made her reject you.”
The words hit like a punch to the chest. Mom hates me, even though I did nothing wrong. I catch Dad’s eyes in the rearview mirror and cringe. He thinks I started it, but I wish he knew the truth. It always begins with Dolly.
She’s just like the shadow in that fairytale, always lurking and causing mischief that somehow never gets linked back to her. Why can’t she just die?
We pass a creepy water tower that looks like a rusty kettle on stilts. Dad turns into a narrow space between two overgrown hedges, making me grip the seatbelt. Branches reach out and scrape against the sides of the car, sending shivers down my spine.
It’s like we’re in a carwash, except we’re being attacked by nature instead of brushes. My breath quickens, and I jerk back from the window. Roots crunch under the tires like giant bones, and the foliage closes in around us like we’re being swallowed by some monstrous beast.
Dolly screams, “Dad, stop the car. We’re going to die!”
