He stopped and held out his hand. I froze, eyes wide, ears listening intently, but there was nothing. Moving again, he headed toward a staircase that was also covered in blood, a body lying limp on the landing.
On the second story there was a wide open space with one light that held power. Lit up was a lump that looked like a possible body.
We inched closer, Six keeping all his senses on high alert. Wide open spaces probably made him nervous. No cover in case someone was waiting.
Within twenty feet, it was obvious it was a body. Within ten, it was obviously not one from the wetwork team.
Shit.
The body was beaten to hell with multiple knife wounds and topped off with a couple of bullets. The face was mashed in. So much so, it was hard to tell who it was.
Many of the visible features resembled Five.
My chest clenched. Of all the Cleaners besides Six, Five was the only one I liked. He didn’t try to kill me and stood up for me. He saw the value in me the others couldn’t.
“I don’t think they’re trying to be sneaky anymore,” Six said as he crouched down to try and identify the man.
Six’s arm snapped up and he fired, hitting the floor, scaring the shit out of me.
“Whoa!” Five yelled as he jumped back. “I just got here.”
My eyes widened and I ran forward, flinging my arms around his neck. “Five!”
“Hey there, baby,” Five wrapped his arms around me, making sure to give my ass a squeeze. “Ooh, Six, I think your woman is starting to see and appreciate what fine attributes I have.”
Your woman.
It was a title that I really liked. To be his. Our relationship was so different from the last time we’d seen Five, but still, maybe he saw something in Six I couldn’t.
“Let her go,” Six said. He still had his gun out and pointed at Five.
Five released me and I stepped back, glancing between the two.
“What are you doing here?” Six’s finger was on the trigger.
My eyes widened as I looked between them. Six was serious. He was going to kill Five if he didn’t give the right answer.
Five held his arms out. “Whoa, chill, man. It’s been radio silent, so I continued on with the mission.”
“What have you been doing?”
“I haven’t found Jason, but I located Seven and he told me what happened in Vegas.” Five gave me a sad smile. “Sorry about you friend, darling.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Thanks.”
“Jason’s dead.”
Five’s expression dropped. “Fuck.”
“It was Nine and One.”
“What?” Five asked in disbelief. He shook his head. “No. There’s no way.”
“They tried to blow us up.”
Five continued to shake his head. “He’s your brother. I mean, I know you two aren’t close, but still… Guess there really is no honor among killers.”
Six didn’t say anything, just kneeled back down and held out his hand toward me. “Give me your napkin.”
My brow scrunched as I looked at him. Napkin? He reached out and dug into my jacket pocket, pulling a folded-up napkin I’d stuck in there days before.
Whoops. I was shocked he even remembered it was there.
Turning Mr. Dead’s head, Six used the napkin to wipe away as much blood as he could from behind the guy’s ear. It took a few passes to get the sticky, dried red to leave the skin, exposing two small dots.
“Damn, it is Two.”
Five sighed. “Down four now.”
Six stood. “And we’re about to be down six.”
Five nodded. “Let’s take them out.” He was getting pumped up at the idea of going after Nine and One.
Six shook his head and started walking back toward the staircase. “No. He’s my blood. I have to do it.”
“Why?” Five asked, saddling up next to him. “He’s a target just like any other.”
We descended the stairs and walked in an opposite direction of the sea of bodies to find another way out.
“But he’s not. He made it personal. If anyone ends Nine, it’s going to be me.”
A busted garage door provided the perfect exit. Six held out his hand, helping me climb over the fallen panels.
“What about One?” Five asked as we made our way across the broken asphalt back to the car.
“She’ll be with him,” Six said.
It made sense. I had a feeling they never really separated when we left Tennessee.
“Can you take them both?”
“We can.”
Five looked between us and my brow scrunched up, then he nodded. “Okay. I’ll find Seven, and we’ll start to get things prepped for a go on Langley.”
“It’s going to be a fight to talk to Wolesley.”
Five’s lips spread into a grin. “Not fun any other way.”
As Five stepped away, the thought itching in the back of my mind clicked. “We? As in, you and me?” I asked, turning to look at Six.
Over the last almost three months and he always said I, never we.
“Do you think you can do it? Kill?”
Could I? I’d done it before when my life was on the line, but could I hunt them down with him?
The answer was an easier conclusion than I was expecting.
Yes.