The rumble of an engine sounded in the distance and I gasped, launching myself out of their laps and running to the window. I threw it open, clambering out as I spotted Niall’s Jeep accelerating up the drive.
I waved my arms in the air with a squeal leaving my throat as I ran to meet him. The moment he stopped the car, he jumped out of it, catching me as I collided with him, his body thumping back against the vehicle as I kissed him and he lifted me into the air.
He tasted like smoke and power and I devoured every bite of him as we kissed with all the passion of two lovers parted by the stars themselves and stealing a moment in spite of them.
“Did ya miss me, love?” he asked as our mouths separated, leaving me breathless and giddy.
“I almost had to hang myself with the curtains,” I said seriously and he frowned hard and deep.
“Don’t ya ever go killin’ yerself over me. I ain’t worth that.”
“You’re worth it all, Hellfire. My heart, my lungs, my kidneys. All of it can go in the ground so I can come find you in hell.”
“I’ll be there waitin’ for ya,” he purred, stealing another lingering kiss.
He carried me towards the house, unlocking the front door and shouldering his way inside.
Brutus barked in greeting and Niall cursed as the dog took a little snappy out of his leg. I was actually kind of jealous because I was the only one of us who didn’t have toothy scars on my legs yet.
Niall carried me through to the lounge where Mateo and Jack rose to their feet, their eyes full of questions.
“So? What did your father say?” Mateo asked.
“Did he tell you all about his new bakery?” I asked Niall, trying not to snigger as I set up my joke.
“He ain’t no baker,” Niall said in confusion as he put me down and I bit the inside of my cheek as I kept a straight face.
“Then why are his buns so hot?” I burst out laughing and they all shared a look as I fell apart.
“Are ya talkin’ about my father’s arse, you little hellion?” Niall asked and I nodded, unable to speak through my laughter, but I raised my hands to pretend I was squeezing it.
Niall roared a laugh then locked me under his arm, biting my ear and tugging on it. “Quiet now, Spider. I got a thing or two to say.”
I buttoned my lips as I looked up at him, waiting patiently to hear his news.
“My pa’s not happy about any of this, but he’s accepting the lay of the land. I told him straight how it is, and he listened. There ain’t nothin’ more important to him than family and now we’re married, Spider, he can’t deny what that means. You’re an O’Brien, which means you’re a part of that family, whether he likes it or not. I told him you’re my honey trap and we’re a perfect killin’ unit if he wants to hire us. He can use our skills anytime he likes and though he ain’t happy by any means, there ain’t a lot he can do about it unless he decides to have me killed. But he’s either fond of me enough not to have me executed, or he can see value in keeping me alive and useful as a hitman for hire. Either way, it seems I’ve bought us peace for now.”
I leapt out from under his arm, hugging him and squeezing with all my strength.
“So, you’re off the hook?” Mateo asked.
“Like a fish who wriggled his way free and returned to the ocean,” Niall agreed and my smile nearly split my cheeks apart.
“We have to celebrate with a kill!” I cried, bouncing on my toes and tugging on Niall’s shirt.
“You really know how to tempt me with a good time, don’t ya lass?” He grinned down at me then caught my hand, making me twirl beneath his arm before towing me over to the couch and hooking his laptop off the table.
AJ patted Niall’s shoulder briefly as he sat on his other side and I glanced between them, seeing my giant man’s relief over Niall’s return as clear as day. It made my heart all squishy and warm inside.
“Let’s see if we’ve got any new hits waiting,” Niall said, opening his laptop and logging in to some website selling wind-up penguin toys. It took Niall several passwords to get into it and just when I’d picked out which penguin toy I wanted to buy, the screen changed to an email server, revealing an inbox with one juicy message sitting in it entitled Colin Macabee.
Niall tapped on it and I sensed everyone’s bloodlust rising as we all leaned in close to look at the message.
Colin Macabee. Hemlock City, 10th Street. Parking Bay 69.
Niall chuckled. “Sixty-nine,” he murmured under his breath and I frowned.
“Why’s that funny? Everyone knows seven is the funniest number,” I said.
“How so?” Niall demanded.
“Because seven eight nine – get it? Like seven ate nine.” I laughed loudly and Niall chuckled, capturing my chin in his grip.
“I’ll show ya why sixty-nine is funny later, love.” He gave me a smirk and released me, turning back to the kill as Mateo shifted on my other side, his hand dropping onto my knee and sending a thrill through my body.
Niall read through the rest of the details for the hit while I watched a fly buzz-buzz its way over to Brutus and circle his head. Brutus kept trying to snap up the fly and I giggled each time he missed, the little fly playing a game with him as it diced with death.
“Alright. This one’s easy. We can do it tonight. Colin parks at this place five days a week while he’s working as a janitor, and he heads back to get his car every day at midnight. He was convicted for sex with a minor a few years back, but he got released early from his sentence on a technicality.”
My upper lip peeled back as venom slid into my gut. “I’m gonna ram my emotional support coconut up his ass, then crack it open with a sledgehammer.”
“Then we’ll be needing Mary the Second for that,” Niall got to his feet, prancing off upstairs to get his new sledgehammer and I kissed Mateo on the cheek before racing after Niall to get changed.
By the time we were leaving, I was wearing what was possibly my most fabulous outfit ever. I had sequin rainbow shorts on with a matching bra that had big hearts over my nipples and tiny little sequin straps everywhere else so my tits were barely covered at all. I’d paired it with my short white fluffy jacket and I’d painted glittery tear lines down my cheeks. My hair was pulled up into two Princess Laia buns which had glittery scrunchies holding them in place. My heels were transparent with fake fish floating around inside the platform part of them which were filled with water. I looked like a unicorn dipped in a rainbow and I was ready to get murdery.
Niall drove us out towards the city in his Jeep and parked us down a dark alley behind the parking lot. I had the knife Niall had bought me in Vegas in my hand, the spider engraved on the hilt winking up at me, ready to get bloody.
We left the car in the shadows of the alley and Brutus trotted at my heels, his blue leash looped around my wrist so I could keep my hands free for killing. It was late, the moon hiding behind the clouds like she was in on the plot, keeping us shrouded in shadow as we moved to the emergency exit.
Angry Jack stepped forward, ramming a crowbar into the gap between the door and the wall, his muscles flexing as he worked to force it open.
I sucked my lower lip as I watched his arms strain and bulge, tempted to climb my big man and lick my way up his neck. But I was a professional on a job, a honey trap ready to lure our hit to me tonight when he came back to his car. I was going to play a young hooker, and I’d subtly drop hints that I was underage while the others circled in the wings ready to step in and cut down the monster we were here for.