D E L P H I N I U M

I walked with Jake to the square with quiet-treading steps. Hundsen's people knew that Jake would be there, but not me. My job was to hide in the shadows and protect him from any ambushes. Claudia had been instructed to arrive alone, but I knew Hundsen. He'd take any chance he could get to kill Jake, especially now that his possibly-pregnant wife was being held hostage.

Softly, I asked, "Hundsen's wife isn't actually pregnant, is she?"

"No," he answered, "He only needs to believe that she is." A wave of relief washed over me. I'd been partially sure he wouldn't do something like that, but I wasn't quite sure where Jake drew the line. Or if there were even any lines he wouldn't cross.

We both stopped in our tracks when the square was in sight. Claudia wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Not having any more time to waste, we both headed our separate ways, Jake to wait for the lieutenant to show herself and me to roam the alleyways in search of any opposition. Having already been here when Jake was meeting with the Needles, the area was semi-familiar to me. In fact, this whole situation was a bit too familiar.

I crouched in the darkness when I found the perfect view of the square. Claudia wouldn't be able to see me, which was exactly my goal.

But she still wasn't here. I frowned at the space she was supposed to be. It was well past dusk, so where was she?

I struggled to hold back the familiar cold panic that was rising in my chest. I'd thought that because Jake had such massive leverage over Hundsen that he wouldn't try anything tonight. What if I was wrong? He'd been threatening Jake the entire time they'd been speaking on the phone; what if he made good on that promise right now?

Letting out a sigh, I tried to clear my brain. Everything would go according to plan. Jake's plans always worked. There was no way Hundsen could know where his wife was hidden; even if he did, Jaxon was there protecting her.

I was suddenly aware of movement behind me. Turning around, I found that a hooded person was coming at me. I only barely ducked out of the way of their swinging axes. One of the blades grazed my abdomen. As I rolled to the side, I yanked my knives out of their sheaths and landed low to the ground and ready to fight.

Because they were fighting with axes, they were going to be worse at fighting closely than I was with my daggers. Unfortunately, I'd have to get in close to kill them, and they wouldn't make my job easy with those axes.

We ran at each other simultaneously. I threw my head to the side, making the first axe miss my throat. The second one hit my dagger, creating sparks as they clashed together. With my left hand, I sliced across their neck. Unfortunately, the attacker moved backwards, making the cut much shallower than I'd been intending. It was essentially harmless.

One axe swung low and the other high, making it difficult for me to dodge. I blocked the lower blade with one of my own and swung my leg up to kick the arm holding the other. I succeeded, but not before the tip of the blade sunk into my thigh.

Braving through the pain, I threw one of my knives. It hit them in the stomach, making them stop and look down at it for a split second. That gave me the extra time to run forward and stab my second blade into their upper abdomen.

With surprising strength I hadn't known they'd have, my enemy kicked me backwards. I stumbled and my back hit the wall. Slowly but surely, my opponent walked closer to me, swinging their axes as well as they could with two knife injuries.

Looking up, I saw that there was an air conditioning unit hanging out of an upstairs window. When the opportune moment came, I brought it crashing down onto the hooded person. They crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.

I leaned against the wall, letting myself relax. I was panting and bleeding but I was alive. Apparently, Hundsen had foreseen that I'd be here and had sent another assassin to specifically take me out. Unluckily for him, I'd survived.

Only now did Claudia show herself on the other side of the square. She'd most likely been stalling for time until I was attacked by the other assassin; she wanted me to be too busy protecting my back to watch Jake's.

Surprisingly to me, Claudia was a small, feminine woman. She had even worn a dress to this meeting. I also noticed the briefcase she held in her hand, the one that held Jake's ransom money.

"So you're the Evans boy that I've been hearing so much about," she drawled as she sashayed forward. The clicks her high heels made on the asphalt seemed to echo.

"I don't believe I've ever had the displeasure of meeting you," Jake articulated callously, "And I don't intend to now. You have the money, I presume?"

"I have your money, yes." She looked around. "Where's the wife?"

"I'm keeping her hidden until I know that all the money is here." He held a hand out to accept the briefcase. "May I?"

She gave it to him. "You're welcome to look, but if you try to run without handing over the hostage, you'll regret it."

"I'm sure I will." He opened the briefcase and sifted through the cash.

As his head was down, I saw the way Claudia was staring at him and knew that an attack was coming. A gunshot came from the other end of the barren square. Moving fast, I curved the bullet from Jake's path toward Claudia's. Judging by the way she flinched and held her stomach in pain, I'd been accurate.

Grabbing a gun off the fallen body next to me, I pointed it at the open window where the shots had been fired and pulled the trigger. The body came crashing through the second-story windowsill and hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

Jake clicked the briefcase shut and stared unsympathetically at Claudia as she doubled over in pain. "You double crossed me. The only reason you're still alive is to tell Hundsen that his wife is now dead. Leave before now I change my mind."

She didn't need to be told twice. Hobbling away, she disappeared into the other side of the alleyway.

I walked out into the open when I was sure she was gone. Jake stood over the person I'd shot, looking down at it with an unreadable expression on his face. Out of nowhere, he pulled out a lighter and dropped it onto the body. It took a few minutes for the fire to spread but once it did, it was like a wildfire.

With the fire dancing in his eyes, Jake turned to me. "I want to cash in the favor you owe me."

Uneasily, I questioned, "What do you want me to do?"

"Start by helping me put this into a body bag. I'll tell you the rest when the time comes."

So I did, encasing the body into the bag we'd brought in the car. If this was only the first part of his favor, I was afraid to hear the rest of it.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

Both Jaxon and Hundsen's wife's attention quickly snapped to Jake as we entered the hotel room again.

Jaxon glanced over at me, whispering, "Do I owe him twenty bucks?"

I nodded, to which he cursed under his breath.

Standing in front of Hundsen's wife after he'd taken off her gag, Jake told her, "Hundsen is dead. He's finally paid for his crimes."

The woman's eyes were large and shiny as she listened to what Jake was saying. "What?"

"Your husband died tonight. You now have two choices: stay here and die with him or flee this state and live out the rest of your life in peace. Which do you choose?"

"I'll flee the state," she said softly. It was clear that she was still processing her monstrous husband's 'death'.

"Maybe you'll even find another husband that isn't the scum of the earth," Jake remarked mock-helpfully. He untied her. "You're free to go."

She ran out the door as fast as she could, eager to get away from us. We all watched her disappear down the hallway of the motel.

I realized what Jake had done. Killing Lucy Hundsen would have been painful for Hundsen, there was no doubt about it. But for them both to think the other was dead for the rest of their lives? That was an excruciating mockery.

"We should be going too," Jake said, breaking the silence. His eyes found mine. "Tesla, I need you to take that body in the car and place it in Hundsen's home office. Slip in and out before anyone sees you. He needs to think that body is his wife's."

That was the second part of his favor and I had to admit, it was a clever plan. There was already no doubt in Hundsen's mind that Jake would kill his wife, so to see her body burned to oblivion in his office would completely break him.

I kept that in mind as I did the job, slipping in and out of Hundsen's second house without a problem. He hadn't arrived home yet but he would soon. And when he did, Jake's present would be waiting for him.