Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“How do I look?” I ask, though I already know the answer.
“Like death in designer clothing.” Vespera grins with artistic pride. “Blue is going to swallow his tongue when he sees you.”
Through the workshop windows, I can see Blue pacing in the clearing beyond Vespera’s house. He’s been out there for twenty minutes, checking his watch and running his hands through his hair. The sight makes my stomach flutter with something that isn’t fear.
“Remind me of the story again so I don’t fuck this up,” I say, smoothing the silk over my hips and still getting used to how the dress moves.
“You’re Scarlett Rose, the daughter of a recently deceased arms dealer from London. Word on the street is that you’re looking to expand Daddy’s old business relationships, and you’ve heard Brutus runs the most efficient operation on the West Coast.” Vespera hands me a small evening bag that matches the dress perfectly. “Ash’s contacts have been spreading rumors about you for weeks. Tonight’s their monthly celebration—they think they’re meeting a potential new business partner with deep pockets and flexible morals.”
Inside the bag are my instruments of destruction: a dozen tiny blue spheres that look like decorative beads, each one capable of killing a grown man in ten minutes. Enough to wipe out every Crow in that lodge, with a few extra for good measure.
“They’re celebrating what they think is Blue’s death,” Vespera continues, applying a final coat of lipstick to my mouth. “Word spread that some rival outfit took him out with a car bomb in Portland. Same explosion supposedly killed his girlfriend too—meaning you’re officially dead as well.” She pauses, her smile turning vicious. “Ash has been working overtime selling the story. All of Grimlock is in mourning, and the few locals who’ve spotted Blue around Maison Rouge swear they’re seeing his ghost. The man’s going to be absolutely legendary when he rises from the dead after this is all over.”
I stare at my reflection one more time. The woman in the mirror looks capable of anything. She looks like someone who could walk into a room full of killers and walk out alone.
She looks like someone who could get justice for her father.
“I’m ready,” I say, and for the first time in five years, I mean it.
Vespera opens the workshop door, and Blue nearly trips over his own feet when he sees me. His eyes travel from my face to my dress to my legs and back again, and the heat in his gaze makes my pulse race.
“Jesus Christ,” he breathes. “Saylor?”
“Scarlett Rose, actually,” I say, letting a posh British accent slip into my voice as I practice the sultry tone I’ll need for tonight. “Pleased to meet you.”
Blue approaches slowly, like he’s afraid I might disappear if he moves too fast. “You look . . .” He stops, swallows hard. “You look like you could kill every man in that room without breaking a sweat.”
“That’s the idea.”
He reaches out to touch my cheek, his thumb tracing the sharp line Vespera created with her contouring. “Are you sure about this? You’ll have to be Scarlett Rose completely. No hesitation, no second-guessing. I won’t be there beside you.”
“You’re a good teacher,” I say, leaning into his touch. “I’ve got this. It’s what I’ve been waiting for.” I smile and give him a wink. “I’m an A student after all.”
His eyes darken with pride and something hungrier. “Good girl,” he murmurs, then kisses me with enough heat to melt steel.
When we break apart, I’m breathless but steady. “Besides, you’re retired, remember. Let’s get you back on the wagon. But I also know you’ll be watching from the woods. If anything goes wrong—”
“If anything goes wrong, murder sober or not, I’m coming in after you.” His voice carries a promise that makes my chest tight. “Consequences be damned.”
Vespera clears her throat delicately. “Much as I love watching you two have a moment, we’re on a schedule. Scarlett needs time to make her entrance.”
Blue nods reluctantly but doesn’t step away from me. “Remember what we practiced. You’re confident, you’re mysterious, and you’re absolutely lethal. Everything else is just acting.”
“I’m not acting anymore,” I say quietly. “This is who I am now.”
The look he gives me could burn down cities—pride mixed with hunger and a darkness that matches my own. “Then go show them what Peter Mitchell’s daughter is capable of.”
I kiss him once, hard and desperate, then follow Vespera to the car that will take me to the Crow lodge. As we drive through the Witchwood toward my destiny, I practice being Scarlett Rose in my head.
Scarlett Rose doesn’t throw up at the sight of blood.
Scarlett Rose doesn’t hesitate when it’s time to kill.
Scarlett Rose gets what she wants, and what she wants is every Crow in that lodge dead by midnight.