22. Daze

TWENTY-TWO

DAZE

Retrospectively, the plan makes sense. Damien and his boys deactivate the bombs scattered throughout the city, while we draw Heywood out into the open. Bada bing, bada boom. We've saved the city and stopped creepy asses from taking over.

Simple.

Until Frey and I arrive and see just how complicated a plan like that will be to pull off, on today of all days. What on the map had seemed like a few blocks, was now a maze of redirected traffic and a few dozen police cordons blocking off whole swaths of the downtown.

Moses himself couldn't part this logistical mess without breaking a sweat. Even a bastard as crazy as Damien will have his work cut out for him.

"We're going to be stretched thin," Damien warns as we pull into a vacant lot just outside the city center. He's dressed in black, a dark hood pulled low over his face. Not that anything could disguise the crazy-ass gleam in his eyes. "There's no time to fuck around," he adds. "We need to move in and out."

"Got it," I reply, but Damien holds up a hand.

"There's more. You know the boys I sent to tail Silas? They aren't answering."

No wonder he's already itching for a fight. "Shit."

"We need him out of commission," Damien warns. "Unless we want this whole plan to blow up in our faces. Literally."

And something tells me that Silas is well aware of just what is at stake. He'll hide with his tail between his legs until it's safe to show his face. Unless…

Unless someone acts as bait to draw him out into the open.

"I'll go and head him off," I say. Then I catch a pair of bright eyes, watching me warily. "But then, who will go to the station? Frey isn't going out there alone?—"

"I have to," she counters, raising her voice over mine. "I can do this. I need to."

A sigh rips from me. "I don't want to fucking argue." But to protect her, I will. "I can't let you do this. Not alone."

Though it doesn't seem to matter one damn bit what I think. Those blue eyes are steely, fixed with determination. "It's the only logical choice. You can't be in two places at once, and there's not enough time to argue. I'm going."

"There's always another option," Ben says, appearing by Damien's side. "You draw Silas in. She exposes her father. Not to be cliché, but I think there is a way to kill two birds with one stone."

"How?" I ask, though I already know the answer.

Even before he shrugs and says, "You take her to the station and make a big enough scene to catch Silas' notice. No matter the risk, he won't be able to resist confronting you face-to-face. You know that as much as I do."

That idea sounds worse than leaving Frey unguarded. Putting her right in the middle of a figurative firefight?

I shake my head. "Fuck no."

"Think about it," Ben insists in that eerily calm voice that can make walking out in a blizzard seem like a good idea. "You track down Silas to contain him, and then what? Unless you have good intel, by the time you track him down, it might be too late. But with this… I could see Heywood using him to hunt down his precious little girl. It will raise fewer questions than if the cops do it, and they'll be preoccupied anyway. He'll send in Silas."

"You have a point," I admit.

"And," Ben adds. "Depending on where Silas is, it could take him longer to get there than anticipated. That could throw the timeline off. I doubt Heywood wants him blown up."

"And me and my boys will handle the rest," Damien says. "You just buy us enough time. Spread some fucking chaos."

"Okay." I look at Frey and find her already staring back. Suddenly, she doesn't look so helpless, demanding protection. When it comes to taking her father down, she's an equal partner, ready for anything. In the end, I don't really have a choice. Still, I say, "We do this together."

"Together," she agrees with a sweet smile that takes my breath away.

Though, it is a task that seems easier said than done, all things considered.

But with her by my side, I feel stronger than I ever have—able to take on anything.

Silas.

Heywood.

The Devil himself.

As long as I have her, we could destroy anyone.