25. Scarlett

Relief floodsthrough me as Lyssa walks into the motel room, her blonde hair messy as ever. She looks tired, the weight of the world on her shoulders, but she manages a smile when she sees me.

"Hey, Scar," she says, using the nickname that once made me bristle but now feels like a caress. "Miss me?"

I shrug, trying to hide the fact that I did, in fact, miss her terribly. Her eyes take me in, clad only in a towel after the shower I just had, hoping it would help me de-stress. It didn't. "How did it go with Hadria?"

Lyssa sighs, sinking down onto the bed beside me. "I mean, no one died. Yet." She fills me in, and then adds, "And we need to go to Elysium again tomorrow. Hadria wants to help plan the attack on Grandmother."

My heart skips a beat. The thought of facing Hadria and the Syndicate again doesn't fill me with joy. But getting to Grandmother—that thought does. Although now, with Lyssa by my side again, I realize that maybe there's something else I want even more.

"I'll come," I tell her, my voice steady. "I only have one purpose now: to eliminate Grandmother."

Something flickers across Lyssa's face, an emotion I can't quite read before she wipes it away. But I lay my hand on her arm, needing her to understand.

"And you, Lyssa. You're the reason behind that purpose. You've given me hope that maybe I can have something…beyond vengeance."

Lyssa's eyes soften, and for a moment, I think she might kiss me. But then she clears her throat, looking down. "What about Sarah?" she asks carefully. "Because Hadria wants her to help, too."

I stiffen, the familiar rage rising in my chest at the mention of my brother's killer. "I told you. I've…given up my plans for vengeance against her."

Lyssa shakes her head, looking suddenly weary. "She killed Adam, Scarlett. I don't know if you can just let that go, not after so long. And the Syndicate…they can't let what you did go, either. It's all so fucking pointless, this endless cycle of death."

She's right. I know she's right. It's pointless. And logically, I want to let go of the anger. But letting go of my anger, my hatred... it feels like letting go of Adam. Like losing him all over again.

I don't say anything more, and Lyssa doesn't push. She just kisses me with soft lips and I melt into her embrace. Her hands slide up my back, taking up handfuls of my hair as she deepens the kiss.

After a moment, she pulls back just enough to meet my gaze. "We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." But it's not a brush-off. It's a question. Her body is pressed against mine, warm and solid, her eyes dark with desire.

"So we should make the most of tonight," I whisper back, trailing my fingers over the defined muscles in her arms. She leans in to take my lips again, and our kisses grow more urgent. I tug at her clothes until I can feel her bare skin against mine.

"This is definitely not my favorite place to fuck," she sighs, glancing around the motel room, "but we've had worse."

I giggle. Actually giggle, as I remember the barn floor. "You can say that again. But a few seconds from now, you won't even remember where we are."

She smirks as though it's a challenge, and shoves at me until I turn over on the bed, knees bent up beneath me so my ass is in the air. "Actually," she says, "I think you're about to forget your own name." She spreads my asscheeks open and I swallow down a squeal, then go boneless as I feel a stream of hot air blowing over my hole.

"Oh, fuck," is all I manage.

"Exactly." With that, she buries her face in my ass and gives a long, slow lick from over my wide-open pussy up to my pucker, her tongue soft and wet and it's so, so unbelievably sensual that I moan out loud. Lyssa chuckles, pleased by my reaction, and does it again, this time circling my asshole before flicking it with the very tip of her tongue.

"Relax," she says. "I want in."

My clit aches jealously as I grip the sheets and blow out a long breath, try to do as she says and relax, moaning again as I feel the tip of her tongue breach my ring. She slides in slowly, teasingly, and just when I think I can't take it anymore, she pulls back and blows a stream of cool air right on my sensitive, wet hole, making me jump.

"Oh, you're deliciously responsive," she tells me, voice laced with satisfaction. "I love it."

"Bitch," I groan out, both annoyed and aroused. Lyssa chuckles and kisses my back before her tongue returns to its torture. This time, however, she doesn't relent. She laps at my still-tight ring with long, sensual strokes that make me whimper with growing need. The sensations are so intense, my entire body on edge. It's a terrible, wonderful torture, one I never knew I needed until now. And then her fingers find my clit, rubbing in the same rhythm as her tongue takes in fucking me.

We rock there together, her tongue and fingers working in tandem, driving me higher and higher. The only thing that matters is the pleasure building in me, winding tighter and tighter until I need to explode.

She must sense my desperation, because all at once she increases the pace, her tongue wriggling into me as her fingers massage my clit more firmly, pushing me into one of the most intense orgasms of my life.

I lie there in a daze as she goes into the bathroom and washes her face before returning to me where I've rolled over onto my back.

"You out for the night?" she asks with the same smirk from before.

"Mmm," I mumble, but I reach out toward her, making grabby hands.

She eases down on top of me, lining up our bodies, pushing my legs into position until she's satisfied. I feel the wet heat of her pussy against mine—"You're so fucking wet," she murmurs—and she begins to move, sliding over my still-throbbing clit in a gentle but regular rhythm. She doesn't stop there, dropping her head to bite with soft teeth at my tits, gathering them up so she can suck on my nipples as she rides me.

I can't believe how sensitive my body is tonight, or maybe it's just what Lyssa is doing to it. Because the combination of her sucking and licking at my breasts and grinding against my still-sensitive clit has me on the brink again in no time. I grip handfuls of the sheets as my hips buck upwards, desperate for more contact.

"I've got you," she whispers into my hair, her hands sliding down to grip my ass cheeks, fingers digging in just enough to let me know who's in control. "Let go, Scar."

And I do. I let go of my insecurities, of my guilt, of everything but the here and now with Lyssa. I come apart in her arms, slow and sweet this time, wave after wave of gentle bliss that means I'm still aware enough to watch Lyssa reach her own peak, too. She looks almost dazed when she collapses on top of me, panting. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close, feeling her heartbeat slow to a more normal rhythm.

"You okay?" I ask, stroking her hair back from her forehead.

She nods, still muffled in my shoulder, but doesn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, she lifts her head and looks at me with those intense brown eyes of hers, so full of desire and tenderness it takes my breath away. "I've never wanted anyone or anything the way I want you," she whispers hoarsely. "You know that, right? I said I loved you, Scar. But that tiny little word…it doesn't really do justice to what I'm feeling."

"I…" I falter, suddenly tongue-tied. "I...know what you mean. It seems too simple a word. But…"

"But it's the only one we have in English," she says with a faint smile. "That's why I like to show you, too…like this." She runs a hand over my perspiration-damp body. "It's a different kind of language."

"A better kind," I agree, and run my own hand over her, too.

We fall asleep in each other's arms, the ghosts of our pasts hovering over us.

The next day, when we arrive at Elysium again, I feel the weight of a dozen hateful stares as we walk to the war room. They all know who I am, what I've done. And quite a lot of them want me dead.

Ricky Half-hands, one of the senior members, sneers as we enter, his thoughts about me written all over his face. "What's she doing here?" he demands.

Hadria, already seated in the huge chair at the head of the table, raises a hand, silencing him. "You all heard Lyssa the other day, and you all voted on it. So no complaints. Until Grandmother is dealt with, Scarlett is under the Wolf's protection. No one touches the assassin."

I feel a flicker of surprise, and maybe even gratitude. But before I can dwell on it, there's a knock at the door.

Mrs. Graves enters, her face lined with worry. And behind her…Sarah.

Ariadne.

The woman who murdered my brother.

I feel Lyssa tense beside me, her hand drifting toward my arm as though she plans to grab me if I make a move. But Mrs. Graves is already speaking, her voice trembling slightly.

"I know that you want information from Sarah. And I know she wants to help with the planning. But I won't allow you to take her out there with you, Hadria. You understand?"

Hadria nods, and Mrs. Graves leaves, casting one last, pleading look at her daughter. Sarah stands there, her gaze roving over the room before landing on me. I feel my fury rising, the urge to lunge across the table and wrap my hands around her throat.

But Lyssa's hand on my thigh stops me, a gentle pressure that calms the storm inside me.

Sarah steps forward to the end of the table. "I want to fight," she says. "And I'm good. Grandmother wouldn't have kept me alive if I wasn't." She looks at me. "Tell them, Scarlett. Tell them how good I am."

I give a snort of derision. "Oh, she's a killer alright. Trust me on that."

Hadria's glare silences us both. "I gave my word to Mrs. Graves. Sarah will help with planning, but she will not be part of the strike team."

Sarah starts to protest, but Hadria cuts her off. "You're new here, Sarah. You don't understand our ways yet. Prove yourself, and one day you might be welcome in the Syndicate. But for now…just tell us what you know. Grandmother called you Ariadne, so it seems fitting that she will come undone by you guiding us through her labyrinth. Sketch out a map for us."

As Sarah starts to detail Grandmother's defenses and her new lair, I try to focus, to push thoughts of Adam from my mind and focus on the task ahead. Because Sarah might not be allowed to help, but I am. Like Sarah, the Syndicate has no reason to trust me, after everything I've done. And yet, here I am. Part of the team.

The dirty fucking dozen, as Lyssa puts it. That's how many of us will carry out this mission, it's decided after Sarah has gone. Lyssa and I will be two of them. Hadria another. Mario and Ricky will be there too, and Ricky's stare at me suggests he plans to keep a close eye on me.

Near the end, Lyssa stands and gives me a quick tug to stand with her. "We'll leave the details to you, Ricky." He says nothing, just stares at me again. "And we'll meet you there. Tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night," Hadria says. And for the first time, Hadria Imperioli looks at me, too.

I wish she hadn't.

"Come on, Scar," Lyssa says loudly. "I want to see Mrs. G before we go."

I'd rather leave Elysium straight away, but Lyssa still has a purpose here. We head down to Mrs. Graves' quarters, where Sarah has returned.

Mrs. Graves looks delighted to see me. She actually hugs me, and says, "I'm sorry if I sounded a little belligerent the other day. I'm so happy that you're still alive—and that Lyssa has proven herself to be the woman I know she really is."

"I-I'm glad I have a chance to apologize to you, too. I never should have mixed you up in everything."

Lyssa pushes forward, staring at Sarah. "Touching reunions aside," she says, "I have a question for Sarah, here."

Sarah looks up eagerly. "If you need me to fight?—"

"No," Lyssa says flatly. "I just want to know why you left that pile of shredded paper under your bed in Grandmother's house."

Sarah's eyes widen. "You found it, then? I hoped you would."

"You…left it there on purpose?" I ask.

She nods. "After she took your parents, I wanted to…to help, somehow. Even something small. When she was getting ready to evacuate the penthouse, she shredded a whole lot of documents. I grabbed a handful of the shreddings. I would've grabbed more, but she walked back into the room and told me to go and slow Lyssa down."

"Do you know anything about the list of names?" Lyssa ask.

Sarah just looks slightly more confused than she has so far and shakes her head. "What list?"

"Do you know anything about a hit list of assassination targets?" Lyssa tries, adding, "High-profile leaders of various groups. Like Hadria and Juno Bianchi?"

"I don't know anything about that. Grandmother kept all business conversations completely private. She never wanted anyone to have too much information."

That's true enough. But—"Why did you try to help the Syndicate?" I ask.

"I knew you had been compromised," she says simply. "It was my job to follow you. See where you were going. It was pretty clear that you and Lyssa were—well." She gives a very faint smirk and for a moment all I see before me is Ariadne, and I give an involuntary jerk.

"And?" I demand harshly.

"And I decided to keep my mouth shut," she says slowly. "I knew if anyone could take down Grandmother, it would be the Wolf. I hated you both…but I hate Grandmother more."

From the corner of my eye, I can see Mrs. Graves making a movement, nodding her head encouragingly at Sarah, who tilts her head to one side. "Oh. Right. I'm sorry I tried to kill you, Lyssa," she parrots.

"Okay, time to go," Lyssa says quickly, seeing the look on my face.

"That bitch is not sorry in the slightest," I hiss, as Lyssa hurries me from the room. "She only said sorry because her mother?—"

"I know," Lyssa says. "I know, Scar. But you gotta give her a little time. You took a while to come around, and let's face it—Sarah was there a lot longer than you."

"Do you really believe her about those shreddings?"

"Yeah, actually, I think I do. There's a war going on inside her, that much is clear. Taking that handful of paper was a tiny rebellion, the smallest one she could make—but also the biggest."

"Why are you so eager to forgive her?" I snap. "Why are you taking her side?"

We've been walking while talking, but now she stops me there in the foyer of the house, taking me by the shoulders. "I'm not taking her side," she tells me. "I'm on your side. Always."

A little cough makes us both glance to the side, where we see Aurora standing in the doorway of the next room, staring at us with a neutral expression.

"Suzy," Lyssa says with a smile. "I wanted to say thank you for what you did the other night—standing up for Scarlett with Hades."

"I wasn't standing up for the assassin," Aurora says, and damn if she doesn't sound just as ice-cold as her fiancée. "I did it for you, Lyssa—and for Hadria, though she couldn't see it at the time. Because if the two of you can't keep it together, it endangers the whole Syndicate."

With that, she walks past us and up the staircase without a glance back. We watch her go and Lyssa gives a soft sigh.

"Can we get the hell out of here, please?" I mutter.

"Let's go."