Page 11 of Sentinel's Kiss

She shook her head. “Whoever he is, he’s got either mad skills or a staff that rivals the douche bags at Langley.”

“Who cares?” Warden shrugged.

Josh had to agree. He was used to being given orders by faceless people, and as long as the orders jibed with his inner moral compass, such as it was, he didn’t care. None of the assholes who crossed their paths were innocent victims. Just the opposite. They were predators who thought they could game the system. But they had forgotten or allowed themselves to get complacent. There was always a bigger shark.

The SOBs had once been victims. At one time they had been powerless and afraid. Each of them swore that they would never let anyone put them in that position again. And as they grew up and learned new skills, they swore they’d help anyone who needed it no matter what the cost was. Evil had thought the cost was his soul, until his wife, Lucy, came into his life. Sentinel knew better. He was a soldier, trained to kill. Only this time the war wasn’t on foreign land; it was on his home turf. He was still a soldier, and truth be told he wasn’t one hundred percent certain the government wasn’t still calling the shots and giving him orders. He thought of himself as a sanitation engineer. He took the garbage out.

“Sentinel, hold up,” Ryder said to him as everyone else cleared out of the boardroom. “I still have Stan under surveillance.” When the door closed, she asked, “Why is he still alive?”

“Ashley,” Sentinel said.

“Ashley Carver? The reporter?”

“Yeah. She found out about three related murders. Before I kill Stan, I want to know if he did them.”

Ryder had died her light blond hair jet black and it was currently back in a severe bun. She wore leather pants and a denim vest over a white T-shirt. She glared at him with heavily eyelined eyes. It almost made her look like a raccoon. He couldn’t figure out what look she was going for. She was a really pretty girl under all that shit. Of course, she’d beat the crap out of him if he ever suggested that to her.

“Why?” she asked. “If he did, you’re just going to torture yourself that you didn’t kill him sooner, and if he didn’t, who gives a fuck?”

Sentinel looked away. “What if he didn’t do it?”

“What?” Ryder snarled.

He couldn’t blame her for getting angry. “What if there’s a serial killer out there and Sarah was his victim? What if Stan didn’t kill her?”

Ryder slammed her palms against the table. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. The only reason I haven’t stuffed him in a trunk and sent him into the bay is that Sarah was your sister. You deserve the kill. If you’re going to puss out, I’ll take the shot.”

Sentinel caught her arm when she rose from the chair. “He’s walked for two years. Two more days isn’t going to change things. I need answers before those answers are buried with him.”

She gritted her teeth. “I can’t let him disappear again.”

“You won’t lose him.”

“I won’t let him kill again either,” she warned.

“Agreed.”

“One week, and then I’m taking the decision out of your hands. I owe Sarah this.”

Sentinel went to hug her but she pushed him away. “Do your job.” She slammed out of the boardroom.

Ryder never had been touchy-feely but she was the closest thing he had left to a sister. Evil’s sister Jules and Sarah had been inseparable when they were kids, but after her death Jules didn’t have a lot to say to the SOBs. Sentinel had asked Evil once if Jules blamed them for not protecting her and Evil didn’t answer, which was an answer in itself. Warden was an only child. Sarah had been five years older than them, and at some points she was more of a mother to Josh and his friends than their own parents were.

Josh pulled out Ashley’s business card. Ryder was right. Sarah had waited for justice long enough.

Ashley answered on the second ring. “Hi, Josh,” she said, her voice breathless as if she had run for the phone. Or maybe she wasn’t alone. He scowled at the thought.

“What are you doing?” he asked, a little accusingly. Maybe she had a boyfriend. He didn’t like the idea that someone else might be touching her right now, making her gasp and quiver.

“Packing,” she said. “My parents want me to stay near them in the Hamptons this summer.”

“Tough life.” He laughed.

“Staying with my parents all summer? How would you like staying in your parents’ house for three months?”

The smile vanished from his face. He hadn’t wanted to stay when he had parents and they had a house. “I see your point.”

“Yeah, well, my dad’s just recovering from a triple bypass. He had a heart attack. He’s a surgeon. You think he’d take better care of himself, right? Luckily he was in the hospital when it happened.” She took a shaky breath. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if he had been driving. Anyway.” Ashley changed her tone to all business. “What can I do for you?”