Ashe’s eyes swept over the surrounding rooftops, the city lights casting a glow on the rapidly moving clouds above. She didn’t think anyone was setting up a killbox that wasn’t her, but it certainly wouldn’t be difficult given the myriad of shops that surrounded the bar situated near the gulf shores of Uptown.

Nobody really liked the plan she came up with, but she’d had all of two minutes to really think of something, and that meant nobody would end up happy. Least of all, her. Options were limited, and she had to work with what she had on the table.

She could see the cars now, pulling down the road in a slow procession that spelled doom to all that came to their attention. It reminded her of one of Senator Ellington’s motorcades, with all the personal security present. Not that it had helped his son, that had fallen to her thanks to the Mayor slipping in mercenaries with the security teams on staff.

The sky lit up with lightning as the first drops began to fall. Jericho was no stranger to flash thunderstorms rolling in off the gulf, and it was almost fitting as the rain began to cascade over the street and roll across the lot, immediately drenching her when the wall washed over her, then the bar behind.

Tension hung heavy in the air, anticipation thrumming through Ashe’s veins as the marker drew ever closer and she finally put her phone away and gripped her rifle, bringing it up to a relaxed, yet ready, position.

While Ashe had known someone was bringing her mom to them, she hadn’t expected an entire motorcade. Six black SUVs parked along the street across the parking lot from the Tangled Web. She knew going in that the odds would be against her, but seeing that many people divesting themselves from the vehicles really drove home how outmatched she was.

A heavy swallow followed when someone hauled her mom out, pulling her forcefully by the arm and Ashe hated that she was thankful to see her in their custody. It meant she was alive, that they hadn’t taken the watch knowing it was a tracker just to shove it in her face. It also meant that Alejandro had plans that involved her.

Crystal nudged her with a shoulder, barely connecting, but enough to reassure her that she wasn’t in this alone. Hell, her entire team was in place and ready. To her back, the van blocked the entrance to the Tangled Web where she knew that Kyle was taking up position to offer support, bare minimum. Not to mention the other patrons that were at least armed. They might not be there to assist, but that was one side she could reasonably trust wasn’t going to shoot her in the back.

Keiko and Brie were on overwatch, keeping an eye on the entire scene. She had an idea where they were, but was being careful to not look their way too often. She could only hope that someone hadn’t seen them head up to the roof and there was no way Ashe was going to slip up and tip Alejanndro off to her friend’s location.

She just had to hope that nobody got the drop on them, but all she could do was trust in her team to manage those things by themselves. Just as she had to manage this situation on her own. Ashe held her rifle loosely, or at least tried to, her finger was off the trigger because she had no doubt that she would have suffered a negligent discharge with how white knuckled her grip was, even with gloves concealing her hands.

Armed individuals continued to emerge from the vehicles, their numbers nearing two dozen. Four of those men surrounded her mom, at least two of them keeping a gun on her at all times. A gag was placed in her mouth to keep her from speaking, but her eyes still sparked with defiance. She’d been stripped of her jacket, and her watch for that matter. That just meant that someone had either pocketed it, or it was removed in the van on the way.

That could have easily backfired, had someone not been careless. Ashe continued to stand there as her mom was marched forward, yet there was still no sign of Alejandro. Her entire plan hinged on the man making an appearance, but he had to know that she wasn’t alone. Was he waiting for her support to be picked off by his own men?

Was he even aware of them?

Or, was yet another person faking their friendship with her? Robbie had joined up with him, and for all she knew, the man was still in his corner. That was part of why she had Robbie watching her back. She wanted to show him trust, something he probably didn’t deserve after his time working for Alejandro.

That was why she gave Robbie one of the most important roles of the night. Ashe needed to thread a needle if everyone she cared about was going to leave with their life intact come sunrise. She couldn’t afford to have doubts about anyone, because if she did, everything would crumble to dust.

She looked across the cars, frowning as the man himself was still unaccounted for.

“Who speaks for Alejandro?” Ashe demanded, letting her voice project.

One of the men stepped forward, his face just visible enough to tell her it wasn’t him. She scoffed just as lightning illuminated the sky, then raised her rifle and put a single bullet into the man’s chest. He dropped, and every one of the gangers froze.

Ashe very deliberately didn’t sigh in relief when her mom remained unharmed.

“Obviously,” Ashe said slowly, letting her rifle drop ever so slightly, “I’ll only speak with the man himself. No more games, we negotiate face to face or I keep dropping your men until you’re all that’s left.”

A heavy pall fell over the parking lot, leaving only the patter of rain and distant rumble of thunder as ambiance. Everyone before her seemed unsure how to proceed. She had taken a gamble, hoping that they wouldn’t shoot her mom, if only in part due to timing the shot with a flash of lightning, and that had paid off. Clapping filled the silence, Ashe didn’t look in that direction, keeping her eyes on the men that were holding her mom hostage.

Alejandro stepped around one of the SUVs, wearing a long sleeve black button up and slacks. A far more formal outfit than the rest of his gear, but that didn’t hide the pistol at his side even as he stalked forward, still clapping. It took her all of a moment to spot the familiar watch band on his wrist.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“Bravo, little flame,” Alejandro said. “You still have that spark from our first meeting. So much potential, but too many constraints.” He stopped beside Mom, looking the gagged woman over. “Not hard to see where you got it from, this woman was fierce as hell, took down six of my guys in an escape attempt before we managed to restrain her.”

A flare of pride welled up within Ashe’s chest, knowing that her mom had managed to make them bleed for her capture. It was a wonder she wasn’t in worse shape than she was, given what that capture probably entailed.

“How many did she take out after running out of ammo?” Ashe asked with a grin.

“Two,” he admitted with a heavy sigh. “Little Jeffe’s sniffer won’t be the same.”

Beside her, Crystal mimed crying, rubbing near her eyes as she did. “Wah, poor baby murderer hurt his wittle nose.”

“Yes, such a tragedy,” Alejandro said, “we may have to put him down.”

“Nothing stopping you,” Ashe said, patting her gun. “Hell, I’ll lend you the bullet.”

Alejandro shook his head. “So much spunk, but no idea of self preservation.”

“Learned from the best,” she countered. “I had quite the crash course, wouldn’t you say?”

He laughed. “You certainly did. The convention center was especially brilliant. Tell me, how much of that was planned, and how much was improv?”

“Most of it was improv,” Ashe admitted. She wasn’t sure why she kept the clock running, maybe some desire to live a few minutes longer, but if he wasn’t going to just gun her down, there had to be something to gain from it all. “Jason sort of fell into my lap and they moved to kill him. I took exception to that.”

“And served to piss off one of the most dangerous mercenary groups in the world,” he said, still chuckling. “Did you know I didn’t even need to pay them when they went after you? They were happy enough to do so on the information alone. All I had to do was bait you with one of my many informants within your still unnamed organization. You really should get on that before the cops name it for you.”

“Your organization doesn’t have a name,” Ashe pointed out.

“We had one,” he said easily. “People just didn’t like it ending up in the news, so they went with my name instead.”

Ashe’s eyes widened. “What, you think the media will do the same if my name gets out?”

“Ashes does have a bit of a ring to it,” Alejandro admitted. “Though it would need a modifier. Hmm, maybe something to do with kindling? Not that I ever intended for that, if everything went as planned, you would be folding in with the Viuda.”

“I would have done that regardless,” Ashe said. “If it wasn’t for your meddling.”

He chuckled darkly. “I wasn’t the only one medling, old Silver was playing some cards as well. He even tried to hire the mercs to ambush me tonight. Pity for him that his funds are so limited. I outbid him with the offer to serve you up. I am curious though, how did you survive that mess?”

Shit, he didn’t know that Robbie flipped on him? If not, then where did he think the man was? If Ashe were in his shoes, she would have kept him far away from this mess, likely being watched by someone he trusted to some minor degree. His most trusted would be right there in the thick of it with him.

She couldn’t rely on that, it might just be him playing games with her, letting her hope before snatching it all away. She wouldn’t fall for that, couldn’t let herself. Ashe needed to be sharp and ready to react the moment he attempted to make a move. That was assuming she didn’t get to make hers first.

“Turned out the mercs didn’t think to look up,” Ashe said with a shrug. “Or to check for traps when they found one of their buddies dead on the floor.”

Alejandro barked out a sharp laugh. “Oh, that’s rich! So glad I didn’t pay out the ass for them if a little girl could get one over on them like that.”

He was one hell of an actor, she already knew that, but to see him like this, she was starting to believe that he really didn’t know about Robbie.

“This little girl has claws,” Ashe said with a shrug. “Everyone that’s tested me has been burned so far.”

“Says the cop killer,” Alejandro said, and for the first time since the entire exchange began, Ashe’s mom visibly reacted to their conversation. “Oh, didn’t tell mommy dearest about poor old Reynolds? Understandable that she didn’t recognize you, given the poor lighting in those tunnels.”

“Still trying to pin that on me?” Ashe asked with a heavy sigh, thankful that a racing heart wasn’t visible. “He was a family friend. I have every intention of attending the funeral if I survive the night.”

“I would very much hope you do survive,” Alejandro said. “Otherwise all of this was wasted effort, and I do so hate that.”

There was a biting remark on the tip of her tongue, but she held it back. That mischievous sparkle had disappeared from his eyes, replaced by deadly seriousness. No, he wanted an honest appraisal from her, so she would give it.

“You wanted me to take over the Viuda,” Ashe said. “Because you felt you could manipulate me into doing your dirty work. You were right too, I fell for it all hook, line, and sinker.”

At that, the man’s false grin fell away and he heaved out a heavy sigh. “Yes, pity that you seem to have realized what happened at the last moment.”

Ashe reached up, pulling her mask off as she did, letting it hang from the strap for a moment. She looked down at the intricate design, like something out of a samurai movie. It had been partly Keiko’s idea, and she had rolled with it. The flames fit perfectly with her own theme. The anonymity it brought with it was as good as lost now. She tossed it aside and looked back up at the man.

“Let me guess,” Ashe said, looking into her mom’s eyes as she did. “You intend to force me into this life, out me to the world, maybe even pin my mom’s death on me?”

“How disappointing,” Alejandro said. “Looks like I’ll just have to put someone else in charge of the Viuda after I slaughter the lot of them.”

“Dropping all pretense?” Ashe asked.

“Not much point in it,” he agreed. “I tried that cloak and dagger shit for months, and your crew was the only one to bite. It was always a longshot, and I planned to blame you for all the chaos that followed. Still do, if we’re being honest.”

“Awfully forthcoming of you,” Crystal growled. “Let me guess, courtesy before you kill us?”

“Of course,” he said with a genuine smile, “I’m not a monster.”

“Funny,” Ashe said, her voice monotone as she raised her rifle. “Because I most certainly am.”

The deafening retort washed over her like an old friend as she pulled the trigger. The bullet struck home, Ashe watched her mom double over from where she had just been shot in the chest, and crumple to the rain slicked ground. Her mom looked up, surprise in her eyes as she reached forward with a trembling hand for a fleeting moment, clawing at a puddle, then fell still in the falling rain.