Bennett smirked as she strode past. “If that was meant to hurt, you’ll need to work a lot harder. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.”

Ruby rolled her eyes as she adjusted the bags in her hands, and a second later, one handle broke and a half-dozen oranges and assorted vegetables fell to the floor. The broccoli, carrots, and green beans remained at her feet while the oranges escaped down the stairs. Rolling and bouncing from step to step, three landed at the bottom of the stairs near Bennett’s feet.

“Do you mind?” Ruby said, pointing to the oranges.

Bennett looked at the fruit and then up at Ruby. “No, not at all. I can walk around them. Good evening.”

***

One call to Lisa was all it took to have Bennett’s schedule rearranged for the rest of the week. She had pushed enough of Napoleon’s buttons to know he would retaliate, and Napoleon wasn’t a patient man. He had something to prove…and so did Bennett.

The night moved slowly along, the streets emptying of cars and the sidewalk emptying of people as the clock wound toward midnight. Businesses closed up shop, and lights in homes were turned off as the occupants shuffled their way to bed, and even the rain abated, the constant shower turning to drizzle as the sky filled with stars.

The park was quiet save for the water dripping from one leafless branch to another and random floodlights cast ominous shadows over the playground and basketball court. When first Bennett had walked this park, the trees planted by the city were but delicate sprigs of maple, oak, and elm. But now, they were sturdy and majestic, their trunks more than wide enough to conceal her existence.

Bennett propped herself up against a tree. She pulled up the hood on her coat, and behind her dark aviators, blue burned in her eyes as she patiently eavesdropped on the world. Tires on wet pavement, a car alarm chirp, the jangling keys of a night owl arriving home, patrons from a local bar chattering as they took a shortcut across the park...and a nearby twig snapping under the weight of a foot.

Bennett raised her chin, and silently, she pulled the two long-bladed arming daggers from her boots, their blades blackened so no light would reflect off the steel. Bennett took a silent step and peeked around the tree.

It was hard not to laugh at their stupidity, their eyes easily seen against in the darkness, and as they crouched and waited for their victims, Bennett noiselessly made her way to them. She had made Napoleon a promise, and Bennett had every intention of keeping it.

Chapter Twelve