Chapter 20

~Chapter 20~

Both Josh and Nathan stared in shock at the woman who stood before them. She bore a stunning resemblance to Josh, from the brown showing through the blonde in her hair to her sharp gray eyes.
Nathan whispered to Josh, “Relative you never told me about?”
Josh didn’t answer, just stared at her. And at Lexy, who knelt next to her with the woman’s pistol against the side of her head.
“Damn,” Nathan whispered, “Look at Scarlet.”
Scarlet lay on the steps between the kitchen table and the living room, either dead or unconscious, Josh couldn’t tell.
Josh’s eyes flicked back to the woman in front of him.
“Who are you? What did you do to Scarlet?”
A smug smile crossed the woman’s mouth.
“She’s alright… for now. And you can call me Athena for now.”
Josh nodded slowly, “Okay, Athena. Gray-eyed goddess of war and weapons. You a weapons dealer?”
Athena nodded appreciatively.
“Yes, along with many other things. But right now, I’m the one with a gun on your girlfriend.”
Josh swallowed, “I can see that. And what do you want from me?”
The woman looked down at Lexy, who was looking at her with a terrified expression out of the corner of her eye.
“Interesting, the women you choose. A Doctor, and assassin, and the President’s daughter.”
She cast a distasteful look at Scarlet’s inert body.
“Oh yes, I know about your long ago affair with that cow over there. And you really don’t need to worry about her, I shot her with a tranquilizer dart. She’ll wake up eventually.”
Athena turned her gray eyes back on Josh.
“What do I want? I want you to give yourself up to me. My employer wants you alive, but out of action.”
Nathan had dropped his hands to his sides. He snorted at her words.
“You mean he wants Josh dead. And how would you know about Mariah or Scarlet being with Josh? He dated Scarlet back before he ditched his vindictive family, and even some of his closest friends didn’t know that. So either you are very well informed or…”
Josh finished the sentence, “Or you were there.”
The woman laughed and gestured to her gray eyes and face.
“You mean you haven’t figured it out yet? Dear Uncle Regent said you would recognize me right away.”
“Wait,” Nathan was confused, “Regent’s your uncle? So that makes you… ah Hell.”
She looked pityingly at him, “Yes, Nathan, Josh is my brother.”
Josh blinked once, “Janelle? But they said you died.”
Janelle laughed again, her voice high and mocking.
“Died? Oh no, I just went off for some special training. You would have too if you hadn’t betrayed the family.”
Josh shook his head, “I didn’t betray my family. My family betrayed my family. You killed Mariah and Mara, tried to kill Lexy, and you tried to kill me.”
Janelle’s smile chilled even Nathan to the bone.
“Well, you’ve gotten revenge for your precious wife, didn’t you?”
Josh looked at her strangely, “What do you mean?”
Janelle pretended to look surprised.
“You didn’t know? Pyros was the one who pulled the trigger.”
Nathan swore under his breath and Josh’s eyes became gray chunks of ice.
“Do you even care? I’m your brother! Doesn’t that mean something to you?”
Janelle seemed to think a moment, “Um… No, not really. You are a traitor to our family; I don’t even consider you a brother anymore. You are just a target.”
Josh’s eyes were fixed on Janelle, but Nathan noticed that, lying on the floor behind Janelle, Scarlet twitched. She was waking up.

“So, do you want to know how you save your little flame and save her life?”
Janelle smiled winningly at Josh.
Josh sighed, “Fine. What is your deal?”
Janelle’s smile turned instantly cruel.
“You lay down all your weapons, especially that Desert Eagle you have holstered under you coat, and I walk out with you in handcuffs, maybe sedated. You come back to Regent and your little friends can go on with their lives.”
Josh shrugged absently, “And if I don’t give myself up?”
Janelle gestured with a nod of her head to Scarlet.
“I put her down with a dart, next time it will be a bullet. And Lexy here will get to let all the air out of her blonde head.”
A shaky voice piped up from behind Janelle.
“Speaking of witch, I need to have a word with the ass that shot me with this damn needle!”
Janelle’s eyes went big and she turned her head just in time to see a red-fletched crossbow bolt materialize through her wrist. She tried moving her hand, her fingers, but couldn’t.
While Josh had been talking to Janelle, Scarlet had woken up and regained her senses. She had quietly pulled her way to where she could reach over the back of the couch to where she had left her crossbow that morning. It was already loaded and ready to fire, so fire Scarlet did.
Janelle started to reach up with her good hand to unclasp the hand holding the gun, but Josh took a quick step forward and drew the pistol from under his coat with a speed and motion that would have made many cowboys jealous.
BLAM!
He fired on shot into Janelles thigh, causing her to let out a small scream and fall to her knees. Lexy quickly scrambled away from her, and Josh took three long steps forward and placed his gun between Janelle’s eyes.
The gray eyes of the assassin had lost all their cruelty and were filled now with fear.
“Josh? You wouldn’t, not your own sister…”
The voice that answered her was dead, emotionless. It no longer was Josh Taske, grieving widower and ex Marine, speaking. It was Sharktooth, cold killer and unmerciful assassin.
“You are a traitor to my family; I don’t even consider you a sister anymore. You are just a target.”
BLAM!
Josh pulled the trigger.