Wy: Good shit. This lead was a bust.
Rowan: Finally. What’s the plan?
O: ?? ?+ ??
I snort at Karl’s response-he’s going home to get all his girls.
Me: ?? ?? ?? O, seriously?
O: Sharpening Lizzie and the girls as we speak.
Seb: Emma’s asleep. Should I leave now?
Rowan: Did you have to get on your hands and knees?
Seb: Fuck off.
August: I hope she made you lick the ground or some shit. You deserve it, dick.
Seb: ?? No assholes. But I did try to explain….I’ll tell you later.
Me: Focus…we have HW!
Rowan: Are we grabbing her now?
Me: I called in King.
That has my phone ringing- a video call.
“You called in the crazy Russian fuck?” Rowan gapes.
I shrug, “King needs information on his uncle. I found it. So, he’ll grab Madeline in exchange. She won’t expect him.”
“Hopefully, she doesn’t say something to make him kill her before he delivers,” August states.
When Madeline was Lydia, she had a mouth on her. We should’ve noticed the change. Lydia was quiet, but we chalked the change in behavior to the Selection. She wasn’t a big fan of what was happening and was vocal about it before she was murdered, and Madeline took her place.
“How long before he grabs her?” Karl inquires.
“King is on it already. I’ll have an update soon.”
Sebastian clears his throat, and I see Emma’s sleeping form sprawled out on his chest. Her lips slightly parted, soft snores escaping her. She’s fucking stunning. “Should we go to the Tombs now?” he asks, pressing a kiss to her forehead and brushing the few strands of hair from her face. I don’t think the idiot recognizes he’s gone for her already- just like the rest of us.
“Nah. King won’t get her here for at least eight hours. I’ll see you fuckheads in the morning,” I say before ending the call.
Dropping my phone on my desk, I get to work drawing up the files on the sex trafficking warehouse King’s uncle’s been running stateside.
* * *
“No friend this time?” King observes once he’s placed Madeline on the table.
“They’re on their way,” I reply, unzipping the bag Madeline’s in.
King watches me for a moment, then nods, “Where are the files on my uncle?”
Once I have Madeline strapped in, I walk to the table and grab the flash drive. “It’s all on here. Your uncle’s into some seriously sick shit.”
“What did you find?” he probes, taking the drive and putting it in his pants’ pocket.
Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I explain. “He traffics women, men, kids- fucking whole families. The warehouse you’re looking for isn’t even a speck of sand in the desert with the number of holdings he has.”
King sighs. “I know, but this is my foot in the door.”
I open my mouth to speak but pause for a moment, thinking through my words carefully, knowing what it will mean for us if he ever decides to do it. Then I say, “If there ever comes a day you need help taking this piece of shit down, let us know.”
King reaches his hand out, signaling a gentleman’s agreement. “I have your word?”
“Have your word for what?” Rowan asks, his eyes narrowing suspiciously to where King’s reaching for my hand.
“To help when the time comes,” I reply, holding my hand out.
Karl, August, and Sebastian walk in and take positions around the room. Karl stands over Madeline- one of his knives in hand, ready to play.
August quirks a brow, looking away from the table of tools.”What’s going on?”
King and I drop our hands, accepting I need to explain the situation before an agreement can be made.
“King’s going to take back his birthright from a sick, twisted fuck, and we’re going to help whenever the time comes,” I state, then peer around the room into each of their eyes for confirmation. Once I have, I turn back to King. His arm is already outstretched. I return the gesture, our hands clasp, shaking on it. “You do.”
King steps back and says, “I’ll leave you all to it then. Until next time, be well, Liamon,” before exiting the room.
“How fucked are we because you made the deal?” Rowan sighs.
I rub the back of my neck. “As long as we can get rid of the Filiae Bellonae and take over the Fraternitas, we’ll be more than ready for Serge Volkov.
Karl drags his blade down Madeline’s arm. “Can we wake the bitch yet?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.