“He’s definitely there.”
“Where?”
“Ten o’clock, behind the door, but close enough to a window if you need that entrance as well.” Ha, who am I kidding? The only one of us who’d fit through a window is me. He’d be lucky to get a leg through.
I hear the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked. “Let’s go.”
Seconds later, we move as one, crouched but running to the back entrance of the restaurant. I test the handle and find it locked. Silently, Cain jerks his head for me to get out of the way and pulls a small, slender device out of his pocket. He slides it expertly in place. The lock clicks, and the door swings open.
Cain goes in first. Prepared for an ambush, I don’t look. This is not going to end well. The ginger bartender looks at us, turns, and tries to run away. In one swift move, I take my knife out of the ankle harness, aim, and fling it through the air. It lands like an arrow, the blade sunk deep into the wood of the doorframe half an inch from his head.
“Stay right there.”
Chapter 7
Cain
* * *
I knew she was skilled with a knife, but the way she stopped him mid-stride was fucking beautiful. So graceful, it fucking made me hard. Her skill goes way beyond beginner.
I don't waste time. In three firms strides across the room I've got the bartender by the neck.
“Name.”
“Jeremy Guard.”
“Why the fuck did you try to get rid of me?”
His eyes water and his voice squeaks, like a cornered mouse.
“Because they’ll kill me.”
“Who will?”
“I don’t know names.”
“Are they the people that took my sister?”
“I—I think so.”
I grip his shirt and shake him.
“Yes!”
“Where are they?”
“I don’t know. Said something about heading to Canada, but I can’t tell you anything beyond that.”
Fucking Canada?
“Why will they kill you?”
“Because they don’t want to get caught. Because they’d go to jail for life. Because it would end their little shopping spree.” He’s crying freely now.
How fucking dare he. I give him another shake, furious he had the nerve to call it a shopping spree.
“That’s my sister we’re talking about.”
Jeremy nods.
“Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn’t kill you.”
“Because I’m your ticket to finding them.”
Wily son of a bitch.
“Yeah? You have no names. You’ve got no connections. How do I know what you’ve said is true?”
“Because they come all the time. They’ll be back.”
“And what’s your role in this?”
He closes his eyes and winces. I shake him again, but Violet is so over this. She gives him a swift kick to the calf. “He asked you a question!”
He flinches and cries out. She glares at him, beautiful and feisty but ferocious as hell. Christ, even I’d answer her question. I did the right thing hiring her.
“They paid me! And I need the money.”
A deadly calm comes over me. My gun burns on my hip, ready to dance in my grip and make him pay. “Why?”
“I owe a bookie,” he sobs. “I didn’t want to do it.”
“Do what?”
He doesn’t answer but closes his eyes and cries harder, like he knows his honest answer will sign his death warrant.
“You tell me, or I’ll hold you down and give her permission to beat you. Is that what you want? To be beaten by a woman?”
He winces. Violet assumes a fighting stance, fucking ready.
Gorgeous.
He shakes his head. “He paid me to… slip them roofies.”
Motherfucker. The date rape drug.
The hand holding him in my grip shakes with fury. “Then what?”
“Then he’d… pick them up. Take them home. And I don’t know what from there. I try to respect people who—”
“Oh, fuck off.”
He stares at the gun in my hand.
I don’t give him a chance to explain further. He starts to cry. “I never meant to hurt anyone.”
I grab him by the hair and shove him to his knees. If I had time, I’d torture the motherfucker. I want to see the same pain in his eyes the women he fed to the goddamn wolves felt. I want to hear him cry harder and beg for his life until he’s hoarse.
“You fucking piece of shit.” My voice shakes and the room blurs. “If my sister’s with a rapist right now… if he hurts her… it’s your fucking fault.”
I knee him, and when he doubles over, I hammer my fist to his jaw. Bone snaps, blood spurts. Violet watches in approval and cracks her knuckles like she wants to help me.
“You’re a worthless, spineless bastard. Any man that helps another take advantage of innocent women deserves punishment worse than death.” I grab him by the hair and yank his head back. I want to slit his throat. I want to feel his warm blood spill on my own hands as his life seeps out of him. I want to watch his eyes grow lifeless.