Brax turns into a dark, empty parking lot and kills the headlights. He gets out, as do I.
We scurry through the shadows and get in front of the entrance.
He stops me, warning, "Be careful, Minx."
"Not the first abandoned building I've been in," I remind him.
"Just be careful. I'm going first," he declares and slides past the warped door.
I follow him and glance around the abandoned machinery, dangling chains, and deep pockets of shadows. I mutter, "This place is perfect."
Brax nods, steps behind a stack of metal crates, then pulls out industrial-grade zip cables and a Glock. He holds it toward me. "Take it."
I don't hesitate.
He points. "Go hide behind that wall. When they come in, shoot them both in the kneecap. They can't die until we get more information from them."
"Agree," I say, and take my position in the darkness.
My heart beats wild, waiting. Then the low growl of an engine crawls up the drive. Two silhouettes approach the building.
Igor steps in first, his Russian accent thick, demanding, "Where's Valentina?"
"Who knows. I just get summoned," Brax states in his normal sarcastic tone.
"I'm here," I announce, step out of the shadows, and shoot two quick shots at them both.
Blood bursts everywhere. They both go down screaming.
Brax pounces over them, holding a gun, warning, "Don't move or I'm blowing your head off."
"What the fuck," Lev grits through his teeth.
"Arms over your head and get on your stomachs," Brax shouts, then shoots a bullet next to Igor's face.
Dust flies in the air. He pisses his pants. "Don't kill me!"
"Okay! Okay!" Lev agrees, putting his hands over his head and rolling onto his stomach.
I reach down and grab his gun from his waist and toss it across the room. Then I do the same with Igor's.
"Tie them up, Minx," Brax orders.
I grab a zip tie and secure their feet and wrists.
Brax hands me the gun. "Keep it on them."
I point it at them.
He drags them one at a time several feet, then lowers a rope and ties it to their ankles. He hits a button on a wall, and the rope loses its slack until they're hanging upside down like butchered animals.
Lev spits blood. "You?—"
Brax backhands him hard across the mouth. "Shut up! Now I want to know who else is involved in your assassination plot."
Igor grunts, swinging around in a circle from trying to pry himself loose. "Go to hell."
Brax reaches into his pocket, then presses the flat of the blade to Igor's throat. "You misunderstand me. I didn't come for Hell. I came for answers."
