“Once we’re done, we’re cutting the heads off every single one of these motherfuckers and leaving it like a red carpet of blood for the Preacher,” I say as the men gather behind me.
I remember the first time Lev and I left a message just like this in Moscow.
“Brutal. I love it,” Conan growls.
Even Dr. Quinn gives me half a grin.
I nod toward the black door, and Conan kicks it open. We go in with guns raised. Our back team should be filtering in now.
These Russians don’t stand a chance. Not on our turf. The men they’re using aren’t trained like I am. They’re lackeys at best. The only reason we haven’t defeated them yet is that they hide too well.
Yet when they come out of the shadows to play, we take them down.
I drop the first two men on my right, while Finn slices his blade up through another man’s jaw. Conan grabs one by the collar and smashes his skull against a beam.
Glasses shatter. Gunshots crack. Bodies fall.
Then I hear a woman scream.
Not panic. Terror.
It cuts straight through the fight fog.
I sprint toward the sound, motioning for Reggie and Rowan to cover me. At the far end of the club, I see Enzo’s right-hand man, Romeo, with his gun pointed at a familiar face.
The face of a beautiful woman I knew I’d see again.
Madame Eve.
The woman is responsible for trafficking girls across state lines. She’s the friendly face that lures the innocent girls in, not knowing the future they’re really agreeing to. We found her once, back in Arizona, when we went to visit Hunter Sterling. Back then, we didn’t know the extent of the operation. And we needed intel, not bodies.
But after they tried to kill the twins and their girl, Bella, the rules changed.
When the Preacher sent spies into Inferno to take part in the Decadence games, that puts Isabella and Charlotte in danger. No one puts that little girl’s life at risk.
They declared this war.
Now we end it.
“Romeo. We need her alive,” I order, because I believe Madame Eve is the closest link we’ve come across to the Preacher. She’s higher up the chain of command. She is of value to the cult.
And out of all the men I’ve tortured that are part of this organization, not one has given us anything of substance. I’m wondering if Madame has a weakness, a real one we can extract. Which Enzo is already working on.
She straightens her spine, but fear flickers in her eyes. She knows she’s done.
I don’t make a habit of hurting women, but monsters don’t get the privilege of mercy.
“Pleasure to finally meet you, Madame Eve,” I offer her my hand.
She presses her lips into a thin red line, while her eyes blaze.
“You won’t hurt me, you need me…” She trails off, gaze dragging over my blood-splattered white shirt.
“Do I? I’ve tortured nearly thirty of the Preacher’s men, and they gave me nothing. Your cult doesn’t break easily. Are you going to talk, or just beg for death like the rest of the pussies who work for you?” I growl.
She laughs, tilting her head back. “You’ve tortured meaningless soldiers.”
I take a step forward. “The Crow didn’t seem meaningless. He led us to you the first time.”
