She wasn’t mentioned in the media.
I narrow my gaze further. My muscles pull tight, and a pain shoots down the side of my face as my jaw locks.
He has a fucking sister, but mine is still out there, decomposing somewhere. While this piece of shit remains tight-lipped on her and so many others’ whereabouts, the human trafficking ring, auction houses, and so much more.
“Hunter told me, ’bout her,” Warrior adds, and I continue boiling inside.
I grind my jaw, and fury unleashes in my veins. A fucking sister who must know something. How could you be oblivious when they went through his property and uncovered so much evidence? Just how much does she fucking know?
She’s here to support him?
What kind of woman is she? The whole innocent thing—it’s clearly an act.
“You look like you wanna rip her head off,” Warrior whispers in my ear.
I tilt my head toward him. “That’s because I do.” Then I focus back on the woman as if she’s going to up and leave without me having a chance to commit everything about her to memory.
“You think she knew?” I ask despite knowing the answer already. Somehow, I feel it in my gut. I know Alisha, and I know she’s calling for me to find her, and that piece of shit sitting idly in the public seating with her little lap dog–liaison officer knows something.
She has to.
“Course she did,” Warrior tacks on. “Don’t live with a sibling like that, oblivious to his sick operation.”
I nod, grateful he’s confirmed my suspicions.
“She needs to pay too,” I mumble, meaning every damn word.
Warrior slaps me on the back. “Don’t doubt it, brother.” Then he tilts his head for me to face the front.
“All rise.” The judge enters the room, and it seems like only yesterday we watched on TV when he was found guilty on all counts. Now my heart thunders to hear the verdict of how long the son of a bitch will serve. Somehow, I get to my feet and, as if on autopilot, sit back down when instructed to.
My entire body trembles with anticipation.
Warrior’s eyes are on me, although I don’t acknowledge him. I can’t. My ears fill with the heavy thump of my heart, and my blood pumps wildly. The sensation is unlike anything I’ve experienced. It’s like I’m unraveling at lightning speed, my body and mind no longer my own.
I breathe deeply, squeezing my eyes closed. When I open them, her emerald eyes penetrate my soul, and anelectrical current courses through me, leaving me breathless and gasping for air. Something slams my heart back in its rightful place, causing it to kick-start. Her lips part as she gazes back at me, like she sensed the jolt as well.
She sees me.
Did she see all my brutality? My darkness coupled with my strength.
She turns away, and our connection is broken, like it was never there at all.
The unease in the room is palpable. The silence hangs in the air like a deadly promise as we await his fate.
“Benjamin Charles, you are a danger to society. An abominable person, a heinous monster who knows no bounds. You have left a trail of devastation in your path, and it pleases me to hand down a sentence for the horrors of your crimes, which will be punishable to the maximum extent. Following on from your guilty verdict, for all counts of the indictment, I imprison you for the remainder of your natural life without the possibility of parole, and I will be seeking the death penalty.”
My lungs deflate, and I choke on the judge’s words.
The room erupts in shouts of jubilation while I remain seated, stunned. I should be happy, relieved, and full of joy. Instead, I’m numb. The fucker gets to live; for now, at least, but I don’t get my sister back.
I don’t get a damn thing because he stole that from me.
He stole her.
And now we have to wait again in hopes he receives the punishment he deserves—death.
It’s too good for him. We have contacts who can make him suffer, but it all feels redundant. What I really want are answers, then I want to rip him apart like he did his victims—limb by limb.
