“Kade, find Sarah,” Chief ordered, naming Phantom’s sister who we knew was working with Ricci. “She should still be barricaded in the club,” Chief ordered. “Badge, Buddha, Machine, and Phantom get to RSS.”
Adrenaline coursed through my body, making it impossible to take in the gravity of what we had accomplished. We saved five girls. Ricci was in captivity, bringing us one step closer to not only finding my sister, but ending this bastard’s empire.
Just as I was guiding the young girls to the door, I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Sarah blocking our exit, holding a gun pointed at Kade.
“Sarah, put the gun down,” Phantom said in an eerily smooth tone while putting her hands out, blocking Sarah’s view of Kade, the girls, and me.
“Evelyn, move out of the way,” Sarah said through gritted teeth. “You have no idea what you have just done.”
“Sarah, he was going to sell me,and children,off to the highest bidder!” Phantom exclaimed.
Sarah pointed the gun at Phantom. “You stopped being my sister a long time ago, Evelyn, when you made it your life’s mission to take down Daddy’s empire.”
Jesus, it was clear that Ricci had completely brainwashed the poor girl. Groomed from a young age into the perfect replacement.
“Anthony Ricci is NOT your father. He is the one who KILLED your father,” Phantom bit back.
“Daddy told me you would try to spill lies to me. I’m not going to fall for it. Now fucking move so I can take out this piece of garbage.” She pointed the gun at Kade again.
While Sarah was distracted, I slowly took out my gun. I looked at Buddha, who nodded his head in agreement before reaching for his own. I fired, hitting Sarah in the shoulder. The sound of the gunshot ricocheted off the walls as Sarah fell to the ground, screaming.
Buddha and I kept our guns on her while she wailed in pain, clutching the wound.Kade helped Phantom off the floor and rushed everyone out the door.
“You’ll pay for that, Jessica!” Sarah screamed at me just before the door slammed shut.
I wasn’t sure how she knew my real name, but I did know the dark feeling of foreboding taking over me. It didn’t matter, though, I had a job to do. It was time to get the answers I needed to find my sister and bring her home. It was time for Ricci to pay for his sins.
TWENTY-EIGHT
MACHINE
“I want answers, Ricci, where is Lily Fitzgerald?” Badger asked, leaning down in Ricci’s face.
We were in the interrogation room in the basement of RSS while the young girls were taken to the local hospital. Badger had been the first person who wanted a piece of Ricci, and I could understand why.
Ricci glared at her. “And why would I know anything about that person?”
Badger pulled back her fist and punched Ricci in the eye. He groaned, but then let out a harsh laugh.
“Don’t play dumb, you piece of shit! We both know you know where she is.” Badger wrapped a hand around Ricci’s throat, applying enough pressure for Ricci to know not to mess with her. “I know you had something to do with the letters and pictures being sent to me! So, where. Is. My. Sister?”
Ricci laughed again. “Stupid girl, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Ricci’s incompliance only fueled the rage that was going through my spitfire. I hated seeing her like this, distressed and furious. This was completely different than the playful anger Iwas familiar with. I was grateful that her fury wasn’t directed at me.
“Where is my sister?” Badger yelled at Ricci for the third time.
“That’s for me to know and you not to find out,” Ricci said, his laughter morphing into a sneer.
I leaned on the wall of the basement interrogation room as Badger punched Ricci’s other eye.
Ricci cackled. “Is that all you’ve got,Jessica?”
“Why did you send those men after me all those years ago?” Badger asked, lowering her voice, her stare not leaving Ricci.
Ricci let out another laugh. “Because you are a whore and needed to be treated as such! Especially after you weren’t home when your pathetic excuse of a father said you would be.”
My blood ran cold. I had my suspicions about what had happened to Badger, but my thoughts had just been confirmed. My fists clenched and my jaw tensed. I wanted to rip his head off. I wanted to kill him right there and then, to torture him before making his death agonizing and slow.
