Page 17 of Power of Shadow

“To kill him, all I’d have to do is send one of my men. This is a slightly more delicate matter. He has to be delivered in one piece.”

“Your men aren’t up to the task?”

He sighs as if dealing with an unruly child. “They know how to use their fists, but unfortunately not their brains.”

“So I’m supposed to kidnap him. Where should I deliver him?”

“You’ll find all the information in the folder.” He opens the drawer, pulls out a brown folder, and throws it on the desk in front of me.

I’ve seen so many of these folders that they could fill a small archive. There’s nothing special about this one.

“I’m not saying he has to be untouched, just alive. The transfer for this job has already been made, so you have no choice. Someone will pick him up from you in the red room,” he adds, leaning back in his chair.

The red room. That’s what this is all about. Baker’s to be a bloody toy for some player.

Most people think red rooms are just fairy tales spread on the internet, but only by those who don’t have enough money under their belts. When you have all the money in the world and don’t know what to do with it, you get terribly bored. And boredom can be like karma that bites you in the ass, except the ideas that arise from it can be gruesome.

Charles Baker must have really pissed someone off. This order didn’t come out of nowhere. Someone wants to torture him, play with him, strip him of his dignity, and drive him insane. Just to kill him in the end anyway.

There has never been a case where anyone left the red room other than in a body bag.

“What did Baker do?”

My father leans toward me. “What the fuck do you care? Don’t ask questions you don’t need to know the answers to. You’re here to do this job, and that’s all you should be interested in. Understood?”

I raise my head and stare at the old man, clenching my hands. “What’s the catch?”

“The bastard is elusive. He hid under a rock some time ago, and no one has seen him since.”

“How can we be sure he’s still alive?”

“He’s doing quite well; there’s no doubt about that.”

The first outline of a plan forms in my head. Before I catch Charles Baker, I’ll have to play cat and mouse with him.

“That’s going to take some time,” I snort, knowing I have little of it. “This is the last job you’re giving me. I’m not your dirty work mercenary.”

For a moment, there’s silence in the office. Time stands still. I stare him down, refusing to bow. I’m no longer the scared kid who feared his own shadow.

“You ungrateful son of a bitch!” My father slams his fist onto the desktop. In a flash, his right hand snakes under the desk and reappears, a gun aimed directly at my head. He’s fast, I have to admit.

But he’s not as fast as I am. My gun is aimed, unlocked, and ready to use.

Eli slowly gets up, not wanting to make any sudden movements. “Whoa, guys. It doesn’t have to be like this.”

“Shut up,” my father spits out, glaring at me. “And you! I should’ve killed you a long time ago!”

“You should have, but it is what it is. You can be sure that when the day comes, and you’re at the end of my barrel, I won’t hesitate.”

“Yes, you will hesitate. You will obey if you ever want to see your sister alive again. Do we understand each other?”

My breath catches in my throat. Adrenaline rushes through my body. Fuck! He’s got me here.

“I don’t even know if she’s still alive. You’re just dangling this reward in front of me to keep me in line, nothing more.”

“Wouldn’t you at least like to hear her? Maybe it will change your mind. I’m the only person in this world who can let you hear her sweet voice. So what will it be, Ryker?”

“I don’t believe you! A man is only as good as his word. And yours is worth as much as yesterday’s weather forecast.”