Chapter 385
The other, I think Julian is his name notices the movement and starts shaking his head before anything even happens.
“We told you everything p>
The first hit cuts him off. It snaps his head back against the chair with a dull crack that echoes through the room. Blood follows immediately, and seeing it gives me a sick satisfaction.
“You’re already lying, and I fucking hate liars,” I growl.
“I swear we don’t know anything,” he screams, but all I do is shake my head.
I move again, this time grabbing Mark’s hand and placing it flat against the arm of the chair. The sound that follows is sharp enough to cut through everything else in the room.
Mark screams, his entire body jerking against the restraints, but I don’t let go. I hold him there before cutting another of his fingers.
Julian starts breathing faster, his chest rising and falling like he’s trying to outrun what’s happening in front of him.
It takes forty minutes. Forty minutes of pressure, of breaking them down piece by piece until whatever resolve they had left cracks under the weight of it. By the end of it, both of them are barely holding themselves together.
“Tell me what I need to know and I’ll let you leave,” I tell them, wiping the blood from my hands.
“Okay—okay,” one of them gasps, his voice shaking. “We’ll talk. We’ll talk p>
I straighten slowly, stepping back just enough to give them space to breathe; behind me, I hear Reaper scoff.
“Took you long enough,” he mutters. “I would’ve had them talking in fifteen p>
A short, humorless chuckle leaves me as I wipe my hand against my jeans. No one can beat the great Reaper at this p>
He huffs a quiet laugh, but there’s something approving in his eyes.
“If your mom knew I was teaching you to use weapons as a teenager, she’d hang me by my balls.” He murmurs with a small smile.
“Good thing she never has to find out p>
I turn back to the men, my face draining of all humor.
“Start talking,” I say.
“We were contacted for a job,” Mark says, his words tumbling out of his mouth. “She said it had to be clean; no phones, no cameras, no trail… The payment was big bucks; there was no way we could turn that down p>
“She?” I press.
“Brook,” he answers immediately. “She met us once. After that, everything was through instructions. Cash only p>
“What were you hired to do p>
“Transfers,” Julian answers, swallowing hard. “We were given locations and told to be there at a specific time. We had to prepare different vehicles and make sure the route was clear p>
“Transfer what?” I ask, even though I already know.
His voice falters. “We… we weren’t supposed to look p>
My stare doesn’t waver.
“But you did,” I say.
A beat, then a nod. “…Yeah p>
“Talk p>
“It was a baby, in an incubator,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper.
The words settle into the room like a weight.
“When and where?” I ask.
Julian gives me the time and date and tells me the locations and it all matches.
“When we got there, they were already waiting,” Mark adds quickly, desperate to give me more.
“Who p>
“Bodyguards, I think,” he says, shaking his head. “They were at every property p>
“But someone else was there,” I say, already filling the gaps
“Yes, she wasn’t alone,” he insists. “There was someone else. A man. We never saw his face because he stayed back, out of the light p>
“What happened after the transfer?” I ask.
“The last transfer was at the port…We handed her over and that was it,” Julian says. “We were then told to leave immediately and disappear and they paid us the last settlement p>
Silence stretches between us as I try to fill all the gaps.
Mark looks at me, something desperate flickering in his eyes. “That’s all we know; we’ve told you everything,” he says quickly.
“Please,” Julian adds. “You said—you said if we talked, you’d let us go p>
I look at them, really look at them and my heart hardens. These two played a part. They helped move my daughter, making it impossible to trace her. Mercy is not something I’m going to show them.
A short humorless laugh leaves me before saying, “I lied p>
“What?” Mark asks, panic flooding his voice.
“You had a hand in kidnapping my daughter,” I continue, my tone steady, almost calm. “There was never a version of this where you walked out of here p>
Realization hits them both at the same time, and fear follows immediately after.
I don’t hesitate; I take the gun and put a bullet through their skulls.
The room falls quiet again when it’s done. For a moment, no one moves or speaks.
Uncle Reaper steps forward, glancing at the bodies briefly before looking at me.
“Clean it up,” he tells his men and they move to do his bidding.
I stand there for a moment longer, my gaze fixed ahead, the information they gave replaying in my head.
Someone else is involved. Question is, who?