Page 71 of Not Ready

My night is a fucking disaster. I can’t even think about that goddamn club because every flash that files through my mind sends my blood pressure soaring.

Bishop said she used to walk home.

She. Used. To. Walk. Home.

At night, in the middle of a neighborhood I wouldn’t let my mom walk through in broad daylight, even if I was with her.

My fists clench at my sides as the elevator heads up toward our floor. I haven’t even seen the inside of the hotel room, but Merrick found an address for Andrew. Merryweather and I scoped it out during the day, but breaking and entering is better done with the cover of darkness.

We visited Andrew and his crew’s apartment tonight, but it was empty.

At least of any of them.

That motherfucking room.

Jesus Christ, I just need to get my hands on Andrew Landis or Dayton Price. Whatever the fuck his name is will suffer before I end him.

Do this job for long enough, and you start to see the signs. The locks on the exterior of bedroom doors, dirty mattresses on the floor, the chains left around the pipes.

I swipe a hand over my face.

They definitely found victims in DC.

Based on the leftover evidence we found in Andrew’s bedroom, it seems like Vale is lucky. He had a shrine with pictures, trinkets, and even one of her notepads with customer orders from the club. His obsession with her saved her a much more gruesome fate, but my fury is still dangerously high.

I’m grateful she never made it into the room with the locks and the mattress, but it simultaneously makes me feel like a disgusting human being.

The facts are clear.

She didn’t make it in there, but someone else did. Feeling relieved that she didn’t go through that makes me all kinds of fucked up, because that means someone else took her place.

Their retribution will be swift.

This is why we do what we do.

I don’t lose a fucking wink of sleep at night when we clean house.

Andrew and his shit bag friends are on our radar now. They’re going to find out there are scarier people in the world than them. We just happen to fall on the side of those who can’t fight for themselves.

Bishop is aware of what we found at Andrew’s apartment, but I kept the details to a minimum, because he needs his head in the mission he’s wrapped up in. I spoke to him just before coming into the building. He told me to give Vale a kiss and tell her he’s been enjoying the spillover from the bond, whatever the fuck that means.

I’m goddamn dead on my feet as the elevator doors finally pop open. Scanning the room numbers, I yank the key out of my back pocket. Our room is halfway down the hallway on the right. I pop the key card into the lock, and the light turns green as it clicks.

The last fucking thing I’m expecting to come face-to-face with is Mercy and Vale, both on their knees while they writhe around.

I stand frozen. Her tight pink nipples bounce as she wiggles against his chest. I can see her glistening cunt from here. It stretches around Mercy’s cock in a way that has me licking my lips.

Her perfume seems to drag me forward. I slide inside, letting the door close behind me. It’s one of those heavy ones on a hinge that closes loudly.

Mercy catches sight of me. A low growl filters in my direction as he bares his teeth.

Vale gasps.

Her head rolls around his chest. Good goddamn, her eyes are glassy as fuck. She sees me, but I don’t think she’s clear enough to really comprehend my presence.

I scoff as Mercy glares. “Don’t mind me. I’m just going to take a shower.”

To wash off the disgusting residue of everything I was exposed to while trying to track down Andrew fucking Landis. But that’s fine. Bishop and Mercy deserve something good in their lives. I’ll let them soak up the happiness while I make sure nothing can put that at risk.

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