Page 55 of Manacled Hearts

“No.” He turns and exits, leaving Vin and I with no further explanation.

“Okay, I guess.” I gesture at The Serpent to walk out, and I follow.

“I’ll call the clean-up crew,” one of our men say.

And boy are we gonna need them. In this thirty-second massacre, at least twenty bodies dropped. I spot a couple more around the corner as we head to our car, and one more in the bushes. I’ll have to give Madds a pat on the back, because he’s damn good at training our men.

“I need a driver, rest of you stay here and wait for the clean-up crew. Leave the bodies where they are, but hide and guard the outside perimeter in case more come,” Vincent orders our men.

“I’m staying. I think a shipment is coming. If it is, I want to coordinate the rescue.” Carter steps away from us.

“Okay. What’s the plan if it is?” I ask.

“Kill all the bad guys, clean it up, and give an anonymous tip to the local police to deal with the shipment. They’ll interview the victims, and I’ll get all the info from their system after,” he answers.

I nod, liking the idea. As much as it would be nice of us to deal with this shipment, we don’t have the capacity to accommodate more people. The last rescue operation was so complex mainly because we had to figure out who all those kids belonged to. It was fucking expensive to protect their families after we returned them, and it ate a lot of our time, leaving us uncomfortably vulnerable. We really weren’t, but it felt like it.

“Let’s go then.” I gesture to Vin, turning and heading toward our car.

I climb in the back seat, rubbing a hand over my face and wondering just how I’m gonna burn out through this gnawing pressure that’s making me twitch. My usual method, getting pinned under a woman bouncing away on my cock, isn’t going to work. It hasn’t worked for weeks… no matter how much I tried. I’m not even excited over a blow job anymore. When lips wrapped around me, it was like slugs sliming their way up my length.

Twice I managed to fuck to completion… and both times I left their place like I was being chased away. I couldn’t bear looking them in the eyes and holding a conversation, not when they were a cheap version of the one woman who haunts my dreams and fills every conscious thought when I’m awake.

“Take me home,” I say to the driver who climbs in after Vin.

Though I plan on going a few floors below mine.

Maybe this time she’ll actually be there.

CHAPTER 12

FINNIGAN

“You’re not here for me,” Katya states bluntly when I show up in her apartment.

I narrow my eyes on Katya, that gnawing pressure turning hot at her knowing gaze. I don’t need her to tell me why I’m here, and I certainly don’t want her to act like she knows me so fucking well that she can predict what I’m thinking.

It’s my own fault for allowing it. No matter if she’s basically family.

“Evelyn doesn’t live here anymore.” She continues.

That much I gathered, but I can no longer track her phone, so I couldn’t be sure. I know Carter can track her in a different way, easily, but I couldn’t fucking ask without arousing suspicion or a long line of questioning. Despite this, more than once I had to stop myself from asking him or Maddox about her. Maddox, especially, since I know he’s been training her. At what times, I have no idea, because no matter when I go in the Fightclub, I never cross paths with her.

“I’m here to talk about a mission.” I say, crossing my arms against my chest.

It’s difficult, but I ignore her cocked eyebrow and suggestive look. It’s even harder to keep my eyes from wandering about the space in search of her.

“And the mission needs to be executed tonight?”

“No.”

“Then why did you drag me out of bed?” She crosses her arms over her chest, dressed in her silk pajamas.

“We need to try a different angle.” I ignore her question. “We found out that their operation is fractured intentionally, so the different centers don’t know where the others are or who works there. It’s why no matter who we find, we can’t get any fucking useful information out of them. The guy from tonight said their center is North of Eastling, just a bit further West than we were, in an old asylum.”

She narrows her brows, pursing her lips like she always does when she’s mulling over the information.

“And?”

---