Page 42 of Rising from the Ashes

Ascending the staircase and rounding the corner to her office, I lightly tap on the door.

“Come in.” I hear from the other side.

Twisting the knob, I reluctantly walk in, never knowing what type of news Everly will have for me on any given day. I may have promised my allegiance and servitude, but I damn sure don’t like her messing with my plans.

Straightening up, I say, “You summoned?”

Rolling her eyes, she motions for us to come in further and close the door.

“You’ve been quite literally ghosts the last three days,” she points out, eyeing Shado. “How’s the healing coming along?”

Clearing his throat, “A few broken ribs, thanks to your men.” He nods at them in the corner. “Medical stitched me up from the injuries Cal over here inflicted. Nothing I haven’t handled before, ma’am.”

Her eyes slit at him, “Just because I don’t necessarily trust you, Shado, doesn’t mean I don’t understand why you got into bed with Drake. From what I hear, he’s been doing what we do, single handedly.”

Leaning back in her chair, she sighs. “It’s respectable, really. He realizes he would have more resources if he worked with us.”

Without hesitation, Shado grows defensive, “Drake has a family. One I promised to protect. He does not need to be involved with The Society or even taking down criminal kingpins any longer.”

Nodding her head, she clasps her hands in front of her on the desk, “Fair enough.” She pauses. “Tavish got word on the contents of the shipment tonight.”

My curiosity piqued, I cock my eyebrows at her, waiting for her to continue.

“A shipping crate…of thirty women and over two thousand pounds of crank.” She looks at me. “Looks like your father had already set this in motion with Craye before Allister accepted our bid.”

“That amount in Edinburgh would absolutely cause a crisis in the streets, especially in the hands of Silvestri and his men.” Shado points out.

I shake my head. “The women. What about them?” My body begins to shake, knowing how scared they must be and the things they have probably already endured.

“That’s why I brought you in,” she says, calmly.“I need you two to be at the docks tonight. Divert the drugs to Maxwell, the police chief. He is aware of the situation and will handle it from there.”

Getting frustrated, I charge her desk, leaning over, putting my hands on the cold wood before me. “The women…What about the women?”

“YOU will get these women to safety. One of Olivia Wilson’s colleagues will await you at the designated drop-off site.”

She pauses, her brow furrowing slightly. “Calista, you are going to have to show restraint tonight. No one dies. Not yet. That’s not the priority.”

Nodding my head, I know she is talking about my father. I back away as I feel Shado’s hands on my shoulders.

“They will receive the medical attention they need. Unless they have families they need to return to, they will receive new identities. New lives if they so choose. From my understanding, they’ve been through enough trauma. They will need a lot of therapy and help to move past this.”

How is she so calm?

Anger begins boiling inside my stomach as the bile rises in my throat.

“Where are we with Allister Craye’s daughter? I need him out of hiding. He owes The Society and I assume you want a little play time?” She looks over at me, smirking.

“Now that Shado can actually walk more than a few steps, we are going to begin gathering our intel after this job. We will have her in our possession by the end of the week, Everly.”

“Let me make myself clear, she is bait.” Everly snaps her head to me, “That’s it. No killing. Torture her if you need to make it look realistic, but otherwise, she stays alive. We don’t kill innocent people, got it?”

Straightening up and folding my arms across my chest. I grin. “It wouldn’t be me if the job didn’t involve torture, now would it?”

Everly looks at Shado, “If Quinn Lowery dies because she fails to show restraint…it’s on you.”

Shado nods as if holding me back is his new assignment. He is trying extra hard to prove his allegiance to Everly. What he doesn’t know is that she will throw a test at him when he least expects it to prove his servitude to The Society.

A frustrated groan escapes my throat, “Are we done here? You two done trying to keep me on a leash?”

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