Page 77 of Dolly

And we’ll do it together.

Thirty-One

ABIGAIL

Ablast of light fills the staircase when Brian flicks on the single overhead bulb. It’s an old building on the outskirt of the main city. High on the hill overlooking the markets, crowded and busy below. But we weren’t interested in any of those things when Brian found this place for us.

True, the beauty of Morocco has captivated us both. Truer still, we are in no hurry to rush away. But we have business, and our task keeps us from wandering the city with the tourists. Maybe once we’re finished.

Brian steps down two steps and holds out his hand. “Ready?”

I straighten my posture and slip my hand in his. “Are you sure no one will hear?” I ask as we make our way down the stone steps.

“No one will hear or care.”

The cellar of the building has no electricity. Brian lets go of my hand to flip on his flashlight. I find the camping lamp he left down here earlier and turn it on, casting light throughout the rest of the space.

In the corner, huddled in the back of a dog crate, is a man. He’s been stripped of his clothes—and hopefully his dignity.

With the light shining on him, he scrambles to cover his eyes, probably blinded from the intrusion. Brian adjusts his beam to land directly on the man’s face. The metal crate scrapes along the stones as he moves again. There isn’t much space for him to change positions.

“Please.” A raspy plea comes from the crate. “Please. I have a family.” Dirty, fat fingers wrap around the thin bars as he tries to put some humanity back into his life.

“I know.” I hang my lamp on the peg Brian installed a week ago when we brought the senator here.

“The girls you took had families too,” Brian reminds him.

“Please.” The senator sniffles. At least he’s stopped feigning innocence. “My legs. They’re so cramped.”

I look to Brian. This man has no true idea of what’s coming to him if his only worry is his legs.

“Do you think the girls you kept in those cages felt any different? Girls you kept locked up for months!” I kick the crate, sending off a metallic echo into the room.

“I’m sorry. I swear. I won’t ever do it again.”

He can’t really think that’s going to work.

“Oh, well, if you promise…” Brian laughs. For the past three weeks while we’ve been in Fez, we’ve been looking forward to this day. It took longer to find the senator than we thought, and even longer to get him alone. He kept his bodyguards close. But even a senator likes to take a shit alone—and when he did, Brian was waiting for him.

“Who’s paying you? I can pay more, much more.” Again, with the bribery. He’s tried this several times already. We already have all the money he had on hand, plus access to all his accounts. He has nothing to offer we haven’t taken already.

A noise from Brian’s back pocket distracts him. He pulls out his cell phone and swipes through the screen.

“Hmmm…Paris?” He turns the phone so I can read the message from Pierce. They’ve tracked down another girl.

“Should we?” I ask him. He knows Pierce and trusts him, but I only trust Brian. He’s the one who found me in the darkness and brought me back into the light. He’s my beacon, and I will follow him where he leads.

“Another untouchable.” Brian finishes reading the message and tucks the phone back in his pocket.

“Then we should,” I agree.

“But first.” Brian wraps his hand around the handle of the crate.

“Yes, but first.” I pull my hunting knife from my belt.

“Senator, it’s time.” Brian opens the crate, and justice begins as the senator’s life ends.

Everything we do, we do together. Life and death happen for us, with us, and by us. Evil will continue to spread throughout the world, we aren’t powerful enough to combat it on our own. But we hunt it, we catch it, and we squash it.

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