Page 48 of Trapping His Assassin

I pointed to the Mexicans, and the Albanians, and right before my finger moved to another group, my uncle interrupted me.

“Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying that the Mexicans, who’ve opened their newest line of human trafficking, are paying this headmaster?”

His words faded away, as the bloody sight of Rajesh popped into my weary mind. While thwarting every attempt by Valentina to escape me, I haven’t slept much at all.

The scent of his blood wafted to my nose, but I was too desensitized to react.

It was like a bomb detonated in my brain. It wasn’t like these organizations were friends. Some had daughters at The Academy, sure, but as I searched, I noted that many of the donations were from people who weren’t married, nor did they have any kids.

I jumped to my feet and paced.

“What?” Benedikt stood too, a little too excited. “I know you figured it out, tell me.”

I typed while I walked.

Me: It all makes so much sense. Tell me something, how is it that we have what is the equivalent of a special neutral finishing school, when we can’t agree to anything ever?

Benedikt’s face twisted into a frown. “I never even considered that possibility. It would be like all the world leaders uniting, and reaching an agreement.”

I nodded.

Me: And usually, the thing that they agree on is an evil of some magnitude.

“One that would give even a villain nightmares.” Anger flashed in Benedikt’s eyes.

When he was sixteen, his younger sister was trafficked for what was supposed to be a monetary ransom, and ended with her mutilated corpse floating in the Schuylkill River upstate.

“Let’s get this motherfucker and take him out of this world,” Benedikt growled, stomping to the door.

I raced over to cut him off, slamming my hand down on the door before he could open it.

I grabbed my phone and texted him.

Me: Don’t. We can’t go in guns blazing, not without proof for the leaders, and especially not without a plan that won’t get us killed.

The haunting echo of the knife slicing across my throat brushed my mind, but I shook it off.

Benedikt huffed, and backed away from the door, folding his arms. “Then what do you propose we do?”

I made an X motion between us before spelling it out for him.

Me: We? Don’t do anything. I am going to interrogate my woman, build a plan of action, and execute it, so this sick fuck never sees another sunrise.

I could see the plan unfolding in my mind.

“And they dare to call me the monster,” Benedikt scoffed.

I let him hold on to that feeling. In our circles, Benedikt was the monster under the bed. I didn’t see him that way. He was no more than a friendly bear in the middle of the woods.

He wouldn’t harm a fly, he was a tad mad, but all the cool people were. That was the new word on the street.

Me: Viktor will need to be involved.

I wasn’t ready to call him yet. I needed a little more hard proof so that he wouldn’t question me. I didn’t believe he would, but why leave anything up to chance?

Maybe I should rely on Viktor as a family member. The mere idea made me want to shudder. No, we were more than family, we were Brotherhood. Which was why I would tell him soon. Hewould not only protect our backs, he would bring other leaders in.

As we talked, I caught a whiff of Benedikt’s cologne, mingled with the musty air. The faint smell of cigarette smoke hung in the background, evidence of his earlier break outside. His suit was adorned with the lingering scent of stale cigar smoke, a signature smell that always seemed to follow him. Despite his tough exterior, I could tell he was confused by my suggestion. “Why? We can handle this alone,” he said with a furrowed brow, still trying to comprehend my reasoning.

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