Page 115 of The Devil's Pawn

“Boss,” one of our men calls out.

“What?” I raise my eyes to him as my chest erupts with unruly breaths.

“Look.” He points down at my feet, and I follow his movement until—

My eyes flash to a square trap door, camouflaged with the tiles, with a small brown handle protruding.

I crouch down, whistling for Enzo and the other men. Wasting no time, I lift up the door, not giving a shit if there are five, ten, or a hundred of their men down there. I’ll take on every one of them singlehandedly. I’ll rip apart their bodies, piece by piece, and scatter them across this goddamn place before I let them stop us from saving every single person they’ve locked away.

This will be over tonight.

I let my flashlight lead the way as I cross down, my footsteps pounding over the metal. The stench of piss attacks my senses, and I gag, fighting through it.

“What the fuck is that smell?” Enzo mutters behind me.

“What the hell do you think it is? Shut up a minute.”

“Hello?” I call out. “Anyone down here?”

I see nothing at first—just a concrete wall in front of me—and my hope is almost zapped away. But as soon as I make a right turn, I see them.

A shudder crawls up my back.

Cages. So many fucking cages.

Women. Children.

Their faces are painted with dirt and blood and their bodies are barely clothed as they crouch down in what look like large dog crates, some with two people at a time. There are over twenty crates here, at least.

“Please,” comes a woman’s supplicant voice from directly in front of me.

Her blonde hair is caked up around her gaunt face. Her cheekbones are protruding, and her arms are thin enough to crack.

“They need to eat,” she begs, her brows cowering as she huddles over her knees. “We’re hungry, sir. Just feed the kids. Give them something. Don’t just leave them here. They’ll die.”

“We’ll need more men and more vans.” My voice climbs to make sure all of my guys hear.

Roger radios for backup.

When my flashlight whips in the direction of the ceiling, I find a single lightbulb there. I yank the string, providing enough light so that we can all turn off our flashlights.

“Hey…” I approach the woman’s cage with my hands raised.

She shudders, her entire body waking with violent tremors.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” I keep my tone even and soft. “I’m not one of them. I’m not one of the people who put you here. We’re here to save you. To get you all out of here.”

Whispers erupt from the other crates.

“Why should we believe you?” she asks, swiping a piece of hair that’s stuck to her forehead away. “The only people who come down here are the ones who hurt us. How do we know you’re different?”

“I don’t know how I can prove it to you, but I hope that as you look into my eyes, you can see I’m telling the truth.” I take another few steps closer. “We’ve been looking for you all. We just wanna help you guys.”

She sits up a little higher, looking slightly less terrified. These poor people, living worse than animals.

“The men who are involved in this killed my parents and my baby brother a long time ago, when he was only eight,” I explain. “So, believe me, I want to kill them all. Painfully.”

Her hazel eyes fall to the floor for a moment before she looks back up.

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