Page 43 of Beautiful Vengeance

It wasn’t enough for him to just die. It had to be just him and her in the room when it happened. He had to think he was triumphant first. That he’d won and she was defeated, cowed by fear and helplessness.

Frustration burned in her chest. They had his probable location. After last night’s raid on the camp, he’d be more paranoid than ever about his security. His team would move him soon, likely sometime in the next few hours once it was dark, and then she might not get another chance.

If she was going after him, it had to be now, before it was too late.

She stayed quiet, lost in her thoughts as the others began talking amongst themselves while Amber pulled up the satellite view of the building Rahman was in and enlarged it. Kiyomi quickly assessed the security surrounding it, the entry and exit points, making mental notes.

“I’m starving,” Megan announced a while later. “Anyone else in for kabobs?”

Ty went out and got them all dinner, and the whole time he was gone, Kiyomi continued to formulate her plan. Two minutes after he walked through the door with the takeout bags, Amber got another alert from Lady Ada.

The entire room went quiet as everyone focused on the laptop screen. “I’ve got a possible location for where the call to Rahman originated,” Amber murmured, eyes scanning rapidly across the screen as she analyzed the data.

Next she pulled up a satellite map and entered an address. A residential neighborhood appeared on screen. She zoomed in on the target house. A large, private mansion surrounded by manicured grounds.

“Where is that?” Eden asked.

“Newnan, Georgia.” Amber looked at Trinity. “Suburb of Atlanta.”

A bubble of hope rose inside Kiyomi. Maybe this was the break they needed to get the Architect. Maybe now they could go after Rahman, seize his cell and other electronics.

Then put him down like the rabid animal he was.

Trinity nodded once. “We’ll start the search there. I’m sending Briar and Georgia there to do recon.”

Two Valkyrie snipers Trinity was close with, and they were both recon experts. Kiyomi and the team were lucky to have them to lend support back in the States.

Pulling out her phone, Trinity started to dial a number then stopped, her gaze slicing to Kiyomi. “Rahman’s still a no-go for now.”

Dammit!It took allKiyomi’s restraint to bite back an angry retort. Arguing now was not only pointless, it would also tip her hand. Trinity was right about one thing, though. Risking the team’s safety nowwasreckless.

But Kiyomi didn’t need a team for what she had in mind.

She’d made her decision. All she had to do now was put her plan into action.

After Ty handed out the food, Kiyomi sat quietly beside Marcus and ate, ruthlessly shoving aside the twinge of guilt and did what she had to. A chill swept over her at the thought of confronting Rahman again if her plan worked. The increase in bounty for her made every move she made here more dangerous.

She brushed it aside, because there was no help for it. This might be her only shot, and he wouldn’t dare kill her because he was too afraid of the Architect and wanted the bounty money so he could buy and sell more women, weapons and drugs.

As everyone finished their meal she glanced around at the others. She and her Valkyrie sisters had been subjected to too much throughout their lives. They all deserved their freedom and their lives back. If she could secure that for them by getting a definitive lead on the Architect from Rahman before killing him, then she was duty bound to do so.

They’d all risked so much to save her. She owed them. And Marcus too, enough that she would spare him what came next.

“Who’s on watch next?” Jesse asked across the room before popping a bite of chicken into his mouth. “Amber and me?”

“No, I want Amber to keep working on these leads,” Trinity said. “Eden and I’ll take the next shift. I’m still finalizing the op in Atlanta with Briar and Georgia.”

And there it was. The perfect excuse.

Kiyomi waited until Trinity and Eden went upstairs. While they grabbed their gear, she gathered what she needed and quickly tucked it away in the bathroom. As soon as she heard the back door close, she jogged back downstairs and made sure the others could see her as she checked her pistol.

“What are you doing?” Marcus asked suspiciously.

She holstered her weapon at the small of her back. “I’m watching the northwest side for Trin while she finalizes things with Briar and Georgia.”

The look he gave her told her he didn’t believe a word of it. Summoning her acting skills, she shot him an annoyed frown. “Look, they’re waiting for me, and I need to keep busy right now. At least this gives me something to do instead of sitting around being pissed off.”

He didn’t say anything. She sighed in frustration and held her phone out. “Wanna call her yourself and check?”

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