Page 86 of Beautiful Vengeance

“Positive,” Amber answered, a hard gleam in her eyes. “We’re never getting anything from her that we don’t have already.”

Kiyomi nodded. “All right. Where’s my escort?”

Trinity reached over and pressed a button on the wall. “They’ll be here in about thirty seconds. We’ll meet you outside after.”

Sure enough, two heavily armed guards appeared through a secure door at the end of the hallway. They searched Kiyomi for weapons, checking her bandages thoroughly for any contraband, and put her through a metal detector before allowing her inside.

The heavy steel door locked shut with a clang as they escorted her down the hall, giving her strict instructions. She wouldn’t be allowed in the cell. No physical contact with the prisoner. She had ninety seconds max.

Kiyomi tuned them out, focused only on what was about to happen. In spite of herself, her pulse beat faster as they stepped out of a secure elevator onto a different floor. This was just like any other op, she reminded herself.

Just get it done, and soon it’ll all be over.

The corridor was lined on one side with more heavy steel doors. There were no bars in them, their small slots locked shut. Finally the guards stopped in front of one halfway down the hall. They eyed Kiyomi, then one unlocked the slot, jerked it open, and stepped back to wait.

Steeling herself, Kiyomi approached the opening.

She wasn’t sure exactly how she’d imagined this would play out, but it wasn’t this slender, middle-aged woman staring back at her through the hole in the door.

Jane Allen remained seated on her bunk attached to the far wall, wearing an orange jumpsuit, white socks, and open-toed sandals. She looked exactly as Kiyomi imagined Amber would in her fifties, the face shape, features and eye color the same. But the emptiness in them made the difference between her and her niece clear.

This woman was dead inside. Amber was full of life, love and devotion.

For a long moment they simply stared at each other. Jane’s expression remained blank, but slowly her eyes gave her away. They held a greedy, almost desperate gleam, as though she’d been starving for the sight of her.

“I wanted to see you before they transferred you,” Kiyomi began, filled with revulsion.

This evil, twisted woman had lied, manipulated, killed, and ultimately destroyed countless lives in her quest for personal glory. She was responsible for the suffering of dozens of orphaned young girls. She’d used them for her own gain, ignored their pain and added so much more to their suffering. She was responsible for countless deaths, including some of Kiyomi’s friends.

Jane didn’t move, but didn’t look away, so Kiyomi continued. “Why me?”

The woman was silent so long Kiyomi didn’t think she would respond. But then she spoke. “Do you remember me?”

“No. Only that I saw you.”

“Because I wanted you to.”

Whatever. “So? Why?”

Jane sat up taller, that eerie green stare fixed on her in a way that sent a tremor up her spine. “Because you’re everything a Valkyrie should be.”

Kiyomi held the stare and waited. Jane wanted to talk. Wanted Kiyomi to know. All she needed to do, was wait.

“Everything,” Jane repeated. “I knew it from the first moment I saw your initial test scores. Your IQ was impressively high, along with the scores on your psych and physical tests. You showed the best aptitude for languages and reading people of anyone in your test group. And as I watched you throughout your training, I knew.” Her smug smile made Kiyomi long to slice it from her face.

“Knew what?” she said in a flat tone.

“That you would be the most successful of the entire Program. And I was right.” She paused a second, an almost fond expression forming on her face. “Congratulations, Kiyomi. You’re the deadliest operative of us all. Most confirmed kills, and a ninety-seven-percent success rate on your missions. You’re exactly what I needed to initiate the next phase.”

Kiyomi kept her expression impassive even as revulsion twisted her insides. She was done, and her time was almost up anyway. “You’ve now been exposed for the true monster you are. I know what you planned to do with me. And before they take you away, I have just one more thing to say to you.”

She held that eerie green stare, a ripple of power surging through her. She would never be a victim again. This woman would never inflict damage on anyone else, Kiyomi and the others would make certain of it. “I would have killed myself before allowing it to happen.”

She had a moment’s satisfaction when her barb hit home, a flash of anger in that fixated stare. Then she turned and walked away without another word. Behind her the steel slot locked into place and the guards hurried to catch up. They escorted her back to the front of the building and watched her leave.

Marcus got out of the Range Rover as she approached, his expression full of concern. “All right?”

“Yes.” She was breathing faster than normal, a little shaky. She gave him a careful, one-armed hug, took a moment to close her eyes and rest her cheek on his chest while he curled around her.

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