Page 73 of Cruel Savior

That nagging sensation at the back of my mind returned. It was having a lot of difficulty processing the contradicting facts about Mandy. While I could admit that I had a certain bias when it came to her, I wasn’t that dumb.

Working with Frank had put others in danger, and yet here, she’d gone out of her way, and at her own peril, to keep others safe. Which still didn’t take away that feeling that she’d been playing me all along.

Although it all could have been one elaborate lie. That was her job.

We reached the top floor and waited for Tel to work his magic. The keypad meant there were too many combinations for manual manipulation and unless we wanted to blast our way in and announce our arrival, we were going to have to wait and let the brother do his thing.

I grabbed the phone he’d transferred her audio to and held it up to my ear. I still couldn’t make out the words, but something had changed. “What is that?” I questioned, straining to identify the new sound.

JD leaned over me and listened as well. “What the hell? Is that—?” He pushed closer. “Is someone crying?”

A chill swept over me. That’s exactly what it sounded like. And not gentle cries other. Someone was straight up sobbing. The sound was almost palpable.

“Tel, you’ve got ten seconds before I bust this door down.”

“Fuck you,” he muttered. I’ve got three of the four numbers. Just give me a minute.”

“We don’t have that long.” I had a hunch if he didn’t get in there now, someone was going to be dead.

The device in Tel’s hand beeped. “Got it.” He unhooked his equipment and then typed in the door code. The light turned green and the sound of a bolt on the move greeted my ears. Fuck yes. I wanted to kiss Tel for his genius. I tightened my hand around the gun I was carrying and opened the door.

Immediately, we were hit with voices and the now clear feminine sobbing. Fear washed over me. They were in the next room, and I was almost afraid to discover what we would find.

JD used his hands to signal our forward movement, and together we moved to the mouth of what was probably a dining room. With a final breath and a nod, we stepped into the room together our guns raised and hopefully ready for anything.

I was wrong.

I was not ready for the gruesome scene before me. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen worse. Mandy had had a fucking severed head in a box. But this…

It took every ounce of control I had not to rush to Mandy’s side and stop the flow of blood oozing from her wrists. Only the shake of her head kept me frozen in place. There was stark fear in her eyes, and until I figured out why, I was going to measure my steps.

While JD picked up on her cues as well, somebody had not gotten the message to Izzy, who opened her mouth before anyone could stop her.

“Anthony?”

The giant of a man turned to face us. “Isabella?”

We should have made our move then, while he’d been momentarily confused, but by the time we realized exactly how dangerous the situation was, it was too late.

“Don’t move another inch,” he said, spittle flying from his mouth. Sweat coated his face and neck and something about him didn’t look right at all. He held up his hand and instead of the surrender I thought he might be going for, he indicated a tiny device he held in his right hand.

That was also the moment the sobbing that had ceased began again and twice as hard. I looked for the source, twisting to see around the man blocking my view and I sucked in a sharp breath.

Jesus Fucking Christ.There was a young girl standing there, and she had enough C4 strapped to her chest to take out this entire apartment and everyone in it.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

The man smiled. “Hmm. You’re late. For a while there I didn’t think you were going to make it to the party.” He laughed. “Look, Amanda. It’s your new fuck buddy and his little club.”

“Anthony. What are you doing?” Izzy asked, moving as far forward as she could with Houston and us blocking her path.

“Izzy, stay back,” JD warned, his voice sharp and full of command.

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” the big man — Anthony—answered, his expression suddenly serious instead of mocking. “You should leave now. If you hurry you can make it out before it’s too late.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, but I did agree she should leave. “Houston, take her,” I growled. “Now!”

He didn’t wait to decide. From my peripheral vision I saw him grab her around the waist and haul her against him.

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