Page 61 of Sardonic Burn

“Have you visited that bar?”

Hudson nods. “It’s nothing spectacular, and I got no answers. It’s a dead end.”

“I figured as much,” I mumble. “Then our next step is infiltrating the auction.”

“As buyers?”

I blink. “Of course. They’ll never bring all the girls out at once. But if we’re smart about it, we can figure out where they’re being kept and have backup on standby to go to the secondary location.”

“And you think that the culprit is The Silencer?”

“Yes.”

“Although it’s highly unlikely, it could be someone entirely different with the same name.”

I sigh and lean back in the chair. “The possibility of that is low. No one wants someone else’s name to ride on unless it’s someone extremely important. The Silencer died over two decades ago. I’d be surprised if anyone still remembers him.”

“Then it’s either a friend, a family member, or the child.”

“Right.” I nod. “He didn’t have a lot of family and from what I see here, they’re all dead. If someone managed to escape the wrath of our two families, then it’s a miracle.”

“So what do we do in the meantime?”

“Lucas will be able to find the next auction, but I’m worried about why the four women were murdered. They’ve all been branded and killed in the same way, so I doubt it was the person who bought them.”

Hudson’s brows narrow as he thinks about it. He sits on the couch behind me, and I turn my chair to face him.

“Human traffickers have no tolerance for disobeying and trying to escape. The girls might’ve done one of the two, and it got them killed before they got the chance to sell them off.”

I groan in frustration and bury my face in my palms. My heart is aching for the people who got kidnapped. Judging by the list Lucas sent, there have been quite a lot of them in the past couple of months.

I’m aware that saving everyone is impossible, and it infuriates me. I’m not a saint. I’m not even a good person, butthe thought of what those people have to go through just because these rats managed to slip through my fingers infuriates me.

On some level, it’s entirely my fault.

The last time this happened, I vowed I’d never allow it to happen again. But it happened right under my nose, and I didn’t even notice it until it was too late.

The guilt weighs heavily on my chest, threatening to eat me alive. My heart is beating roughly against my ribcage, and I can no longer hear anything in this room except for the voices telling me how big of a fuck-up I am.

But regardless of the uselessness that nearly kills me, I straighten my back, hearing a small crack, and push the dark thoughts to the back of my head.

It’s not over yet.

I’ll find them and make sure the bastards who are doing this die in the most painful manner imaginable.

SEVENTEEN

My anxiety hits the roof the moment Ray and I step inside of the enormous venue, having been greeted by the security who barely glanced at our invitations. They recognized Ray Campbell almost immediately and stepped aside.

“Are you okay, Noelle?”

My skin crawls at the thought of this evening. It all happened too quickly, and there was nothing I could do but attend the gathering. It’s a party for all the people rich enough for their name to be barely known.

“I’m fine.” I lie with ease and take a deep breath.

If he’s caught onto my lie, Ray doesn’t show it. Instead, as our arms are interlinked, he grabs my hand and gives it a tight squeeze in reassurance. Tonight may very well be the last day I live, and he’s aware of it.

My goal isn’t to die, but it could happen.

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