Page 42 of Rusty's Command

“Wang won’t harm her now. That kind of spirit makes her valuable—a prize.” The last word slithered through his clenched teeth. “But we can help her—and all the other women—if you kill their operation. Now.”

“Okay. Yes, I can do that.” Sienna nodded, forcing her gaze away from the two men sprawled on the floor.

Sliding into the chair at the computer terminal, she jiggled the mouse to wake the monitor. As the screen flickered to life, a storm of emotions churned inside her: shock, dismay, and a searing, deep-seated anger.

She felt the conscious man’s eyes on her, boring into her back, silent and pleading.

He didn’t deserve mercy. Not from her. He could have used his technical skills tohelppeople and make a positive impact on the world—like she does. Like she’s about to do now.

Her jaw tightened, and a newfound determination surged through her. Sienna’s mind snapped into focus. Years of cybersecurity training took over as she scanned the equipment, assessing the layout and vulnerabilities.

Inhaling deeply, she let the anger fuel her resolve. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, navigating the system with practiced precision. She didn’t dare glance at the man staring at her. His eyes burned with unspoken desperation, but she refused to meet them.

This wasn’t the time for pity—it was the time for action.

Rusty squeezed her shoulder, and leaned into her ear. “You can do this. You’re amazing.”

“I hope so,” she breathed.

“I know so,” he said with absolute conviction. He turned to survey the room.

“Hey, Rusty?” Her voice was hesitant, already tinged with regret for what she was about to ask.

“Yeah? You okay?” He scanned the room before locking his gaze onto hers.

“Can you . . . can you stop him from looking at me?”

Rusty’s expression softened, and he nodded. “My pleasure.”

He marched toward the man, his movements swift and decisive.

Sienna stuck her fingers in her ears and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to witness what was about to happen. A moment later, Rusty tapped her shoulder, and she unplugged her ears and snapped her eyes open.

“Get to work,” he said, his voice low and urgent. He marched away, pausing for a second to ruffle Soda’s fur with a gentle touch. The dog’s tail wagged softly in response, a brief moment of normalcy in the midst of chaos. Then, Rusty eased into the shadows next to the door, blending into the darkness as he stood watch on the hallway outside the door.

Forcing her attention away from everything beyond the monitor in front of her, Sienna attacked the keyboard, typing in code to barge through their system. The screams and shouts faded in and out beyond the doorway, but she tuned them out, her focus solely on shutting down this monstrous act.

As she worked, Rusty stood guard at the door, his gun at the ready. Despite his calm exterior, Sienna caught glimpses of distress in his eyes each time he swung his gaze toward her.

She finally breached the livestream, and her stomach churned as she was confronted by the images of the men whowere watching from all over the world. She had pictured them as monsters, but they were ordinary-looking men, some in suits, others in casual clothes, all with a look of mild amusement on their faces.

Bastards!

She scanned the list of names and locations, her disgust growing with each passing second. “JohnDoe22” from New York, “BigSpender” from London, “HansMuller” from Berlin . . . the names blurred together, but the faces remained etched in her mind—ordinary men with evil appetites for cruelty.

“Bastards,” she hissed under her breath, her anger boiling over.

Bu then she saw a face she recognized, and her rage turned to ice-cold fury. Dr. Howard Whitney Williams, the pastor of a mega-church in Oregon, known for his fiery sermons preaching perfect families and moral decay. He had a TV show focusing on family values, and Sienna had always thought he was a hypocrite. But she had never imagined he was involved in something like this.

Clenching her jaw, she stared at his smug face on the screen, her mind reeling with the implications. How could he preach about morality and family values when he was secretly bidding on human beings?

Sienna’s anger threatened to consume her.

“You evil hypocrite,” she hissed. “You will not get away with this.”

“Gentlemen, my apologies for the delay.” Viktor Wang’s voice boomed beyond the doorway, making her jump. “But I’m sure that little slice of entertainment has shown you the quality of women we have for you this month.”

Sienna’s eyes snapped back to the screen where Viktor was back on the stage with a smug expression on his face. “This month!” she blurted.

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