Page 41 of Soulless Angel

CASH

Slamming the car into gear, I hit the gas, peeling away with a squeal of tires. I made sure to speed past the Gods’ car on my way out so they knew we were on the move. Everything had happened so fast. My mind still spun.

The woman in the back seat with Daire shrieked, an ear splitting sound that made me crazy. Daire fought to subdue her. He pressed the gun to her temple, telling her to shut the fuck up before he blew her brains all over the place.

“I’ll do anything,” she begged. “Please, don’t kill me.”

Holding her by the throat, Daire pinned her on the seat beneath him. “Great. You can start by telling us everything you know about the dark web operation. Who’s in charge?”

She gave a strangled sound as he choked her too tight. “I don’t know.”

“Bullshit,” Daire snarled. “You were back there. You’re part of this. Tell me what you fucking know. I will fucking kill you, bitch.”

She began to cry in large, heaving sobs as she struggled to get enough air to produce them. I kept a close eye on the rearview mirror, making sure that nobody had followed us. Havoc’s Lexus was a few cars behind. Otherwise, we were good.

Blaze cradled Clover in the seat next to me. She was completely passed out. It made me sick that we’d drugged her,although I didn’t think we had much of a choice in the moment. She was panicking. She would have blown everything.

We managed to plant a camera for the Sinners. On our way out, I’d placed one by the rear door as well. It was the best we could do. I doubted they would enjoy our use of violence. However, there had been no other way.

“I help obtain the footage,” cried the woman in the back. “I was hired through an anonymous ad on the dark web. I’ve never met the person in charge. I swear.”

“Who’s JD? Give me something or you’re dead.” Daire dragged the woman up by the hair, giving her a shake. He kept the gun pressed to her forehead.

He made it difficult to keep my attention on the road ahead. My gaze kept darting to the rearview mirror, to the commotion taking place in the back. I didn’t even know where I was going. I just kept driving.

“JD is the person in charge. Nobody knows who he is or if it’s even a man. He only communicates with us through messages. I’ve never met him. I don’t have any information about him at all.” The woman sniffled and cried. Tears streamed down her face.

Daire remained unmoved. “That’s not good enough. If you don’t give me something, I have no reason to keep you alive.”

“Why would you even get involved in something like that?” Blaze turned enough in his seat to hit her with an accusing glare.

She pressed her lips tight together, shaking her head. “I don’t know.”

Lies. Clearly, she enjoyed her job. Nobody got involved with dark web snuff content just for the money. She was no better than anybody else involved.

“There must be something you know.” Daire tried again to get something from her. “Try again.”

She wailed and blubbered, crying hard harder as she begged and pleaded for her life. This was useless. We weren’t going to get anything out of her. She didn’t know shit. If she did, she was quite literally taking it to the grave.

“Take a left up ahead,” Daire said. “Head down that alley behind the sports bar.”

While I did as he instructed, Daire wrapped both hands tight around the woman’s throat and squeezed the life out of her. He didn’t bother making a mess by using the gun. A hands-on approach made for a clean kill. She clawed his hands and arms, even taking a swing at his face. It was useless. His grip tightened, her face turning red before her eyes rolled back in her head.

Blaze nudged me. “Eyes on the road, dude.”

I caught myself as I was about to run a red light. Easing to a stop, I cracked my window open to get some fresh air. This had been a hell of a night.

The woman was dead by the time we reached the alley. I slowed down without stopping completely and Daire shoved her out of the back. As we headed for home, Daire made a call to the Gods to let them know our current status. They could also head home. The job was done.

Blaze carried Clover inside when we got back to the house. I felt like utter shit about what we’d done to her. From the look on Daire’s face, he wasn’t feeling too great about it either.

Blaze laid her gently on the couch, taking care to prop her head on the arm. “She’s going to hate us for this.”

“What choice did we have? Someone give me a line of blow. Cash, you’re always holding. Hand it over.” Rubbing both hands over his face, Daire released a heavy sigh that shook his shoulders.

He was right. I was always holding. A quick trip up to my bedroom and I was back with a small baggie filled with white powder. I tossed it on the counter in front of him.

“Save me some,” I said, opting for weed instead. I needed something more chill right then. My pulse still pounded. I felt too wired.

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