Page 11 of The Sins That Bleed
They turn on their heel and step up to the container doors, one on each side as they unlock the padlock and chains. They slide the deadbolt across and lift the large metal rods securing the container closed. The time has come, the moment I’ve dreamt about since I took on this case.
Static fills my earpiece as Nico speaks to the team in a hushed whisper. “Weapons ready, standby.”
We both draw our pistols and aim, fingers hovering over the safety. The rain has picked up now and coming down harder. A chorus of tinny pings surround us as it ricochets off the metal, Nico and I focused on the scene before us, hoping that this doesn’t end in tragedy.
Every single one of the missing will survive this moment and return to their loved ones.
I chant the mantra as the raindrops seemingly fall in slow motion. I watch the doors open; from this vantage point we can see straight into the container without our view being blocked. I’m expecting the hinges to squeak, for people to scream and try to escape, but there is nothing. No sound permeates the air, it’s too calm.
Once the doors are fully open I can see why—every single person has been stripped with no clothing in sight, chained to the walls of the container. There isn’t much light to see clearly all the way to the back, but I imagine it looks the same.
“Holy fuck,” I whisper at the same time Nico spits a muffled, “Fucking hell.”
This is cruelty beyond belief. They’ve made makeshift latrines for each person so they must have just enough give in the chains to use them. My eyes land on one man—he’s young and chained towards the front, and I scan him to see what could possibly be keeping them all so quiet and it’s like something straight out of a horror movie.
Their mouths have been covered with masks that appear to be made of metal. I can partially make out a ridge on them, to feed them probably. We need to get closer to find out what medieval device they’ve used here. I swallow down my disgust and concentrate on what needs to be done, waiting for Nico to make the call to the other agents.
“Now, close in!” he communicates before we’re on the move.
We descend from our hidden spot on top of the container, our feet slapping the wet ground beneath us as the five men are swarmed from every angle and cuffed before they can even get a weapon out.
Relief courses through me that this was a success with no casualties and I flick the safety back on, slipping my gun into its holder. I head toward the container while the other agents read these bastards their rights.
Ones they no longer deserve to have.
I hear them barking orders for the paramedics to be let in that were waiting a few minutes out. I can only hope those we found only need food and water, and nothing more serious. I don’t even contemplate the mental care they will need to process this ordeal. My eyes scan each person, looking for the one person I’m yet to find—my sister.
Azara.
My heart cracks a little more with no sign of my sister being among them. The agents slowly release each person. I curse at myself for not bringing anything to cover them with. We have no blankets, but I can’t let them suffer any further pain or humiliation by leaving them naked. I’m about to bark orders to every agent within earshot to give up their jackets when my direct line of sight is blocked by someone who hadn’t been there a moment ago.
A shiver threatens to roll over me, but I suppress it as I take in the woman before me. She’s a whole head shorter than me but her presence makes up for her height. I can’t make out much of her face, the black cap and sunglasses, the kind someone famous would wear to keep from being spotted, are keeping her well-hidden from me.
Except her lips.
I’m drawn to them, the fullness of them. How the perfectly defined cupid bow is glazed with a cherry-red shine that makesme want to lean forward and taste them. The more I continue to stare, the stronger I can smell cherries. I’m hypnotised.
Just one taste, I need to taste them.
“Valeska Beaumont, at your service.”
Her sinful mouth wraps around the words and I’m enraptured. The name suits her perfectly with the way she holds herself. She’s regal. The contrast of the vibrant colour she’s painted on her lips with her pale, almost paper-white skin should be jarring, but it’s breathtaking. She looks like she stepped out of an oil painting, a masterpiece belonging to a museum, stirring an itch under my skin with the urge to see all of her unveiled.
My hand lifts and I cannot stop the inevitable, to swipe my thumb across her plump mouth and put it in mine to get a taste of her. My mouth waters at the thought of satisfying my craving. I’m halfway to her face when she slips her delicate hand in mine, cold from being out in this weather. It snaps me out of the trance I found myself in.
What the fuck am I doing?
“Agent Rai Moreau.”
She shakes my hand with a firmer grip than I expected her to have and then she’s letting go as she takes a step back and I’m forced to look into the black lenses of her sunglasses. I’m fuming at myself for whatever the fuck just happened when I’m on the job.
Everything around me comes back into focus, as if I was in a vacuum and nothing else existed but her in that moment. Fortunately, not much time has passed while I was stuck fantasising about her lips. Nobody is looking at me weirdly, only the odd glance here and there at the newcomer.
“What are you doing at my crime scene?” I demand.
She ignores me and turns to a petite woman standing behind her that I hadn’t yet noticed. She wears the same cap anddark sunglasses, a flash of red-and-pink hair poking out from underneath. It makes me glance back to the woman calling herself Valeska, suddenly desperate to know what her hair looks like too, as if my next breath depends on it.
Sleek black hair, styled in two braids pulled forwards. I follow the length of them to her waist. I want to wrap them around my fists and tug whilst she’s straddling me. I force myself to shut down that thought and continue perusing her hair, the way it blends in with her all-black outfit that matches the same gear I have.
