Page 39 of Sinful Lies
Chainz nods his head, “It could be.”
I hear how his voice cracks and know he needs a minute with his thoughts to ponder the possibility that this is a lead he’s been looking for, for months. I step toward Damon. “Where did you get this?”
“Let’s just say I found it. I’ve done my homework and I believe that may be that child you’ve been looking for. Unfortunately, the photograph is all I have.”
While the significance of this development is weighing on my mind, it’s not what we came here for. We don’t know if it’s really Paige, and it’s useless without her whereabouts. In the time we’ve wasted on this, we could have covered a lot of ground in our search for Ben.
“What’s the second thing?” This better be fucking good.
Damon turns his head and nods at the driver of the car. “As for our trade, get your guns ready.”
Fuel, Cobra, Crusher, Hound and Reaper all draw their guns. The clicking of the chambers being loaded echo around us in unison and like clockwork they’re loaded and aimed at Damon. Damon throws his hands in the air just as the trunk pops open.
“The guns are for him.” Damon tips his head toward the trunk and straightens his suit jacket. “Found him boarding a plane to LAX.”
Chainz and I move toward the truck with Fuel, Cobra, and Crusher behind us while Damon returns to the backseat of the car. Hound and Reaper hold their positions aimed at the car. The back of the car joggles. The trunk creaks as I lift it open.
Son of a bitch. Today is my lucky day.
I grab Ben by the collar and toss him out of the trunk. He lands with a heavy thud, bound and gagged in the dirt at our feet. Chainz slams the trunk closed. The car speeds off, leaving a thick cloud of dirt in its wake. Cobra drags Ben off the dusty road and drops him. He pitches forward, rocking his head against what’s left of the asphalt parking lot. He’s been roughed up and, by the looks of him, struggling to hold on to consciousness. That won’t do at all. I want this bastard fully alert when I tear him to shreds.
I straddle his body and remove his restraints. Ben doesn’t have a chance at surviving this, but it’s more fun if he can put up a fight. I shake him violently until his eyes open. I watch as his eyes grow wider, and fear takes a hold of him. As soon as it registers in his head, he staggers to his feet and dashes off to the left. Unable to steady himself, he falls to his knees. The roar of laughter echoes off the building. The sound so loud vultures abandon their branches and take flight. They smell his blood and circle overhead, waiting for their prey to fall for the last time. The busted-up asphalt crackles under my boots as I move toward him. My stomach constricting from the hardy laugh I had at his expense.
I drag him up by his shirt and wind back, driving my fist forward into his face in rapid succession. I can feel bone crunching under my knuckles. Blood spirts from his mouth, coating his pearly whites. “Where’s the girl Ben?”
“Which one?” Ben spits at my feet. A drop of blood hitting the steel toe of my boot.
“Don’t get cute, motherfucker.” I jab my fist into his face, this time connecting with his nose. “The girl from the cage. Dia called her Jules.”
Ben tries to break out of my hold, but my arm doesn’t budge. “That’s right, motherfucker. Dia. My Dia.”
Ben cackles, spitting up blood. “I don’t have her, you stupid neanderthal. I just wanted to make Dia jealous, but then you came in shooting up the place. He watched your disgusting reunited lovers’ routine play out and took her for collateral.”
“He who?” I roared, drawing back and ramming my fist up and into his gut. I drop him, hissing and wheezing.
My men close in around him. Fuel and Reaper drag him to his feet, holding him up between them. Ben’s lip is swollen and the bottom split in half. Blood puddles down his face as he slumps forward. They jerk him back up by the arms. Chainz coils his chain around his knuckles, lowering it over Ben’s head and squeezing it tight around his neck. “What about the kid in this picture?”
Spittle forms at the corners of Ben’s mouth, clawing at the chain cutting off his airway. Ben’s eyes roll back in his head, and he falls forward. Chainz loosens his grip, letting Ben hit the ground. I take the picture from Chainz and hold it in front of Ben’s face. He’s gasping rapidly, fighting to regain his breath. “We found hundreds of photos like this in your warehouse. Where are they, asshole?”
My boot collides with his rib cage. The air Ben so desperately inhales hisses out of his lungs as he collapses. “You can kill me, but it won’t stop anything. I’m just one part of this operation.”
Chainz pulls up on the chain, forcing Ben onto all fours like the dog he is. He keeps pulling, dragging Ben backwards. Ben claws at the metal carving through his neck, his hands and knees dragging against the asphalt. Chainz uncoils the chain from Ben’s neck and drops him again. Ben slumps against the cinderblock wall, clenching his neck to keep the blood from spurting out.
“We have all night, but by the looks of things, you don’t have long. If you ever loved Dia at all, you’ll tell us where they are.”
The thought of any man loving my woman is like a punch to the gut, but maybe on some twisted level, he cared about her. Ben narrows his eyes on mine, his mouth opens and closes again, his lips quivering as he tries to push out words.
A single gunshot slices through the air. The only sound it makes is the impact as it splits bone. Ben’s blood and brain matter paint over the graffiti mural behind him. We draw our guns and turn on our heels to scanning our surroundings, but there’s nothing but quiet. No glint from a gun, no rustle of brush to point us in the shooter's direction.
“Let’s go before this place is swarming with sirens or worse.” Chainz orders.
I stalk over to Ben’s body, pulling my blade from my ankle holster. Flicking it open, I make a clean cut, severing the finger that wears his wedding band. Blood coats my hands. It splatters across the asphalt as I fling them both into the overgrown weeds. I wipe my hands and blades down the legs of my jeans, slip my knife back into its holster and climb on my bike.
