Page 51 of Dead Devil's Playground
Hudson watches as I unlock my phone and open an app that looks like a simple game. When I enter a specific code, it transforms into a tracking system.
"After what happened to us years ago," I explain, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside, "I made sure there was never a moment when I couldn't find them. The first thing I did after we took over was to get trackers."
I wave a hand in his direction, the rings on my fingers catching what little light filters into the room. "Do you think I always wear jewelry for appearances? Most serve a purpose." I twist one of the rings, revealing a hidden compartment. "I even have a tiny amount of poison in one. Hell, my bracelet is a garrote."
Understanding dawns on his face as I tap the screen, activating the tracking on the twins' rings. Two blinking dots appear, moving rapidly away from our location.
"They're heading east," I say, already moving toward the door. "Toward the industrial district."
Hudson grabs my arm. "Wait. We need backup."
I wrench free of his grip. "We don't have time. Whoever took them isn't going to wait while we round up people we can trust—which, by the way, seems to be a shrinking list." I head for the exit, not bothering to look back. "You can come with me or not, but I'm going after them."
I hear his muttered curse, then his footsteps following me. Good. I could use the backup, though I'd never admit it.
We slip out through a service entrance, avoiding the chaos of the main floor. The night air hits my face, cool against my flushed skin. Hudson's SUV is parked in the reserved section at the back of the club. I climb into the passenger seat without a word, eyes fixed on my phone as the dots continue to move across the city map.
Hudson slides behind the wheel, starting the engine with a low growl that matches his expression. "Where are they headed?"
"Keep going east," I direct, watching as the dots finally slow. "They've stopped. Some kind of warehouse on the waterfront."
Hudson drives like a man possessed, taking corners at speeds that would terrify anyone with a normal sense of self-preservation. I grip the door handle, not out of fear but impatience—even this breakneck pace feels too slow when the twins are in danger.
"Slow down," I say as we approach the warehouse district. "We need to be smart about this."
He eases off the accelerator, navigating the maze of abandoned buildings and storage facilities until we're a block away from the tracking signal. We park in the shadow of a derelict factory, weapons ready as we exit the vehicle.
"Four guards that I can see," Hudson murmurs, peering around the corner at our target. "Two at the main entrance, two patrolling the perimeter."
I nod, already calculating angles and approaches. "Take the perimeter guards. I'll handle the door."
We move in perfect sync, years of working together making words unnecessary. Hudson disappears into the shadows to circle around while I advance on the main entrance. The guards are masked but sloppy—too confident, too relaxed. Their first mistake.
I approach from their blind spot, knife in hand. The first guard doesn't even have time to turn before my blade slices across his throat, cutting off any sound he might have made. The second reaches for his weapon, but I'm faster, driving my knife up under his ribs and into his heart. He crumples without a sound.
Hudson reappears moments later, blood on his knuckles but otherwise untouched. "Clear," he says simply.
We enter the warehouse cautiously, staying low and using the stacks of crates for cover. The space is cavernous, most of it shrouded in darkness, but a pool of light at the center reveals a scene that makes my blood freeze in my veins.
Rev and Kai are bound to metal chairs, their faces bloody and bruised. Rev's right eye is swollen shut, blood trickling from a cut above his brow. Kai's lip is split, his normally perfect hair matted with crimson. They're conscious but dazed, heads lolling as they struggle to focus.
And pacing in front of them, a gun held casually in one hand, is Camden.
"—years of loyal service," he's saying, his voice echoing in the cavernous space. "Years of following orders, of doing your dirty work, and for what? To be treated like a fucking errand boy?"
He stops pacing to lean in close to Rev's face. "You never even saw me, did you? Never gave me a chance to prove what I could really do."
I signal to Hudson, pointing to a path that will circle around behind Camden. He nods, slipping away while I work my way closer, using the shadows and stacked crates for cover.
"I watched him play lapdog to a little girl," Camden continues, gesturing with the gun toward Kai. "Hudson—a fucking war hero—reduced to babysitting some skinny bitch with daddy issues because you two said so."
I clench my jaw so hard my teeth ache, but I force myself to stay focused, to keep moving silently toward my target.
"We could have ruled this city like kings," Camden rants, his voice rising with fervor. "Created real chaos, real power. Instead, you imposed order. Rules. Boundaries." He spits the last word like it's poison. "You tamed what should have been wild."
I'm close enough now to see the twins' eyes, to catch the moment they spot me moving in the shadows. Neither gives any sign, their expressions remaining carefully blank despite the recognition I see flicker across their faces.
"You have no idea what real power looks like," Camden continues, oblivious to my approach. "What it means to truly control a city. You're just playing at being devils, while I—"
