Page 99 of Verses and Blooms
“Done,” Ledger said easily, giving our omega a kiss. “Time to let karma come out and play.”
Ares started to follow, but I hesitated.
“Are you coming?” Ares asked.
I shook my head. “No. I can’t leave her and if I go, he won’t come out of this alive.”
I’d witnessed enough violence and being away from my omega. Nothing could force me to leave her behind now.
“We’ll be thorough,” Ledger reassured me before they disappeared.
“Now, shower time and relaxing for our mate,” I said, prompting them to move again.
It seemed the blows just kept coming. This time it was Cross intercepting us as we walked toward the communal showers.
“Where’s Ares?”
“He and Ledger had to go help with something. They’ll be meeting us back here soon,” I said easily, not letting anything shine through to give them away.
He sighed. “Well, I have bad news.”
Audrey let out a soft whimper. “Can we not?”
“Sorry, kiddo. But, the bigwigs from the Alliance and the Network moved it up in light of…everything. They’ll be here tomorrow.” He grimaced. “They want to start with this facility. The chief’s in hot water for letting Audrey go.”
“Bring it on,” I said. “I’d love to hear what they have to say for themselves.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ares
“Oh look, someone left us a present,” Ledger called out as he entered. I hung back, letting him have his moment before I finished the job.
Malik sat up straighter. If that was even possible since he was tied to the chair. He was waiting right in the middle of this warehouse. It was clearly a safehouse. There was a small camp set up in the corner with a cot, blankets, some takeout wrappers, and bottles of water.
The good doctor’s eyes were bulging out of his head at the sight of Ledger. To be fair, the alpha was downright giddy, practically skipping up to greet him.
He held up a gloved hand, wiggling his fingers and laughing as Malik straightened against the restraints, making the chair squeak on the concrete.
Generally, the Alliance didn’t exact justice this way. However, this man would never be able to tell his story or see the inside of a courtroom. He was one of those special cases our department specialized in.
I had no intention of leaving this man alive and I knew the chief would have my back. They’d come, look around, mark it off that his enemies had found him, and call it a day.
There was no way in hell I’d allow this man to live. Not when he was feeding patients to Seamus. I’d let him live only because he might have more information on the trafficking rings.
Malik had no such cushion.
“I want to hear you scream. Don’t worry, your little safehouse was chosen for being in the middle of nowhere. No one will hear a thing,” Ledger promised sweetly as he tore the duct tape from Malik’s mouth.
“Please. I can give you anything you want!” he gasped.
“You know what you actually deserve?” Ledger mused as he pulled a switchblade from his pocket and popped it open. The metal swoosh of the blade had his skin paling.
Ledger was enjoying this, and so was I. It would be stupid to record evidence, but damn it was tempting.
“The proper punishment would be to give you exactly what you signed those girls up for. You may not be able to have a heat, but I hear you’re all about experimental drugs. We could have you sobbing for relief, then bring in some big, sexy alphas to finish the job. Once a month. For years!”
The last word was screamed right in Malik’s face, at the top of Ledger’s lungs. The sound echoed off the walls and the snot and tears trailing down Malik’s face said he wasn’t exactly a fan of this plan.
