Page 27 of Promise of Hellfire

I walked closer to Bennett, my fingers brushing against the knife strapped to my thigh. “Estimate. You have the financial records.” I trained my eyes on the man behind the bars, waiting for an answer.

Hunter cleared his throat, but Dominic was the one who answered as he leaned against the wall. “Lowest estimate is at least seventy. He’s made over a million dollars off of this venture alone.”

Hunter came close to me and folded his arms around my waist, pulling my back to his chest. His arms grounded me and his breath caressed my cheek as he whispered in my ear. “I need you to listen to me, princess. I know you want him to hurt, but he’s nothing. Just some guy blindly following orders who has an over-inflated sense of self. We need to hurry this up and be out of here soon. Everyone else is spreading accelerants around the building. Give him a clean death and we can get the fuck out.”

He pulled my fingers away from where they rested against my knife and pulled them to his lips, giving them a gentle kiss. Bennett didn’t deserve a clean death, but Hunter was right. We still had things to do today. “Do you want me to do this?” he asked.

I shook my head at him. Ethan had taken care of Libby, and all of them had a hand in taking care of Trace. I pulled my hand away and unholstered the gun on my thigh, leveling it on the man behind the metal bars. Bennett backed away from us, pressing his body against the back wall, trying to create the illusion of distance. My hands shook as I looked at him, knowing that he deserved it but my next actions I couldn’t take back. Hunter’s presence grounded me in the moment, and I squeezed the trigger.

The room filled with the smell of spent gunpowder as blood trickled from the wound in Bennett’s chest, blooming on the front of his shirt. His chest heaved as he attempted to breathe and he cursed in pain. He wasn’t dead yet, but between blood loss and smoke inhalation, he would be soon. I handed the gun to Hunter and pulled away, ready to finish what we started and get out of here. “Make sure everything down here is coated in gasoline,” I told him as I walked away. “Where’s Ethan?”

“He was patching himself up and then helping Rory,” Dominic responded from behind me, placing his hand on the small of my back.

The smell of cheap liquor and gasoline filled my nose as I stepped onto the main floor. A look of unadulterated joy was plastered to Ethan’s face as he splashed a bottle of vodka onto the walls. My eyes went to the red stain on his shirt that contrasted with the stark white of the cotton surrounding it. “How are you feeling?”

He shrugged at me as he flung the bottle against the wall, glass shattering onto the floor below. “I’m fine, I promise. Are you ready to get out of here?”

“Upstairs is clear?”

Rory appeared beside him, blood on the cuffs of his shirt. “Everything is taken care of, boss lady. The only thing left is to light this place up.”

He wiped his brow with his sleeve, smearing the blood across his skin as Ethan stepped close and handed me a box of matches, closing my fingers around it. Everyone filed out the back door and waited for me.

This was finally it. Even prior to the auctions, the Ruby Rose was a place of nightmares. Women went missing weekly and were discarded like trash on the outskirts of the city. After it burned, someone should salt the ground. Nothing good ever came from this place.

I flicked the match head against the strip and dropped it into a trail of liquid on the floor. The flames quickly engulfed the room, darting out in all directions, and danced along every surface. The wood crackled and sparks flew into the air as someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the exit.

The car ride to the safe house was silent, and exhaustion crept into my bones. My muscles shook from the adrenaline finally subsiding and I wanted nothing more than to curl up on the seat and sleep, but I couldn’t. Not yet, at least.

Dominic turned the music streaming from the radio up, covering the heavy silence in the car, and I glanced in the rearview mirror. Ethan gave me a small smile when he caught me staring. He looked a little pale and a light sheen of sweat covered his skin.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked.

“Positive. The only thing that would make me feel better is if you were sitting in my lap.”

He gave me a quick wink, and Hunter chuckled beside me. “Of course, you would go straight to that. Get shot and immediately think of sex.”

I scoffed at both of them, exasperated. “We’ll talk about sex as soon as Nia looks at the bullet wound.”

“Promise?” Ethan teased, and I rolled my eyes, turning my attention to the buildings passing by.

Waking up early wasn’t exactly my forte. Add in shooting someone, Ethan and Lexi being wounded, and setting a building on fire. I would kill for a cup of coffee.

One more step of our plan was completed and for that, I could breathe a sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure what the timeline was for taking care of Ayers or the rest, but so far today was a success.

Dominic drove into the outskirts of Strathmore and the dilapidated industrial buildings fell away to a small suburban area filled with midsize homes. Lawns were neatly manicured and children played outside, riding the new bikes they received for the holidays despite the chill in the air. We turned onto a cul-de-sac and parked in front of a two-story white house. The black shutters and crimson door were a stark contrast to the paint. Hedges neatly lined the front. It fit in perfectly with the surrounding homes and seemed warm and inviting. From an outsider’s perspective, you’d have no clue that this was a safe house for people involved in organized crime.

I trudged to the house and knocked before trying the knob. The door was unlocked and I stepped inside, shrugging off my jacket and hanging it on a hook in the entryway.

Joey, one of Oliver’s men, peered around the corner and grinned. “I was wondering when you were going to show up. Long morning, killer?”

I gave him my best scowl as I passed by. “Please tell me there’s coffee,” I responded as I walked into the kitchen.

And just like that, everything from this morning was worth it. A few of the women from the Rose were seated around a large wooden table with cups and plates, whispering amongst themselves.

Victoria stood at the stove, making something that smelled faintly of cinnamon. “Of course there’s coffee. I know how you are in the morning,” she laughed as she continued working.

I searched through the cabinets of the spacious kitchen and found a mug as I listened to the quiet murmuring behind me.

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