Page 117 of Voracious

I close my eyes and count to three. Maybe ten. I want to smash him. “Stop talking.”

He huffs. “You’re a cheeky bastard when you’re in a mood.” Then, to be even more of an annoying asshole, he asks, “Where do you think Stacey is?”

My shoulder rises in a shrug, but deep down I’m in pieces. Whenever I’ve got someone out of a situation where they had a target on their back, it usually meant faking their death. And they’d need to stay invisible for the rest of their lives. Barry got lucky having a family and some normality outside of working for me – he was a low-paid contract I got on the side from Bernadette’s client.

All I keep seeing is her name printed on a folder – Stacey Rhodes.

Stacey Rhodes. Stacey Rhodes. Stacey Rhodes.

I’ve kept her safe for the last ten months. I did everything Bernadette wanted. Everything. When a group of one hundred soldiers infiltrated her base in Moscow, me and Base had to kill them with a team, and then she blamed me for it. I spent weeks in a cell with stale food and warm water.

That had nothing to do with me, and nothing to do with Base. We’ve done everything we’ve been told. Our pain and suffering meant our families would remain untouched.

As we near the top, I check my magazine again – full. And then I crack my neck from side to side and straighten my spine while Base turns pale with anxiety. I sniff, roll my shoulder, twist on the silencer and wait.

The door slides open, and I put a bullet in the guard’s head before he can raise his gun, his body dropping. The second guard follows when Base does the same.

I step over them with a deadly rush through my veins, adrenaline kicking in as I pull my blade from my thigh strap and shove it in the last guard’s throat. A fountain of blood sprays over my face, but I don’t flinch.

He falls and chokes like an animal just as Bernadette walks out with a glass of wine in hand. She looks at the bodies and the gun pointing at her. “Is there a problem?” she asks with an arched brow. Her eyes flicker to Base, who stays behind me, his weapon still drawn.

“Where are they?”

She gives me a fake smile, trying to warm her eyes as she tilts her head. “Who?”

“Don’t fucking bullshit me,” I snap with fury in my eyes, my pulse racing, blood roaring in my ears. “Where the fuck are they?”

“Oh, you mean the Lennox family. I have no idea—” Bernadette jumps with a squeak as I shoot the ground next to her feet. “Kade! Drop your weapon now.”

“Fuck off,” I counter. “I’m asking you one more time. They had a daughter – is she dead? Are they dead?”

“No,” she says. “The contract was renewed and only Stacey Rhodes was to be eliminated. Mr Lennox and his family are unharmed and” – she glances at the clock on the wall – “most likely on their way home from their family dinner date.”

I keep my aim on her, gritting my teeth. “Don’t lie to me. What about all the blood?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She rolls her eyes and walks to a table full of papers. “You’re being dramatic.”

“Where is Stacey?” I don’t remove my aim as she sits down on the sofa and crosses her legs. I try not to let my words break as I keep going. “Did… did you… did you kill her? Did you kill Stacey?”

“Would you like a drink, Sebastian?”

“No,” he grits. “Answer the fucking question.”

I cock the gun. “I’m seconds from blowing your fucking head off, Bernadette. Don’t fucking test me.”

She shakes her head and stands. “Drop your aim, Kade. You’re not going to shoot me.”

“If you’ve so much as harmed a hair on her head…”

Bernadette smirks and tips her chin. “Shame you didn’t care this much for Stacey when she was drugged and gang-raped. Only weeks after losing your baby girl. And what did you do? You walked away from her thinking she cheated on you and never listened to her side of the story – the truth. You beat up your own brother and disowned him and your father. You came to me. I gave you a new lease of life. I gave you what you needed, and now you’re going to do the same for me. Forget about Stacey – she’s with her wonderful brother Christopher. Most likely spreading her legs for—”

I punch her into silence. I don’t think – my mind isn’t working or thinking about the repercussions as I drop the gun and smash a tight fist across her face, knocking her to the ground. Wine splashes everywhere, the glass cracking, and she’s barely able to gasp before I’m over her – hammering my fucking fist into her face some more.

The elevator dings, and I hear Base in a scuffle – a gunshot, but the gurgling sound isn’t coming from him.

Someone tackles me – then a taser to my side freezes me, sending jolts of pain through my body until I drop to the ground and stop fighting back.

I try to sit up and see Base is being held by two guards, one arm stretched behind his back.

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