by Knight
“Let them.” I order, I feel them hesitate before relenting.
Two bangs sound beside me and I know they have done the same to Nos and Griffin. “Don’t react,” I order quietly, knowing they are both about to spring into action. “It’s what we wanted,” I finish.
“If we are going to whisper, whisper loud enough for us all to hear,” comes a snarl above me. “Now, little girl, why are you looking for me?” he asks.
“I have information.” I shrug casually, the bag blocking my vision completely. Straining, I try to see through it, but it’s no use.
“Information?” The man laughs and the other men in the room chuckle.
“Money has been disappearing, no? Well, I know who it is. You let me talk and I think we can make a deal,” I say loudly and the laughter cuts off. I feel the tension in the room.
“If you are lying, I will kill you all,” he threatens casually, and I shrug again.
“Of course, I would expect no less,” I reply.
He snorts before moving away. “Tie their hands, take them out back.” He turns back around. “We will take you somewhere else to speak.” With that, I hear him sweep from the room as my hands are bound in front of my body with wire. I test the limits and I find that although tight, I can move my hands, and if I really wanted to, I could break free. That isn’t the plan though. I need to speak to Victor, so good little captive I will play.
“Where are you taking us?” Griffin snarls, obviously sick of the silence and lack of control. We are still tied and covered in hoods after being deposited in a car of some kind and lying all together in the back as we are driven away from the club.
“Somewhere quieter, you wished to speak to Victor, did you not?” he growls.
“Yes,” I reply, kicking Griffin to shut him up.
“Then be quiet,” he orders, and we all shut up.
I concentrate on the turns we take and the length of the drive. We drive for over thirty minutes with ten left turns and fifteen right turns, before going off road at some point, if the bouncing and noise of the wheels is anything to go by.
The men in the car are professionals and don’t speak, so I can’t glean any information from them. Suddenly we stop, and the car doors open and slam shut before we are pulled from the back and forced to walk over what feels like gravel.
Stumbling a little, I hold myself upright and keep walking. Soon the ground under our feet changes into carpet as we are directed inside somewhere. From the smell of the air and the cool temperature, it’s a big space, and we are pulled directly to what sounds like an elevator.
When we are pushed inside and we start moving up, I know I was right. It bings and we are pulled out again, yanked down a corridor before the sound of an opening door reaches us.
It’s warmer inside the room we are pushed into, and smells like blossoms on a spring day. A man’s hand pushes down on my shoulder and I fall back into something soft. A chair of some kind. From the scuffling around me, my men are pushed down as well, and when their thighs meet mine on either side, the tingling lets me know it’s them.
The hood is pulled away and I blink to adjust my eyes against the light before they widen in shock. I take in the woman sitting across from me, casually watching us as she sips from a tumbler filled with orange liquid.
“Victor?” I ask, clearing my throat after not talking for a long time.
She raises her glass and a sarcastic smile curls her perfectly painted red lips. “Surprise, though, I suppose you could call me Victoria. Now, what can I do for you?” she inquires.
Victor...is a woman?
“From the surprise on your face, I’m guessing you were expecting a man?” she muses, leaning forward and dropping her now empty glass on the table in front of her. She’s wearing a suit, a black jacket and trousers, but has no shirt on underneath and long pointy heels on her feet. She’s beautiful, in a deadly looking way. Her eyes are cold and calculating, and I’m betting she is a lot smarter than people think. I also wager people underestimate her a lot. Her hair is cut short, a blonde bob, which only accentuates her model worthy face and body. She looks like she should be gracing the covers of magazines, not sitting in what looks like a meeting room as the leader of a crime ring—but here we are. Her cheeks sparkle with gold when she tilts her head, and her eyes are lined perfectly with black liner only, making their blue colour pop even more.
Standing behind her is the scarred man from the club, and his eyes are like daggers, centered on me. She leans her hand up, caressing him when she sees me looking. “I see you have met my head of security, Jedrick.” She grins and I nod.
“Good, Jedrick is my right-hand man. He is also my public stand in, only a trusted few—or the damned—know who I really am. Men don’t want to deal with women, they think we are weak. If only they knew the truth.” She laughs and another glass appears at her side. Without looking, she grabs it and watches me over the rim as she sips the amber liquid.
“So tell me...” She trails off, expecting me her to fill her in. She’s good, manipulating me easily and playing off her gender. She obviously knows how to work a room and get she wants, but for her to be in this position there has to be more to her than just her mind. She must be ruthless and deadly. I need to make sure I tread carefully.
“Dawn, and are we the trusted or damned?” I ask casually, crossing my legs.
She grins and rests the glass in her lap, her eyes not straying from me even though Nos and Griffin sit at my side. “We shall see, I always know my enemies, yet I find myself at a loss with you. Jed said you had information for me. I deal in information, so present your case Dawn, and I will see whether you will make it out of this room alive.”
“Why do you think I’m in charge?” I question, curious, and she laughs.
“It is obvious, they defer to you. I know a powerful woman when I see one and you, Dawn, are. So, let’s not play games.” Her voice hardens at the end and her eyes flash like ice is swirling there.
“No games.” I nod. “I have come here to strike a deal, you have something I want and I have some information you need,” I offer, leaning back into my men and accepting their support. Something about her unnerves me. I think it’s because I don’t know how to approach her and my strength or powers won’t help me here. I will have to rely on my mind.
“And what do I have that you want?” she asks.
“My ex-husband,” I state.
Her eyebrow raises and Jedrick moves slightly behind her. Her eyes warm slightly and a smile dances on her lips as she watches me. “I know that look on your face, you want revenge, a feeling I am very well acquainted with. Why don’t you tell me a bit more and I will see what deal we can come to, Dawn.”
“Huh,” she says, leaning back and watching me in a new light. “Let me get this straight—one of my men forced you into a marriage you did not want, and I’m guessing from the unspoken words in your eyes it was not a good marriage,” she grinds out, and I tilt my head at the anger in her eyes. At her tone, Jedrick drops a hand on her shoulder and seems to bristle. She sighs, leaning into his touch.
“From your expression, I can see you do not understand my outrage.” She pats Jedrick’s hand and leans forward. “Let me explain something to you, Dawn. I was not born into this business nor was I grown for it—my husband was once…” At the word, Jedrick bristles again. “Jed’s brother,” she adds. “We were sweethearts and I thought I loved him, we married young—too young. By the time I realised it was all a front and another side of him existed, it was too late. I was in too deep. I became his pawn and his punching bag. I was forced into meetings and other such situations, always in the background. Always listening and waiting. He was not a smart man, more like a hammer than anything else. He was a disappointment to his father and he made many mistakes. One which almost cost Jedrick and me our lives. We were taken by another family and tortured for information. My husband did not even come for us—his enforcer and wife. He left us to rot but we escaped, and whe
n we came back, we found that he didn’t care then either. He was not a good man, he did not have morals. Our law, our circle, are family and he betrayed that for money and power. It got him killed,” she explains, and I grin at the fierce expression on her face, this woman is something else altogether.
“I had been by his side for years, I knew the business better than him. I was the one the other families really came to see, his father saw that. He cultivated it, made me his protégé, and I went willingly. I am good at my job, I am the leader, and that means making the tough decisions. Decisions lesser men would crumble under the weight of, but those laws—they govern us,” she snarls, grabbing her drink and tossing it back. “Family always comes first, second is to never cross into another family’s territory unless you want war. I do not deal in drugs or people and lastly—any crime committed against a woman or child receives the harshest sentence.”
She sits back, her hand reaching out for Jedrick, and I know they are each other’s weakness but it only seems to make them stronger.
“For a man of mine to have forced you into marriage—” She shakes her head. “I offer my apologies and the family will deal with it,” she finishes, and it’s my turn to lean forward.
“I do not want you to deal with it,” I counter and she frowns. “He is mine to deal with, I have a debt to settle with him,” I growl and she grins.
“I like her,” Jedrick rumbles, and Victoria’s grin stretches.
“As do I, it would be a shame to kill you, Dawn,” she comments. “So, that is what you want in return for information. You want your ex-husband.”
I nod. “I also want any information you find once I outline what I’ve found, it seems our paths have crossed in another way.”
She watches me and confusion swirls in her eyes as she tries to read between the lines. “Do we have a deal?” I ask, knowing this woman’s word is law.
“For this information, which you won’t tell me, you want your ex-husband and my word that I will share any information that I find in my...investigations, that may pertain to you or what you are dealing with?” she clarifies, her wording very careful.
“Yes.” I incline my head.
“Your information must be very good,” she prods.
Smiling, I uncross my legs. “It is worth it and more, but why don’t you make the deal and find out?”
“Very well, but know this Dawn, just because we have some hateful men in common does not mean I won’t kill you if you cross me,” she says casually.
“Understood, and know that if you go back on your word, I will hunt you down and wear your skin as a coat,” I reply sweetly.
She laughs again. “Oh yes, I like you. Fine, we have a deal, Dawn. Now, what is your information?”
“Marco,” her eyes narrow at the name, “was stealing your money under your nose and dealing in stolen women. He was also working with some other people to sell some very special women. I happened to be unfortunate enough to be taken by Marco when I approached him about Tim, my husband. It seems they were working together with some of your other men, and embezzling money and dealing in flesh without your consent.” Her hands tighten into fists and every man in the room steps forward. “I, of course, do have proof.” I pull the flash drive from between my breasts and pass it over. She accepts it, her eyes hard. “I had to kill Marco I’m afraid, pesky business, but he did anger my men here when he drugged and caged me. But I have everything from his phone and computer, and an address of a warehouse where the women were kept, as well as the paper trail of the money from your legitimate business, and the funneling Tim used.” Sitting back, I watch the emotions play across her face before she schools it into cold indifference, but it is enough. She didn’t know and she is furious.
“Is that right?” she whispers, passing over the drive to Jedrick who takes it over to a computer in the corner. We stare at each other as he boots it up, and the only sound in the room is his tapping on the computer before he smashes his fist into the table.
“She is telling the truth,” he mutters.
Victoria’s eyes narrow. “I see.” She grips her drink and throws it back, her whole body tight and vibrating with tension. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I shall deal with the traitors within my family and get your husband to you. Your information is as good as you said.” She nods and I can see her mind already working a mile a minute on plans and calculations. Her eyes snap up randomly, almost making me jump.
“I am curious, though, Dawn. Why did you not just take your husband?” she asks.
“It would have repercussions. I’m guessing you didn’t like him, but he is still your man and you would, in the very least, try and come after him. No, I wanted his whole life destroyed. I want him to know he is completely alone before I kill him, like he did to me.”
“Vengeful little thing.” Jedrick grins.
“Very well, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will look into it.” I can still feel the anger wafting from her, knowing some of her men have betrayed her. I’m betting this city is going to feel her wrath before sunrise. “Jedrick will see you out. I will be in contact soon, but as you can imagine, I have some business to deal with.” She stands and I copy her.
She reaches out her hand, and I shake it before she turns and leaves the room, as two men break away from the door and follow her. She stops at the threshold and gives me a look filled with death and violence.
“You will make him suffer before you kill him,” she orders, and sweeps from the room.
I turn to Jedrick. His eyes are on the retreating form of the woman, and only when she disappears does he turn back to us and jerk his head through the door.
He leads us down the corridor and to an elevator, and when we reach the ground floor he doesn’t give us time to look around before leading us from the house.
Leaving this house we were brought to—of our own accord this time, without hoods and rope—I slide into the car that Jedrick indicates. He leans in before he shuts the door.
“We will send word when we have your husband and any information.” With that, he slams the door shut and steps back as the car pulls away. I watch the house and man out of the back window. There is quite a story there, and it went better than we thought. All this time and I am one step closer to my goal. Tim will be mine with no repercussions before the week is through.
“Not long now, sir,” the driver announces, concentrating on the dark road in front of him.
I lost sight and feel of whoever is hunting us, but I know they are out there waiting. Setting a trap. It means I’m on high alert, anticipating their move.
And move they do—right into us.
A revving car has me looking to the right, into the dense forest, but a split second too late I see the headlights switch on from where they were obviously hiding, and now what I realise is a lorry rams into the side of our car.
The sound of metal crunching on metal fills the air, as does the scent of blood as we are rammed off the road. The car flips and I hold on tight as we roll down the embankment on the side of the road. I feel my skin splitting as shattered glass from the windows cuts into me, and hear the screams of my driver before he passes out or dies—I am not sure which.
We don’t stop rolling, the hill is too steep, not until we smash into some trees. One impales the front window, pinning my shoulder into the seats. Roaring, I rip at it with claws, my hands changing from the adrenaline pumping through my system. My head is ringing, my ears are stuffy, and blood is dripping into my eyes, but I ignore it all as I rip at the wood, trying to free myself before they make their way down here. But I am not fast enough. The door I am facing is ripped open and a grinning face peers in.
Snarling, I snap forward and the man pulls back until I calm down, and then he looks back in. “Well, well, well, we are going to be well paid for this capture boys. Witch, get over here and knock him out before he kills us all.”
Frowning at his words, my mind sluggish from the hit, I f
igured it was human hunters, but that is a thought for another time. I hand myself over to my beast and he rips from my body, tearing my shoulder from the wood and shredding through muscle and skin until my arm hangs uselessly at my side.
Kicking my way out of the car, I watch the men circle me, with a cocky looking woman chanting beside him, her hands aimed towards me. Something knocks into my chest, and with a roar I realise it is a sleeping spell. If I sleep now, I will die, or worse—be captured.
Sniffing the air, I smell coyote, wolf, and vamp. I huff through my nose and stamp at the floor, and dodge another sleeping spell.
Charging at anyone I can, I rip through their masses. I ignore the pain as they tear at my body, trying to stop me. Spell after spell meets my skin until I stumble.
Shaking my head from the confusion and tiredness, I keep moving, but I am sluggish and it feels like I’m pushing through water. The world tilts sideways, but I keep fighting when three more spells rapidly hit me, sending me to my knees.
Looking up, unable to move, I glare at everyone but their shapes are blurry. “Time to sleep, beast,” a woman’s voice coos, before another spell slams directly into my head. I am asleep before I hit the ground.
When we get back to Griffin’s, we all just sit in silence. Tonight went well, too well. Surely it can’t be that easy to earn a crime lord’s trust? Victoria did seem struck by Dawn and impressed, so who knows.
For another night, we have nothing to do. No one to kill or hunt, and it is obvious by the way we all sit looking at each other that we do not know what to do. I feel like we should be moving or doing something.
“So, we just wait for her call about Tim and any information? What about The Others?” Griffin asks, obviously itching for a fight.