Sociopath's Revenge (22 page)

"Is that your solution or advice, Luke? Because I don't know if you noticed, but it didn't really have a solution in it."

The old man lit the cigar and inhaled with pleasure. "The ex-soldier in me cannot support sitting and doing nothing."

Connor's face darkened in fury. "So essentially, you're supporting him." He pointed his index finger at me. "Being fully aware that our chances at finding S and Richard are slim to none. He has killed what… fifty men in the last few years? How many of them spoke about S's identity? That's right, none. This leads us nowhere, and one man is not enough to fight an entire organization."

"Spoken like a true FBI agent," I mocked, and he slammed his fist on the table, surprising both Luke and me, considering he rarely showed any emotional outbursts.

"I am one. It's an ultimatum, guys. I'm not asking anymore. I'm fucking tired of going against my conscience time and time again. You think no laws apply to you. We all know without my help, you don't have half the necessary resources. And I actually want to see the fucker behind bars and be punished for what he does."

Just who the fuck did he think he was?
"You have no authority here," I said.

He smirked, although no traces of humor were evident in his eyes. "Actually, I do. I'm fucking fed up with you running around doing shit for the greater good when in fact you're just harming the process." His eyes held mine in a tight grip. "And if you ever want to see Sapphire, I suggest moving on. Because continuing with your plan leads nowhere, and sure as fuck, I don't want them being part of this." Grabbing him by his collar was a reflex, but this time, he removed my hands, showing strength I hadn't expected.

He stood in front of me and fiercely fought for his point of view, and the kid never did that.

Why would this man fight his family—for that was what we had become—for the greater good?

Or for the woman?

I shared a look with Luke, who had the same wistful expression as I did. Taking a deep breath, I pushed aside the boy from the cell who craved revenge and focused on a man who had become like a brother to me through all these years we spent together, not to mention saving him back in the cell. "Connor, who are you trying to protect?" The muscle in his jaw ticked as an indifferent mask fell over his face.

"No one. I care about the mission."

Luke raised the photo in his hand. "And her?" I hadn't recognized the blonde and blue-eyed woman there, and before I could search for details, Connor snatched it from his hand and shoved into his back pocket.

"Leave her out of it," he growled. "Honey is off limits. I mean it, Luke." My eyes darted from him to Luke and everything finally clicked into place.

Honey Beckett was the newest addition to their FBI team from foster care, she'd turn eighteen in a year, and right now, they used all her hacker talents to their own advantage. She didn't really have any other choice, considering they'd just lock her up otherwise. Normally, an FBI agent had to be twenty-three years old and have a bachelor degree, so they couldn't recruit her just yet. But her gifts with computers were too good to ignore, so they gave her an ultimatum after she almost hacked their system for "fun."

Hermit would be the best word to describe her. From my background research, I'd found she had no friends, no hobbies, and rarely wandered outside. Perky glasses, oversized clothes, boyish looks. After I'd considered all those facts, I never thought she'd create a problem for us with Connor. He went for busty, sophisticated brunettes, and rarely spent his nights alone. For me personally, it was hard to understand his desire to screw every woman in sight.

"I don't see why we have to listen to you," Luke answered, relaxing his back into the chair, not taking his hard stare from Connor. The old man had no wife of his own. According to him, he never met a woman worth enough to take a chance on, so he probably didn't understand how unwise it was to poke Connor.

"She's a kid. Every time I lie so she'll give us information, I'm putting her in danger. I became her friend and this"—he waved his hand wide—"doesn't feel right. That's why I want you to listen to my plan and see the logic in it," he finished with resignation and tiredness in his voice.

I couldn't imagine allowing kids to suffer more, but I also couldn't ignore my friend's pain, so pushing aside all the troubled feelings inside me, I placed my hand on his shoulder and replied, "Tell us about it." His surprised eyes locked with mine, and I noticed gratefulness in them. He motioned for me to sit opposite Luke as he started to pace yet again.

"After John's death, they were very careful. They chose a few brothels through different mafia names to open up, but we quickly got rid of those." We both nodded, and he continued. "They don't feel safe about expanding their organization or contacting anyone about it. We need to give them that, but also a reason. I spoke with Melissa, and she agreed with the plan. We know their next location; we'll go the full FBI route, not send you to end their lives. This will stop them for a while, and they will look for investors, and then we'll finally have an opportunity to get them."

"This does sound good. But why would Melissa help us?" Luke wondered, and Connor huffed annoyingly, although I was curious too. She did help us before, but then Connor fucked her, and she kind of fell in love with him. After she understood that our boy here was the "hit it and quit it" type, she made his life at work a living hell and almost never gave him her support. She assigned someone else to the case, but no one was as good as her. Melissa was a true professional when it came to the field. It was why her behavior after their one-night stand surprised me.

"Her sister was killed in human trafficking back when Melissa was kid. It outweighed my fiasco. For her, in a way, it's a personal mission too." He sighed heavily. "Believe it or not, convincing everyone was exhausting." The plan seemed like it could work, and if it didn't, I would kill those fuckers.

But running around looking for S my whole life wasn't an option either. I had a family I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, so all this bullshit got on my nerves.

Sociopath never asked for help and never listened, but I wasn't that man anymore. That man had no clue there was something more important in life than death and revenge; he had no idea about the love of a woman who he couldn't live without.

"Okay, Con." Relief washed over him, and he pressed his forehead against the table.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that." He swallowed loudly. "Emotions suck."

I chuckled. "Depends how you look at it. That bad?"

"You have no idea." Then he turned his head to me. "After the mission is done, the address will be waiting for you in your room. Destroy it. Also this." He took out a white envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket. "Thought you might want to see them." Lifting his chin to Luke, he left the room to put the plan in motion, and my eyes stayed glued to the glossy picture of a laughing Sapphire on the beach holding an adorable three-year-old girl.

Damian

"This is ridiculous, Connor." His stare never wavered from mine.

"Two days, Damian, I'm asking for two days. They have a gala dinner tonight. My contact will get whatever is needed for us to lock them up. Then they'll be delivered to you on a silver platter, and you can have them. For one hour. I know you don't believe in FBI or anything it stands for, but I do.
"
My brows furrowed.

"Who's 'them?" As much as it always pleased me to torture fuckers, I didn't need any distractions from S and from what I had planned for him.

"Richard and S." The fucking brother of that fucker? The one who shattered my brother day after day back in the cell? Who left his marks of ownership on skin where they didn't belong?

I felt the familiar rush and buzz in my ears as anticipation for my next target hit me, creating an almost pleasurable sensation through me. My palms sweated, body shivered, and my mind played different scenarios of how their bodies could be mutilated.

Connor was clear. I could do whatever the fuck I wanted as long as the fuckers stayed alive to rot in prison. With my experience, it was no hardship.

Two more days. "Fine, if I'm getting both of them, I can wait. Wish I hadn't left my family then."

Something flashed through his eyes that I couldn't quite capture, but my mind went on high alert.

"Don't go back. She'll just be worried. Nothing will happen to them," he vowed, but something wasn't right.

The pitch of his voice, not wanting to meet my eyes when the subject of my family came up, and his shifting in place. Shrugging it off as his nerves and desire to keep women away from the business side of it, we shook hands on the side of the cliff on the Hudson River, where it almost ended five years ago. He sprinted back to his car and drove in the direction of the town, as I climbed on my bike and rode to my dungeon to get everything ready.

Two days.

Just two days before I kept my promise to my brother.

Two days.

All that separated me from a blissfully happy life with Sapphire and Kristina.

Two more days.

Connor

"Do what we agreed on, Dom."

Silence greeted me on the other end of the line, and then, "Are you sure? You do understand he might never forgive us."

I chuckled humorlessly. "We don't have a choice," I said tiredly, because all this shifting between brothers, keeping secrets fucking everywhere, and going essentially against the system exhausted me beyond reason. I thanked my lucky stars Damian quickly agreed to wait a bit more. I thought it would take more time to convince him. Once the motherfuckers were caught, I'd apply for a much-needed vacation.

Preferably with Honey by my side, not that she wanted anything to do with me after our night together a few months back. She had turned nineteen last night, and despite her "silent" treatment, I tried to reach out to her, but she flat out ignored all my calls.

"You repeat that a lot lately." Dom's voice grew annoyed, bringing me back to our conversation, and for the first time, I didn't give a fuck.

"Yeah, well those are the rules of the game you guys don't want to face."

"If something happens to them or to him—"

I finished the threat for him. "I'll pay for it with my life." Not wanting to prolong this conversation even more, I hung up the phone and begged everything that was holy for the plan to go smoothly.

About fucking time to end it.

Midnight

Dominic

The glass door closed behind me as I faced Benjamin and Richard Hill again, both of them sitting comfortably on their chairs as their hawk's eyes studied my every move.

With indifference, I took a seat on the couch and sipped the champagne I'd held from the time I entered the gala downstairs.

"Are you enjoying the evening?" S asked, smoking his cigar.

"Not my scene." Leaning forward, I narrowed my eyes. "Names." Enough was fucking enough, he tried to intimidate me by making me wait all this time, but it only annoyed me. I didn't want to stay here any longer than necessary.

"How do you guarantee us that you are all in? For all we know, you work for the cops or the FBI," Richard barked, probably still pissed after the kick to the stomach he got.

"I know how to do business." My eyes traveled to his brother. "And I have some information that might solve one of the biggest problems you have as of now." S's eyes lit up with interest, he crossed his legs and waved his hand in front of him.

"I'm listening."

Hooked.

Later, holding the folder with all the associates, locations, and money transfers that I automatically sent to Melissa, I wondered about the second part of the plan we just put in motion.

And only one thought ran in my mind over and over again.

Damian would never forgive us.

Sapphire

"Don't go too far, sweetie!" I yelled to Kristina, who happily bounced around the big playground in the park, soaking up all the attention from the kids and 'new adventures' as she called them. To my surprise, the whole playground had a
Pirates of Caribbean
theme, with ships painted brown, golden hooks, ropes to swing on, and some treasures to play with. The sandbox had several makeshift sharks and stairs above to play on, so whoever fell inside would be "eaten" alive. Truth be told, had I been a kid myself, I'd probably go nuts in there as well. She blew me a kiss accompanied by a wink, and a chuckle next to me snapped my attention from her.

Juanita's eyes sparkled anytime they landed on my baby girl. She resumed the knitting she'd put on the bench we occupied. "Just like her father," she murmured. "He and Dominic loved to dress as pirates as kids, although when they were little, this didn't even exist." Her mention of Damian's dead twin surprised me, and it must have shown on my face as she patted my hand. "He was a good boy, my Dom. So full of life and happiness, he was carefree. Had he had the chance to grow up, he'd be a fine man who'd light up the whole world with his presence." She wiped tears from her eyes and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. My heart has made peace with the fact that he is gone, but sometimes all those memories rush back. Especially now, when I see your little angel. Despite being a girl, she reminds me a lot of her late uncle."