once I saw Archie lead her up the stairs. I got the information I needed from Fernando. Their process for extracting girls, names of some of the mules, and the name of who Fernando reports to. Turns out the guy is in Ohio, so I’m letting one of the other mercenaries handle him. He'll get the information on his boss and work our way up the chain. The mules have already been located and targeted, so after I’m done disposing of these two fucks, they’ll be getting a sniper shot to the head, then on to Archie’s family. “The fuck, man?” Archie spits, both terror and disgust evident in his tone. Fernando’s face has started to bloat. I shrug, unbothered. “I have a lot of bodies to dispose of tonight. It'll be easier to dispose of them all at the same time.” “Look, whatever my family did, we can work out a deal,” Archie negotiates, his words a little garbled and misshapen from his broken teeth. His nose has already swollen and bruised, along with his split, puffy lips. He looks as if he went five rounds in a boxing match with his hands tied behind his back. “IT don’t have any connections with your family,” I say calmly. “At least not until now.” He’s silent for a beat, staring at me incredulously as his brain processes that I’m not an enemy of the Talaverra’s. “Then why the fuck are you doing this? Because of that fucking girl?” he asks, his voice hysteric. I lean close, letting him get a good look at my scarred face. If it’s not the scars that warn people away, the deadly glint in my eyes usually does the trick. “She fucking wanted me. Not my fault that your girl doesn’t want you.” I sigh and straighten. I’m not going to bother explaining myself to this prick. He won’t understand my obsession, and I don’t give a shit enough to want him to. What he doesn’t know is that the minute I properly introduce myself to Adeline Reilly, she won’t be able to think of anyone else. I will devour her from the inside out, until every intake of breath will only stoke the inferno I've created inside her. Like oxygen feeding a fire, I will consume every inch of her sweet little body until she will think of nothing else but how to get me deeper inside of her. She’ll fear me at first, but that fear will only ignite her. And I will be all too fucking happy to deliver the pain when she gets too close to the flame. Next to me is a tray of utensils lined up neatly. Without looking away, I grab the first tool my hand lands on. A serrated screwdriver. Specially made for torturing. The military uses shit like this, unbeknownst to the public. Not that the government would ever willingly tell