Page 67 of Hard Game

“We’ll see,” I grunt back as Tassa kicks him in the stomach and grips his chin in her hand, forcing him to look at her.

“You better make him suffer, Maddox.”

“I will,” I promise her, dragging Alastor to his feet. “Did you see my backpack?”

Tassa disappears before thrusting it against me, a knife against Alastor’s throat as I wrestle my arms into the handles. The weight of the backpack reassures me, and I drag Alastor away from Tassa, who will kill him without a second thought if I don’t move quickly.

“For Zia!” Tassa says, a sob catching her voice. “For all of these women, Maddox!”

I make my way out of the building, elbowing Alastor in the face en route to make him comply. I find a side door and slide out, slamming Alastor against the brick wall so hard his head bounces off it.

“Argh!” He cries, and I do it again for effect.

His eyes narrow, and I study him in the moonlight, fury raging through my veins.

“Murderer,” I hiss, slamming his head against the wall again, grinning as his nose bleeds. “Scum.”

“Whores, all of them,” he gasps, choking on the blood streaming into his mouth. “Like your mother, who I’ll fuck in every hole until she’s dead!”

I know what he’s trying to do: make me end it all now. But I won’t; I need to know who, when, and why. They hurt my girl. They hurt my best friend and countless other families. He will pay. I frogmarch him to the woods, surprised yet relieved to see no fence on this side of the building. Blue and white siren lights flood the front of the building, and when Alastor tries to call for help, I punch him so hard his front teeth fall out.

“Try that again, and I’ll cut out your tongue,” I warn him, throwing him against a tree, his hands behind his back. He gurgles and chokes on his blood, and I revel in it. I wish my detective were here to hear his cries of pain and suffering. She deserves to hear it. I keep one hand clamped to his neck, pushing his broken face into the rough bark as I drop the backpack. I slide out the bolt cutters before twisting him toward me, waving them before him so he can see them.

“No!” He whines, his eyes bulging.

I lift his lip with the bolt cutters, tapping his canines one at a time until a scream pierces the air.

“Carmen Torra is part of the Lockwood Ring! She knew everything! She tried to kill Elijah Jonewood!”

I freeze, sucking in a breath before snapping my head to the left, allowing me to see the front of the building. My detective is being wrestled into an ambulance, and that scream came from her. She’s staring directly at me, too, even though I’m sure we’re hidden.

Carmen is part of the trafficking gang? My stomach churns at the thought of all the information I gave her…while she knew what they were doing all along, even worse, she was part of it?

Fuck no.

I watch as they sedate my detective, and she slumps into the arms of a police officer. I stare at him, taking in every feature of his face, committing it to memory as he laughs with the paramedics and the officer opposite him, my blood simmering.

I won’t forget who you are, I tell him silently as the ambulance doors slam shut, taking my girl with them.

A gurgle from the monster before me steals my attention, and I turn to see Alastor grinning, his blood-stained teeth and gums adding to his vile exterior.

“You didn’t know,” Alastor crows, a dirty laugh leaving his lips. “You thought you were her informant.”

I don’t honor him with an answer; instead, I slide my bolt cutters to his canine tooth and clip, and it’s gone.

Alastor tries to scream, but I turn my attention to his other canine, clipping that one off, too. A whine leaves his throat as I press my forearm against it, not allowing much sound out.

“I want to know where else you’ve got these fucking hell holes.” I tap the bolt cutters against his molar, but despite his pain, he’s not giving me anything. “Tell me, or I’ll take every fucking tooth out of your head and feed them to you.”

Alastor shakes his head, his face deathly pale against the crimson streaming from his mouth and nose. “You’ll have to kill me.”

I nod. “I’d love to.”

But not here.

36

MADDOX

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