Page 57 of Midnight Torment

“Then my guess is that a doctor in the hospital is taking samples for Darius’ organisation. When a recipient needs an organ, they go to the list and the person is recovered.”

Megan gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, her huge blue eyes filled with sympathy. “How old was she?”

“Sixteen a few weeks ago.”

I pulled out my phone and began to type. Alex may be hiding out, but Nicklas was in Cuba and had access to some of the files we recovered. I gave him a brief outline of what was happening.

“Do you have a photograph of her?” I asked since I knew all the files had a photograph in the top corner. It would make sorting through them easier, as names could be changed to add an extra layer of security in a fucked-up world that would steal someone’s heart and put it in someone else.

I pinged it all across to Nicklas and then the guys back home so they could follow up any leads with Seth. My phone vibrated a few seconds later.

Nic:I’ll check into it. Lucas is here and searching for Catarina. He’s breathing hellfire and brimstone.

Me:He’s not dead, and he was always watching Cat. He must have a safehouse somewhere that he’s holed up in. I would start hunting for properties recently bought or leased.

Nic:Yeah, I think he’s playing us and when I get my hands on him, I’ll stick my toe up his ass. I don’t need an angry Lucas right now.

Me:No one needs an angry Lucas…

He replied with an angry cursing emoji and fisted hands flicking the bird on either side of it. Nicklas was the type to lose his shit and shoot someone over this.

“Nic says he’ll start to go through the files for you.” The world got smaller every single day. “Now we need to go and get ready for dinner. I think Megan’s had enough excitement for one day.”

He handed me a piece of paper. “Here is the address of the restaurant. I told them to expect two tourists I was sending their way.”

“Are they going to put poison in the wine?” I queried.

His smile would make the average sphincter tighten. “Maybe earlier, but we’re friends now.”

I never believed in friends with benefits in the past because everything came at a cost. What I did trust was my instincts and the fact that I kept my enemies and acquaintances close to make sure I knew exactly what they were up to. Johannes had yet to prove if he was a friend or foe, and with Megan here I needed to be doubly careful.

“Thank you so much for today. I really did enjoy our trip to the stall earlier.” This was why people loved her. Even after everything she faced earlier, she still took the time to be polite to the madman who’d pulled a gun on me.

“The pleasure is all mine. Remember what Adaora said to you and keep your talisman with you.”

I stared down at her in confusion.

“The lady in the market earlier gave me a beautiful stone in the shape of a rose. It was for luck.” She gave that smile that was a little too bright and told me she was vulnerable.

Instead of questioning her further, I pocketed the piece of paper and led Megan from the house. The sun was starting to lose its heat as we made our way back to the car I’d hired. Megan threaded her fingers through mine and we wandered through the streets like a normal couple without a care in the world.

She made me want a different ending to my story. It hadn’t been the first time I considered rigging the entire Council house with explosives and detonating it after I said what I felt inside my heart. None of them would be able to escape and they would all die together, their legacy destroyed.

Now I craved something more. I watched Xavier and Ash and saw their happiness. Megan was that missing piece of my soul, she’d kept it with her when we were apart and had returned it to me when she stepped back into my life.

Now all I needed to do was figure out how to exact my revenge and have a happy ending. It wasn’t easy when you were the harbinger of death and destruction.

***

Chapter Nineteen

Megan

The sun beat down relentlessly as we travelled down roads that were nothing more than dirt tracks on our way to a diamond mine. Johannes chatted happily in the background in his new role as a tour guide, pointing out animals and different features of the landscape. Jordan sat with his feet propped up in the back of the Jeep and I had tucked myself in beside him.

Jordan had packaged up the jar and some of my purchases this morning and sent them to an address in London that I didn’t recognise. He photographed that jar from every angle before he wrapped it in bubble wrap and placed it in a secure box. It still creeped me out that part of a dead body was inside that thing.

My floppy hat covered my eyes since even my sunglasses were struggling against the strength of the sun. My long, flowing trousers covered my legs, since my colouring meant I burned every time I stepped into the sun.

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