Page 94 of Son of a Witch

Johnstone made a show of slowly licking his finger, turning the page, smushing his stamp in the ink pad, and slamming down on every page.

Limits tested, Selena reached beneath the Plexiglass of the booth, snatched the paperwork and stamp, and flicked through every page with speed and efficiency.

“There.” She slid the paperwork and stamp along the counter. “Now let us in.”

Respect melted some of the black, resentful mass in my chest. Same move I would have made to speed things up. This woman had balls. Call me impressed.

Johnstone scowled at her and began phase two of his asshole act.

Footfalls fell behind us. Purposeful. Calculated. Heat from another body flanking my right side. Loco, dragging his knife tip along the edge of the scratched booth, carving a word into it.

I own this place.

The guard’s eyes darkened with fear at Loco’s threat and he got to work quick-fucking-smart adding the final approval to the paperwork.

“Wasn’t so hard, was it?” Loco snatched the approvals from Johnstone and handed them to our leader.

Leader. Fuck. Voicing the word felt like I swallowed glass in my scrambled eggs.

Loco slammed his knife into the counter, making the guard flinch and retreat. “Say you’re sorry to Selena.”

“Sorry, Selena.” Johnstone’s pathetic stutter swirled the sick satisfaction in my chest. “It won’t happen again.”

“Glad to hear.” Loco held some strange power over the guards. Fear of retribution encouraged their obedience. They never met his eyes. Didn’t dare cross him or cause trouble. They acted the same way with Slash who put out hits to whoever slipped him cash.

The guard slammed a fist on the button and the door to the prisoner bay beeped and creaked as it swung open.

Loco paused by the doorway, leaning on it. “If they ever give you any trouble, Selena, you let me know and I’ll handle it.”

“Appreciate your assistance.” From the dark smirk on her face, I knew she enjoyed it as much as I did.

Loco dipped his head and left.

I respected their strange bond. Two outsiders finding solidarity in a new team environment. Two parents struggling with estranged relationships with their children. Two humans battling their way through the hardships life threw at them. Both earned my respect for surviving despite the separation from their families. Selena more so. She hadn’t turned dark and psycho like Loco. Yet…

Selena watched him go before jerking her head and signaling me to follow her.

I rushed ahead and stopped in front of her. “Wait. How do you want to handle this? Interrogation then torture?”

The slight spasm in Selena’s cheek told me she didn’t like the last word but was one of those women who did it out of necessity. “That’s my method, yes.”

“Mine, too.” I smiled, appreciating more of our similarities as I trailed behind her letting her absorb the bigger dick energy by taking the lead.

The prisoner bay looked and smelled a lot different without the gantii crowding it. Three prisoners were locked in cells, one lounging on his bed, hands laced behind his head, staring at the ceiling. Probably imagining all the ways he was fucked.

Another stood by the electrified bars, scratching his dick, trying to intimidate Selena. I slammed a fist on the button on the panel and current sparked. He jumped back and released his crotch. Intimidating a woman, whether physical or sexual, met with my fists or another form of retribution.

In the last cell on the right, James sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands, rethinking his life choices. Conjuring up his next getaway. Unlikely. For escaping, he was a lifer now. No chance of parole. No monthly visit passes. No missions. No sentence reduction points. No stipends.

We stopped outside his cell. Asshole didn’t bother to look up.

“Tell us where to find the rest of the prisoners,” Selena and I voiced at the same time.

Her eyes slid to mine with a warning to let her handle it.

Fuck. Did it again. Old habits died hard. Giving over the reins of control wasn’t easy for me. Every instinct jerked with reluctance and rebellion. I was the leader. The one who handled this. Always. I also wanted to question the asshole who menaced my girl and brother. Get him in private to ask him who stalked Tor’s family.

Leading came naturally to me. Well, when I wasn’t a bitter asshole who took it out on my team. It was the one thing I was good at. The one thing I did that I enjoyed. I didn’t have to do it to please my father and earn his love.

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