Page 18 of In the Light of Sin

“Will that even work?”Someone questioned. His hair was shoulder length and greasy, and his lanky arm had a full sleeve of cheapass tattoos.“Up close, Joslyn and Jordyn look different.”Someone leaned back in their chair, crossing his arms over his chest.“Joslyn has healthy curves and hasn’t been on drugs for years. She’s a normal-looking girl. Jordyn is anything but normal-looking these days. Her skin is fuckin’ gray.”

I wanted to rip the other guy’s tongue out of his body and watch him choke on his own blood as the tip traced around his lips. Who the fuck did they think they were talking about her like that?“Joslyn’s more fuckable than Jordyn. There are more curves to grab onto. Trust me, I’ve had both.”

Trust me, I’ve had both.

My mind went blank, only focusing on the fact that whoever this piece of shit was, he’d fucked Joslyn before. The thought of any man touching her made my hand itch to wrap around their throats and watch the life dim from their eyes. I didn’t want anyone to have that memory of her. No one deserved it.

“Calm the fuck down.” Husk ran up from behind, a stupid move on his part, but I was so focused on not murdering the motherfuckers inside to act on it. He noticed my breathing becoming more labored. We’d run enough missions side by side that he knew not to touch me in the field. Especially now, I’m sure he was putting two and two together and knew my vision was laced with red. “We already knew Joslyn had a past with them, Sarge. The women with them are nothing more than holes for them to fill.”

Joslyn’s not just a fuckin’ hole. Anyone who thought that was all she was worth would get acquainted with a new hole in their heads.

“Can’t trust Joslyn, though. She’s associated with those fuckin’ bikers.”

“She is. But she won’t know what Jordyn did until the cuffs are on.”He sounded so sure of himself, but his next words made my blood freeze.“Then she’ll really make us some money.”

“What do you mean?”

“Women’s prisons pimp out their prisoners.”He explained.“Cuff them to the bed. Cash exchanged. Good time for everyone involved.”

A low whistle.“Got the police involved now?”

He nodded.“It’s new, still working out the kinks. But they’ll take our word over anyone associated with the Souls. They hate them just as much as we do.”

“The Souls have a lot more cash to throw around than we do, though.”Another pointed out.“They can pay off the judge and jurors.”

“We got a secret weapon on our side.”This bastard was so fucking cocky. He wouldn’t be in a minute.“They fuck with us? They’ll all be in that crematorium of theirs.”

They shouldn’t be able to tell the tale if any of them had gotten as far as the basement. Judging by the slow turn of V’s head in my direction, he’s taking this conversation personally. Hellbound is V’s playground. He plays Satan inside those walls. It’s the only place we all let his leash loose. Something has slipped through the cracks, and we need to figure it the fuck out quickly. Darting my eyes to Husk, he looks just as surprised as I feel. He must have come to the same silent conclusion that I just have. Something is off here. We’re gonna need a church meeting immediately.

“Crematorium?”One asked the question we were thinking.“How do you know they got one in there?”

“Like I said,”a long pause allowed his tone to become much more sinister.“We have a secret weapon on our side.”

I stilled, immediately darting my eyes from V to Husk and back again. A rat? Are we dealin’ with a fucking rat? All three of us were now audible, breathing barely contained fire. If I was barely able to hold it together, we needed to get V the fuck out of here right now. I don’t even know if Husk and I can hold him back if he breaks out in a run toward the warehouse. I wouldn’t put it past him with this new information. This recon sidebar just took a sharp left turn. No one but the Souls should know about what Hellbound holds.

“Let’s go,” I barked at both of them. Prez wanted us to get in and round up the Bloods’ members inside, but it was obvious to me that they really did have some sort of weapon against us. The best element was the element of surprise, and we might not have that against them anymore.

“Not leavin’ until I search every corner of this place.” Husk wasn’t wavering. After discovering that the Flock was renovating and locking their victims in basements, he’d been checking every place that he could.

This is gonna blow at any second if I don’t get these two out of here. As the thought crossed my mind, V stiffly shrugged, storming past us both and flipping his bat up onto his shoulders. He kicked the door off its old hinges in one swift, powerful motion without a care that we could have cleared the building. Shouts immediately rang out from what seemed like every direction further inside the warehouse. Husk and I crouched when we heard the sharp clicking of rounds being chambered in their guns.

“God dammit, V!” Husk roared out of frustration as he rushed towards the building, gun drawn. I sighed and shook my head before following Husk. Fucking V and his impulses. They were going to get someone killed.

Bullets were already flying when I stepped inside the warehouse. Gunfire actually seemed to have the opposite effect on my PTSD. Years spent on heavy-fire missions had my brain hard-wired for these exact situations. My breathing remained calm, eyes sharp, as I followed V in what felt like slow motion. I saw the man with his gun pointed at V first and followed his line of fire to V, noticing he already had his bat raised while moving to dodge the bullet. The man, who’d just missed the most important shot of his life, widened his eyes as V swung his bat across his head. A gash split his face from his temple to his nose, blood spattered from his bat covering all four of us. V’s eyes lit up with childlike excitement when the man hit the ground, prompting several more blows to the head for good measure.

Fucking psycho.

Because V was now laser-focused on his already-dead new chew toy, he didn’t notice a gun being pointed at his back. I raised my gun and shot his prey’s wrist from a distance. His weapon clattered to the floor as he let out an enraged howl. He hit his knees as he tried and failed to stop the rapid bleeding with his good hand.

Husk ran up to a third man, kicking his leg out and hitting him square in the sternum. He fell to his back, hands shooting up in a plea for Husk not to shoot. Husk leveled the barrel of his pistol directly between his frantic eyes. “Hiding anyone in here?”

He vehemently shook his head, making Husk lean down lower as he put the barrel of his gun right on the guy’s nose. “I’m gonna check, and if you’re lyin’? Your head will look pretty good on my mantel. Might even use it for some late nights when I’m feelin’ lonely.”

I shook my head. This club was full of sick fucks. I noticed movement from the corner of my eye. At first, all I could make out was a shadowed silhouette. Once I focused in with my full attention, I saw the gun it wielded pointed straight at Husk’s back. Instinctively, I moved in on Husk, ready to tackle him down to the ground to shield him. I led with my shoulder, making contact with my brother the second the shot rang in my ears. The stinging pain that followed as we hit the ground told me I wasn’t quick enough.

Fucker shot me.

“It’s just a graze, you pussy. You’re fine,” Husk ground out at me directly before his gun fired one shot from my back. He hit the man who had shot me right between his eyes. After watching his body fall, Husk and I shot our eyes back to V.

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